Verse of the Day Devotion:  Ephesians 6:14a   

“Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH” – Ephesians 6:14a

I want to start with the several verses that introduce this idea Paul is putting forth.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 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.” Ephesians 6:10-13.  He is telling us to put on the full armor of God for the following reason, that we can stand firmly against the powers of the enemy, namely the sly schemes of the devil. 

We will start this series of verses with the first part of verse 14, which says “Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH.”  Ephesians 6:14a.  I am wanting to speak of each part of the armor individually which is why I am focusing on half of this verse.  The idea of girding is to fasten garments with a girdle or a belt.  There are several metaphorical ideas associated with girding the loins as seen by the Greco-Roman and Jewish world.  It could be the leather apron which was put on under the breastplate. Or it could be the belt from which the sword was hung.  This part of the armor along with the others, aside from the sword, are defensive in nature. 

Jesus said, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:5.  Truth is from God, through Christ, and is the defense we need to counter the attacks from the father of lies.  It is a crucial piece of defensive armor guarding our heart from deception.  If we do not know the truth, then how can we know if what we are told by the enemy is a lie?  We cannot, and thus we see the cause of many people who confessed Christianity but then fell away because they accepted some false teachings that lead them astray.  These teaching can appear to be biblical, however their goal is to trick us into walking away from the faith. This is why it is imperative that we spend time in learning the truth.  And we can do this through our leaders.  “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13.  And if we follow these teachings, we will then be equipped.  “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;” Ephesians 4:14.

The devil wants to steal as many sheep as he can, therefore we must fill ourselves with  the truth of God so we can stand strong and firm to protect ourselves from his schemes.  And the only way we can know if something is false is if we know what is true.  I was given teller training at a Savings and Loan I used to work at.  When they taught us what to look for regarding counterfeit money, they did not show us all the way money looked false, but how real currency looked.  And this is how we need to look for false teaching as well.  We are to be so familiar with the truth that it is obvious what is not true.  So we must gird ourselves with the truth so that when the enemy tries to lead us astray, we will see it as falsehood and not be fooled no matter how fiendish he is.   

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.