Growing up through grade school I was always fascinated with all things related to medieval, Greco-Roman and classical history. I enjoyed reading stories of kingdoms, noble warriors, the evolution of technology through time, and even mythology (through the lens of a Christian world view). I loved fictional series like The Lord of the Rings and The Inheritance Cycle, among others, imagining myself as a noble warrior fighting for justice and honor, or as a blacksmith because of my love for engineering and creating things with my hands.

It was a natural progression, then, for me to be captivated by Paul’s description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-20.

 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

 

To put this in more context, Paul wrote the book of Ephesians as one of four “Prison Epistles, (the others being Philippians, Colossians and Philemon) while he was held captive in a Roman prison from about 61-63 AD. He hints at this predicament by calling himself “an ambassador in chains” in verse 20. This time period was near one of the early peaks of the Roman Empire under emperor Nero, who was notorious for his widespread persecution of Christians which started around 64 AD (soon after Paul’s release from prison). As far as military might goes, the Romans in this period controlled the entirety of the Mediterranean area and were also in the middle of conquering parts of early Britain. With such abundant military power, it was timely and relevant for Paul to compare the preparation and “armor” of Christians, the metaphorical soldiers in God’s army, to the Roman soldiers they would see on a daily basis and at whose hands they would soon be persecuted.

With the next few posts, I’ve felt the Lord’s leading to dive into the individual components of the armor of God, focusing on both their uses in the life of a soldier in one of the most influential empires of all time and their specific importance in our lives as Christians. We’ll be starting with the “belt of truth,” with the belt being one of the primary centerpieces of Roman armor, following along in the order of each of the pieces Paul describes. As I seek to develop my own armor in each of these areas through the study of this passage and its historical relevance, it’s my prayer that those reading would be able to do the same, so that we may fully equip ourselves to follow the Lord’s leading through the trials and temptations of our daily lives. As Paul states, the battles a Christian wages are not just against temptations of the flesh, but against unseen powers which we can only face with the guidance and aid of Jesus Christ.

 

The first armor piece that Paul describes is the belt of truth. It is one of three items (along with the breastplate of righteousness and what I’ll abbreviate as “ready shoes”) that follow the opening command to stand firm. He mentions the belt first because the belt is one of the most basic and significant pieces of armor a Roman soldier would wear. Most people in those days would wear a loose, flowing tunic, toga and/or cloak which would need to be secured by a belt, especially if the wearer needed to move freely without worry of tripping over his own clothes.

For soldiers, the belt could refer to a few different things. A soldier’s belt called a cintus was worn around the waist, while other designs such as the baldric and later the Roman balteus were worn over the shoulder and were used to carry swords or other weapons and tools. In addition to being a useful way of securing clothing and carrying weaponry, the Roman soldier’s belt was also something which distinguished them from ordinary citizens. In many cases these belts were decorated with straps and metallic pieces which would make the belt something which stood out and identified the soldier’s position.

Military belts are referred to in other parts of the Bible as a symbol of the Messiah, such as in Isaiah 11:5 which says “righteousness will be his belt, and faithfulness the sash around his waist” when prophesying about Jesus. The proud wearing of a belt symbolized a man who was well prepared and equipped for action.

So, why does Paul create the image of the “belt of truth?” The word “truth” is used 137 times in the NIV translation of the Bible and 224 times in the KJV translation. References to verses using the words “truth,” “truthful,” “truthfulness,” and “truths” take up nearly an entire page of extremely small font in the concordance of my study Bible. The truth of God is defined and reiterated all over the place in the Bible as an affirmation of the word of God and an encouragement to press into His absolute truth.

 

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 NIV

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” – John 1:17 NIV

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” – 1 Timothy 2:3-5 NIV

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” – Psalm 86:11 NIV

 

There is a lot of talk in modern culture about what “truth” actually is, particularly relating to the concepts of absolute and relative truth, which I sometimes refer to as “big ‘T’ Truth” and “little ‘t’ truth,” respectively. The concept of relativism has been gaining more popularity in recent years, claiming that all truth is relative to a specific frame of reference and cannot be certain for all people at all times in all circumstances. Phrases like “speak your truth” have become more and more popular, and the concept of absolute truth has faded in the eyes of many. Oxford Dictionary’s 2016 international word of the year was “post-truth,” which is defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Rather than seeking after truth, society is becoming more content to seek after how words and beliefs make them feel, even if they may not be entirely true.

In spite of how we as a culture can attempt to belittle truth, the Bible gives us absolute truth. God, the creator the universe and everything in it, exists as a trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, God lays out the concepts of good, evil and sin. Seeing that his people were in desperate need of a savior, he sent his son Jesus Christ to take on flesh, live a blameless life, and be crucified and resurrected to pay the debt of mankind’s sins so that whoever believes in Him would have everlasting life. Over and over the Bible declares that the word of the Lord is true, and Jesus himself says that he is the way, the truth and the life.

I like C.S. Lewis’ take on the concepts of truth all throughout his book Mere Christianity. In his discussions of whether or not God must exist as the ultimate source of truth behind the concepts of justice and injustice, he says:

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”

In this argument, he claims that God must be the source of absolute truth behind the good and evil we see in this world. If he were not, we would have no reference point from which to determine what we view as morally right and wrong. Just as we would not know what a crooked line was if we did not have some concept of a straight line, we cannot know what good and evil are without having a knowledge of the one source of true, absolute good.

Paul tells us to stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waists to tell us to be firmly rooted in the truth of God as the centerpiece of our armor. When we have this truth as the center of our armor, we are ready and well equipped to face anything that this life throws at us. The truth of Jesus Christ the Son of God gives us a standard of what grace, love and justice looks like. Having confidence in this absolute truth prepares us to go into our days fighting for good and for the advancement of the Lord’s kingdom.

Roman soldiers wore their belts to be equipped and prepared for battle, and to have their swords ready at their sides (we’ll look at our sword, the sword of the Spirit, in a future post). In addition to the utility of wearing a belt, soldiers who wore this military belt were easily identifiable for who they were. In this way, we as Christians should be so rooted in the truth of Jesus Christ that others cannot help but notice it as the center of our armor, the center of what brings us strength and the ability to stand firm in this life. As followers of Christ, the thing that holds our armor together should be the Truth found in Christ. It should be a sign of who we are as followers of Christ, that we know and practice Truth and are firmly rooted in it.

 

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:21 NIV

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV

 

How do we equip this belt of truth? The simplest application is to study what the Bible says Truth is. Study your Bible regularly. Learn what the Lord declares to be true about himself and about your life. Meditate on his word day and night and pray that the Lord would reveal his truth to you in every circumstance. One of my most sincere prayers as of late has been that the Lord would reveal to me his will for my life, my job, and my relationships.

There are a lot of fake “truths” out there – lies that the world will tell you to get you to trip up and lose focus on the belt of truth you already have around your waist. When compared to the truth the Lord provides, they pale in comparison and will never make you ready and equipped to face the world like the Lord’s absolute truth will. When Jesus said that he alone is the way, the truth and the life, he meant it. Jesus Christ is the ultimate personification of absolute truth.

Stand firm, friends. Tie the belt of the truth of Jesus Christ around your waist. With it, we have the confidence, readiness and assurance of faith that we need to pursue the Lord and pursue His will for our lives.

 

 

Related Music:

Anchor for My Soul – Josh Garrels

Truth – Lecrae

The Way – Ghost Ship