The Whole Armor of God - Truth

"Having your loins girt about with truth;" Eph 6:14a. So, what is your gut feeling about what this means to your daily walk? Application; Application; Application; how do we apply truth to our daily lives? Maybe what we need to do first, is look at the Greek meaning of loin; like for example, 'procreative power'; isn't that interesting; to produce an offspring. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:",Eph 4:14 & 15. Remember that we are seated in Christ, first and foremost; and know this, that Christ has birthed truth in us. Now is application time; we must with our procreative power, which is wrapped in that truth, produce an offspring. Okay, right about now you might be wondering, "What the heck am I talking about?" We are a new creation in Christ, and all things are new; the former things have passed away, (2 Cor 5:17). However, we still make choices; which means that we still make mistakes, and can be mistaken in the decisions we make; so, we must constantly be applying God's truth to our lives; in our lives; through our lives. Just as if we are raising a new child in the love and admiration of the Lord; correcting that child with the Word of God; and most importantly, we must do it in truth. We must be honest with ourselves before God; after all, who do we think we are fooling when we are not; just ourselves, because God already knows. I think it was my mom that would always say, "You give a kid an inch, and they will take a mile". 1 John 1:6-8, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Now for the hard one to talk about, girt; okay, children out of the room. What does this 'girt about' mean, and how does it apply? Well, lets just say, it would be the function of a jockstrap to an athlete; holding things together; enough said. We must not only apply the truth to our daily lives, but we must also hold it all together into our daily walk; the truth must be bonded to our very being, and that being the new man in Christ. In the whole complete picture; we are now a part of the body of Christ, and this new man that has been created has actually been grafted into His body. The verses right before the tossed to and fro verse, (Eph 4:14), spell out in somewhat simple terms how this works; "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.", Eph 4:4-6. Then Paul goes on to explain some of those gifts and workings that are for edifying of the body of Christ; and hence the reason for the "henceforth" which is mentioned in verse 14, that I listed above. "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,"Eph 4:12 & 13. Now lets relate this principle to our ability to stand; remember that we are to be "having done all to stand". If you have ever been in the military, then you can probably relate to what I am going to share. I remember when I first arrived to Boot Camp in the Navy; they would make us line up in formation, and then march in formation; and I thought it was the stupidest thing I had ever been a part of. Why are they so focused on this stupid formation stuff?, I would think to myself. Well it did not take long for me to figure it out; this was to get us all to work together; as one unit, moving in formation, in a disciplined and orderly manner. In fact, before I was done there, I became one of three "Guide On Bearers", who lead the formation in the parade, carrying the flag and leading the way. There has to be unity in the body of Christ; and if we want to be able to stand in Christ, then we must be unified in the body; and that truth must hold us there. "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.", Eph 4:16... Do all to stand!!! "If so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph 4:21-24; next comes righteousness...