Armor of God Seminar 2024
Part 2
Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Gird Up Your Waist With Faithfulness
The Battle of the Words
“Gird up your loins” (as in the KJV) is the wrapping of a girdle around the waist or hips in the picture of the soldier. The phrase is a Hebrew idiom meaning, “make the source of your strength or make ready for action.” I Peter 1:13 says to “gird up the loins of your minds.” It is available to make your mind strong just as your loins are strong. Loins are the focus of the strength of the body and also the source of reproduction.
Draw your strength from –”how to keep it together”
Battle of the words – what words do you base your decisions on?
Beelzebub – Lord of the words, p. 52
Mark 16:17-18 APNT
And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons and they will speak with new tongues.
And they will capture snakes, and if they should drink a deadly poison, it will harm not them and they will place their hands on the sick and they will be made whole.”
Not normal word for serpent, from verb, qewa, to show, could be translated “pretenders,” could also be referring to the devil and his spirits; capture is literally “take,” but in war is translated “capture”
Lit: a poison of death; fig: hypocatastasis, meaning “words,” cf. Rom 3:13, Jam. 3:8, Psalm 140:3.
Power of Words
E.g. of firewall and antivirus software on computer: guard the door of your mind. If spyware from Beelzebub tries to get in, it can be blocked. Lord of the words – master of the media, education, politics, culture, medicine — “poison words”
There is an inherent power in words. With words the heavens and earth were created. The power of speech is what differentiates men from animals. With words, whole nations have been deceived and brought under control of certain small groups of people. An example of this is how the entire population of Russia was controlled by first the czars and then the communists [and Nazi’s too]. The media is one of Beelzebub’s greatest tools: lies are said over and over and gradually people just accept them as truth. E.g. who is Lord? Who is the oldest/biggest?
With words we can curse, not only our enemies, but also our friends and loved ones. This is where we have the most trouble with realizing the power of our words. What we speak about our friends and our families have the most powerful effect. Why? It is because we know them well, so we know what words will have the most result. We easily condemn, gossip, and throw slanderous accusations. To those we love the most!! How can this be? Many times, we do this without even being aware of it. Everyone has cursed someone else at some time. No one is exempt from this problem.
Prov. 4:20-5:1 CJB
My son, pay attention to what I am saying; incline your ear to my words.
21 Don’t let them out of your sight, keep them deep in your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to their whole being.
23 Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences.
24 Keep crooked speech out of your mouth, banish deceit from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze on what lies in front of you.
26 Level the path for your feet, let all your ways be properly prepared;
27 then deviate neither right nor left; and keep your foot far from evil.
James 3 shows us how the tongue is used for both good and evil.
James 3:5-6
So also, the tongue is a small member and it exalts itself. Also, a little fire causes large forests to burn.
And the tongue is a fire and the world of sin is like a forest. And the tongue, though it is [one] among the members, defiles our whole body and sets on fire the successions of our generations that roll on as wheels, and it burns also with fire.
The tongue is compared to a little fire or a spark. One small fire can set a whole forest ablaze. Verse 6 goes on to explain that the tongue (our words) can defile our whole life AND the continuing generations that follow us. This can be seen in a simple example of a parent who tells his child, “You will never amount to anything.” That child then in turn tells his children something similar. This is a mild example compared to some of the things that parents actually communicate with words to their children. Generational curses such as these need to be broken in the name of Jesus Christ, so that the pattern and powerful hold of them can be replaced with blessings.
James 3:7-8
For all the natures of animals and of birds and reptiles, of the sea and of dry land, are subjected to the nature of mankind.
But the tongue, no one is able to subdue. This evil, when it is not restrained, is full of the poison of death.
Does this verse say that no one is able to restrain the tongue? Please read it again. It says that no one is able to subdue the tongue. But it IS possible to restrain the tongue and control it so that it will not be “full of the poison of death.” This requires diligence and much awareness of the potential effect latent in words.
Faithfulness
Truth is the difficult part to understand in this piece of armor. In Aramaic, the word is qushta which comes from a verb that means to shoot straight as an arrow. This truth is not the common word, but has more to do with uprightness, reliability and integrity. In my Aramaic translation, I consistently use the translation “truthfulness” for qushta. This paints a beautiful picture, but there is more. The Greek word for truth is aletheia and the meaning of truth as part of the armor begins to unfold when we look at a use of aletheia in the Septuagint in Isaiah 11:5. This passage is a prophecy about the Branch (Jesus Christ) that would come out of the house of Jesse, that he would be mighty in spirit and wisdom and righteousness.
Isaiah 11:5 KJV
And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness [aletheia] the girdle of His reins.
In the KJV, reins here should be loins and loins should be translated reins. Reins are the kidneys and are part of the back area. In Semitic thinking, the reins represent the affections or emotions. The loins represent strength. Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy and made God’s faithfulness to His Word and to all His promises the source of his strength. Jesus literally believed that every prophecy that God had made regarding him would come to pass. He relied on God’s faithfulness to what He had said. So this piece of armor that God has given to us has to do with God’s utter reliability and integrity and faithfulness. Gird up your loins with truth means to make the source of your strength the utter faithfulness and reliability of God in his son Jesus Christ.
