Word studies · Greek · Strong's G225
ἀλήθεια · alḗtheia · appears 110 times in the New Testament
In one line: What is real, honest, and reliable — not false or hidden.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
Truth is reality as it actually is — genuineness and reliability, not hidden or false, ultimately grounded in the character of God.
Aletheia describes what is real, honest, and trustworthy, as opposed to falsehood or pretense. In John's writings especially, truth becomes almost a name for God's own self-revelation in Christ, not merely a category of correct statements.
Aletheia is built from a root meaning “unconcealed” — the alpha-privative “a-” negating lēthē, “forgetfulness” or “concealment.” Etymologically, truth is what is brought out of hiddenness into the open, what is no longer covered over or forgotten.
Greek philosophy already used aletheia for reality uncovered, but the New Testament pushes further, tying truth to a person — Jesus says “I am... the truth” — so that truth is not just accurate information but a relationship of trustworthy self-disclosure between God and people.
Aletheia (G225) and its related adjective and adverb forms cluster heavily in John's Gospel and letters, where “truth” becomes one of his favorite words for describing both God's character and authentic Christian living.
Truth matters because the gospel claims to be reality rightly disclosed, not myth or opinion — Jesus tells Pilate He came “to bear witness to the truth,” and John says the Spirit is given to guide believers “into all truth.”
Let truth shape both your convictions and your honesty in daily life — seek what's real rather than what's comfortable, and speak truthfully even when it costs you something. Ask where you might be tempted to shade the truth this week.
truth
They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher, they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
Matthew 22:16Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him trembling in fear, and she told Him the whole truth.
Mark 5:33But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.
Luke 4:25The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
Acts 4:27The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
Romans 1:18Press and hold truth in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.