As you may recall when Paul wrote Ephesians, he was in prison in Rome. He had been arrested after the fire that almost destroyed the city. Nero blamed the fire on the Christians. Paul, being one the most influential leaders, was handcuffed constantly to a Roman guard.
As Paul analyzed the soldier that stood before him, he observed his body armor. He observed his shoes. He noticed his shield and lance leaning in the corner. Beside it lay a helmet. By his side was a sword hanging on to his belt. As Paul made these observations, the Holy Spirit began to speak. It was the prompting of the Holy Spirit that led Paul to write Ephesians 6:14-18. “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere”
As you arrived this morning perhaps you took note of how I was dressed. Perhaps you noticed my shirt, that I was wearing blue jeans, maybe even my new tennis shoes. But no one asked to see my belt.
Belts pretty much go unnoticed. However, they are very important. If I were one to tuck in my shirt, the belt would help keep it tucked. Also, the belt keeps my pants from falling down. And it was the belt that the Holy Spirit first pointed out. Ephesians 6:14 “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”
Paul begins with a command. “Stand your ground.” The Greek word meant stand upright. It was a picture of the Roman soldier who stood before him with his head held high and his shoulders thrown back. Roman soldiers were fierce warriors. Even when captured they would never bow their head to their enemies.
Paul is telling the church to stand upright. Too often in our spiritual battles, we allow ourselves to be broken to the point of cowering before the enemy. Last week we were reminded our battles would be eye-to-eye conflicts. Yet often we are afraid to take on those battles in a face-to-face manner. The enemy finds us staring at our feet, dejected and surrendered. When the enemy finds us with our heads down he should be frightened. Because the only time that posture is acceptable is when we are seeking power from on high through prayer. So Paul says stand your ground and put on the belt of truth.
Imagine the Roman soldier. On his head is a helmet. It is very elaborate and decorative. Next is a huge body armor weighing 33 lbs. It was made of two pieces of bronze or brass. These pieces were joined together by solid brass rings on the top and sides. The armor would be slipped over the head so that one sheet of metal protected the front while the other protected the back. This armor would hang from the neck down to the hips and continue to the knees as a metal skirt. Sheets of metal that had been pressed, formed to fit the lower legs, and fitted on the inside with cloth or leather protected the shins. Finally, shoes with dangerous metal spikes protruding from the soles covered the feet. The Roman soldier was completely covered from head to foot with metal. When these soldiers went into combat their total gear and weaponry was in excess of 100 lbs.
With all of this glorious shining metal, notice the Holy Spirit points Paul to what seems to be the most unimportant part of the armor, the belt. The belt is the only part of the armor not made of metal. It was made of leather. But it was just as vital as any part of the armor. Because it was the belt that held the rest of the armor together.
The Roman shield weighed 22 pounds and was attached to the belt. Without the belt, the soldier had no place to rest this massive shield. Without the belt, there was no place to hang his sword. Without the belt, there was no place to rest his spear. Without the belt, his body armor would flap in the wind. Without the belt, his armor could literally fall apart. But with the belt, everything stayed fixed in its place and at the soldier’s disposal.
We cannot see most of the spiritual armor protecting us. We cannot see the armor of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, or the sword of the Spirit. But we can physically see the belt of truth. Because the belt of truth is the written Word of God. Without the Word of God, we have no support for our faith. We have no place to allow the Spirit to work in our life. Without the Word of God, our righteousness would just flap in the wind. Without the Word of God, everything would fall apart.
The worst thing we can do is to remove our belt of truth. How many Bibles do you own? In my office, I counted four. They sit there with all the other books I have collected over the years. To be honest I must wonder how much time I would spend in God’s Word if I weren’t a pastor. Would these books become dust collectors?
When we lay aside the belt of truth, we begin to lose our sense of righteousness. We begin to lose our sense of peace. The joy of our salvation suffers. Soon our faith has waned and we lose our ability to trust God. Our life falls apart.
Think about this. The belt of truth is the only part of our spiritual armor that can be held in our hand. Let’s read
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
God has given us the belt of truth. It teaches us right from wrong. It is the basis of us discovering what it means to live righteously. But most importantly, it prepares us to withstand the spiritual warfare that comes against us and equips us with weapons needed to fight against our enemy.
Satan desires to attack our armor and expose our weaknesses. He wants to put holes in our body armor of God’s righteousness. He wants us to stumble as we walk in the shoes of peace. He desires to knock our shield of faith from our hands. He wants to smash the helmet of our salvation. He wants to break our sword of the Spirit. But it is the belt of truth that teaches us how to battle Satan in each of these areas.
Righteousness.
Hebrews 5:12-13 “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.”
