Once you have started saturating yourself in God’s Word, it will be easier to keep the belt of truth buckled around your waist. It will be easier to talk back to the lies of Satan and replace them with the truth of God’s Word.
The first item listed in the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 is the belt of truth. The belt of truth is not a literal belt with T-R-U-T-H carved into leather or blinged out with rhinestones, but rather a spiritual belt of truth. In fact, the entire armor of God is spiritual, not physical armor. Paul used this type of figurative language to help the listeners understand what he was telling them. The church of Ephesus was familiar with the physical armor as there were many soldiers and warriors in their city and surrounding areas. Therefore, Paul was able to connect what the Ephesians knew about armor and soldiers to the spiritual armor of God.
Let's begin our deep study of God's armor with the belt of truth:
The Belt of Truth
The belt of truth is listed in Ephesians 6:14a as Paul says, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.” Paul tells us in this passage that we are to stand firm with the belt of truth around our waist. It is important to note that the belt of truth, as well as the other aspects of the armor of God all, find their source of strength and purpose in God Himself. God wants us to put on the armor of God in order to take our stand against the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11). We can only be strong in the Lord when we are actively putting on the full armor of God in our daily lives.
The belt of truth is listed first in the armor of God because the truth is vital to our Christian walk. By knowing the truth, we can abstain from listening to the lies of Satan and the lies of the world. Satan is said to be the “father of lies” and that “there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Since Satan is also the “god” of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), we can know with certainty that he is constantly promoting his lies through the teachings of the world. Satan and his demons are constantly trying to make us fall, feel bad about ourselves, and hinder our walk with Christ. One of the best ways they can do this is by tricking and deceiving us with lies.
This is why it is vital for us to actively put on the belt of truth. Putting on the belt of truth means that we are believing the truth, learning about the truth, and abiding in the truth. Jesus is ultimately the Truth (John 14:6); therefore, we need to actively walk with Him in our daily lives. The other aspects of the armor of God are important, yet they are ultimately useless without having the belt of truth. In other words, we have to know the truth and apply it into our daily lives for all pieces of armor to function properly.
The truth is found in Jesus and His Word, the Bible. The Bible is our ultimate source of truth, direction, and guidance. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” As this passage tells us, the Bible contains everything we need to be equipped to serve God in our daily lives. We can trust every word of the Bible because it is the truth.
There are many “sacred texts” in the world today, such as the sacred texts used in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Wicca, yet none of these “sacred texts” contain the truth. The truth cannot be found apart from the Word of God. If we are going to put on the belt of truth, we have to be knowledgeable about the Bible, understand what it says, and apply it to our lives. The best way to grow in your knowledge of the truth is to read the Bible, study it, and meditate on it.
Learning the Truth
Whether you are a new believer or have been a believer for a while, it is vital to continue saturating yourself in the Word. Each time we read the Bible, we learn something new or obtain a new spiritual truth that we may have overlooked in a past reading. Many individuals may find the Bible a daunting book or a book that is simply too big, yet it is important to note that a person does not have to read the entire Bible in one sitting. Take your time reading the Bible, meditate on it, and pray over it. Start small and work up to more difficult books of the Bible, such as Leviticus or Revelation.
Simply reading a chapter or two a day can radically increase your knowledge of the truth and in turn, will help you better put on the belt of truth each day. We have to sit back and be honest with ourselves. How are we spending our time? Are we actively spending time in the Word and time with God, or are we scrolling through Instagram or watching videos on YouTube? Each of us has twenty-four hours in the day, and we must strive for God to be a part of every second of our day. We have to be willing to use our time wisely and to invest in studying the Bible and learning more about the Truth.
In addition to reading the Bible, it is vital for you to pray before you open the Bible and after you have closed it. Before you open your Bible, ask God to help you understand what you are reading and ask Him to help open your eyes to the truth. After you have read the Bible, ask God to help you apply what you have learned to your daily life. God will help and guide you if you ask Him. Once you have started saturating yourself in God’s Word, it will be easier to keep the belt of truth buckled around your waist. It will be easier to talk back to the lies of Satan and replace them with the truth of God’s Word.
Each day you will have the choice to put on the belt of truth like a soldier going into battle, or you can leave the belt of truth at home. My advice is to always put on the belt of truth and give the enemy no opportunity to cause you to fall. Lies are constantly being thrown at us each day and they can cripple us unless we fight back with what we know to be true in the Bible. The Bible will never fail us because it contains the literal words of God, and He gives us instructions on how to live a godly life that will bring Him glory. Satan will try to prevent us from learning about the truth, yet we can talk back to his lies and remind ourselves of the truth.
The truth is not something that should be rationalized or diluted to fit man's preferences, even though it is popular to rationalize the truth in the current day and age. The truth is found in no one else except God. Thus, we cannot know the truth apart from reading His Word. The belt of truth is part of the spiritual armor of God that we must actively put on each day. We cannot leave it on the shelf to collect dust because if we don’t saturate ourselves in the Word, we will start to believe the lies of the enemy. The only way to combat the lies is by reading, studying, and applying the truth of the Bible into our daily lives and to always keep the truth in our hearts and minds.
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