Episode 2
This is part 2 of a discussion on truth. If have not watched or read part 1 (episode 1), I encourage you to do so. There, we covered why truth is essential, how truth, courage and humility go hand-in-hand, and how the scriptures often refer to God as not only our Creator and Father, but as a God of Truth. This means we are also children of truth – or at least, we are meant to be. But to align our lives with truth, we must first know how to recognize truth when encounter it. That is what we will talk about in this episode, as well as the catastrophic consequences of a life that is not aligned with truth.
How to Know What’s True
Generally speaking, today’s broadcasters and communicators are masters of distraction and misdirection. They use every medium to manipulate or lie to us in order to get us to believe something. This is the hallmark of a corrupt society, filled with individuals and groups who want to exploit or enslave others (through addiction or other means) for profit or power.
In order to get our attention or fulfill an agenda, stories, facts, and context are twisted until they are only caricatures of truth. Whether it’s marketers, politics, news, science, education, religious leaders, relationships, or independent fact-checkers, truth seems to be the casualty of everyone’s agenda. Jesus said of our times, “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24 NIV). Likewise, Paul said that in the last days – our days – people would be “always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7 NIV). How, then, do we know what is true and what isn’t?
The Holy Spirit
The apostle James explained how to obtain wisdom and truth, in spiritual and non-spiritual matters: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5 NIV). But that’s not all. James then added a warning to those who approach God: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6-7 NIV). The crux of James’ warning is not just about belief. It’s about believing and being determined enough to follow through on what God tells us, so we’re not double-minded and unstable. When He speaks, God wants us to be determined to act on what we know – He wants the truth to become part of us, so we can become fearless and unmoved in the face of life’s storms.
Joseph Smith, who took James’ advice to ask God, received a vision as a result. Joseph later said, “The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching” (STPJS, p. 190). But if God doesn’t appear to us personally, how do we know when He’s speaking?
Well, Jesus, the divine Son of the God of Truth, provided the answer. First, He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.… They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (John 14:6, 21-22). When the Savior said this, at least one disciple didn’t understand, so he asked, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” The Savior replied, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:22, 26 KJV). Jesus later explained, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth… and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).
One of God’s prophets named Moroni said similarly, “By the power of the holy ghost, ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:2). According to the scriptures, the only sure way to avoid being deceived is by anchoring ourselves to Christ,[1] the source of truth, then learning to hear the Holy Ghost clearly.
Hearing the Holy Spirit
So how exactly do you hear the Holy Spirit? The scriptures record that Nephi, when speaking to his hardened older brothers, said, “Ye have heard his voice from time to time, and he hath spoken unto you in a still, small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words” (1 Nephi 5:21).[2] In modern language, this is an odd way of describing communication: They were expected to feel the Holy Spirit’s words.
This is made a little clearer in another place in the scriptures, where the Lord said, “Behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the holy ghost which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now behold, this is the spirit of revelation” (Teachings & Commandments (T&C), JSH 13:21). In other words, God’s Holy Spirit tends to communicate with both intelligence and emotions. What are those emotions? The apostle Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
This provides greater insight into Christ’s words to His apostles when He said that the Holy Ghost would be with them after He was gone. The Savior explained, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you (John 14:26-27 KJV).
One reason God often speaks to us in this spiritual language is because He wants us to willingly pay attention to Him. He wants us to put effort into seeking Him, to be partners with Him as you and I “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 KJV). Learning to understand how God speaks to us in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit is an essential step in knowing what is true and in coming to know God.
By Their Fruits
Beliefs are powerful! They have the ability to shape our lives and the lives of everyone around us! Your beliefs give you courage, motivation, energy, and purpose. If they have that much power, it is essential that you carefully measure what you believe by the standard of absolute truth, searching within the light (see Moroni 7:3) and using the Holy Spirit and the scriptures so you can “know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).
Throughout the scriptures, God called prophets and teachers to declare truth. But whenever you have a genuine artifact, imposters will appear. Imposters – or false prophets and teachers –showed up, pretending to represent God as an ambassador. This is still happening today. So in addition to the Holy Ghost, Jesus provided a litmus test of sorts for detecting false prophets and true prophets: Watch their “fruits.”
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [Remember the story of the dark and light wolves in episode 1?] You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits (Matt. 7:15-20).
In other words, if you want to know if someone is a sincere advocate of truth; or if their teachings, philosophies, creeds, religious or political ideologies, etc., are based on truth, take note of what they teach, how they act, AND the results produced. Do their actions or teachings suggest you should look to them (as opposed to Christ) for salvation?[3] Do their actions or teachings result in pride, confusion, chaos, fear, anger, hatred, or breaking any of the ten commandments?[4] Then you can know that they and their teachings are not based on truth, and cannot be from God.
