Ephesians 6:13-14a
“13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
In our last article, the Apostle Paul told us to “put on the whole armor of God.” Now, starting with verse 13, he describes the armor. The very first thing we need to know that it is the armor “of God” (Verse 13). Since we have “put on the whole armor of God,” we do not have to yield one inch to Satan.
Warren Wiersbe writes
“Since we are fighting against enemies in the spirit world, we need special equipment, both for offense and defense. God has provided the ‘whole armor’ for us, and we dare not omit any part.
Paul, writing in Romans 8:31 writes, “if God be for us, who can be against us? The phrase “to stand” is used 4 times since verse 11. We might ask, how does Paul arrange the pieces of this spiritual armor? Jack Cottrell writes the following,
“The point is to take a firm stand against the enemy by doing seven things. The first six of these seven things involve putting on or taking up six separate pieces of armor or weaponry to be used in our spiritual warfare, namely: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. The seventh thing we must do to stand firm is to sincerely pray as we seize and use all these items of spiritual warfare.”
The Belt of Truth (Eph. 6:14a). The ESV uses the word “belt” rather than “girdle,” as some versions translate the passage. AS we related earlier, Paul takes the parts of the Roman soldier’s armor and gives spiritual application to help Christians grow. Jack Cottrell writes the following,
“For the Roman soldier, this item was kind of leather band or belt that was wrapped and fastened around the waist, over the basic garment (the tunic). It was wider in the front, with a kind of shield or apron hanging down to protect the ‘reproductive area.’ We learn this from the participial phrase, ‘having fastened around your wait or loins (Greek, osphys).’”
What is the spiritual application for this part of the Roman soldier’s armor? As it is with all six pieces of the armor, it is useful in our warfare with Satan. We need the truth of God’s Word to assist us in this battle. The word “truth” is very important in scripture. This is another of the reasons why every Christian must have a high regard for the Word of God and realize that we must know what we believe and why. By doing so, we will be able, with the Holy Spirit’s help, to discern when truth from error and the deceitfulness of Satan.
Jack Cottrell further writes,
“We must not only know the truth; we must also believe the truth (2nd Thessalonians 2:12). We must take it into our hearts, and delight in it, and wield it boldly and proudly in our personal lives and in our church activities.
We must always let the Truth of God’s Word permeate our daily lives as we live out our faith and stand against the “wiles of the devil.”
Larry Miles is Co-Editor of Word & Work and attends Cherry St. Church of Christ in New Albany, IN.