Our Spiritual Weapon: Truth
Eph. 6: 14
Introduction
We discussed how to have victory in our spiritual warfare last week. We touched a bit regarding the
spiritual armour we have to use but I did not explain it fully. Today with the Lord’s help, I would like
to tell to you the equipment and weapons specifically given to us by the Lord as it is written in the
Scriptures. Truth is the first of the defence written by Paul with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Satan
is a liar, and we must be aware of the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). The truth is God’s protective
armour so that his lies can be recognized and resisted. Knowing the truth of God’s words is very
important to our spiritual well-being. Note that the armour and the weapon described here is likened
to a Roman soldier’s gear whom Paul is very familiar and so were you.
I. Truth
A. The word “truth” is mentioned 224 times in the Bible. It is defined as the opposition
to lies and deceit.
1. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…” (Eph. 6:14): “The
girdle, military belt, kept the armour in place and supports the sword. Truth holds
the Christian armour and supports the sword of the spirit.” To really stand against
the Devil you must know the Bible Truths or Bible doctrines.
2. Bible doctrines are called “truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). The doctrine of Christ is called “the
truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:5).
3. The Lord Jesus Christ said that” He is the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).
No other way, no other truth if you want to go to heaven.
4. Jesus is the Word of God who became flesh, “the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). All Jesus said was true, because He told the truth
which He heard from God (John 8:40). He promised His disciples that He would
send “the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) – a Helper who would abide in
Christians forever (Jn. 14:16), testify about Jesus (Jn. 15:26), guide Christians into
all truth (Jn. 16:13), and glorify Jesus (Jn. 16:14).
5. The battle on which who holds the real truth rages on and it will never stop until
the Lord comes.
6. Some people say there is no absolute truth, but whether they accept or deny it,
there is indeed an absolute truth. That truth is the Lord Jesus Christ and we must
all come to Him for our salvation.
Illustration: Absolute Truth
In his book, The New Absolutes, William Watkins cited several studies and then concluded, “Roughly
three out of four Americans claimed they embraced relativism and opposed absolutism.” (p. 26)
Isn’t the statement, “there is no absolute truth” a contradiction? Isn’t it a statement that purports an
absolute truth while denying its existence?
Some truths are not negotiable, they are absolute. It matters whether you breathe water or oxygen.
If you breathe water you will drown, it is an absolute truth.
When I go to the doctor, I want him to prescribe me the proper dosage of medication I need. It
wouldn’t be right for her to say to me, “Take as much as you want.” Too much could kill me, not
enough wouldn’t help me; I need the right dosage.
When I get ready to board an airplane, I want the counter person to tell me the correct flight to board,
I don’t want to hear, “It doesn’t matter which plane you get on, they all will take you somewhere.” I
want to know the absolute truth.
With all due respect to the majority opinion in our society, there is an absolute truth. Jesus said, “… I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 KJV
Fresh Illustrations.
II. Satan’s Opposition to the Truth
A. Satan is a liar and from the beginning of time he as opposed God and corrupted God’s
Word.
1. He uses false teachers (Acts 20:30; II Peter 2:1) who specialize in his theology and
“bring in damnable heresies.” They “creep in privily” into the churches and subtly
mix truth with error. False teachers teach wrong doctrines like salvation by works,
baptismal regeneration, second chance salvation, Mary worship, wrong teaching
about hell, etc. Modern day false teachers includes Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Billy
Graham, Tony Campolo, John Hagee, etc.
2. He uses false prophets (II Peter 2:1; Matt. 24:11). Professing to have a message
from God, they in reality draw their inspiration from hell. I would include here the
name of Mohammed, Benny Hinn, David Koresh, Edgar Cayce, and many more
which I will not mention here due to lack of time and space.
3. He uses false Christs (Matt. 24:4-5), self-constituted messiahs and deliverers. He
is aided by false apostles, and deceitful workers (II Cor. 11, 13). Sun Myung Moon
claimed to be Christ, Jim Jones, Apollo Quiboloy, and many others who made the
claim that they were Jesus.
4. He uses false brethren (Gal. 2:4-5) who steal in to spy out the liberty of believers,
in order to draw them back into legal bondage.
5. Satan in his effort to oppose the truth, corrupted the words of the Lord by
propagating Bible versions which changes the meaning of the text and making
people believe that newer versions are better.
Illustration: Strategies of Satan with Believers
1. Annihilate the church or neutralize its witness from within (Acts 5:1-6).
2. Virulent persecution from without.
3. Smother its witness by according it great popularity.
4. Disturb the unity of the church by creating discord and division
5. Subversion of the church through apostasy and heresy (2 Peter 2:1-2).
Satan is No Myth, J. O. Sanders, Moody, 1975
III. Putting on the girdle of truth
A. To put on the girdle of truth is to put on Christ.
B. How do we put on Christ? And what does it do and what does it means?
1. Putting on the truth begins with trusting in Him who is the truth, the Lord Jesus
Christ. From this point, we enter into the life-long process of being sanctified in
the truth (Jn. 17:17, 19). This happens as we put off our former way of thinking
and are transformed and renewed in our minds through the Word of God (Rom.
12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24).
2. It happens as Christians put off falsehood and speak the truth to one another in
love, to their edification (Eph. 4:15, 25, 29). This also involves guarding our minds
from anything which is not true (Phil. 4:8), and avoiding all forms of “knowledge”
which turn us from Christ (Col. 2).
3. It means turning from gossip, rumour, speculation, myths, and the traditions of
men, and turning to Christ and His Word. It means learning to look at the world
as it really is (Proverbs).
4. It means putting the truth into practice, and not just making it a profession (Heb.
5:11-14; 1 Jn. 2:4; 2 Jn. 1:1-4). It means clinging only to those truths which the
Bible clearly and emphatically reveal as such, and holding much more tentatively
those “truths” which are regarded as such by mere men.
5. It means learning the truth for ourselves, and not depending on others to tell us
what is true (Acts 17:10ff.; 1 Jn. 2:26-27). (Bob Deffinbaugh).
IV. Conclusion:
Our first tool against Satan our enemy is truth. We must know the truth and we must put
on the truth. Jesus Christ is the absolute truth which we can trust and rely on, the only
way to heaven. Will you come to Christ and be saved?
