The Bible is the word of God and, as such, it deserves to be revered and studied to understand what the nature of His revelation is, and to strengthen the relationship with Him. For example, in Ephesians 4:25, He requires that one renounce to falsehood, speaking only truth, as we all form one body. I believe that this passage’s most important aspects are truth, the temptation to evil and the importance of unity within the church.
God is absolute truth and, as such, requires His followers to speak Him always. Truth is good, and it is important for believers to always speak the truth, as falseness deviates from God’s way. His promise of everlasting paradise is only attainable through truth and doing what is good; therefore, He invites His followers to do away with anything that is false, as it separates them from God. Therefore, truth, purity and God are on the same line, whereas falsehood and sin take people away from God. Both of these poles exist within man because of original sin; nevertheless, it is God’s will that we follow His path to truth.
The fact that one must renounce falsehood means that in man’s way towards God, he is continually tempted to deviate from the right way. God’s way is not the easiest way to follow, especially in the sinful culture we are currently living in. Constantly, one is led to follow ways that are not of the Lord because of original sin. Nevertheless, it is important to follow His way, as it is the right way and will lead to eternal salvation. Because of the constant pulling away from it, it is harder to stay in His light than to stray from it; it takes much effort to follow the Lord. Yet, one does it because one wants to do good and be eternally in his presence.
This difficulty to follow God’s way is not just an individual issue, but a collective one, as his followers form one body. Taken as a collective unit, everybody is one under God; they are as a body: an interconnected and living system. Individually it is more difficult to stay in God’s way, so collectiveness is taken as a resource to fight against the temptations that look to deviate people from Paradise. Changing others means both that it will be easier for others to follow God, but that it will also be easier for the same person, because culture will be changed, and there will be less temptation to leave the path of truth and righteousness. In this sense, falsehood can be thought of as a sickness in the body: when one element starts speaking untruthfully, others will be infected too. To be able to enjoy the grace of God properly, the body of the church must be pure, which means that falseness must be eradicated from all its elements; this is reached both by leading correctly one’s own way and helping others not deviate from the way of God.
In conclusion, truth is the way to God, but temptation looks to wrestle God’s followers from His path, so they must fight both individually and collectively against this. Truth and goodness form God’s path of salvation for men; falsehood leads them away from this. Nevertheless, people are constantly pulled away from His chosen path because of culture and original sin. This temptation is so powerful that instead of fighting alone, the counteraction must be collective, as the church is one unified body. While this may be difficult, eternity with the Lord is the best reward.
