We continued our series on spiritual warfare at Gateway in Austin.
Truth is the foundation; righteousness protects your heart. The truth of God’s Word holds everything together, and right living keeps your heart safe.
Digging Deeper:
Message Video:
Message Audio:
Message Notes:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. – Ephesians 6:10-18
Spiritual warfare is real.
Last week, we looked at how our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Our culture wants us to choose a side and demonize those with whom we disagree.
The status quo is seeing people with whom we disagree as our enemy.
Right now in our country, we are being told by both sides to choose their side and reject the other side.
This is not the way of Jesus.
We are to mourn with those who mourn. We are to love our enemies. We are to help people without faith discover God’s love.
We cannot argue people into God’s Kingdom.
We cannot make people live like Christians when they don’t have the Spirit of God to help them.
People are not our enemy. People can be deceived by the enemy, and for those who want it – we can help them find freedom from the enemy by loving, serving, and sharing our faith with them.
You see, in our culture, the path towards reaching others is through loving, serving, and when the time is right sharing with those who vote differently, look differently, believe differently, make different moral choices, and come from different backgrounds. (Paul addresses this idea in Ephesians 2).
Last week we looked at how God equips us with His armor so we can stand firm and that victory comes from His strength, not ours.
Paul in fact book ends Ephesians with this concept of reframing the way we see the material world around us. To not simply see what we see physically but understand that there are our forces at work that animate the evil all around us.
Look at what he says when he opens up in chapter 1
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. – Ephesians 1:18-21: 18
Paul makes it clear that it was only after the resurrection of Christ that the full plan of Jesus was made known to the unseen forces who were and are actively trying to thwart the plans of God.
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms – Ephesians 3:10
Colossians 2:15 tells us that these same forces were disarmed at the Cross. There was a supernatural victory over the powers of darkness that happened when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.
The Context
Let me share some more context with you.
Knowing the context of the Bible helps us know how to better apply it to our lives in our context.
Ephesus was a HUGE metropolis of lots of pagan and occult worship. To name a few:
1. Artemis of the Ephesians (Diana)
- The most famous cult in Ephesus revolved around Artemis Ephesia, a fertility and nature goddess.
2. Emperor Worship (Imperial Cult)
- Ephesus was also a major center for the imperial cult, where Roman emperors were venerated as divine.
- Temples and festivals honored emperors like Augustus, Claudius, and later Nero.
- Refusal to participate in emperor worship often put Christians in direct conflict with civic and religious expectations.
3. Magical Practices and Occultism
- Ephesus was notorious for magic, sorcery, and the use of charms or incantations (often called the “Ephesian Letters”).
- Acts 19:19 mentions new converts burning their books of magic publicly.
- This background of occultism explains Paul’s emphasis in Ephesians on spiritual warfare, “principalities and powers,” and the “armor of God” (Eph. 6:10–18).
Why do I share that?
Because this is the context Paul is writing to. People who are wealthy, elite social status, but spiritually bankrupt. And yet the Gospel pierces through. He had spent a lot of time in Ephesus. In fact Acts 19 gives us Blues Clues of just why he is so keen on this spiritual warfare language when it comes to Ephesus.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. – Acts 19
Paul leaves and an uproar takes place and an uproar happens
- The artisans and idol makers are furious because this Jesus thing is bad for business
- Whenever you see this cultural uprising against the truth of God and a move of God, it usually is veiled under the guise of politics, economics, and social ethics
And this verse stood out to me based on the current climate we are in!
The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. – Acts 19:32
So Today we zoom in on the first two pieces of armor—truth and righteousness—the belt and the breastplate.
Ephesians 6:14
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” – Ephesians 6:14
Stand Firm
Remember last week we talked about standing firm:
“To stand” means “to establish your place” or “to not be moved”
- Call to active readiness—not passive waiting.
- Spiritual opposition demands a stance of alertness and confidence in Christ.
The Belt of Truth: Foundation & Framework
A Roman soldier wore a tunic under his armor, and a large leather belt “was used to gather his garments together as well as hold his sword.” The belt was the first part of the armor put on, and it held everything else together. It was crucial. Without it, armor was loose and ineffective.
Similarly, truth is a crucial component for every believer in this spiritual battle—without it believers are not prepared to stand and fight. Without it we are weak and ineffective.
What does the belt of truth represent, how do we put it on, and how does it protect us from the enemy?
Theologians have different vantage points on the exact meaning of the belt of truth. But the summary of it all is this:
The belt of truth represents the content of truth.
The God of scripture IS truth, and it is through knowing and applying this truth that we are sanctified—daily made holy, set apart to God and righteous.
After telling his followers that He was going to be leaving them as He was ready to give His life on the cross. Jesus let them know He was going to prepare a place for them and said: “You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” – John 14:5-6
Then later Jesus prays for them saying:
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. – John 17:14-17
We are human, and live in a world where we each have a take on what is truth and what isn’t, but then we want everyone to adhere to our version of the truth, or they are liars, they are deceived.
We easily revert back to flesh and blood thinking, and instead we should take a step back and discern what is taking place. If we do not, that small twist of the truth, that one degree off from what is true, evolves into something beyond what we anticipated.
Our culture punishes people who declare the existence of absolute truth—for that you will be persecuted (in your job, your school, your group of friends). We live in a system that is based on the lies of the evil one, and if you don’t know the truth, you and I will fall into the temptation of the day.
The belt of truth is about being “girded” with truth — living authentically, without deceit, standing in the reality God has revealed.
