“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place“

Ephesians 6:14 

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November 5, 2025  

The belt buckled around the waist of the foot soldier held everything together. That’s the metaphor Paul is using here to describe how truth holds the armor of God together. Every piece of equipment comprising the armor of God is founded upon truth.  

Truth is an indispensable of part of the breastplate of righteousness, because faith in Jesus clothes the believer in His perfect righteousness. The gospel of peace is based upon the truth of the divinity of Jesus and His death and resurrection being the means of peace with God. The shield of faith is the truth that Jesus died for our sins and we are fully forgiven, despite accusations of our failures thrown up at us by Satan. Protection by the helmet of salvation is only efficacious because salvation culminates in the truth of the promise of Jesus that He is preparing a place for us in heaven. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, which is our source of spiritual truth. 

The opposite of truth is untruth, and this will cause the entire body of armor to fall apart. The idea that our righteousness comes from how well we live the Christian life is untruth. Deceptions, such as believing peace with God can come from some means other than the gospel. Falsehoods include the fear that Satan’s accusations can condemn us. Untrue statements may confuse us, for example that heaven is not real, or that God is not for us. There is no compatibility between truth and lies. 

We hold firmly to the truth of the gospel, which sends a message into our hearts that we are in dire need of God to transform us. We are broken and flawed and any progress toward godliness is His steady work through our sincere repentance. Our stories must be accounts of His loving intervention in our lives as He continually pursues us.  

The truth is, we have been rescued from ourselves, so we can see others as people God is pursuing, just like God pursued us.  

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • How does your story reveal God’s pursuit of you?  
  • How could you apply God’s pursuit of you to HIs pursuit of someone listening to your story?  
  • How can we proclaim the gospel as a story, not about us but about an amazing loving God who has given us incredible hope through His Son?  

Church Reading Plan: 2 Kings 18; Philemon