On the other hand, is their message presented with persuasion, invitation, patience and love? Does what they proclaim produce “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23)? Then it is surely from God. “All things which are good cometh of God… that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually” (Moroni 7:2). Of course, sometimes a corrective word from God or one of His messengers may feel sharp; but that may be because we are the ones not in line with truth, and the truth convicts us. That’s another issue related to our level of humility.
The Savior’s test to detect false prophets is important because it not only provides a way to detect those who may lead us away from truth; it also suggests that prophets are not simply a relic of the past. The very presence of a test to apply to prophets suggests there might be true prophets in addition to false ones (Denver Snuffer, “Christ: The Prototype of the Saved Man,” p. 4). God is the same yesterday, today and forever (1 Nephi 3:5, Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17), so He has always worked to save His children the same way – especially through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world. Part of His method has always been to call prophets and teachers to speak His words.
The Bible warns against men and women adding to or removing the words of scriptures (Revelation 22:18-19; Deuteronomy 4:2), but it says nothing about God adding to His own words (Denver Snuffer, ibid, p. 5). After all, if God is endless and never changes (Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 55:19, James 1:17), He will keep speaking – so His words will never end. In scriptures restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said, “There is no end to my works, neither my words” (Genesis 1:7). And if God continues speaking, He will need prophets to declare and write those words, which would provide additional scriptures.
All truth that lifts us to greater heights comes from God. Moroni, a prophet of God, explained, “Whatsoever thing is good is just and true. Wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is; and ye may know that he is by the power of the holy ghost” (Moroni 10:2; compare James 1:17). Moroni’s father – also a prophet – said it this way:
It is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil. And the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the spirit of Christ is given to every man, that they may know good from evil. Wherefore, I shew unto you the way to judge. For everything which inviteth to do good and to persuade to believe in Christ is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ. Wherefore, ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the Devil, for after this manner doth the Devil work; for he persuadeth no man to do good, no not one, neither doth his angels, neither do they who subject themselves unto him… Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil (Moroni 7:3).
If Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life,” and “no one comes to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6), then He must also be the source of all goodness; and God the Father and the Holy Ghost testify of Him (3 Nephi 5:9).
God IS a God of truth, courage, humility, love, endurance, dignity, and wisdom. He is a great teacher and wants each of us to mature to know, understand and live by truth. He is faithful to us, His family. Not only does He want truth inside us, He desires the characteristics of courage, humility, love, endurance, dignity, and wisdom to be part of us as well.
You are God’s child. The way that He said you can develop these things is by following His Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus said that the first steps to follow Him are believing in Him, repenting, being baptized by one of His approved servants, and receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion (3 Nephi 5:9, Mark 16:14-15, Matt. 28:16, 18-20; Matt. 3:13-17, 2 Nephi 13:2).
Truth Becoming Scarce
Mark my words: If it hasn’t already happened, there will come a time in YOUR life when nearly everyone around you is forsaking their conscience and acting ruthlessly toward anyone who dares tell them they are wrong. But if you begin now to live by the dictates of your conscience, you will have the courage and clarity of conscience to stand by your convictions and help others who are plagued because they don’t possess the inner strength to stand against up to a hostile crowd and say, “This is wrong!”
“The guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center” (1 Nephi 5:1). Truth confronts you with the unworthy, shameful aspects of yourself – the parts that are not in line with truth. This is why it can be so painful. If you embrace the truth and live by it, it burns away the parts of you that are unworthy, bringing you that much closer to (and more like) the Divine. If you want some examples of the greatest moral truths, read Matthew chapters five, six and seven in the New Testament. These teachings, known as the beatitudes, were again taught by Christ when He visited other people who were part of the house of Israel after His resurrection (see 3 Nephi 5:10-38). These teachings of the Savior, build upon the 10 commandments and outline what may seem to be impossibly high standards for living a moral life. Although they may seem impossible, remember that “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26 NKJV) – that is, God’s grace makes these things possible for every person.
Here are just a few things He said:
- Before coming to God, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then return to God (Matt. 5:23-26, 3 Nephi 25-26).
- “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment” (5:21-22, 3 Nephi 5:24).
- “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” ( 5:27-28, 3 Nephi 5:27-28).
- If anyone forces you to go one mile, willingly give a second mile (Matt. 5:41, 3 Nephi 5:30).
- “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21, 3 Nephi 5:36).
Of all creatures on the earth, mankind is capable of the highest good as well as the lowest depravity. But you are only capable of attaining those heights by aligning your life with the greatest truths, which come from Christ. On your own, you will never be strong enough or good enough to live up to the principles. But Christ doesn’t ask you to do that. Instead He says, “Come, follow me,” (Matt. 4:19 NIV), and promises that He can change you into the type of person who is fit for God’s kingdom.
