The Belt of Truth: The Foundation of The Armor of God

By:  Dale Weckbacher

I was once driving in Phoenix and stopped at a red light.  I saw a young man walking across the street.  He was wearing baggy pants and running across the intersection to get to the other side before the light changed.  Since his pants were baggy, he was holding them up with his hand.  My first thought was, get a belt.  I say this to stress the importance of a belt in our wardrobes. 

In Ephesians 6:14a, Paul begins his listing of what constitutes the armor of God with a belt.  When I think of armor, a belt would be one of the last things I would think off yet Paul mentions it first.  This is because our context of a soldier is a modern soldier, which includes a gun strapped over their soldier, body armor, etc.  In order to understand why the Apostle Paul would considers a belt first in his list of the components of the armor of God we must look at the context in which Paul is writing. 

Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while under house arrest in Rome.  (1)  As such, the Apostle Paul would have been under Roman guard.  His context of what constitutes a soldier would have been the Roman guard guarding him.  Here is a picture of a Roman guard from that period to help us have the same perspective as Paul did.  (2)

We can see from this image that the belt holds the scabbard for the soldier’s sword.  The belt also provided support for the breastplate and served to take some of the weight off the soldier’s shoulders.  (3)  We also see that there are strips of leather hanging from the belt that protect the soldier’s lower body.  (4) 

The Belt also served to keep the soldiers garment up just as belts today keep our pants up.  Without a belt to secure the soldiers garment, it could fall as the soldier ran into battle and cause the soldier to trip or fall.  

Just as a Roman soldier would put on his armor before battle, we too must do as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13 and put on the whole armor of God, beginning with the Belt of Truth.  Our sword, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), hangs on our Belt of Truth and is readily available.  The Belt of Truth also takes the weight of the breastplate of righteousness off our shoulders because the truth of the Gospel tells us we are not saved by our own righteousness (Isaiah 64:16) but by the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:21).  The Belt of Truth also keeps our lives together so we do not stumble in battle (Proverbs 4:12).

Jesus provides the perfect example for us of living a life girded with the Belt of Truth and said , "I am the way, the truth, and the life (Emphasis added).  No one can come to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 NLT) This would be an arrogant statement if it would have come from anyone else but since it came from the Son of God, it is truth.  (Matthew 16:16-17, John 1:1).  Even when Jesus faced death by crucifixion, Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king to which Jesus answered by saying that He came to bear witness unto the truth (John 18:37). 

We who believe in Jesus as our savior are also called to bear witness to the truth for Jesus said just before his ascension, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”  (Mark 16:15 NLT)  This is what Jesus meant when he taught at the Sermon on the Mount and told us we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).  In Jesus time salt was more than just something added for flavoring, it was also a preservative because they did not have refrigeration as we do today.  We who have the truth of Jesus Christ in our hearts act as a preservative for this world when we share the truth of the Gospel with others. 

Politically our world is currently in a very dark place.  1.2 million babies are aborted every year (5) and most of these are so the mother can continue to live promiscuously without having to be weighted down with the responsibility of a baby.  Our politicians campaign promising people who have been taught to depend on the government free and affordable health care, (6) only to find out they will be losing their insurance, doctor, and be paying more for health care.  (7) (8) (9) 

This is what occurs when people become dependent on government instead of on the one who said He was the way the truth and the life.  However, this presents a tremendous opportunity for us who have the truth in our hearts.  Jesus came to bear witness to the truth and then passed that on to us before ascending to Heaven. 

Our neighbors, the people we work with, and even people we briefly meet are hurting.  The things they believed were truthful such as their wealth or government have failed them.  They do not know where to turn for truth.  They are depending on us to give them the Belt of Truth so they too can put on the whole armor of God and withstand the onslaught of the enemy in the spiritual war we are engaged in.  Will you join me in spreading the truth?

1. Zavada, Jack. Book of Ephesians: Introduction to the Book of Ephesians. christianity.about.com. [Online] About.com. [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentbooks/a/Ephesians.htm.

2. Annoyz View. Hardships of the Roman Soldiers. annoyzview.wordpress.com. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://annoyzview.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/hardships-of-the-roman-soldiers/.

3. Dondubois. The Belt of Truth. www.dondubois.info. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://www.dondubois.info/armor/the_belt_of_truth.html.

4. Bible Study Guides. Lesson 2 The Belt of Truth. www.freebiblestudyguides.org. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/armor-of-god-belt-of-truth.htm

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5. Enriquez, Lauren. Abortion Statistics: 1.2 Million Babies Die Every Year From Abortions. www.lifenews.com. [Online] lifenews.com, July 1, 2013. [Cited: September 4, 2013.] http://www.lifenews.com/2013/07/01/abortion-statistics-1-2-million-babies-die-every-year-from-abortions/.

6. Ellerson, Lindsey. President Obama Continues Questionable “You Can Keep Your Health Care” Promise. abcnews.go.com. [Online] ABC News, July 16, 2009. [Cited: October 25, 2013.] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/07/president-obama-continues-questionable-you-can-keep-your-health-care-promise/.

7. Roy, Avik. The Obamacare Exchange Scorecard: Around 100,000 Enrollees And Five Million Cancellations. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, November 12, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/11/12/the-obamacare-exchange-scorecard-around-100000-enrollees-and-five-million-cancellations/.

8. Reuters. UnitedHealth drops thousands of doctors from insurance plans: WSJ. news.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo News, November 15, 2013. [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://news.yahoo.com/unitedhealth-drops-thousands-doctors-insurance-plans-wsj-030014903--finance.html.

9. Coca, Onan. Obamacare Fans Get Sticker Shock. eaglerising.com. [Online] Eagle Rising, October 9, 2013. [Cited: October 29, 2013.] http://eaglerising.com/2162/obamacare-fans-get-sticker-shock/.