Belt of Truth

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

BELT OF TRUTH

Eph 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

NIV

Well, it is time to take a look at the actual armor of God as Paul describes it. The very first piece he mentions does not seem much like armor, but rather simply a belt. But it is the belt of truth. From what we have gathered before the belt of the Roman soldier had several functions. First, it held up his tunic, the sort of short looking skirt-like covering him, as well as Beltia, which were metal dangles that covered his loin or private parts. The Belt also held the breastplate in place, keeping it from flapping around. So when Paul calls this the belt of truth, he is saying without the truth we would lose much of the rest of our armor. We would be exposed to the attacks of the enemy. Without the truth everything else is meaningless. This is why we have to base our lives on the truth of God. Without the truth, we have no meaning in this life. Before we knew Jesus, we were aimlessly floating upon the sea of life with no port of call. We tossed about the sea by every wind, taking us where ever it would. However, even as a believer we must be careful to live by the truth of God, which makes us mature and understanding the truth. If we are not understanding the truth, if it is not the first premise of our Christian walk, then we are like those infants Paul spoke about earlier.

Eph 4:14-16

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

NIV

He was talking about attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, and Jesus said he was the truth, the way, and the life. So then the truth is the first and most important piece of the armor. Let us put on our belt of truth, let us gird our loins with the truth, as other translations have phrased it. Without the truth, we do not stand a chance. If we could image wearing slacks without a belt and try to go into battle, we might well be caught with our pants down around our ankles. How could we win that way? No, let us keep this belt fitting tight, keeping the truth around us.