Ephesians 6:14-17 - Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...
It is so important to have the truth as a foundation. A friend and I were talking yesterday about knowing the truth. The truth keeps one sane in this tumultuous world.
There IS an absolute truth contrary to what some might say. His name is Jesus. He is the Word of God. Knowledge of Him brings greater wisdom and understanding and insight because He imparts it.
So I was reading Ephesians 6 about putting on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil. The first thing mentioned is girding our waists with truth. Go figure! So important. Here the Word is telling us we must first know truth. (By the way, the first thing God created was light. Jesus says He’s the light of the world; light shines in darkness and everything is exposed. Those who don’t know the truth live in darkness. Not my words; don’t get frustrated with me.)
So a commentary on this verse about the belt of truth says this...The ancient soldier’s loins were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armor in place.” Imagine that! Truth is what holds it all together.
The truth is what sets us free from the things of the world. There’s the old hymn called There’s Power in the Blood. The first line says...would you be free from your passion and pride...there’s power in the blood. Freedom comes from the knowledge of Christ and it is Christ’s blood poured out for us that brings this freedom. Not our works, just a true belief in Christ’s work on the cross. He’s no longer on that cross but alive today and still in the redemption business. This can be understood if we have the foundation of truth, which is Jesus.
I’ll say this again...it’s all about Jesus. Politics, social justice, causes, good works apart from Christ, are all man-made plans unless Jesus is first behind them. And believe me, He would not approve of too much going on in today’s world. There will come a time when God will have had enough and will send His Son back one more time to gather those who love Him and His truth and reign on earth for 1,000 years...all in true peace, not as the world gives, but only as Jesus can give. This is truth too! It’s in the truth of God’s Word.
You can know the truth and the truth will set you free. It will bring assurance of eternal hope. Not everyone goes to heaven but those who know in their hearts and spirits that Jesus is the truth and that His ways are right and true, that eternal life comes only through Him.
About the armor...all the parts are important. All that are listed refer to Jesus. He is our righteousness, our peace. We have faith in Him alone. He is our salvation and our sword of the spirit, our Word, our truth.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