Consequences of Not Aligning with Truth
Not aligning your life with truth leads to confusion, unhappiness, anger; even depression and despair. These are often compounded with feelings of being lost and purposeless. In order to make your life resilient against these things – for you and your loved ones – truth must become non-negotiable in your actions. In spite of movie stereotypes, this doesn’t mean you go around volunteering your opinion about everyone and everything. Aligning your life with truth does not mean living life without a filter between your brain and your mouth. Such an idea is only a caricature of the truth, ignoring other essential truths such as the value of human kindness and companionship, or the fact that some people may not be ready to hear certain truths.[5]
Making truth non-negotiable in your actions does mean that you desire to know and understand truth, even when it challenges cherished beliefs. It also means you do your best to live by what you know to be true. Sometimes people will reject you for not condoning their behaviors or ideas. Sometimes you will need to just say, “I can’t answer that,” and allow others to reach their own conclusions. When dedication to truth becomes your goal, confidence will come from a solid character and peace of conscience. There is no other way to obtain it.
Truth and Sin
I’m going to say something bold but true. There are eternal, moral laws of the universe. These laws are instinctively known, and your conscience picks up on them and makes you feel guilty when you violate the rules, although it is possible to rationalize and ignore your conscience so often that you become hardened and numb to the guilt.
For instance, as people we know that lying and stealing are wrong. We also instinctively sense that human life is precious. The founders of the United States believed in these truths, which is why they declared other, associated truths were self-evident, such as “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” and that governments should only exist by consent of the governed people (Declaration of Independence). I know there are many arguments against such ideas today.
Nevertheless, as filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille famously said, “We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them – or else, by keeping them, rise through them to the fulness of freedom under God. God means us to be free. With divine daring, he gave us the power of choice.”[6]
You’ve undoubtedly heard of the kingdom of God, and in the scriptures Jesus is often referred to as not only the heavenly King, but the “King of kings and Lord of lords.”[7] If God is a King, then He must possess a kingdom, of which we are part. And how can there be a kingdom without laws, and penalties for laws that are broken? These broken laws – and the punishments required for breaking them – are among the primary reasons Jesus came to Earth. He came to provide a way for justice to be satisfied through His sacrifice, so that we would not need to feel the full weight of punishment if we will believe in Him and repent (see Alma 16:34-35, Alma 19:12-17, 2 Nephi 1:6).
God is perfect (Matt. 5:48, 3 Nephi 5:31). He is love (1 John 4:8). He is joy. He is peace. God is also patience, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). He is the perfect embodiment of all these things. He is also guiltless and perfectly just (Deut. 32:4). How could He be a good ruler otherwise? This explains Christ’s reply when a man ran up to him and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mark 10:18).
Is it any wonder, then, that God’s eternal laws for us have nothing to do with our social status, how much money we make, or the number of education degrees we have? Instead, they all have to do with how much we love God, how much we love others and how much we love ourselves. “Teacher,” a lawyer once asked, “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:36-40).
These rules, of course – to love God, our neighbors and ourselves – are almost the complete opposite of what we see in the world. They’re so opposite that they seem ridiculously contrary to human nature – but that’s the point. Imagine you and your family have been invited to a royal wedding, which will include a majestic banquet hosted by your nation’s ruler. You are the parent of a rambunctious four year old and are trying to get him ready for this once in a lifetime event. Before taking him, would you make him take a bath? Would you teach him how to behave with rules of etiquette, and tell him how and why the event is special for him and you? Maybe you would even practice having dinners using formal manners. Because if you go and are unprepared, he and you would feel utterly uncomfortable, maybe ashamed and embarrassed. You certainly would feel out of place as your child – and maybe you and your spouse – have no idea how to act in such a setting. But if you each prepare, you and they can have an experience and memories that will be cherished for a lifetime.
Christ is trying to prepare us to return to the presence of God the Father, not by just learning how to act but by becoming the type of people who would want to be in God’s presence. He wants us to be there. “As it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NJKV). But we can only go if we are prepared. Part of that preparation is becoming clean through the blood of Christ (1 John 1:6-7; Mosiah 1:14-15, 2:1-2; 1 Ephesians 1:7), because no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God (Rev. 21:27, 1 Nephi 3:5, 3 Nephi 12:5). The prophet Moroni explained why this is:
Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and a just God under a consciousness of your filthiness before him than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell. For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. O then, ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord. Cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day (Moroni 4:6).
