Christian LivingChristian Warfare
Welcome back to the 5th part of this blogpost series. If you are just joining us, do a quick catch up by reading the first 4 parts {on this site}.
We started looking at the composite parts of the Armour of God as seen in Ephesians 6:11, 13-19;
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” NKJV.
So far, we’ve discussed 3 components; the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation and shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And today we move on to another component of the Armour of God; gird your waist (loins) with truth.
Gird your waist (loins) with the truth
This is really an interesting piece in the Armour of God.
The loins refers to the part of the body, by the sides, between the last ribs and the pelvic bone, that is the 2 sides around the belle.
Gird means to encircle (a person or part of the body) with belt or a band. It also means to secure a garment or sword on the body with a belt or band.
Dictionary definition of truth is; ‘ in accordance with fact or reality or a fact or belief that is accepted as true (accurate, exact).’
How does the Bible define ‘truth’? Let’s look at a few scriptures;
“Jesus said to him, ” I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14.6a
{Jesus is the truth}.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” John 1:1
{Jesus is the Word}.
So,
Jesus=the truth
Jesus=the Word
Then, the truth=the Word.
In John 8:31-32, Jesus says to the Jews that the truth is the Word;
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32. NKJV.
John 17:17 is more explicit;
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” NKJV.
Having understood what the ‘the truth‘ is, next is to unravel the phrase, ‘gird your loins‘.
If you ask me, literally (from definitions given above for both gird and loins), to ‘gird your loins’ would mean to secure the area around your ‘belle’ with a band/belt.
I found an interesting passage of scripture where this phrase was used; 1 Peter 1:13;
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” NKJV.
Other Bible translations provide better understanding of the early parts of 1 Peter 1:13;
“So then, have your minds ready for action…..” GNTD
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control…” NLT
Now, a Soldier uses his belt to fasten the rest of his armor around his body (waist) for ease of movement and to prevent him from tripping over them.
So friends & brethren, to ‘gird your loins with the truth‘ means to encircle your mind (thoughts and words) with God’s Word. It means to be ready for any form of confrontation from Satan by pushing an ‘it is written‘ at him. It means to accept the Word as the final authority over your life. It means to make the Word the standard and prism through which any other thought/word from within you or from any other source is weighed/screened.
Confrontation from Satan can come to us via our thoughts, from direct temptations, as sicknesses/diseases, as attacks on our loved ones or our marriages/relationships, etc, etc. But no matter what form they come at us, we should be prepared, ready with the Truth to help us crush them.
God’s integrity hinges on His Word (the Truth).
Hebrews 6:13 tells us that;
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,”. NKJV
God is His Word.
God’s word is CONSTANT.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 40:8. Indeed I love this scripture;
“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
NKJV.
And in 1 Peter 1:23 God’s word is seen as indestructible;
“….. but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
KJV
As humans, by design, we hang on to something. Every human being believes something.
I choose the Word of God! And declare that is TRUTH.
Anything that doesn’t line up with the Word, is Not the Truth!
The truth says, ‘by His stripes we were healed‘, it says, ‘the blessing of Abraham has come upon all that believe in Christ Jesus’, it says, ‘I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus’, it says, ‘I am an heir of God’, it says, ‘I am more than a conqueror’, ‘there is no condemnation for me who is in Christ Jesus’ etc.
I believe the Truth of God’s word and I declare that God’s word is the final authority over my life. Anything not written (in the word) is not the truth and is not for me.
Halleluyah!
