Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
The Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14)
Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…
In case we miss the point, this is the third time Paul has told us the goal is to “stand firm”. We have come from the glories of God’s great plan of redemption in Chapters 1-3, through the practical teachings about the family of God in Chapters 4-6:9.
Now Paul is expounding the realities of living in a real time spiritual battle. Elsewhere he refers to us a “super-conquerors” (Rom. 8: 37), but here he tells us the bottom line: we must survive the battle uncompromised. “Stand firm,” he says, and he proceeds to tell us how.
The first part of God’s armour we as the church are to put on collectively is truth. We carry the name of the one who said, “I am the truth”. Truth is more than propositional or cognitive reality; truth is a person and together we follow him. Our lives are to demonstrate truth and our words are consistent with the truth that is in Christ Jesus and in the Scriptures. Truth is one fruit of the light (5: 9); as children of light we eschew exaggeration, slander, deception and misrepresentation.
Buckling on the truth is a corporate exercise, because the truth is so much bigger than our own perception and our individual stories. Josh McDowell claims that 91% of evangelical Christian young people agree with the statement, “There is no truth apart from myself”. But the truth extends beyond even the sum total knowledge of the church, the new humanity, to the mystery God revealed in Christ (1: 9-10).
We have already seen in Ephesians 4:15 and 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” (4:14).
Even more than these aspects of the truth, we wage our spiritual battle with the truth holding all our other equipment together. 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 (2:20-2:21). If we are not confident in the “truthiness” of what we know of God’s plan to unite all creation in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:10), we are vulnerable on every other front.
Be assured, our truth claims will be under attack, not only by the “flesh and blood” we encounter in the earthly realm, but also in the heavenly realm where our ultimate battle is being fought (verse 12). 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)
Over 80 times in the gospels, Jesus prefaced his teaching with the phrase, “I tell you the truth…” That should characterize our speech as well, whether or not we repeat his tag-line.
Notice that we have switched back and forth between “the truth” as God’s revelation in Christ, and “truth” meaning sincerity or integrity in belief and behaviour. Both are necessary equipment for the battle.
Gracious Father, we love your truth and know it is necessary to withstand the attacks of the evil one. Lord Jesus, send us the Spirit of truth from the Father, and help us to clothe ourselves in your truth, for your glory’s sake.
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