“Living the Truth”

Ephesians 6:14 (NIV)

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

You might not realize it, but we are in a spiritual battle every day. Paul tells us in Ephesians we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. In the bible, Paul tells us how to fight this battle in Ephesians. We must put on the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

To put on the armor of Christ we need to think of Roman soldier of Paul’s time. He starts with the belt of truth that supports the soldier’s weapon and armor. What does it mean to have a belt of truth?

God’s Word is the truth. However, it is more than just knowing the truth. We need to be living the truth. For us to be able to use the truth as a starting point for the armor of God, we need to live the truth. That goes beyond just reading our bible daily but live out what we learn in our bible in our lives. There are a lot of people who have grown up listening to all the bible stories. They have the intellectual knowledge of what God’s Word says and the truth that it is in the bible. However, the truth is no part of their daily life.

So, when we study the bible, we need to apply what we learn in our lives. This a great starting point and great foundation for the armor of God. To win the spiritual battle, we need to start by arming ourselves by living the truth that is in God’s Word.

Message in Chinese

活出真理以弗所书 6:14（和合本）14 所以要站稳了，用真理当作带子束腰，用公义当作护心镜遮胸。

你也许没有意识到，我们每天都在经历属灵的争战。保罗在《以弗所书》中告诉我们，我们的争战不是与属血气的争战，而是与属灵的恶势力争战。圣经中，保罗教导我们该如何面对这场争战——我们必须穿戴神所赐的全副军装。

以弗所书 6:12（和合本）12 因我们并不是与属血气的争战，乃是与那些执政的、掌权的、管辖这幽暗世界的，以及天空属灵气的恶魔争战。

当我们想到穿戴基督的军装时，可以想象保罗时代的罗马士兵。他从真理的带子开始，这带子支撑着士兵的武器和盔甲。那么，拥有“真理的带子”意味着什么呢？

神的话语就是真理。然而，这不仅仅是“知道”真理，更是要“活出”真理。要让真理成为神军装的起点，我们必须在生活中活出真理。这不仅仅是每天读圣经，更是把我们从圣经中学到的应用在生活里。

有许多人从小听圣经故事，对神的话语和圣经中的真理有理智上的认识，但真理并没有在他们的日常生活中显现。

因此，当我们研读圣经时，要把所学应用在实际生活中。这是穿上神的军装的一个极好的起点，也是坚固的根基。要在属灵的争战中得胜，我们必须从活出神话语中的真理开始。

Living the Truth