THURSDAY July 25th
Ephesians 6:14
‘Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.’
The words ‘Stand therefore’ infer that we cannot ‘withstand’ (v13) or ‘stand firm’ (again verse 13) until we have put on the armour of God, and the first item is the belt of truth, and it is essential to fasten it up, to tighten it up well. The words mean to gird/prepare oneself. I like to think that this means we must be ready for action, because there will be no last-minute opportunity to check the belt is fastened.
As I thought of this it brought to my mind the parable that Jesus gave of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, and although I know this parable is speaking about a different context of being ready, on this occasion it is for the Lords return, it helps us to establish that just like we need to be ready for his return, so also we need to be ready for combat, and ready to defend ourselves against the attack of the principalities and powers. In both instances, we don’t want to be unprepared. In the context of the wearing of the armour, how awful it would be to be unprepared for any surprise attacks that the enemy might try to bring against us.
The belt would have ensured that any of the outer garments the soldier was wearing would be pulled up in such a manner that he wouldn’t get tangled in them or trip over them. And we also need to ensure that we have the belt of truth fastened tightly, so that we will not get entangled and tripped over as we do battle spiritually.
The belt of truth is symbolic of our being equipped or prepared with truth, the truth of God. God is a trustworthy God which I have been speaking about recently, and we can be assured of his trustworthiness because he is the God of truth and truthfulness. Truth matters today, we are living in an era of deceitfulness, and the truth that is buckled or fastened around our waist is truth that leads to us being a people of integrity and honesty.
Not only is God a God of truth, but his word is a word of truth, which we will cover in the sword of the Spirit, and the gospel is truth. It is the gospel of God, it is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself declared that he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. Therefore, by fastening up the belt of truth we are holding fast to the truthfulness of who God is, who the Lord Jesus is, what God’s word is and what the gospel is all about.
We seek in the moment of every ounce of opposition that may be brought against us to uphold truth and to stand fast in truth. It means also that as we see liberalism and ideology coming into the church that seeks to water down the truth, we need to be ready and willing to speak up and speak out for the truth of God in a world where truth doesn’t seem to matter.
Our very lives, the way we live should reflect the truth of God in a truthless society.