Wednesday, June 9

Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. – Ephesians 6:14

(In case you have missed the point, this is the third time Paul has told us that our goal is to “stand firm”)

Over the next several verses, Paul proceeds to explain each peace of the armor of God. It is as if he is giving us the necessary tools to live the life that he has been describing over the past 3 chapters.

The first part of God’s armor we as the church are to put on is the belt of truth. As Christians, we bear the name of the one who said, “I am the truth”. Truth is more than propositional statements or doctrinal creeds, truth is a person and we are called to follow him. Over 80 times in the gospels, Jesus prefaced His teaching with the phrase, “I tell you the truth…” Our lives are to demonstrate His truth and our words are to be consistent with the truth that is in Christ Jesus and in His word.

We have already seen in Ephesians 4:15 & 4:25 that as we speak the truth to each other in love, we grow to be more like Christ. In addition, it is truth that keeps us steady and able to stand in the face of “every wind of teaching” (Eph. 4:14). Buckling on the belt of truth is both an individual and corporate exercise, because the truth is so much bigger than our own perception and our individual stories.

The popular view among many in our culture today is that there is no absolute or universal truth for all people at all times. There is only individual and subjective truth, i.e. “what’s true for you may not be true for me.” It is with God’s truth that we take our stand; it is there that the battle will be won or lost. If one opinion has equal validity with every other opinion, then Jesus is not the chief cornerstone of the temple in which God lives by his Spirit (Eph. 2:20-21). If we are not confident in the truth of what we know of God’s plan to unite all creation in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:10) then we are vulnerable on every other front. I think that this is why the image of truth as a belt is so important, it holds everything else together!

Most of us have not and will never experience real persecution for what we claim to believe. However, this does not mean that what we believe to be true is not under attack. We need to be clear about this, the truth claims of the Gospel are under attack, not only by the “flesh and blood” we encounter in the earthly realm, but also in the heavenly realms and in the realm of our own hearts.

Jesus was uncompromising in speaking to the Pharisees about their “father, the devil”, He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies…. If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me...The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. (John 8:44-47)

Take a few moments to thank God that He has revealed His truth to you in Jesus Christ.

Ask God to strengthen your confidence in Him and in His word.

Ask God to give you the courage and grace to reflect His truth in your life.

Lord Jesus, we know that You are the truth. We want our lives to reflect the beauty and power of who You are. Grant us the confidence and assurance of the truth we have in You and help us to proclaim it in all that we do and say – Amen.

Jeff Frazier