The Belt of Truth
‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.’ Ephesians 6:14..
In Bible times, men often wore long tunics that inhibited active work. To ‘gird your loins’ was to prepare oneself for movement, whether that be for travel or, in this case, for battle. This was done by tying up the tunic into a knot above the knees and tucking it into a belt or girdle, thereby freeing the legs to do whatever was required. It became symbolic of a decision to move or fight. Paul is telling us to make the same decision, but for a spiritual battle.
Being spiritually girded means we are watching, alert, and ready to face the enemy. Being girded with truth means that we know the Truth—who he is and what he stands for.
Jesus Christ tells us that he is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6), that ‘ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32), and that ‘thy word is truth’ which sanctifies us (John 17:17).
God makes it clear he hates lies when he says, ‘lying lips are an abomination to the Lord’ (Proverbs 12:22). Jesus directly links lying to Satan:
‘[He] abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.’ John 8:44.
God loves truth and Satan loves lies. This is one of the reasons the two kingdoms are at war.
Satan loves to tell us lies. His favourites are subtle ones cleverly disguised as truths. One of his primary weapons against us is deceit—making us believe that lies are true. He might tell us (or cause others to tell us) lies about ourselves, others, our relationships, our future, and our purpose. In fact, anything is open to attack from him.
This is all designed to lower our self-esteem, remove hope, and drive us towards spiritual, emotional, and even physical death. He also encourages us to lie to others and keep secrets from them, often about our sins, so that we remain in and promote sin, which in turn separates us from God. (This is why confession of sins is important—it breaks the power that Satan otherwise has over us in those areas.)
Satan especially likes to tell lies about the character of God and Jesus Christ so that our relationships with them are hindered and we remain without their redemptive power.
Truth is power that gives us victory over the devil, and truth is found in God’s Word. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus rebutted and overcame him by quoting the Word of God (Matthew 4). Satan tried to deceive him; Jesus won by speaking the truth. It was a verbal sword fight.
It’s no wonder Paul mentions it first: truth is the foundation upon which everything else is built on.
Next time, we’ll explore the purpose of the next piece of armour: the breastplate of righteousness.
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