Ephesians 6:11-14
(11) Put on the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
(12) For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places.
(13) Wherefore take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
(14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Put
on the armor of God . . . take unto you the whole armor of God . . . now STAND.
The
first part of armor to help us stand is truth; girding (gird all around, fasten
one's belt) ourselves with truth.
Truth
-All
of God's paths are in truth.
"All the paths of the
Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." (Psalm 25:10)
-All
of God's works are done in truth.
"For the word of the Lord
is right; and all his works are done in truth." (Psalm 33:4)
-God's
law, commandments, and words are truth
"Thy righteousness is an
everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." (Psalm 119:142)
"Thou art near, O Lord;
and all thy commandments are truth." (Psalm 119:151)
"Sanctify them through
thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17)
-God's
truth will preserve us.
"Withhold not thou thy
tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth
continually preserve me." (Psalm 40:11)
-God's
truth is a shield and buckler to us.
"He shall cover thee with
his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy
shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4)
-God
has given us His truth to lead and guide us.
"O send out thy light and
thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy
tabernacles." (Psalm 43:3)
-God
desires truth in our inward parts.
"Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom."(Psalm 51:6)
-We
are to study and rightly divide God's truth.
"Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
-God
wants us to speak the truth.
"These are the things
that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the
judgment of truth and peace in your gates:" (Zechariah 8:16)
-We
have the choice whether or not to walk in God's truth.
"Teach me thy way, O
Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name." (Psalm 86:11)
"I have chosen the way of
truth: thy judgments have I laid before me." (Psalm 119:30)
"For I rejoiced greatly,
when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou
walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk
in truth."
(3 John 1:3-4)
-Truth
helps to purge iniquity.
"By mercy and truth
iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil."(Proverbs
16:6)
-God
lives in truth.
"And thou shalt swear,
The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations
shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory." (Jeremiah 4:2)
-Jesus
Christ is truth.
"And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
"Jesus saith unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
-The
Holy Spirit is truth.
"Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)
-Man
can deceive himself to believe something that is not God's truth - they can
change God's truth in their minds.
"Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen." (Romans 1:24-25)
-Man
can disobey, reject, and resist the truth.
"O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus
Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Galatians 3:1)
"Even him, whose coming
is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
"Now as Jannes and
Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt
minds, reprobate concerning the faith." (2 Timothy 3:8)
-The
way of truth will be evil spoken of by evil men.
"And many shall follow
their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken
of." (2
Peter 2:2)
Even
believers can deny God's truth and ignore it. To do so is only opening our
lives to a direct attack of satan. It is so very vital for the believer to be
rooted and grounded in the truth. How can we use the Sword of Truth if we do
not even know the truth? I don't believe there is any "coincidence"
that truth is the very first weapon
mentioned. The first step of the believer should be to read God's truth, study
God's truth, seek God's truth, and follow God's truth. By doing so, they are
putting on the first weapon in their armor.
2 comments:
This awesome, Amanda!! I loved how you tied all these verses to Ephesians 6 and learned some things I'd never saw before. There is no bottom to the depths of God's truth!!!
~ Kenzi
@ Kenzi,
Truth is indeed an amazing study - and of course, I just brushed the surface. :) I learned some things as well. :)
~Amanda
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
(Psalms 25:10)
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