It’s about readiness and integrity — being held together by God’s truth, living truthfully, refusing falsehood.
If we do not spend time with Jesus in the Scripture, we are unprepared to stand in this spiritual war.
Do you know that this is our purpose as a church?! It is not to merely have fun (although we do), it is not to love your kids and students (although we do), it is not to listen to great music (although we get to do that too)…
In chapter 4 of this same book, Ephesians, Paul defines our purpose:
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. – Ephesians 4:11-15
We exist to help you, your family, your friends and neighbors to walk in the light of truth of the God who created us.
We exist to help you to experience a relationship with God through Jesus, to become more like Jesus, and to help you help those you love come to know Him too.
An ancient soldier couldn’t even fight without cinching his belt—all his clothing would have hindered him. And neither can we fight without knowing the truth. Consider John’s description in 1 John 2 of spiritual young men in the church: I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Let me tie this back in to Acts 19:
If you don’t anchor yourself with the belt of truth of Jesus. You’ll get caught with your pants down like the sons of Sceva (haha)
Why Truth Matters
- Our enemy’s primary weapon is deception (John 8:44).
- Jesus countered deceptive temptation with Scripture (Matt 4:1-11).
- Each response began, “It is written…”
- Our lives collapse when built on lies—culture’s, our own, or the enemy’s.
Everyone has their own “truth”
Instead, we need to make sure we line our lives up with HIS TRUTH
Tighten the Belt
- Daily intake of Scripture = Allows God’s Word to define reality
- Evaluate what “truths” you’re building on:
Identity in Christ vs. performance.
Going back to the first chapter of this letter to the Ephesians, Paul goes into great depth to describe your identity in Christ. In our Digging Deeper we have a worksheet to help you understand your identity in Christ if you have chosen to follow Him.
Here’s a quick sampling taken from John Eldredge’s book Experience Jesus, Really.
God is my Father.
I am his son or daughter.
I am loved.
I am chosen.
God is my refuge.
God can be trusted.
God has not abandoned the human race or me.
God’s presence and His Kingdom are completely available to me, and I experience them.
From – Experience Jesus, Really by John Eldredge
The Breastplate of Righteousness: Heart Protection
- Roman soldier’s chest armor shielded vital organs.
- Spiritually: righteousness guards the core of our being—mind, will, emotions.
Two Dimensions of Righteousness
- Imputed Righteousness (Position)
- The perfect righteousness of Jesus credited to us at salvation (2 Cor 5:21).
- We stand accepted and secure.
- Practical Righteousness (Practice)
- Daily obedience and holy living (1 John 2:29).
- Protects us from self-inflicted wounds of sin.
Guarding the Heart
- Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
- Influences to watch: streaming habits, pornography, bitterness, unforgiveness.
What are you watching or listening to that is not good for your heart? - Neil Anderson: “Don’t wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving… bitterness affects others close to us who had nothing to do with the pain.”
It is important to remove any cracks that can allow darkness into your life.
Put on the Breastplate
- Avoid darkness; choose godly influences
Eph 5:8-11 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Too often we get so consumed with the news, we fail to see reality through the lens of faith.
“Newspapers are the Bibles of worldlings. How diligently they read them! Here they find their law and prophets, their judges and chronicles, their epistles and revelations.”
― Charles Spurgeon
I highly recommend a resource for you: thepourover.org
Their motto is: “The News You Need. The Peace You Crave. Politically Neutral, Christ-First News”
Some practical next steps:
Practice quick forgiveness.
- Col 3:13 – Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Align actions with God’s ways
- “Holiness is protection, not restriction”
Examine Your Foundation
- What voices shape your worldview—media, peers, inner critic, or God’s Word?
- Replace lies with the truth we find in Scripture. Focus on the person of Jesus who is the Truth.
Daily Choices that Guard the Heart
- Spiritual disciplines: prayer, confession, community
- Decide to forgive even when feelings lag behind
Encourage One Another
- Small-group accountability for both truth intake and righteous living
So let’s end with the truth that holds this all together and the righteousness that we need to guard our hearts.
There is only one way to be saved and rescued by God, but there are two ways to be lost. When you look at the story of the prodigal son that Jesus tells, what you discover is both sons are actually lost.
Some of us have gone our own way and do not follow the ways of Jesus.
We are like the prodigal son and his invitation is to come home.
Others of us are like the older brother.
We think we have it all together. We judge those who don’t. We think we deserve God‘s blessing because of our moral way of life, but this is also a form of lostness.
Both the immoral and the moralistic need Jesus.
You see Jesus didn’t come to give us a better life. He came to give us a life, even as we are dead spiritually in our brokenness.
Here’s what’s remarkable. Imagine standing for God in a courtroom. We are there for criminal proceedings. If we acknowledge, we need his mercy, those criminal proceedings immediately turned into an adoption ceremony.
But when we try to explain how we have not done anything wrong, we miss out on experiencing the grace because we’re not being honest. Every one of us has fallen short of God standards. We fall short of our own standards!
And the beauty is, God knows that, offers us love and forgiveness, in spite of that, and makes us alive with his spirit when we confess our need for him.
The great Tim Keller often said:
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” – Tim Keller
You are loved. You are invited into a new relationship. And through this relationship, you can bring love to those around you. And we are called to love our enemies. We’re called to love people who vote differently than us, believe differently than us, make different moral choices than us, look differently than us, and come from different places.
Experience his love and let’s bring his love to others.
