Ephesians 6:10-18
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
The end of Ephesians refers to the armor of God: loins girt with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
The first item mentioned is loins girt about with truth. So what does that mean? What is truth, and what does it mean to gird it around you?
Some definitions of truth that I pulled from an 1828 dictionary include:
· exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.
· Veracity; purity from falsehood
· Sincerity
Truth is absolute fact. There is no opinion, falseness, or relativity in it. Truth is always reliable; there cannot be two truths that contradict each other. We can rest in truth, for it will never fail.
John 17:17 states “thy word is truth.” The Bible is pure truth; there is no error in it. Therefore, we can rely on every word that has been written. Whatever God promises, we can rely on. Whatever history it records, we can know it happened.
But what does Ephesians mean when it says to girt it about our loins. Well, going back to the dictionary, the definition of gird is: To make fast by binding; to put on. If you look at verses in the Bible that mention the word “gird” or “girt”, it’s usually referring to someone wrapping their coat around them. Basically, to girt something on means to bind it around yourself, holding it tight so it cannot escape.
And that’s what God is commanding us to do in Ephesians. To take truth, His Word, and bind it close to ourselves and not let it go. When the winds of tribulations and trials come, the truth should be bound so tight that it does not come loose.
It is also the foundation of the other pieces of the armor of God. How can we have righteousness, faith, salvation, and the gospel without first knowing the truth? It is the chainmail beneath the rest of the armor, offering final protection should Satan’s fiery darts pierce through the other armor.
You must keep truth bound close to you. Girt it about your loins; don’t let it escape. For without truth, how can we be sure of anything? God’s will in our lives, what’s right and wrong, blessing that we can receive, cursings that God warns us about: they’ll all be hidden from our view without truth bound inside our minds and hearts.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,