Belt of Truth

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Last Wednesday Troy introduced for us the new series that we will be focusing on each Wednesday night for the next few weeks. The series is titled the whole Armor of God. Each week we are going to look at a different aspect of the armor of God found in Ephesians 6.

The purpose in wearing the armor of God, Paul tells us is so that we will be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might so that we can stand up to or against the devil. The key to understanding what each of the pieces of the armor of God represent is to first understand that all of these pieces belong to God and come from him.

Eph 6:10-11

Eph 6:14 The first piece of armor that Paul says that we need in order to be able to withstand the devil is the belt of truth. Many of us at this very moment are wearing a belt. Belts today are worn for multiple reasons. Some simply wear a belt because it is fashionable. Others wear a belt to hold their pants up. And others wear a belt to hold all their essential tools or weapons. For example, a carpenter may wear a belt to hold their tools needed on a construction sight whereas a police officer wears a belt to hold their gun, and other essential things needed to perform their job.

In our context for this passage Paul is using the imagery of a Roman soldier and how he would use a belt. This belt was used to gird up of cinch up the loose clothing that they would have been wearing. During this time period when a soldier was preparing for action or war, they would cinch up their loose fit, robe like clothing so that it would be tight. Making it easier to move around more quickly.

The imagery of fastening on or girding up the belt of truth should make one think of that which is done first to prepare one for action or to prepare one for activity.

In John 13:4, John uses this same language to show us that Jesus girded up or tied up his loose clothing to prepare him for service. Jesus girded himself by tying a towel around his waist just like a soldier would tie a belt around their waist. Jesus did this to prepare himself for the activity of washing the disciple’s feet.

Just as Jesus girded himself or fastened a towel around him, Paul’s point is that by fastening on the belt of truth we are preparing ourselves for action, for service, for battle.

Peter echoes this same language in 1 Peter 1:13 when he says…. Gird up the loin of your mind for action. In other words, prepare your minds for action.

Along with cinching up a soldier’s loose clothing the belt would have also been used to hold a soldier’s sword or in Paul’s analogy it would have held the sword of the Spirit, vs 17.

So, as you can imagine a soldier would never go anywhere without his belt. The belt of Truth is the first step in preparing one to stand up to the devil.

So, we have just briefly seen what the belt is used for and that it is the first thing that a soldier would put on in order to prepare for battle. So, the question remaining then is what is truth? Why is this belt referred to as the belt of Truth.

Well, if you remember we answered this question a few weeks ago, just before Christmas. If you were unable to be with us, I would encourage you to look on Facebook for the Wednesday devotional on 12/16.

In this lesson we looked at the trial of Jesus when Pilate asked Jesus the question, what is truth? And in that lesson, we learned that Jesus is in fact the truth.

Jesus himself claims to be the truth in John 14:6 when he says… In this passage Jesus is claiming to be the I am that spoke to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus in this passage along with six other times uses the phrase I am in the gospel of John to explains to his audience that he is in fact God.

So, what does this mean. Well, it means that because Jesus is God, he is therefore the source of all truth.

Church, If we want to know what truth is than we need to know and understand who Jesus is.

Unfortunately, many people claim that they are ready for battle because they know about Jesus. These people know his story, they know facts about him, maybe they know a few quotes from him, they claim to do good things because of him but unfortunately these people have never allowed the things that they have learned about him become their personal reality. These people know about Jesus, the truth, but they have never allowed the truth to penetrate their hearts. They have never girded their minds or prepared their minds for action by truly understanding who Jesus is and why he is the first line of defense when it comes to going to battle with the devil.

You see, Jesus who is the truth speaks of these very people in his sermon on the mount when he says… Matthew 7:21-23

Church the reason why Jesus who is the truth is the first line of defense when it comes to the devil is because he being the truth is the only one who has successfully defeated the devil. Jesus is the only person who ever went head to head with the devil and came out victorious.

In Matthew chapter 4 Jesus was tempted by the devil three times and each time he shared truths about God in order to defeat the devil.

You see any soldier who was going to go to battle with an enemy would understand the need to saturate their minds with everything about any individual who has been successful in defeating their enemy in the past.

Think about a sports team who is preparing to go up against another team. Not only do they study their opponent but they also study any other teams that have been successful in defeating their opponent. You see this strategy is common sense to us. But why is it that often times we fail to continually learn everything we can about Jesus and the truth so that we can defeat the devil.

Church the only way we are going to be able to defeat the devil on a daily basis is by getting to know Jesus the truth rather than simply knowing about Jesus the truth.

Throughout our lives all of us have to go to battle with Satan. Some of us our currently in the thick of battle, dealing with personal struggles in our lives. The only way we are going to be able to overcome these struggles and battles with the devil is by devoting our lives to knowing our savior, Jesus Christ who is the truth. The apostle Paul understood this importance. Listen to his words in Phil 3:8…

In order to prepare for battle we must gird our minds with knowing the truth in the same way that Paul did. Paul understood that nothing was more important than knowing Christ.

Do you know Christ who is the truth or do you simple know about Christ? Knowing Christ who is the truth is the first step in preparing ourselves to defeat the devil.

As we close this evening I want to give you two ways in which you can come to know Christ who is the truth better this year.

First I want to encourage you to make it a priority to be with us each Sunday morning here on Facebook or in person at the Northwest Church of Christ in Lawton as we examine each week for the next year how we can know Jesus better.

Then second let me challenge you his week, no matter where you find yourself in the process of knowing the truth and girding yourself with the truth, let me challenge you to spend this next week reading through the sermon on the mount found in Matthew chapter 5,6,7. Spend this next week reading these three chapters and spend time in prayer asking God to reveal the truth to you more fully so that you can arm yourself with the belt of truth. The only truth that can defeat the devil.