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THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH – PART I By
Pastor W. Reynold Storr
Ephesians 6:10 -14 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour
of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.."
The first part of the armor Paul mentioned is the girdle of truth. Paul says, "Stand therefore having your loins girth about with truth". It seems rather strange that the apostle should start here, that he would mention that the girdle would be worn by the Roman soldier. The Roman soldier did not consider the girdle to be apart of its armor. Rather, the girdle was a common piece of dress worn by almost all of the Romans in that day whether they were warriors or not. Some of the girdles were six-inch belts that fastened around the waist. Some were made out of leather, some out of linen. Although no Roman soldier would have ever called the girdle a part of his armor, God did. ( See 1 Corinthians 1:27) Therefore, it is very important that we understand every facet of the girdle of truth to make the spiritual connection that Paul saw.
In Paul's day, the girdle was worn outside the long flowing robe for a very specific purpose. If you read the Bible carefully, 1 Peter 1:13 "Grid up the loins of your mind." When a Roman wanted to move from one place to another, he would pickup his long flowing robe and tuck it in his girdle which he wore around his waist. He would do that so the robe would not bother him when he was running or moving rapidly. When a soldier from the Roman garrison was sent into battle, he would do the same in order to free up his legs so that he would keep from tripping which would ultimately lead him to fall as a victim in battle. The belt gave the soldier freedom of movement.
So Paul is telling the Ephesians that they are to put on this girdle of truth which in itself is to prepare them for battle. Hebrews 12:1 says we are to "Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily beset us and we are to run the race with patience." Here is the picture of a person ready to do warfare. He is not going to trip over the long robe because he has girded it up so that he can go forward in battle.
Not only the girdle was used by the soldier to make it possible for him to into battle without distraction, it was also used as a place to support the weapons that he carried. The soldier's girdle was usually a broad leather belt that would bind the clothing together and would have within itself sufficient strength to support the offensive weapons which he carried into battle. The swordsman for instance, would fasten his girdle across his shoulder so that he could draw his sword from it. The bowman would use the girdle to support the quiver in which all of his arrows were located.
The Roman soldier also pinned his awards on that belt. For instance, a decorated soldier would have his medallions pinned to his belt. So, when a soldier went into battle, his decorations identified him as an experienced soldier who had been in battle before. He had distinguished himself as a soldier for the Roman Empire.
It is interesting that Paul calls this piece of clothing that is a part of, but not necessarily included in the armor, the girdle of truth. At the very foundation of the soldier's armor is truth. "Stand having your loins girth about with truth". There is a reason.
Satan's primary attack against the believer us to deceive us. In John 8:44, Jesus said Satan is a liar and that there is no truth in him. He comes at us with deceitfulness of unrighteousness to entangle us and to keep us from walking in uprightness and integrity. The way we deal with Satan as the deceiver is by putting the truth into our lives.
John 14:6 says "Jesus said unto him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." Jesus Christ himself is the TRUTH. As we put on Christ, we can become truth because He is truth. When we arm ourselves with Him, we are ready to face the lies and the deceitfulness of the enemy.
KNOWING THE TRUTH How do we arm ourselves with the truth? What Paul is saying is that, in order for the believer to do battle with the enemy, he needs to know the truth about God, the truth about Christ, and the truth which is embodied in the Bible. This is the starting point and the foundation foe what we do.
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus fought Satan with the truth, which is the word of God. He responded with the doctrines of the Bible. Jesus said, "It is written" (Matthew 4:4,7,10). Satan had to hear and understand. Only the Word of God that the truth will give you the victory when you are fighting spiritual warfare. When we understand the teaching in the Bible about God we are putting on truth. Galatians 3:27 "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ".
Just as the flowing garment were to be rightly girded up be the Roman soldiers, so that they may not be carried about by the wind, so we are to have the loins of our minds girth about with truth (1 Peter 1:13) so that even our imaginations may not defeat us (Ephesians 4:14). We are to gird up, draw up, the loins of our minds, "bringing every thought into captivity" to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) Our minds must be controlled by what God has spoken not by what we think. It is only when our minds are controlled by the word that we will be able to be ready for spiritual battle
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