June 25 - Ephesians 6:14b

June 25
Ephesians 6:14b

Dear Christian friend,

Ephesians 6:14b ...having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

As we continue to learn about the armor of God, we have learned that when we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, we entered into the army of God. As believers in Christ, you and I have an assignment - bring others to Christ so they too can experience their wonderful place in God just as you have been experiencing.  We do, however, have an enemy who does not want that to happen and will do whatever he can to stop others from coming to Christ.  As such, you and I are soldiers who always need to be ready for battle - while protected, yet needing armor, to meet the enemy head on. 

Ephesians 6:10-18 comes out of the passage in Isaiah 59 where the Prophet Isaiah describes the Lord as armed with a glittering breastplate of armor, representing righteousness, to deliver His people from all enemy powers. Here the Apostle Paul applies this same metaphor to believers in Christ to show them they are imitators of God, demonstrating that they too are to be clothed in the bright armour of moral righteousness. 

Right now, stand to your feet - stand tall and immovable.  As imitators of God, as you continue to live our of your secret place in Psalm 91, you are ready to put yourself under God's protection of armor, being assured that His armor is also a defensive and offensive weapon against the enemy. 

To a Jew, gird meant to girdle your waist with truth.  We may say today, roll up your sleeves so that you have freedom of movement.

John 8:32 The truth shall make your free

Other versions use the phrase for girding up your waist with wearing the belt of truth. The Apostle Paul uses the image of a Roman soldier ready for battle. The belt of a soldier in Paul’s day was not a simple leather strap such as we wear today. It was a thick, heavy leather and metal band with a protective piece hanging down from the front of it. The belt held the soldier’s sword and other weapons. The belt of truth of the spiritual armor holds the sword of the Spirit, linking truth and the Word of God. The Word of God is truth. The belt of truth protects us and prepares us for the battle that is part of every Christian’s life.

We are to actively lay hold of the truth of the Word of God and use it. The belt of truth is a crucial piece of defensive armor guarding our inmost being in the battle against the lies and deceptions of the enemy. Without an understanding of truth, we are left vulnerable to being “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming."  In God's kingdom, God's truth is always at the center guiding our every move.  

As we put on the belt of truth, we then put on God's breastplate of righteousness. We are God's representtive on this earth, and our character and morals must reflect His righteousness. His Word then gives us our instruction guide on how to live a righteous life in Christ. The more we get to know God's Word, the more we will know and understand His truth. The more we understanding God's Truth, the more we want to live under that truth, and the more we live under that truth, the more we will speak that truth out to others. That's the way God created us.

Tomorrow, we will continue to learn more of the armor of God.

Blessings,