STAND FIRM THEN, WITH THE BELT OF TRUTH BUCKLED AROUND YOUR WAIST, EPHESIANS 6:14-

Belt of Truth

Why the Belt?

For a soldier in St. Paul’s time a belt was not only used to secure the clothing around their waist but would also secure their weapons as they marched. If they were wearing a breastplate then that two would be secured to the Belt. In fact without the Belt the rest of the armour and weapons would not be secure – besides the obvious of the lower garment causing embarrassment.

The belt is buckled round the waist or ‘girded’ round the waist – 1Peter 1:13 states ‘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;’ So the belt supports/ girds my mind. So as the actions of our minds are strongly based on truth we are strong Christians. If our understanding of Truth is clear and our will sincere in Holy purposes then we are maturing Christians. But if our understanding is uncertain and our will wavering and unsteady, then we are dull and our lives ineffective.

What is Truth?

So what is meant by Truth here? Our Lord says of Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

In looking closer at this passage Our Lord says that He is the Truth and then professes True doctrine or teaching, that is, He is the only way to The Father, He is The Only Source of Life, He is The Only Way. And so Truth is also Doctrinal Truth – what is our Faith.  The power of truth is that it sets us free by breaking the power of the devil’s lies and the deception they create (John 8:31-32).  Just as with Eve in Eden, the devil downplays the consequences of sin and promotes its pleasures. Firmly rooted in the truth, we are best equipped to recognize the lies, resist the devil and do God’s will. The Holy Spirit says through St. Timothy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers”  2 Tim 4:3

The essential doctrines of our faith need to be rooted in our mind and find true life; our core doctrine is found in The Creed we profess in every mass and in every hour of the Agpia prayers. In it we express daily:

  • The Existence of God
  • The Essence of God
  • The Characteristics of God
  • The Holy Trinity
  • The Roles of the Trinity
  • The Life and Purpose of Our Lord
  • Salvation
  • How to become Christians
  • Our Eternal Life

 In order for us to be strong maturing Christians we need to daily gird ourselves with these truths and more so as not to be deceived by the Father of Lies.

How can I put on Truth?

Our battle is a daily one, our Enemy tries to knock us off our inheritance with his lies continually and so it makes sense that we should be equipped for battle at the beginning of each day. Of course, there are many ways that the enemy attempts to deceive us. But there are a few areas that seem to be especially critical. If he can deceive us into having a faulty understanding of our sin, of God, of our identity as believers, of the power available to us, or of the value of prayer. There are some key actions we can take to put on our belt of truth securely each day in prayer.  If we use some of the prayers of the Agpia as a springboard then we would be:

  • Declaring the Truth of what God has done for us personally in the Prayer of Thanksgiving – ‘For He has Protected, aided, kept and accepted us, supported us, covered us and brought us to this hour’ That line alone needs to be said focused reminding ourselves of all that God has done for us.
  • Declaring the Truth of our sinfulness in repenting Psalm 51, one of the lies of Satan is that we’re ok, we can do it alone, no we can’t we need God’s Grace.
  • Declaring the Truth of God’s Sovereignty by Giving Worth Ship to the Holy Trinity at the beginning of the morning hour, by actually bowing down with our whole body – declaring the Truth that He is Lord, not just in our Spirit or Mind.
  • Declaring the Beauty of God through the Psalms – The psalms of the morning our especially have gems that lift up God in our lives – declaring his absolute power, beauty, might and love. Like Psalm 8 and Psalm 19:

‘O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!’ Psalm 8:1

‘1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.
4Their line[1] has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.’ Psalm 19:1-4

Other actions include:

  • The Truth about My Identity in Christ. I confess the truth about myself. We can pray and engage in spiritual warfare with greater confidence when we are firmly grasping the truth about who we are in Christ. This is essentially a type of “testimony” that demonstrates that we believe we are who God says we are. This kind of testimony is powerful in overcoming Satan, as Revelation 12:11 makes clear. “And they overcame him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and

 because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.” (Revelation 12:11)

According to God’s Word:

  • I am a child of God (Romans 8:16)
  • All things are working together for my good. (Romans 8:28)
  • I am an heir of God and a fellow heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
  • I am being transformed into the same image (of the glory of the Lord) from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18)
  • I am in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  • I am a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  • I am a citizen of heaven. (Philippians 3:20)
  • I am redeemed. (Galatians 3:13)
  • I am God’s own purchased possession. (Revelation 5:9)
  • I am a stranger and pilgrim here on earth. (1 Peter 2:11)
  • I am an ambassador from the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 5:20)
  • I am held in His hand and no one can snatch me away. (John 10:29)
  • Sin shall not be master over me. (Romans 6:14)
  • I am seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:20)

 

  • The Truth about God’s Power in Me. I confess the truth about the Power of God, working through me:
    • “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” (Acts 1:8).

Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us…” (Ephesians 3:20)

  • “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may

 know… what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

  • “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12)

Obviously, we may not use all these verses every time we put on the belt of truth! You may be inspired to use some more than others. However, you will find that as you commit more and more of these to memory, you will be building a powerful defense against many of the enemy’s attacks. Let the Holy Spirit be your Guide!

 

Ehab Roufail (mustard seed meeting 06/02/2004  a.d 28th Tobi 1720)