Truthful Protection || Underneath the Armor || Week 1

Y’all! I’m so excited for this new series. I’ve been wanting to dive deeper into this topic for years. It’s turned away because of the face-value depiction it shares, but I’ve learned that it’s so much more profound. Have I been too vague?

We begin a six-week series that I’m calling: “Underneath the Armor.” We’ll look deeper at the armor of God shown in Ephesians 6:13-17. This subject has been one I’ve wanted to teach and talk about for years, but I was always turned away because of its war-like imagery. At face value, I can understand that because kids and teens shouldn’t be exposed to this. I got it, but I always felt like this section of scripture went deeper than the battle. It went deeper than the war preparation, and it did. This section has been gnawing at me for almost five years if I’m honest. I’ll always wonder why it took me so long to research and talk about this. Well, actually, I do know. God knew that this would be the time to do it. God saw my writing styles adapt and evolve and saw my biblical understanding deepen. It’s to the point where God feels I can speak on this with the necessary wisdom. I’m excited, and I hope you are too.

Each week, I’ll talk about a different piece of armor, what it represents, and how the themes are shown throughout the Bible. I’ll break down the original Greek words Paul wrote so we can understand them as clearly as possible. Let’s begin by reading the Armor of God scripture and highlight what we will discuss today. It’s Ephesians 6:13-17, which says: 

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 

14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of righteousness. 

15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 

16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 

17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

The belt of truth is one Greek word that first showed me that this is one concept. It’s the Greek word Alétheia (al-ay’-thi-a), which means truth. There are two ways that this word is used that I found noteworthy: 

• Truth, but not merely truth as spoken. 
• Divine truth revealed to man. 

What does this mean? This is a fact of life spoken by the divine forces. It’s a straightforward, plainspoken fact that cannot be refuted. It goes beyond how we look at truth today. This concept comes from the Greek word aléthés (al-ay-thace’), which means true. It’s used as something that’s unconcealed and true in fact. It’s a compound word that means “not” and “to escape notice.” It’s true, as it accords with fact or reality. Now, I see this as contradicting what we discussed earlier: something that is a foundational truth versus something that is true according to reality. Reality is a subjective place to view truth foundationally. My reality differs from yours, even though we both exist in the same reality. Now, there may be commonalities in our realities, but because we can doubt it or show proof of the differences, it shows that this can’t always be true. 

With that, let’s keep our minds focused on truth as something that falls into these three descriptors: 

• Truth, but not merely truth as spoken. 
• Divine truth revealed to man. 
• True, as something that accords with fact. 

It’s a divine fact that isn’t spoken but shown to us by God, and that cannot be proven false. This definition is what we’re going to work with all throughout this blog. 

Two additional explanations came with this concept. There was the “buckling” of the belt around one’s “waist.” To buckle something figuratively means to equip oneself with the knowledge of truth. The waist was viewed as the hip or reproductive area. Figuratively, it means the seat of generative power. Now, let’s combine all these together. 

Let’s equip ourselves with divine facts shown to us by God that are true always to protect our future generations. This “belt of truth” explanation doesn’t sound war-like or scary. This is a genuine way to protect ourselves in the spiritual battles we experience daily. So, what does the Bible say about this truth, which is shown 109 times in scripture? What is this truth? 

Let’s begin our journey in John 14:6, which says: 

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the truth. Jesus said it straightforwardly: a critical part of how truth is defined. Jesus says that he is the only way to God the Father. This is true because Jesus revealed the divine plan of why he was sent: to die a sinner’s death in our place so we can have a direct relationship with God. Some people think Christianity is wrong because it’s too exclusive and narrow, which is the opposite of why Jesus came to earth. Proving that the truth of Jesus cannot be proven false. The truth is that the way to God is so vast that everyone can walk on it if they decide to follow God.  

Jesus is the way. Jesus is the path to God, providing a clear direction to God. The temple curtain was torn after he died. This act allows all people to go to God directly. (Fun study moment: look at the details of the Temple Curtain. This was a challenging curtain to tear.) Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the embodiment of everything God promised. The ability to be healed, nourished, and loved in ways that others cannot do. Jesus provided certainty to those who felt confused and unstable. Jesus is the life. Jesus joins his divine life to us permanently. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we see how Jesus offers total and complete satisfaction in life. 

Jesus is the truth, and John says this about the truth in John 8:32:

32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 

Jesus is the truth that sets us free. He is the source of truth. When we have to question or discern if our actions are Christ-like, we look to see what Jesus did. Jesus set the standard of what was right. He frees us from our slavery to sin. We do not have to continue in our sinful ways. Jesus shows us how to live sin-free lives, and we are called upon to be as Christ-like as possible. We’re not going to get it right all the time and be 100% perfect, but that’s why we’re forgiven by faith. God forgives and forgets. We can then start the next moment living to be as Christ-like as possible. Through doing this, Jesus paints how we gain eternal life. 

