What does it mean that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth? This statement is often confusing to those who hear it, which is not helped by the fact it is most often cited by certain heretics seeking to bolster their church's claim to authority. This, my brethren, is why Bible study is of paramount importance. If you don't get to a passage before the devil, the devil gets to it before you, and it becomes harder to understand. Nevertheless, this verse is not as hard to understand as it might seem. As with all issues, scripture interprets scripture, and there is much in scripture that helps us to understand what this verse means.
The first thing to consider is the verse itself. We must ask what exactly is the job of a pillar? A pillar, of course, has the job of holding something up. So does the ground/foundation (depending on which translation you use, more on the foundation thing shortly). Whereas some people want to use this verse to support their Church's ability to infallibly interpret scripture, such that you are forbidden from questioning their interpretation, in truth, it merely shows the Church plays a supporting role.
The question must be asked, if the Church was removed from the Earth, what would be the result for the Gospel? Due to the power and sovereignty of God, the answer is not black and white. We know, after all, that He can make the stones proclaim His message if He really wanted to. Effectively, we as a Church are redundant. It is a privilege, not a requirement, that we should be the pillar and ground of truth. Nevertheless, the Lord has blessed us with this particular role.
To get an idea of what would happen if the Church would cease to be, let us go to Romans 10, verses 11-15: "For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”"
From this, we can imagine what the world would become if A. God allowed the Church to be removed from the world and B. had nothing/no one to stand in its place as the pillar and ground of truth. Put simply, there would be no one to preach, and no one to send out those preachers. It would be, as was reportedly predicted by Voltaire, that "one hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker."
Now, upon trying to verify that quote, it appears the prediction may have been falsely attributed to Voltaire. May my readers therefore take that with a pinch of salt (and if anyone can verify it, please do let me know). But quote attribution is far beyond the point. If the Church was removed from the Earth, this prediction would come true. Who prints the Bible as much as believers? Who translates it into well over 1,400 languages apart from the Church? And tell me, even if there was a Bible in the hands of every man, woman, and child on this Earth, what good would that do if no one was proclaiming reasons to believe it? To the illiterate, it is a block of paper. To the atheist, it is a book of myths. To the agnostic, it is just a book of casual interest. Even the Muslim, whose Qur'an tells him to believe the scriptures of the Jews and the Christians, would continue to proclaim that the Bible has been corrupted were it not for skilled apologists who are quite capable of defending the truth of scripture. Even with the Church being present and vocal, a lie still gets halfway around the world before the truth gets halfway around a town. If we were removed, Satan would run unopposed.
This is why Paul considered himself and his fellow Apostles to be "stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). At no point did he consider himself to be greater than them. In fact, when he took the Gospel to the Bereans in Acts 17, they tested him against the scriptures. They "searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were true", and for this, they were actually called "fair minded". Paul likely felt pleased when they tested him in this manner, and in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, he encouraged us to "test all things, and hold on to that which is good".
What's especially interesting is that Jesus appealed to the scriptures. One would think the divine Son of God, to whom all authority in Heaven and on Earth, would be greater than a book (and indeed, He is), but because of the very source of this book, Jesus held the scriptures in high regard. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”" (John 5:46-47).
Which is where we come back to the foundation thing. See, in 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul tells us that there is no other foundation besides Jesus Christ. That rather puts a damper on the Church's role as the foundation of truth. Not to detract from the fact that we are the pillar and foundation of truth, because of course the Bible says we are, but the same Paul who wrote these words nevertheless also wrote that Christ is the only foundation. In other words, there must be two meanings for the word "foundation" (which would explain why they're two different words in the Greek, but we won't get into that).
Now, if Christ is the foundation, aside from which another cannot be laid, and yet, even Christ appealed to the scriptures, what Church could ever have power or authority over the scriptures? To say this would be to claim higher authority than the King of kings and Lord of lords, to whom all authority in Heaven and Earth has been given. Need I point out the problem in this? What we see, then, is that the meaning of the Church being the foundation of truth is identical to the meaning of the Church being the pillar. We uphold the truth as stewards. We don't own it. We don't get to alter it. God has spoken, the Church must obey, and proclaim.
And in fact, if I may make one more comment on heretical churches using this verse to affirm their own claims to authority, the irony is that in doing so, they are actually deferring to the authority of scripture. Granted, to their own misinterpretation of scripture, but to scripture nonetheless. If you have to appeal to scripture to prove your authority over the scriptures, you have proven you have no authority over the scriptures.
And so we see that the correct interpretation of 1 Timothy 3:15 is that the body of Christ plays a vital role in upholding the truth in the world. In His unsearchable wisdom, God has chosen us to proclaim His message, both to our fellow believers that we may edify each other, and to the world, that they too may come to know Him as their salvation from sin. Let us not become big headed: It is a privilege to be granted this role. In His sovereignty, God could have chosen other ways. Let us also be found faithful, as is required of stewards, as this is a great privilege that comes with great responsibility. If we fail, woe betide us. But if we succeed, all glory be to God, for no other foundation can a man lay than that which has been laid: Jesus Christ. Amen.
Recommended song: Lecrae - Beautiful feet