Christ - Girded in Truth

Introduction:

You’ve done it again. You’ve promised that you’d be more careful, think more clearly, fight back harder, but you blew it. How could you possibly be a good, genuine believer in Christ and fall to the same temptation over and over again? You know you shouldn’t look at that website, but you told yourself no one would know and no one would be hurt so what’s the big deal. So you indulged and afterward the guilt came flooding in. You told yourself that you’d guard your tongue better next time, but that coworker pushed you just a bit too far and you listened to the lie that you’d feel so much better if you lashed out on her, but the guilt comes flooding in and you’re sitting there, alone, thinking to yourself, “How could I possibly be a Christian and fail as much as I do. It seems I can’t learn, the lies are always so convincing.”

If you’re anything like me, you’ve lived in that kind of world before. It’s discouraging, it deflates your appetite for the things of God because you’ve found yourself feeling so disgusting that you’ve distanced yourself from prayer and the Scriptures until the guilt fades a bit. This is the battle that many believers face on a constant basis and it leaves them living below the privileges of their birthright and outside of the glories of the gospel wherein they were first set free. And so, in the midst of your defeat, you muster up the strength to look in the word and you find yourself in Ephesians 6 and so you read and you leave telling yourself you just need to white knuckle this thing a little harder next time only to continue further into the vicious cycle.

Well, as we look at the Scriptures tonight. We will be considering the armor of God as seen in Ephesians 6, but what I want us to leave here understanding tonight is that this is not a text devoid of grace. Rather, it is a call to arms to those living in light of grace. And so, it is my desire that you might rest in Christ, our warrior. He has worn this prescribed armor on our behalf in His destruction of sin for our reconciliation unto God. And now we may, in light of this truth, run forward energized by this good news.

Tonight, I want to invite you to consider Christ - Girded with Truth as we will consider this in three different points. First, The Truth Bearer Prophesied, Second, the Truth Bearer in Triumph, and Third, Living in Light of the Overcoming Truth Bearer

The Truth Bearer Prophesied

If you will direct your attention to Isaiah 11. And as you make your way there I will say that for context we need to know that Israel’s hardness of heart, which is discussed in chapter 9-10, has provoked God’s judgment and so He sends Assyria, as Isaiah 10:5 notes, as “the rod of His anger.” It is after this theme of sin and judgment that we find, as GK Beale notes, “The deliverance that the ‘stem of Jesse’ brings to God’s people” (Beale, 831). And in verse 2-5 we note the descriptions of this deliverer. He will be the One upon whom the Spirit rests, He will be the One who delights in the Lord and who will judge in righteousness, and He will be the one wearing a belt of righteousness and truth.

Now, I want you to note with me that verse 5 says, “Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.” The Greek translation of our Old Testaments, which is called the Septuagint, reads verse 5 like this, “A rod from the root of Jesse will have girded his waist with righteousness and wrapped his sides with truth.” So, in the midst of God’s judgment on sin, there is promised a deliverer who is girded with truth. It is a defining attribute of His character and He, who is Truth, will come to save His people. The judgment of God upon men for their love of sin in falling for the lies of Satan spanning all the way back to the Garden of Eden will be reversed and relief will be known in this One who is described as wearing a belt of truth.

But who is this promised deliverer? Well, it is Christ of course. In John 14:6 we read, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” and He will be One girded with the truth which, according to Jesus in John 17:17 is the word of God as He pray, “ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” It is the word of God, which is truth, that testifies of Jesus who is the Truth. As Jesus says in John 5:39 , “39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” These Scriptures which are true, point to Christ who is the truth.

But how is this demonstrated in the life of Christ? How is He seen as one who is girded about with truth?

Well, I’m glad you asked because this question leads us to our second point which is:

The Truth Bearer in Triumph Over Deception

In Homer’s Iliad, he tells the story of Greece preforming a 10 year seige upon the city of Troy that was unsuccessful. And so he says that one day the Greeks sailed their ships away and left behind a massive wooden horse that, to the men of Troy, seemed to be an offering to their goddess. So, the men of Troy brought in the horse and thought nothing about it. That is until they went to sleep that night and out of the horse came the men of Greece who were hid within it.

In the Christian life, there are things going on all around us that may prove to be tempting to others that never truly affect us. But we must keep an eye out because our enemy is wise and he knows what to put in front of us to provoke our interest. And though we fall again and again to these deceptive lies that seem so harmless and attractive, there is someone who stood against the temptations of the Devil where we would only fall. We will see this as we look in Luke 3-4 at the baptism and wilderness temptation of Jesus.