Faithfulness in four categories
The faithfulness of the Lord is in four categories. He is faithful because of 1) who He is, 2) what He has, 3) what He does and 4) what He says. The Lord is the Savior and that does not change. It can be relied upon. He does not change. Hebrews 13:5 says “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” Jesus Christ is the faithful one and does not change. If he is the Savior yesterday, then he is the Savior today and tomorrow. His love is unchanging (John 13:1)
“He is unchangeable, immutable in regard to all that He IS, all he HAS, all He has DONE, all He has SAID….Yesterday He thought of us in His purposes of love; yesterday he communicated to us His grace; yesterday He bore with us in His kindness and patience. Ever THE SAME. “1
Faithfulness – Emunah
Who He Is
Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, (Deut. 7:9 ESV)
What He Has – ALL Power
Psalm 89:1-8 ESV
I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
What He Does
Lam. 3:21-26 ESV
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
What He Says
Isaiah 40:8 ESV
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8 NET
The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.
Now we can see how to practically apply this piece of the armor. One of the areas that we are challenged in the most is to doubt that we really are God’s sons and that He cares for us in every situation. Romans 8 says that we are sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. But the Evil One always wants to steal, kill and destroy. So he tries to steal our confidence and strength and reliance on our position as sons.
The practical application has to do with the spoken words of God and the Lord to us. This can be seen in the words to Mary by the angel when God told her she would have a son and his name would be called Jesus. The last words of the prophecy are: “for with God no word spoken is void of power.” Mary’s response was “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:37, 38). That can be our response also when we are ministered to in healing or with prophecy or by revelation given directly to us. Gird up your loins with the arrow of truth and totally rely upon the faithfulness of God’s Word and the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What words do you want to have as the source of your strength?
Great is Thy Faithfulness – Francisco Ortega
The Sword of the Spirit
The last piece of the armor is the sword that belongs to the Spirit. The sword is both an offensive and defensive weapon.
The Greek word for “sword” is machaira and refers to a two-edged sword, approximately 19 inches long. The tip or point of the blade was extremely sharp. It was used in close combat, primarily as a thrusting or cutting weapon. Rick Renner notes in Dressed to Kill that “this two-edged blade inflicted a wound far worse than the other swords.” Once a Roman soldier thrust the sword into the torso of his enemy, he would give it a wrenching twist so that the entrails would spill out as the soldier pulled the sword from the enemy’s body. In close combat, this weapon would be extremely effective against the enemy.
Hebrews 4:12 APNT
For the word of God is living and completely effective and sharper than a two-edged sword and enters all the way to the separation of soul and of spirit, and of the joints and of the marrow and of the bones, and judges the reasonings and the thoughts of the heart.
The all-powerful sword of the Word of God is sharper than any Roman gladius. When wielded by a son of God, its function is to cut straight to the core of a matter and uncover the truth. It is even able to separate the soul and spirit of a man.
The word for “joint” in Aramaic can also be translated “membrane, or covering.” When I was studying a book on the human body, I found a beautiful illustration of the inside of a bone. The inside of a bone has three parts: the marrow (where the blood vessels are), surrounded by the actual bone cells and the outside membrane. This membrane is very hard and is called the periosteum. It would be extremely difficult to slice between these three parts because they are fused together to form the bone, yet the Word of God can separate them. This is how sharp the Word of God is!
The word for “word” in Ephesians 6:17 is rhema, which often has to do with the spoken word. A rhema is a “specific word or message…at a specific time and for a special purpose.” The Aramaic word is meltha and the root verb means, literally, “to speak.”
John 6:63 ESV
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words [rhema] that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Besides being spoken, rhema is the Word of God in application and it brings life.
The rhema of God, spoken in a specific situation, becomes a living Word for that moment. In what way is this rhema Word of God a sword? God’s Word Translation is very specific regarding the sword of the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:17 GWT
Also, take salvation as your helmet and the word of God as the sword that the Spirit supplies.
The sword of the Spirit is the rhema Word of God made living by the Spirit and supplied by the Spirit. This word is the application of a verse or scripture, or could be by revelation or inspiration, but it is never contrary to the written Word of God.
The sword is “two-edged,” literally “having a double mouth,” and is translated this way in both Greek and Aramaic. The Word of God has two mouths: one is written and the other is spoken. God’s written Word is logos in Greek. When we utilize the written Word of God, and apply it to a particular situation it becomes a living Word and brings life to those who confess it. I think the best way to distinguish logos from rhema is this: logos is the core premise of a subject, while rhema is the premise in application. They can both be spoken, but the rhema is the “living Word” for that specific situation.
Since they are two edges of the same sword, the written word and the spoken word cannot be separated. Just as a Roman soldier had to learn how to use his sword to be effective in battle, we need to study and meditate on the scriptures so that when we are attacked, we will know how to wield the sword.
Example: night terrors
This piece of the armor is integrally related to the belt of truth. The belt is what holds the sword. In the same way, God’s faithfulness to his Word is the scabbard in which the Word in application rests. When the sword is wielded with precision, it is sharp and distinguishes truth from lies. This is the piece of the armor that enables us to stand against the Serpent.
Serpent’s tactics: lies, witchcraft
The Jezebel Spirit – Francis Frangipane = spirit of divination and whoredom
pp.123-124 Exposed: Witchcraft in the Church – Patricia King
Footnotes:
- Bullinger, E.W., Things to Come, January, 1914., Vol. 2, p. 2. ↩︎
See Also:
Speaking the Truth in Love on the Acts Now Fellowship website.
Related YouTube Videos:
Bookstore Suggestions:
