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Truth All Around You

Stand then girding your loins in truth and putting on the breastplate of righteousness.*

How can a soldier stand in battle if he has not been prepared, trained? How can a house stand if it has been built on sand? How can we stand against spiritual forces if we have not been prepared? Our battle is not against flesh and blood so in regards to such, what good is armor to a child or how can one stained with dirty clothes stand with a defiled conscious? To stand one must be prepared, be his workmanship, someone prepared beforehand to do battle. For this purpose you begin girding your loins in truth, putting on truth, wrapping truth all around you.

... girding your loins in truth...*

The word girding is perizōnnymi (from peri "about, around" and zōnnymi "put on") meaning around about put on. Often gird your loins with truth is translated as putting on a belt. Surely we can say truth holds on the garments and confidence in truth is important in standing. I like the idea that truth is put on all around you. The concept is putting on, abiding in truth thus truth is around about you, you are clothed in truth. Would one put on armor naked? So, be clothed in truth. This idea encompasses the whole of being perfected in truth and the idea of "putting on" we see in context of Ephesians and elsewhere. Putting on encompasses the whole meaning of becoming like Christ and speaks of the idea of having been prepared beforehand, of being his workmanship. Now, after you have grown up, stand, existing mature like Christ. There are five chapters before this one, so now, that you have been prepared, stand.

now existing of the Light, sober, put on the breastplate of faith and love and a helmet of salvation.*

Put on the helmet of salvation, clothe yourself with an approved mind, a renewed mind. I believe the idea of the helmet of salvation is an approved mind, a renewed mind in which the scriptures use related terms o sober, sound... In this verse we see the helmet of salvation speaks of a renewed mind, which is a sober mind. Also we see putting on the breastplate of righteousness, clothing yourself in righteousness, speaks of faith and love. How important is our understanding of righteousness, as grace reigns, the Spirit is Life through righteousness. The same word for standing Paul uses when writing we stand in grace, which we have access to by faith.* We stand before God, in faith and love. Also our growth is related to righteousness, that seed planted within us, as the fruit we get leads to sanctification and its outcome is Life.* We receive righteousness as a gift in Christ,* also we are to clothe ourselves, put on righteousness. The breastplate in the above verse Paul calls righteousness elsewhere so we link the two; the breastplate of righteousness and "the breastplate of faith and love." Therefore putting on faith and love is to put on the breastplate of righteousness.

If God exists holy, righteous, and He exists love as the truth says so and we his children have revelation of, then faith and love is holy and righteous. If sin as Paul writes, is anything not done in faith,* and faith without love is nothing,*  then unrighteousness is not believing and not loving your brother. This is the concept John writes of. James writes such a faith is dead because it is in word only lacking works or deeds of love, so this is not true faith so also this is a sin. Faith is increased in truth, the words of Jesus, so increasing in faith requires truth. Therefore the breastplate of righteousness is also of truth in love. Being a new creation, faith energized in love, this is what strengthens, being perfected in love, this is how we will stand.

And put on the new self, the one created according to God in righteousness and holiness, the truth.*

In Christ we are a new creation, partakers of His divine nature, of   righteousness and holiness, which is truth so we are of truth by new birth. We are to put on our true nature, truth, wrap it all around us, putting off any hint of falsehood.* How important is our identity in Christ in helping us put off the old garments. Like a lying tongue and a false witness who accuses a brother, these things are an abomination to God.* Falsehood is anti-truth, the true nature of the devil, and since Christ is truth these things are anti-Christ. So we see the purpose of the armor, "put on the armor of God, with you power from the craftiness of the devil."* Put off the old garments, put on the new, clothe yourselves in truth. Stand now, having wrapped all around you the truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of salvation.

Dress yourself (zōnnymi) and bind your sandals, and he did so, also saying put around you your cloak and follow me.*

God had miraculously freed Paul from prison via an angel who led him out cloaked. The scriptures say we might entertain angels as humans. In the context of being led, we see again the use of this word for clothe, or put on. Also here "and someone else will clothe you and carry you unwillingly."* Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times, then he told him to take care of his sheep, and now he tells him how he will die.* Saying to Peter follow me. Tradition only, says Peter died crucified upside down, but we do know as Peter would have known at the time, he would be clothed or cloaked and led away by the hands. Jesus had prepared Peter for a purpose as truly he prepares those who follow him. Christ in the garden as a man struggled with the unwilling part of being led, take this cup from me he said, then we see him say not my will but your will be done. When prepared, when clothed, we willingly follow him wherever he leads, even unto death.

now, the truth in love, grow up all unto him, the one existing the foundation stone, Christ.*

We are to wrap truth all around us, to clothe ourselves in truth so that we grow up into Christ, into his full measure. To say we know him and to not walk as Jesus would be falsehood, a lie. The one who does not love his brother does not walk as Jesus.* Whoever says he abides in Him must also walk as he did.* Put on love, walk as Christ gave himself for us and loved us.* Walk in light, not as the old man, walking in darkness, following spirits of the devil, of darkness, but walk as children of the Light.* Walk in enlightenment, in fullness of sight, as the wise.*  Walk with a mind approved by God.* To stand is to be prepared beforehand, a vessel for his use, clothed in truth and righteousness. Walking in truth is walking in love, as love is the bond that leads to perfection and maturity. Put on love, put on truth, clothe yourself in truth, wrap truth all around you.

Christ Be All Around Me


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