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This is Nugget 2 of a series to follow, submitted by yours truly...Tina. Please pray that God will give inspiration and revelation to all contributors, using them to His glory and for the edifying of every reader.
Nugget #2: Background Passage: Ephesians 6:10-20 Focal Passage: Ephesians 6:14
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Stand- Standing, that is, maintaining our ground, not yielding or fleeing, is the grand aim of the Christian soldier. Keep your ground, do not desert the army, the church of Christ, nor his cause; continue in the station in which you are placed, keep your post, be upon your watch, stand upon your guard:
So, what is the armor of God that we should use? Ephesians 6: 14-18 gives us a checklist for knowing when we’re fully armored:
1. Have your loins girt about with truth (v.14)
Loins-a : the upper and lower abdominal regions and the region about the hips b (1) : the pubic region (2) : the generative organs
Girt about- to fasten garments with a girdle or belt; to gird one's self; metaph. with truth as a girdle -to equip one's self with knowledge of the truth
Truth- the Word of God (Ps 33:4; Jo 17:17; Col 1:4-6 Thes 2:13), the truths concerning Jesus Christ and the Christian faith, that state of mind which is free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit
Why gird your loins with truth? Well, the girdle keeps the rest of the armor in place, together. If your armor is not built on the solid foundation of the Word of God, then your armor will fall apart in battle, leaving you exposed to the enemy and vulnerable. Truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, must be the foundation of every believer. Your armor can not be held together with lies, deceit, or falsehoods( or even church, doctrine, or bylaws ALONE), for the truth always comes to light, and when that happens, the armor held together with anything else will fall apart; there will no longer be a foundation, for it will have been found to be faulty. When the lie is exposed, you are exposed, and become vulnerable to the attacks that follow. Having the girdle in place also is the sign of preparation (2 Kings 4:29, Acts 12:8). The Passover was eaten with the girdle and shoes on (Ex 12:11). Servants, in eastern countries, wore long garments; and therefore, when in business, used to gather them up, and gird them about them, that they might perform their service with greater strength, more ease, quicker dispatch, and less hindrance: the phrase denotes readiness for business. If the girdle of truth is not in place, then our work in the kingdom and in life will be hindered. We must be ready with the truth of Jesus Christ wherever we go, prepared to share it with others and to fight the enemy with it. Satan is a master deceiver; he’s the father of lies (Jo 8:44; First lie told- Genesis 3:4). When his army comes against you with lies (2 Jo 1:7, Matt 24, Eph 4:14) you must know the truth for yourself and be prepared to fight back, or like Eve, you will fall prey to his cunning deceit. Only knowledge of the truth will make you free from the entanglements the enemy tries to lure you into. (Jo 8:32) We can’t continue to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Know the Word FOR YOURSELF. It doesn’t say make sure your Pastor is girt about with truth, but have YOUR loins girt about with truth! Study to show YOURSELF approved unto GOD- doesn’t matter what people think- a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15)! God’s word is truth(Jo 17:17)!
Interestingly, the loins were the place where the Hebrews thought the generative power (semen) resided. This tells us that we need to guard our seed with the truth. We need to teach our young the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must watch what we say; for our words are seed sown that will one day come up. Seeds of deceit will come up as deceit, and seeds of truth will come up as truth. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal 6:7)
2. Have on the breastplate of righteousness (v. 14)
Breastplate- a breastplate or corset consisting of two parts and protecting the body on both sides from the neck to the middle
Righteousness- integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting
The breastplate protects two of the most critical parts of the body: the heart and lungs. It is so important that we guard our heart for out of it are the issues of life (Prov 4:23) We know that where our treasure is, that’s also where our heart is (Matt 6:21) That’s why we must have a right heart- everything in our lives follow according to the condition and desires of the heart- a good treasure of a good heart brings good things, and a bad treasure of a bad heart brings bad things (Matt12:35; Lu 6:45). How are we to protect our heart? With righteousness. It’s by living an upright and righteous life that we keep the enemy out of our hearts and reap good things as issues of our life. 1 Thes 5:8 calls it the breastplate of faith and love. That is because righteousness is revealed from faith to faith (Ro 1:17), by faith in Jesus (Ro 3:22)! When God, and the enemy, looks at us, they should see faith and love permeating from our righteous hearts. And when God finds faith, He will fight on your behalf, because you have believed that He is able. By faith, the Hebrew boys refused to bow to the king's idol; they remained righteous and maintained their integrity evn in the face of death. They belived that even if He did not come, God was able to deliver them from ANYTHING, if they refused to serve any other. And He did (Da 3). By faith, the woman with the issue of blood believed that if she could just touch Jesus's clothes, she'd be made well, and she was ( Matt 9, Mk 5, Lu 8). When four men broke into the roof of a house in order that a man with palsy could be healed, Jesus saw THEIR faith and was moved to heal him (Matt 9, Mk 2, Lu 5). The man that had been blind from birth HAD to have had the faith to believe that if he could find his way to the pool of Siloam, he would receive his sight. And he did (Jo 9). Many of us might have gotten indignant that Jesus spit on our eyes. And to be expected to WALK somewhere when we can't see? We might have missed the blessing for the way in which it was given, but not that man. He wanted to see, and believed that this would work. After all, what did he have to lose? When the two blind men asked Jesus to give them sight, His response was this: "according to YOUR FAITH be it unto you." Had they not truly believed, they would not have received their sight (Matt 9). The list goes on (Ro 10; Gal 5; Phil 3; Heb 11, etc.)
Breastplate of the priestly garments- Ex 28:15,29-30- called the breastplate of judgment- we are judged not solely on our actions, but on the condition of our hearts. It is that which dictates our actions.(Matt 12:34, Lu 6:45)
(See also Is 59:17)
...to be continued in our next Bible Nugget.......
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