You see, it’s not that God is trying to be mean, or that He is OCD and can’t stand a little dirt on the rug. If that were true, He never would have made you or me! Rather, He is a holy Being, the Lord of hosts (Isaiah 44:6, Psalms 24:10, etc.), who lives in a place and society of holiness and purity. And if you were to live in His presence with your sins, it would be a greater hell for you. The fact that the guilty are not allowed into heaven is not evidence of God’s cruelty. It is evidence of His kindness and mercy! It’s amazing how our perspectives change when a little truth from heaven is understood.
So we have a Creator and King who is the source of all truth and everything good, and He wants us to be like Him – as Jesus said, “I would that ye should be perfect, even as I or your Father who is in Heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 5:31; also Matt. 10:48). I don’t know about you, but I fall far short of that tall order. But I also know that Christ provided the way, through His atoning grace, to make that eventually attainable. Thus He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
If you’re doubting what I’m saying, that’s ok. But don’t be content to remain in doubt! As we discussed, you have the means to approach God and get answers for yourself. In addition to prayer, when facing doubters, Jesus said, “Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own” (John 7:17). Putting that in modern words: take His words for a test drive. Start by reviewing the ten commandments in Exodus 20. If you’re familiar with the ten commandments, go through Matthew 5-7 for the higher law. And if you’re not sure if a commandment is worth keeping? Talk to God and live the commandment. Ask Him to show you its importance and benefits. The commandments are from God, and they are based on eternal truths. Try the Savior’s challenge to resolve “to do the will of God,” so you can “know whether the teaching is from God.” It’s possible that some rules you learned actually are men’s interpretations, and not what God intended. The point is, are you willing to find out from God?
And if you feel like you are not even sure if God is real, start there! Go to God and ask Him in sincerity to let you know He is there. Then listen and watch. It may not happen right away. But if you ask sincerely and humbly, He will answer – with peace and assurance through the Holy Ghost, and perhaps in other ways you will understand.
I’m sorry if universal truths don’t fit your desired world perceptions. But to quote C. S. Lewis, “Every disease that submits to a cure shall be cured: but we will not call blue yellow to please those who insist on still having jaundice, nor make a midden [desert] of the world’s garden for the sake of some who cannot abide the smell of roses” (The Great Divorce, p. 47). If you want to improve your life, a first step is personal dedication to honesty and truth, whatever form it takes – not to be used as a club to beat others, but as an invitation to see and hear and come to know the strength, peace and wholeness that come with truth. And you cannot truly come to know these without seeking and knowing the God of Truth.
Conclusion & Challenge
So, here’s the question: Will truth prevail in your life? Does this discussion on truth resonate with your soul? That is, as you listened, did you feel and think, “Yes, that’s right! I believe that!”
If so, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to move on to your next activity and let it distract you… or are you going to become someone who allows truth to not only guide your actions, but your thinking? What will that look like?
As we finish this episode, here is my invitation to you: Ask God what He wants you to work on to improve yourself. Perhaps He will ask you to tell the truth. Perhaps He will ask you to live a commandment you’ve neglected. Perhaps He will ask you give up a destructive habit. Perhaps He will instruct you to forgive someone who hurt you. Whatever it is, get an answer and ask God to help you succeed. Then ask what else He suggests you should change, and continue the process of improving your life, always requesting that His strength be your strength.
Choose the strongest, best you possible. Choose truth. Choose the God of truth.
[1] See Book of Mormon, Ether 5:1. Anchoring ourselves to Christ requires that we not only accept Him as our Savior, but seek to live the commandments and repent when we don’t. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’” (Matt. 22:37). He also said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Many other scriptures warn about the need to have our actions align with our faith:
Hebrews 10:26-27: For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV: Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Eph. 5:5: Be sure of this, that no sexually immoral or impure person or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Gal. 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[2] Nephi was not the only prophet to speak of God’s voice this way. The Old Testament describes the Lord speaking to Elijah the prophet in a “still, small voice,” (see 1 Kings 19:11-12 KJV), or what we might call today “a gentle whisper” (NIV).
[3] “He [God] commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world, but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Nephi 11:17).
[4] See Exodus 20; Book of Mormon, Mosiah 7:18, 21.
[5] For instance, in Hebrews 5:11-14, Paul spoke of giving the saints “milk” (gospel truths that were easy to handle), since they were not able to handle more “solid food” (gospel truths that contradicted their beliefs or were hard to understand). Similarly, Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you” (Matth. 7:6).
[6] Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7671940-we-cannot-break-the-ten-commandments-we-can-only-break. This quote is all over the internet, but admittedly I could not discover its original source.
[7] See 1 Timothy 6:15; Rev. 17:14, 19:16; Deut. 10:17; Psalm 136:3. See also Isaiah 9:6-7 for a description of how Christ reigns.