Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:14-17

All three of my grandsons love their superheroes, but Trace takes it to another level.  He wears his superhero uniforms and smashes his “robots.” He has several capes, masks, and his own Captain America shield. While those costumes are for fictional characters, it does give us a visual example of armor just as Paul likely used the Roman soldier of his day to paint the picture for the Ephesians believers in their need to be properly prepared and equipped for the invisible war.

Paul’s description here begins with the belt of truth. Just as the belt holds everything in place, our commitment to the truth is critical in our battle with the “father of lies” –

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44)

Contrast Jesus’ words above with the words He spoke earlier in the same chapter –

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”(John 8:32).

In the beginning, Satan’s first tactic was to undermine the truth spoken by God with a lie….’Did God really say…?”(Genesis 3:1).

And so our commitment to what Francis Schaeffer referred to as “true truth” is critical to our ability to stand firm. So the question for us is how wholehearted is our dedication to the Truth?