Study Notes

Ephesians 6:14-14

Review

In our most recent study in the book of Ephesians, we were told by the apostle Paul to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm and resist the devil. Beginning this morning, we will be taking six Sundays to examine the six pieces of armor that Paul lists.

6:14a Girded Your Loins

"Girded." Now there's a word we don't hear much in modern days. However, it is commonly used in the Bible. For example, after King Herod had killed James, he arrested Peter as well. One night, when Peter was sleeping, an angel appeared in his cell.

Acts 12:7-8 ...and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals."...

"Gird yourself." That means to tie up your loose garments in your belt. Remember, in Bible days their clothes were robes, togas, and skirts of various lengths. If you knew that you had to be ready to run or move quickly, you would gird your loins - gathering the flowing parts of your garment into your belt, to keep them from tripping you up and hindering your movement.

Jesus used this same Greek word for girding (per-id-ZONE-noo-mee) when He said to His disciples,

Lu 12:35 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit."

Having girded your loins means to be dressed in readiness, ready to move, unhindered.

God Is Truth

Next, we must define truth. Because today truth doesn't have a common meaning to everyone. "My truth isn't the same as your truth, but neither truth is more truthful than the truthfulness of the other truth."

At one of Jesus' trials, Pilate the governor of Judea was interrogating Jesus. When Jesus told him that He had come to testify of the truth,

John 18:38 ...Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again...

If you're interested in finding out the answer that Pilate didn't stick around for, the Bible clearly gives it. The defining statement is in Romans three:

Rom. 3:4 ...let God be found true, though every man be found a liar...

God will always be found true, for He is truth. Thus, everything He speaks is truth, which means the gospel is the truth - indeed, the entire Bible is truth. It is frequently called "the Word of Truth."

Psa. 119:142, 151, 160 ...Your law is truth... all Your commandments are truth... The sum of Your word is truth...

Jesus said that He is the truth (John 14:6), and that the Holy Spirit is truth. Everything about God is truth.

Man's Lack Of Truth

Man, on the other hand, is not a truthful being. The Bible tells us that man practices many opposites of truth, including: Lies, insincerity, hypocrisy, partiality, unrighteousness, error, and deception.

Because mankind is not of the truth, he continually does things to the truth and against the truth. For example,

Rom. 1:25 ... exchanged the truth ...

Rom. 2:8 ... do not obey the truth ...

2Th. 2:12 ... did not believe the truth ...

2Tim. 2:18 ... gone astray from the truth ...

2Tim. 3:8 ... oppose the truth ...

2Tim. 4:4 ... turn away their ears from the truth ...

Titus 1:14 ... turn away from the truth.

James 3:14 ... lie against the truth.

1John 1:6 ... lie and do not practice the truth

Preach The Truth

It is inevitable, then, that the question arises, "If man is so opposite of truth, how can we even find it?" Believe it or not, it is the church who is supposed to be the support of the truth. Paul called it...

1Tim. 3:15 ...the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

Unfortunately, sometimes the church falls short. Certainly, this generation has not seen the church support the truth. Thieving televangelists, fraudulent miracle-workers, and an epidemic of molestation and subsequent cover-ups have all presented the church as far from supporters of the truth.

We must not be afraid to stand up and insist that the church be a pillar and support of the truth. When Peter and Barnabas were hanging out with the Gentiles, they were representing the truth accurately. But then when some Jews came from Jerusalem, they began to be hypocrites by withdrawing from the Gentile believers. Paul got in their faces and said...

Gal. 2:14 ...that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel ...

The truth must be properly preached and rightly represented in the church, with neither partiality nor error. It was said of Jesus,

Mark 12:14 ..."Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth..."

We cannot compromise the truth for the sake of reputation, partiality, or even our own safety, because God...

1Tim. 2:4 desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Having Girded Your Loins With Truth

And so the word picture Paul is painting is that the Christian is to gird his or her loins with the truth. In other words, the truth will keep you from being tripped up in your Christian walk, and while you're running the race.

Speak Truth

Our lives must be marked by truth. Not only preaching it, but practicing it. We need to be truthful whenever we speak. God commanded,

Zech. 8:16 ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another...

Col. 3:9 Do not lie to one another...

God is so grievously offended when we lie. Not only because we're misrepresenting Him, but because we're completely disregarding Him:

Is. 57:11 "Of whom were you worried and fearful when you lied, and did not remember Me nor give Me a thought?"

Interior Truth

So why do some people have so much trouble speaking the truth? Before we can expect to speak truth, the truth must first be practiced inside of us. You can't be honest with other people before you're being honest with yourself. This doesn't come from psychology, but from the Word of God. We must first speak truth in our hearts (Psa. 15:1-2). The Psalmist said to God,

Psa. 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being ...

The Lord knows that if we aren't girded with the truth, we'll be tripped up, and unable to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Tripped Up

Ananias and Sapphira are graphic examples of people in the church who didn't stand firm. They sold a piece of property, and gave some of the money to the church. But they weren't truthful about it. They made it seem like they were giving all of it. They were told,

Acts 5:3-4 ...why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."

As a result, he and his wife fell over dead. They could not stand firm - or even stand up! - because they hadn't girded their loins with truth.

Don't be deceived about the sin of failing to tell the truth. John said,

1John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

And so today, may our prayer be as David's:

Psa. 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth...

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