Ｂ
"Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth" (Eph. 6:14a):
１
Truth in Ephesians 6:14 refers to God in Christ as the reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us in our living; this is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (4:15, 21, 24-25; John 14:6).
２
The truth with which we are girded is actually the Christ whom we experience; because Paul's living was conformed to the pattern of Christ, he had the strength to face all opposition and adverse circumstances (Eph. 4:20; Phil. 1:19-21a).
Ｃ
"Having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14b; 1 Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6):
１
Christ as the breastplate of righteousness covers our conscience, signified by the breast; in fighting against Satan, our accuser, we need a blood-purified conscience, a conscience void of offense (Heb. 9:14; 10:22; Acts 24:16).
２
"They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 12:11); our response to Satan's accusations should be, "I overcome Satan, the accuser, not by my perfection and not even by a conscience void of offense but by the blood of the Lamb; I am defended against his accusations by the breastplate of righteousness."
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
[Let us] consider the items that make up the whole armor of God....[By means of] the first three items—the girdle, the breastplate, and the shoes—...we are able to stand. Along with these three items, we need to take up the shield of faith and receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:16-17)....Only the sword is an offensive weapon.
All the other aspects of the armor are for defense. Let us first consider the girdle, the breastplate, and the shoes. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 537)
Today's Reading
For us to gird our loins [Eph. 6:14] is to strengthen our entire being. Our whole being needs to be strengthened with truth. This strengthening is not for sitting, but for standing.According to the way the word truth is used in Ephesians 4 (vv. 15, 21, 24, 25), truth in 6:14 refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us as our living. This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (John 14:6). Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for spiritual warfare....When such a truth girds our loins, we are made strong for the purpose of standing.
Those who have such a living certainly have their loins girded with truth. These are the ones who are able to face attack and opposition. Because they are girded with truth, they can stand before the opposers. But if God is not expressed in our daily life and walk, we shall not have a girdle about our loins, and we shall have no strength to stand against the enemy. We shall not have the power to face opposition or controversy.
The truth with which we are girded for spiritual warfare is actually the very Christ we experience. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, "To me, to live is
Christ." This Christ whom Paul lived was his girdle of truth. This Christ was God expressed and revealed in Paul's daily walk. Because Paul's daily living was conformed to the pattern of Christ, he had the strength to face all opposition and adverse circumstances. Because Paul had been girded about with truth, he had the strength to stand.
The breastplate of righteousness [Eph. 6:14] covers our conscience, signified by the breast. Satan is our accuser. In fighting against him we need a conscience void of offense. But no matter how good we may feel our conscience is, we need to have it covered with the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is to be right with both God and man. If we have just a little problem with either God or man, Satan will accuse us, and there will be holes in our conscience through which all of our faith and boldness will leak out. Hence, we need the covering of righteousness to protect us from the enemy's accusation. Such righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).
Revelation 12:11 says, "They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb." To be covered by the blood of the Lamb is mainly to have upon us the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is in the blood, and the covering of the blood is the breastplate. Although this may be difficult to explain doctrinally, we can understand it experientially. Whenever we intend to fight against the powers of darkness, Satan, through his accusations, causes our conscience to become very sensitive. These feelings actually are not the sensitivity of the conscience, but the result of Satan's accusations. Immediately our response should be, "I overcome Satan, the accuser, not by my perfection and not even by a conscience void of offense, but by the blood of the Lamb. I am defended against his accusations by the breastplate of righteousness."
We are covered not by our own righteousness, but by Christ as our righteousness....In experience we cannot separate the blood from Christ.
Apart from His blood, Christ could not cover us. Under the cleansing of His blood, He becomes our righteousness. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 537-540)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 64