First, let’s consider Christs’ Victory in the Wilderness

But first, why was Jesus baptized? In Matthew 3’s account of this, we find that John is baptizing them with the baptism of repentance. And so, that curates even more questions in our minds, doesn’t it? If Jesus is sinless, why does He need to be baptized? And this is exactly what John is thinking in verse 14 where he tells Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” and Jesus replies in verse 15 by saying, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” and in that is our answer. To fulfill all righteousness. What we find here is that Jesus is coming as the perfect God-man who will do what Adam and all of us failed to do and that is to fulfill every expectation that God has for humanity. In His baptism, not only is Jesus submitting obediently, but He is identifying with the repentant. If I might say it this way, Jesus is putting on the shoes of His people to walk the perfect mile that they never could. Following His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him which is a fulfillment of Isaiah 11:2 which said, “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.” and then the Father speaks from Heaven and says, “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

Second, directly after this account, Luke does something that we may consider strange. He begins listing genealogies connecting Jesus back to Adam. We all know that we are all descendants of Adam, so what's the big deal here? It’s in that final phrase, “the son of Adam, the son of God.” Notice, in verse 22, God says, “You are my beloved Son.” and in verse 38 Adam is described as “the son of God.” What comes to your mind when you think of Adam? The fall of man in the garden. And if that’s what comes to your mind here, you’re good to go as you begin reading chapter 4 where Jesus is led into the wilderness.

In Genesis 3 there is perfection and beauty, in Luke 4 there is wilderness. “[In Genesis 3] Adam was not alone but with his suitable help-meet. But Jesus was alone” (Typology, 61). In Genesis 3 there is satisfaction as Adam could eat of all trees freely except for one, but in Luke 4 there is hunger as Christ fasts for forty days. In Genesis 3, the animals are under the dominion of man, but in Mark’s account of this event in Mark 1 there are wild animals. What we are seeing here is that in Genesis 3, Satan slides into perfect Eden and man falls but in Luke 4, Jesus walks into Satan’s territory and wins the stare-down. Adam gave no rebuke to the lying deceit of Satan, but Christ facing the assault of Satan’s lies stands firm responding to each temptation with the word of God.

In verse 3-4, Satan comes to the hungry Jesus and tempts Him to turn rocks into bread, this is the temptation of the lust of the flesh, but Christ responds with Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” In verse 5-8, Satan tempts Jesus by showing Him the kingdoms of the world and tells Him that if He’d simply bow His knee to the Devil, He could have it all. This is the lust of the eyes, but Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6:13. In verse 9-12, Satan tempts Jesus by taking Him to the top of the Temple and tells Him that if He’s the Son of God He can throw Himself off and angels will catch Him. What is interesting here is that Satan uses Scripture, though falsely, and Jesus yet again responds with Scripture citing Deuteronomy 6:16. What do we find of great significance in this passage? That Jesus is the second and greater Adam. He is baptized as though to identify with us as our representative head and He is led into the wilderness where He does what Adam so horribly failed to do. Yes, in this passage we find the importance of understanding the Scriptures for our daily fight against sin, but this is of only secondary importance. At the heart of this passage Christ is seen as our mighty champion wearing the belt of truth for us.

And after this, Satan departs from Him, it says, “until an opportune time.” This leads us to our second subpoint,

Christ’s Triumph on the Cross

Have you ever told yourself, “I’m going to begin that diet on Monday.” Only for you to be on your way to work and the hot and ready light at Krispy Kreme is on? Or maybe it’s your coworkers birthday and everyone is celebrating by going to get Mexican and the waiter places that massive bowl of tortilla chips just right there in front of you? It’s hard to resist isn’t it? So, if you’re serious about staying on the diet you better have a plan or you’ll fall off. Similarly, we need to know that our enemy isn’t foolish, he knows what temptations most deeply try us and is seeking whom he may devour. And just as Troy fell after all they resisted, we too must be aware of Satan seeking an opportune time. For us, there is a limit to what we can bear before we break, but in Christ, who is the God-man that could not sin, His temptations were greater than we could ever imagine.

Well, what was this more opportune time? Well, was it not in the Garden, where He agonized in sorrow and sweat, as it were, great drops of blood? Was it not the betrayal of Judas who delivered Him up with a kiss? Was it not in Peter denying Him and in all forsaking Him? Was it not upon the cross as Matthew 27:39-40 says, “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself? If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’” and also, in verse 42, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Do you notice the correlating language to what we read in Luke’s account of the wilderness temptation here? The provoking words in an attempt to tempt Christ, the Son of God? Yet, once again, He endures and cries out, “It is finished!” and “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” and Christ completes His work as One who lived girded with truth, never failing or falling to the temptations of Satan for the glory of God and the redemption of His people. So, what do we do with this? That is the question that leads us into our final point, which is:

Living in Light of The Overcoming Truth Bearer

In Isaiah, as I mentioned earlier, we notice a theme of sin, judgment and deliverance. And as we turn our attention back to Ephesians in light of what we’ve seen, we too will find a similar theme throughout the book.

In 2:1, 3, 5, we will notice that Paul highlights the condition of sinful men. Describing us as once “dead in sins,” “children of wrath,” and “dead in trespasses.” However, he doesn’t end there but he emphasizes that God has delivered us through the work of Christ, verse 13 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” and verse 16 says, “that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross...” In short, we could summarize this theme of sin, judgment and deliverance in stating that we have sinned and are wholly deserving of the judgment of God, however, we have received pardon, deliverance, full and free in that God has poured what was belonging to us out on our lovely Lord.