Now, with this freedom we gain through Jesus, it doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want. Freedom from Jesus means having a new and overflowing life. We’re called to forget the ways of our lives before Christ and, in essence, start again. Think about and read the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3. We are born again. John 3:5-6 says this: 

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of the water and the Spirit. 

6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 

We are birthed through our mothers in the waters of the womb and through the Spirit in Christ Jesus. It’s a reason why we are baptized. It’s feeling the waters of the womb again to cleanse and purify us of our sins. (I will leave that there because baptism is a tricky subject to talk about for me due to my Methodist roots and how they view baptisms.)

As we learn to serve God, the truth in Jesus frees us from our mental chains and allows us to live a genuine and authentic life. Colossians 1:6 shares how this can work:

6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. 

Wherever Paul went, he preached the Good News. The Good News is what we often refer to as the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books in the Bible talk about the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Yet, as Paul defines this, it’s not just the Gospels. It’s the entire Bible, which for them was the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament). Our New Testament wasn’t solidified until approximately 367-397 AD, about 334 years after Jesus’ life. The Old Testament, for context, was solidified between approximately 140-40 BC, although there is no official consensus. Yet, they still had the scrolls written by the Old Testament authors passed along through the generations and studied at that time. We’ll go WAY more in week three. Let’s get back to what Paul was doing. 

Paul shared the Bible with the Gentile (non-Jewish) audience, hostile Jewish leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees), and the Roman Guards. People believed him, too. They were changed when they heard the teachings of the Bible. We don’t just study the Bible for our information (although helpful), but it’s also for our transformation. Becoming a Christian means beginning a brand-new relationship with God. We discussed the re-birthing process earlier and how it’s not just changing our ways because we should. It’s about living with a new purpose, direction, attitude, and behavior. We’re no longer living through life to do what we want. We are bearing fruit from God. What fruit? Galatians 5:22-23 says: 

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. 

This is the fruit that we are to be growing daily in our lives. How? The truth can be found in the Bible. There are many points in the Bible where we can see God and Jesus described with these terms. We need to study these stories (Exodus 34:6-7 is a great place to start) and learn from them about these characteristics and how we can live them out to the best of our ability. 

What happens when we don’t do anything with the truth we learn? Hebrews 10:26 gives us a glimpse: 

26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 

What is this saying? At face value, this sounds rough for believers to hear. Well, it is. The idea is that when people intentionally reject the salvation Jesus offers, they’re actually rejecting God’s most precious gift. By rejecting this, they ignore the Holy Spirit’s guidance, which is how we hear, comprehend, and apply God’s saving love for us. This is scary to think about. If we intentionally and deliberately go out of our way to sin, then what Jesus did for us isn’t good enough.

The author of Hebrews wrote this to the Jewish Christians tempted to reject Christ for Judaism. Still, it applies to anyone who rejects Christ at all. These Christians understood everything that Jesus did to save us from our sins and still deliberately turned away and won’t follow him. Does that sound like you? If so, listen up!

This wasn’t written to threaten us or scare us. It’s a bold truth told to us to help us understand that we have no other way to sacrifice for our sins. The only thing that worked was Jesus’ death on the cross. Someone who intentionally rejects what Jesus did after understanding the what and why behind it is giving up the only way to receive eternal forgiveness and salvation.

Recognize the keyword that I’ve said in this section: intentionally. I want to highlight this because you might be on edge if you’re like me. I recognize the sins of my life, and this passage has got me thinking, “Am I intentionally doing this? Am I guilty of this?” Now, because I question it, I must not be because I would know otherwise. Yet, I can pinpoint one thing I did intentionally, even with the conviction I received. Details won’t be shared, but understand that it’s a struggle I’ve wrestled with since I was a teenager. There’s been a lot of work exploring why I sin this way, what led me to sin this way, what the Bible says about this particular sin, and what I can do to avoid and stop this sin altogether. All this being said, I recognize that I’m human. I’ve repented of this sin and will do better to avoid all this in the future. Still, this verse helps remind me of the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice for me. It reminds me that I am a human who will struggle with different sins and issues all throughout life. Still, God exists that will forgive, love, and guide me on a path that overcomes all issues. Jesus has victory over all, so I can rest easy knowing that through Jesus, I can overcome. Just as you can overcome your struggles. 

What do I want you to walk away with? Two things:

• The devil fights with lies, and these lies can sound like truth. Study your Bible to see the truth that only comes from God and will be revealed through God.
• When we have God’s truth, we can defeat the spiritual warfare against us. As we wrestle with our sins, we can use this truth to overcome all. 

That’s all for Week 1 of our “Underneath the Armor” series. This is only the beginning. The other pieces of armor are as intriguing as the belt was. The belt was a literal piece of armor. The belt was what we needed to protect ourselves and future generations from spiritual warfare. The belt is the truth told by God and found through Jesus. I’ll see you next week to talk about the body armor of God’s righteousness. Until then, stay blessed.