Paul explains that standing firm in our battle with evil is accomplished with the armor of God. The first item in the list is the belt of truth. We are to gird ourselves with truth. He writes, “Stand firm, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist…” Girding up your loins in the biblical perspective might be similar to our “roll up your sleeves.” Its reference is similar. It means to get ready to work, get ready for action, get ready for service, get ready to fight, etc. There’s something important to be done and we need to set aside all hindrances and get ready to tackle the task. God even instructed Israel while still slaves in Egypt to prepare themselves for the Passover. That last great plague that was to fall upon Egypt would result in the death of every firstborn male in the land, both Jew and Egyptian, of all who failed to have the blood of the Passover lamb liberally applied to the lintels of their doors. For those who applied the blood they were also called to be ready to move out of slavery. God was going to set them free! God told them, Exodus 12:11, “in this manner you shall eat it; with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.” They were to be ready to move out!

Being girded up with truth is an essential preparation for spiritual warfare. When can face just about any kind of opposition when they know they are standing in or for what is true. You will never be able to stand against evil when wrapped up in a web of deceit. Truth makes us strong, lies sap our strength. One commentator wrote, “Truth, sincerity, and integrity are the means by which the Christian rids herself/himself of all that is a hindrance in the struggle against evil. To enter spiritual battle without the truth would be like entering it blind or lame.”

In an ancient Greek legend, the king issued a challenge to any who could present him with strongest thing in the world. The contest was won by a man who set forth “truth” as the best candidate. His argument went like this: “Truth is great, and stronger than all things. The whole earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses it.… Truth endures and is strong forever, and lives and prevails forever and ever. With it there is no partiality or preference, but it does what is righteous instead of anything that is unrighteous or wicked.… To it belongs the strength and the kingship and the power and the majesty of all the ages. Blessed be the God of truth!” John Piper writes, “Gentle, loving, teaching of the truth is the process in which God himself grants repentance and a knowledge of the truth, which results in an escape from the captivity of the devil. The devil cannot abide truth and light. He is by nature a liar and deceiver. He thrives in darkness. Therefore, if, by God’s grace we can bring the full force of truth to shine in the believer’s darkness, the devil will not survive the light.”