Pastor Billy Myron continues the Christian Life series on Satan and demons, shifting from specific attacks to victory through the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10–18. The session introduces the passage, focusing on verses 10–13 and the first two of six pieces of armor.
Believers are to be empowered and enabled in the Lord and in the power of His might; the ability to withstand satanic attack comes from God. This matches James 4:7: submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee. The command is to put on the whole armor of God in order to stand against the wiles, methods, and craftiness of the devil. This is repeated because the armor works as a unit. Attacks are typically multifaceted and multi-pronged; a single piece is insufficient against an intelligent enemy who can change tactics, as seen in the varied pressures on Job and in Peter’s cowardice leading to lying.
The struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies—the ranks of angels from whom the demons fell. Attacks may come from Satan or his demons. Neither is omnipresent, so personal confrontation with Satan is unlikely. The armor analogy addresses mental realities rather than physical combat.
Paul urges taking the whole armor so that one may withstand in the evil day and, having done all, stand. This aligns with 1 Peter 5:8–9: be sober and vigilant, for the adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; resist him steadfast in the faith. Standing presupposes that the armor has already been put on. One stands having girded the loins with truth, having put on the breastplate, and so on, while praying. The armor is the means of successful resistance.
The first piece is the belt of truth: stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth. There is no definite article; the reference is to truth in general—seeing things as they really are. This counters Satan’s frequent use of deception. Examples of error include those destitute of the truth who suppose gain is godliness (1 Timothy 6:3–5); Hymenaeus and Philetus, who erred concerning the truth by teaching that the resurrection is already past and thereby overthrew the faith of some (2 Timothy 2:15–18); and those who give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, forbidding marriage and commanding abstinence from foods while failing to know the truth (1 Timothy 4:1–5). In 1 John 1:5–10, claiming fellowship with God while walking in darkness means one is not doing the truth, and claiming to have no sin means the truth is not in that person. Walking in the truth is commended (3 John 1–4; 2 John). Ephesians 4:20–27 calls for putting off the old man, putting on the new man, putting away lying, and speaking truth with one’s neighbor, and not giving place to the devil. This directly counters lying and gossiping.
The account of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) shows Satan filling the heart to lie to the Holy Spirit by retaining part of the sale price. Peter points out that the property remained under their own authority; they could have kept part openly. Fear of peer pressure led them to lie. The belt of truth addresses both the lie itself and the failure to see the situation accurately.
The image of girding the loins indicates readiness for work, comparable to rolling up the sleeves so as not to be encumbered. Mentally it means taking the matter seriously and preparing to labor, not leaving an incorrect view of reality in place. This corresponds to 1 Peter 1:13: gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end.
The second piece is the breastplate of righteousness. This is not one’s own righteousness but the righteousness of God received through faith in Christ. Romans 3:20–28 shows that no flesh is justified by the deeds of the law; the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ, and justification is free by grace, with boasting excluded. In 1 Corinthians 1:27–31 Christ is made to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that no flesh should boast. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states that He was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Philippians 3:9 speaks of the righteousness which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Believers are positionally righteous in Christ, independent of present behavior. This counters pride and independence from God, for one cannot produce righteousness apart from Him and has no ground for boasting or self-sufficiency.
The pieces are meant to be worn together as a single unit; partial use leaves the believer vulnerable to multi-pronged attack.
