Day Fifteen = Hold It Up

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)

Further describing the armor of God, the Apostle Paul advises us to “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth…(Eph. 6:14). It is interesting that Paul would start his list, out of all things, with a belt. He could have started with the sword, or the shield, or the shiny breastplate…but a belt? Why? The belt is what held the sheath that the sword goes into. Going to battle without a sword is problematic and not having a place for the sword is scary.

The Matthew Henry Commentary says the belt “girds on [secures] all the other pieces of our armor.” Truth should cleave to us as a belt cleaves to our body. (Henry)

Jesus, praying to the Father, gives a clear and straightforward definition of truth: God’s Word. The Holy Bible (Scripture—the word of truth) was given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek expression translated “inspiration of God” literally means “God-breathed”! He actively and fully inspired the Bible to reveal His truth to us. His truth came to us through the person of the Holy Spirit. “But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26 KJV)

His promises, His commands, His word—they are all truth, plain and simple. After all, “The LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27). If God says something, there is no force that can stop Him from doing it—we can rest assured that it will be done.

The belt used in Roman armor, as we have learned, provided a place for the soldier’s sword. Our sword—the sword of the Spirit—likewise needs a sheath. Truth is vital because, like a Roman soldier’s belt, it allows us to carry the sword of the Spirit and use it effectively.