The insinuation is that recipients of this letter were making some unwise choices. They once knew the simple, basic principals of being a believer but had forgotten them and were in need of being taught again. They should have been mature Christians but had backslid into infancy when it came to the Word of God. Therefore, like a baby, they no longer knew right from wrong.
This is a very realistic picture of today’s Christian. They don’t attend church as much as they should and miss out on hearing God’s word. They are too preoccupied with work, entertainment, family, plus all kinds of excuses to keep from spending time in God’s word.
When exposed to God’s word they become burdened and feel condemned. Although declared righteous by God when saved, they are no longer aware of that god-given righteousness. If your body armor is full of holes, the only way you can patch them is by putting on the belt of truth and making the written word a top priority.
Peace
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Truth be told, it’s hard to find peace in this chaotic world. We are surrounded by inner turmoil, frustrations, and, worst of all, our emotions. When we depend on our emotions, we get ourselves in tighter spots. God’s word says to let the peace of Jesus rule our loves.
The word in Greek for “rule” was also the word used for the person who made the decisions at a public game. Today we would call him an umpire or referee. This person was known as the governor of the game. So we are told in this verse to allow the peace that Jesus brings to be the referee that makes the decisions in our lives. But how do we do that? How do we get to that point?
vs. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
We are to allow the message, or the Word of God, to take up residence in our lives. We are to do so with all of its richness. That means extremely extravagant and luxurious living.
Let me ask you, “Who lives in your house?” I bet you can tell me. The reason why is because you see them there probably everyday. This is how you get the peace of God to dominate your heart. The word takes up residence in your spiritual lives. The only way you can quit stumbling in your shoes of peace is by putting on your belt of truth and let the word fill your life.
Faith
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”
Now before you get all excited thinking that I am about to tell you it’s not necessary to read God’s word as long as you are listening to God’s word on the radio, that’s not what this verse is about.
Faith comes from hearing from the Holy Spirit. Faith comes from reading the word and meditating on what you have read. Most of my sermons come from this method. I read a passage and then allow the Holy Spirit to begin reveling to me the truths from that passage. It’s not any hocus-pocus, mumdo-jumbo. As a believer, we all have that ability to hear from God. As we hear from God, our faith grows stronger.
If Satan has slapped your shield of faith from your hand, the only way to retrieve it is by putting on your belt of truth and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew your faith by the word of God.
Salvation
2 Timothy 3:15 “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.”
Can you lose your salvation? That question divides many churches into denominations. That is not a question to be answered today. But it is a fact that Satan wants to invade our thoughts with doubts of our salvation. It is through the Word of God that we can derive the wisdom necessary to understand our salvation. We discover our deliverance and preservation. We discover the safety and peace found in our salvation. We develop a soundness of mind.
If Satan has crushed your helmet of salvation, the only way to restore it is by putting on the belt of truth and allowing the Word of God to give you the assurance of your salvation.
Sword of the Spirit
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
The writer of Hebrews desired to paint a picture of the precision of the Word of God. He declares that the word can divide our eternal being, our soul, from our spiritual being, that which communicates with God. Like a surgeon, the word can perform the most precise surgery needed. And in doing so, it exposes our most inner parts. Nothing is hidden from us. The Word of God fully exposes itself.
I have often heard people say they needed a word from God before they could proceed. They spend hours in prayer seeking a word. They pray for dreams and visions. They go to prophetic conferences hoping to receive a word of prophecy. Let’s read what Peter wrote concerning this.
2 Peter 1:19 “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”
His experience was with Jesus on the mountain top when he heard God declare Jesus to be his Son. This experience gave him more confidence in the written messages proclaimed by the prophets. And in this confidence, he told others to pay close attention to what was written.
How well do you know the written word? David wrote in Psalm 119 “Your Word have I hid in my heart.” When you know the Word of God and it’s hidden in your heart, the Holy Spirit will bring in to remembrance when needed. It’s like going to your refrigerator when you are hungry but finding it empty because you did not store food in it.
If Satan has broken your sword of the Spirit, the only way to repair it is to put on the belt of truth and hang it from your side.
The belt of truth holds everything together. Without you will lose your armor, your shield, and your sword. Your life will soon begin to fall apart. Then you will lose your peace and assurance.
Satan cannot loosen your belt of truth, only you can. And guys know the looser the belt the more uncomfortable things can get. If the only time you put on your belt is Sunday mornings you are headed for trouble. My sermons are designed to help tighten your belt. I am not called to put your belt on you.
This first piece of spiritual armor is important. If you truly want to be prepared for spiritual warfare, it begins with reading and meditating on the written Word of God. Without this none of the parts will work. Remember Paul said, “Put on the full armor of God.” It begins with the belt of truth.
