(Eph 6:14) “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,…” Have you ever wondered why the armor of God mentions “truth” first? One cannot be saved if they do not believe God! Faith is believing what God says is true and then acting upon it. The truth is, God became flesh, dwelt among us, died bearing our sins, was buried, and then rose again alive from the dead. How do I know this is the truth? Answer: because God said it is!

(Eph 6:14) “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,…” There is only one truth – God’s truth. That truth is ONLY found in your Bible. I personally use the Bible of the great revivals, the one translated from the text used and trusted up to the late 1800’s. Its translators had read in the languages of Greek and Hebrew from their youths. They, unlike today, translated the Bible word for word from those text. I am speaking of the truth found in the King James Translation. Thank God we have the truth of God’s Word!

(Eph 6:13) “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  This speaks of more than standing. The idea is to hold the ground. The word “withstand” has the idea of opposing! You cannot stand against evil without opposing it, and that openly. Most people today take the silence of others as agreement with their position. We live in days of evil. Today is the day for you and me to stand!

I, like maybe you, struggle with the memories of when people have hurt us. The hardest thing for us to remember is that it not people, but Satanic forces we are reality fighting: (Eph 6:12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” No true believer wants to hurt another. Yet we do. Best to seek to forgive, recognizing who we are really struggling against: (2Co 2:10) “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;  (11) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 

(Eph 6:11)” Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  “Wiles” means “to go systematically to work”.  Notice this armor, as you read what follows, is to cover all parts of the body – to protect you. There is one attack piece –the Word of God (sword of the Spirit – what He uses through you); and one means of power, nourishment – prayer. God’s Word informs us of each type of attacks the devil will use. Satan attacks not one way, but many ways. Are you fully clothed?

Professed believers often wonder why they have such a spiritual struggle with self and others. It very well may be because we have failed to take hold of the armor of God (Eph 6:10- 18). One must first look honestly and ask, “Have I truly been saved? Am I really a Child of God? Have I been born again, made new, in Christ Jesus?” I hear a lot of people saying, “Trust the Lord and you will be saved”. The Lord Jesus had to pay for your sin. Was that something you was willing to turn from in other to have His blood cover that sin? The Bible calls that “repentance”. Only a saved person, born spiritually (John 3), can put on the spiritual armor of God!

The Book of Ephesians so beautifully reveals our salvation through the grace of God. It finishes with our being told, (6:10) “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” So often people seem to glory in how they overcome this or that in the Christian life. What is there to glory in, but in the power of HIS MIGHT?  In other words, in what HE has done – not you or me! Most think the Lord blesses all people in the same way. That’s not true. Paul was used to heal many people; while it was withheld from him: (2Co 12:7) “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (9 ) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” The Lord may give you a victory over something someone else has to struggle with. Yet, I guarantee, you will have something to struggle with someone else does not!

The Bible speaks to Believers saying, “Quench not the Spirit”. In other words, don’t restrain Him by resisting His voice, His guidance. If you are truly saved, the Spirit desires to obey God’s Word. He will prompt you to do so. If you are not – either you are not saved or you are quenching the Spirit.

We hear it said by well-meaning people, that we should not let doctrine divide us (the Christian world). Yet, the Holy Spirit had Paul pen to Titus, (3:10)  “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;”  The heretick, according to the meaning of the word, is not someone who doesn’t know, but one who has made a decision to believe or not believe in a certain way contrary to the Bible. In other words, they reject the plainly written Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The word “admonition” means to confront with the truth in way of seeking to educate and if need be to correct. After trying a couple times, if they will not repent, we are to turn away from such a person. So…..doctrine should divide us because the doctrine is God’s Word.

In any relationship, the words “I love you” do not carry the weight of the action, the demonstration of love. This is certainly true when it comes to our love for the Lord. He once said, “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say.” (Lk 6:46). Jesus said, “If ye love Me; keep My commandments.” (Jn 14:15)  I have had people speak of their love for God who I knew were disobedient to His commands. Their actions said the opposite of professed devotion