And, as we have seen, as Christ was enduring the agonies experienced throughout His ministry on our behalf, He was armed with truth and in this, we do not simply have an example, we have a Savior. We have a Savior who is able to walk into the territory of Satan, that roaring lion, and is able to win the match. We have a Savior who is girded with the truth of God’s word which testifies of Himself. Christ is our Savior who, in His humanity, is everything that God desires for mankind to be. He obeys no matter the cost, and it is in His active obedience which led Him to the cross, that who are washed in His blood are not only seen by the Father as though we never sinned, but as though we have always obeyed.

Iain Diguid in his book “The Whole Armor of God” writes, “We are not equipped with a solid belt of faithfully appropriating the truth, but Jesus was, [and He was] in our place. His faithful girding of himself with the truth stands for us, so that on the last day, when the Father summons us into His presence, He will not condemn us for our faithlessness, but will delight to clothe us in Christ’s perfect faithfulness. Even now Christ clothes us with His perfect love of the truth, as if it were our very own” (Duguid, 34-35)

So, have you done it again? Have you fallen into that sin that you’ve confessed and determined to beat once for all? Are you discouraged, feeling beat down, hopeless and without assurance? Then look to Christ. He wasn’t deceived, He didn’t fall, He was victorious for you! It was Martin Luther who wrote, “When Satan tells me I am a sinner he comforts me immeasurably, since Christ died for sinners.”

From this beautiful truth, Paul brings this around, this theme of sinners finding their judgment and deliverance fulfilled in Christ, to call us to live in light of Christ’s work as soldiers of the cross. Seeing how Paul uses the imagery of God’s armor in Isaiah, it seems he is teaching us that though the war is won in Christ, the consummation has not yet come and so, the armor of God in Isaiah that was worn by Christ is now prescribed to us who are called to “imitate God in His role as divine warrior.” G.K. Beale writes, “God certainly has struck a fatal blow against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this present darkness, but the flaming arrows of this doomed regime continue to assail God’s people” (Beale, 832). And if the forces of Hell are committed to spending their final days attacking the people of God, we must be prepared and our preparation is in girding ourselves with truth. Thomas Brooks in his book, “Precious Remedies for Satan’s Devices, does a wonderful job in describing the sly ways in which Satan works as he writes, “Sin will kiss the soul, and pretend fair to the soul, and yet will betray the soul forever. It will [do this] with the Delilah smile upon us, that it may betray us into the hands of the devil as she did Samson into the hands of the Philistines.” He continues later to say, “Oh, therefore, for ever take heed of playing with or nibbling at Satan’s golden baits.”

In considering Paul’s call to put on the armor of God, an interesting aspect of this is that Paul may have also had a Roman soldier’s armor in mind. If this is the case, this wouldn’t have been a thin belt, but a large belt of leather and metal that would’ve held back the under robe of the soldier keeping it from interfering in his tasks and it would’ve also served in holding his sword on his side. Seeing that Paul makes mention of the belt of truth as well as the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. I am led to say that here we are pointed to arm ourselves with the Scriptures which, as mentioned before testify of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. It is this gospel that keeps the baggage of this life from interfering in our daily affairs as we go about serving our Lord. It is this gospel that frees us from the bondage of relentless accusations, it is this gospel which frees us to serve God will joy and gladness and to stand though all the world seems shaken. In other words, the more you grasp the reality of Christ’s work on your behalf as one girded in truth, the more you will find yourself strengthened to stand in truth against the deceptive lies of Satan (Duguid,35). What does this look like?

If hard times fall upon you, and you are tempted to believe that God is no longer there and does not truly love you, stand upon Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

When you find yourself discouraged by the lack of growth in your life, remember Philippians 1:6 “6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

When those in your life hurt and betray you, and you are tempted to believe that you would feel so much better if you got even, remember Ephesians 4:32 “32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” and Romans 12:19 “19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

When Satan tempts you in presenting sin as well deserved and right, consider that it was Adam and Eve that felt entitled to become as God in deciding what was good for themselves and how horribly they fell.

When Satan tempts you in presenting sin as secretive, harmless and enjoyable. Remember Psalm 90:8 “8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” and recall that this same God who knows you and every sin you have committed loved you and gave Himself for you. And let that marvelous grace strengthen you as you war against sin.

Iain Duguid once more writes, “If my failures are meant to drive me to the cross in repentant humility, and the Father’s arms are always open to welcome the returning prodigal, then Satan’s claim that God will surely spurn me because of my fresh sin loses its sting. Foundational truth, belted around our waists, enables us to stand against Satan, even as it points us away from ourselves to Jesus Christ as the only one who can make us stand’ (Duguid, 35).

Tonight, as we are called to take time to examine ourselves in preparation for the Lord’s Table, you will find remembrance of those sins to which you have once again fallen, but rejoice in this: That as unworthy as you and I feel, it is by the merit of Christ’s work that you are welcomed to commune with Him and you may once more preach to yourself that so surely as I can taste this wine and bread, so surely has Jesus died for me.