Put On The Belt of Truth

In the battle that is waged in the spiritual realm, we cannot battle in our own strength or we will be defeated. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph 6:13) Taking up God’s armor must be done intentionally, and with the understanding of what is required of us to wear His divine armor.

The first piece of armor we are to put on is the belt of truth. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (Eph 6:14a). We must have the truth of God holding us together. Our lives must be controlled by God’s truth and our integrity in His truth. In biblical times, Roman soldiers “girded their loins” by fastening a belt around their midsection. The belt could be used as a place to hang some of other other armor, such as a sword or dagger. It was also used to tuck in their long tunic, giving them increased mobility. The belt stabilized the rest of their armor. As Paul tells us to put on the Belt of Truth, it is to stabilize things by keeping them in their proper order.

Satan’s modus operandi is to twist the truth, distorting reality. Here’s what we are up against when we face him, by thoughts placed in our head or by words used by people in our lives: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

In the following passage, God reveals one of Satan’s key strategies. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:3-5).

Satan seeks to set up speculations (wrong thoughts) that contradict God’s truth. Anything that inhibits, distorts, or alters God’s viewpoint–which is absolute truth–on a matter is used by the enemy in his bid to defeat you. Satan doesn’t care if you mix some of God’s truth with worldly truth. He knows when we do that, we have taken off our own belt of truth, and he didn’t even need to remove it. To use the cooking analogy from yesterday, if I substitute salt for baking soda when making a cake it will be flat as a pancake. If I substitute a worldly view for God’s truth, then I’m giving the devil a foothold and I’m no longer under God’s protecting armor. My alignment under God’s viewpoint cannot waiver.

In order to wear the belt of truth, we must realize that truth is God-based knowledge–His viewpoint on a matter containing three principles:

Truth is comprised of information and facts, but it also includes God’s original intent, making it the absolute, objective standard by which reality is measured.
Truth has already been predetermined by God.
Truth must resonate internally in order to have any validity externally.

Truth always involves more than just facts; it also includes the intention behind the facts. That’s why Scripture tells us that God desires truth within us and not just outwardly in what we do. “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.” (Ps 51:6) When truth resonates in our innermost being (our core), our godly intentions flow into our actions and speech.

Truth has already been predetermined by God. In our world today, there’s a constant shifting in the analysis of truth, comprised of opinions, perceptions, ideas and feelings. God’s truth is objective, predetermined, and fixed; it doesn’t change with the latest fad or find. God’s truth is the standard to which all other things must conform; truth never adjusts itself to our feelings, hopes, or desires. God is the originator of all things, and He does not lie, so He and His Word comprise the point of reference by which all else must comply. “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.” (Heb 6:17-18)

A third principle of truth is that it must resonate internally in order to have any validity externally. Cultivating internal truth–being honest with who we are and our motives, sins, mistakes, beliefs, desires, longings, and issues–is one of the essential steps to strapping on the belt of truth. One of the primary places Satan seeks to distort truth is within our relationship with God. His goal is to keep us veiled before God. Nothing is hidden before God–He knows it all already (Is 46:10). In order to wear the belt of truth, we must be real with God, which will make it easier to be real with ourselves. We must continually ask the Holy Spirit to show anything in us for which we must repent so that He can create in us a pure heart (Ps 51:10-17).

We can’t trust ourselves or others to give us truth; truth only comes from God. Our souls–our mind, will and emotions–have been distorted since birth. The penetrating effects of sin have reached into our souls and twisted them. The soul within us–our viewpoints–need to be restored in order to exchange our thoughts with God’s truth. That’s the work that only the Holy Spirit can accomplish in us. “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor 2:10-12).

When we wear the belt of truth and operate with it by aligning our minds, will, and emotions underneath God’s view on a matter, He will then empower us to fight our spiritual battles with the freedom of greater mobility and increased stability. When we know God’s original intent and absolute truth that He has predetermined, and it resonates within us and is manifested in how we relate, then “the truth will make you free” (John 8:32), and we’ll be on our way to experiencing victory over anything or anyone seeking to overcome or defeat us.

Part of the Series: The Authority of Christ (links will be added when they are published, and more may be added to the list as God leads)

Sources:

Seeking Passionate Prayer in Spiritual Warfare