Ephesians

The Belt of Truth

The first classification of our armor begins with the belt of truth. That’s the place to start whenever you are under attack, whenever you feel discouraged, defeated, or depressed. Officers in the Roman army wore short skirts, like Scottish kilts. Over them they had a cloak or tunic secured at the waist with a belt. When they were about to enter battle, they tucked the tunic under the belt to leave their legs free and ready for action. Being belted in this way symbolizes one’s readiness to fight. You cannot do battle until you have surrounded yourself with the belt of truth.

In practical terms, this means you remind yourself that, in Jesus Christ, you have found the key to life, the secret of reality, the One who is Himself the truth, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). We know that Jesus is the truth by the things He said; the temple guards who heard Him speak at His trial, shortly before the crucifixion, said, “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46). No one ever expressed such insight into the human condition nor spoke with so much authority as Jesus did.

He also demonstrated the truth by what He did. The New Testament record is filled with His amazing works and miracles—those spectacular intrusions from the invisible realm into the visible. Most important of all, He demonstrated the solution to the most insoluble problem of all—the problem of death. He raised people from the dead—and He arose from the dead Himself. We know Jesus Christ is the truth, because He solved the problem of death.

Truth is reality. It explains all things. You know you have found the truth when you find something wide enough and deep enough and high enough to encompass all things. The truth of Jesus Christ does that. Because truth is reality, truth never changes. It does not need to be updated, revised, or modernized. If something was true ten thousand years ago, it is true today, and it will be true tomorrow.

That is the good news of Jesus Christ—He is the truth, the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Hebrews 13:8). Remember that fact when you are under attack and when doubts come into your mind. And remember that doubt is always an attack on faith, so the fact that you have doubts proves that you have faith.