Bible reading : Sunday December - 4 -2022

Put on the whole armor of God:

Ephesians 6:11-18
[11]Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[12]For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
[13]Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
[14]Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
[15]and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
[16]above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
[17]And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
[18]praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Question 1:

What does it means to gird one's waist with truth . ?

Can somebody help us with the answers to any of these,questions ?

Question 3 :

How does one shod the feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace ?

What is this scripture trying to say ?

Speaklove:
○ Put on the whole armor of God:

What makes you believe that you are in fact capable of girding yourself with God's armor, to begin with? What is it about your person that makes you think or believe you qualify to dorn that which is called the armor of God?

Speaklove:
Question 1: What does it means to gird one's waist with truth . ?

■ Starting in Isaiah 59, the prophet Isaiah informed us that the one who is in fact adorned with the full of armor of God is the Lord, the Redeemer, Himself.

15 Loyalty is gone, and people who try to do good are robbed. The Lord looked and saw there was no justice. He did not like what he saw.
16 He did not see anyone speak up for the people. He was shocked to see that no one stood up for them. So with his own power, he saved them. His desire to do what is right gave him strength.
17 He put on the armor of goodness, the helmet of salvation, the uniform of punishment, and the coat of strong love.
18 He will give his enemies the punishment they deserve. They will feel his anger. He will punish all his enemies. People along the coast will get the punishment they deserve.
19 People from the west to the east will fear the Lord and respect his Glory. He will come quickly, like a fast-flowing river driven by a wind from the Lord.
20 Then a redeemer will come to Zion to save the people of Jacob who have turned away from sin.
21“ And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.” - Isaiah 59 vs 15 - 18

The Lord, our Redeemer, is the one who wears the
○ Helmet of salvation
○ The breastplate of righteousness
○ The Sword of Spirit
○ The Uniform of Punishment
○ The Coat of Strong Love
■ In Isaiah 52, Isaiah further informed us that the Redeemer wears
○ the shoes of Peace.

5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” - Isaiah 52 vs 5 - 7

■ In Isaiah 11, the prophet also informed us that the Lord, the King, is the one who is clad with the
○ Belt of Truth

1. A small tree[a] will begin to grow from the stump of Jesse. That branch will grow from Jesse’s roots.
[b]2 The Lord’s Spirit will always be with that new king to give him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit will help him know and respect the Lord.
3 He will find joy in obeying the Lord. This king will not judge people by the way things look. He will not judge by listening to rumors.
4-5 He will judge the poor fairly and honestly. He will be fair when he decides what to do for the poor of the land. If he decides people should be beaten, he will give the command, and they will be beaten. If he decides people must die, he will give the command, and those evil people will be killed. Goodness(Righteousness) and fairness will be like a belt he wears around his waist. - Isaiah 11 vs 1 - 5

■ And in Psalm 91, we are instructed by David to make the Lord our refuge and our fortress for it is in fact His faithfulness — not ours — that is our shield and buckler
○ Shield of Faith

1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.- Psalm 91 vs 1 - 8

The one who in fact does the fighting against the enemy on our behalf and wins all the time, meaning we have no battles to fight so long as we are under the Lord's refuge and fortress.

What all this means is that one cannot literally put on the armor of God as people like most in the religion of Christianity like to pretend a possibility. So, how does one then go about getting the armor to be on his side of things? Well, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer Himself, said in John 15 that He will abide in those who abide in Him.

5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.
6 If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you.
8 Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor[c] to my Father. - John 15 vs 5 - 8

To put on the armor of God means to get on the good side of the one who is in fact clad in the full armor of God, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ said t do that is to love Him

15 “If you love me, you will do what I command.
16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[a] to be with you forever.
17 The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you.
19 In a very short time the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live.
20 On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you.
21 Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.” - John 14 vs 15 - 21