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The great Scripture passage which concerns the equipping of God's people is in the letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6 verses 10 to 18. This is a description of the armour of the Roman soldier, which in a metaphorical sense is the required protection for the Christian and for the church. It is important to realise that the situation of God's people in the world is that of a battle. We are in contention with the world, and so we need to be armed for the conflict. We will know opposition and we will face persecution. Paul makes clear that it is not merely a human enemy we are facing (verse 12), that is not just flesh and blood. We face a supernatural enemy, Satan and all the powers of darkness. We are "against the the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world". We are also "against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". If we need protection against men, how much more do we need protection against Satan and the powers of evil.

We tend to think of armour as something worn by the individual soldier, and so the analogy applies to the individual Christian. However much of the letter to the Ephesians is concerned with the church, so it is also appropriate to understand that the 'armour' is a protection for the body of believers. Let us then interpret this in two senses, one from the point of view of the individual, the other as concerning the fellowship. The armour is protection for both.

Six items of the soldier's equipment are mentioned. These are the belt, the breastplate, the footwear, the shield, the helmet and the sword. Each of these typifies a characteristic of the Christian either in character or in action (that is either what we are or what we do). We are going to consider each of these characteristics, either singly or in combination.

It helps to consider the belt, which is called the belt of truth, and the breastplate, which is the breastplate of righteousness, together. For just as the belt holds the breastplate in position, so righteousness and truth are inseparable. Truth is not just what we accept or believe at any particular moment. It is absolute. It is true in all times and situations. The basis for this kind of truth is not philosophy or speculation, it is the Scriptures. Our starting point is that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Everything that the Bible says about God is true. All that the Bible tells about our world and about ourselves is true. Everything the Bible says about our relationship with God and with each other is true. The Bible speaks the truth for all generations and ages, past, present and future.

It is possible to know the truth, and yet not live it out in our lives. Plato said virtue is knowledge. However whilst virtue is dependent on knowledge, they are not the same thing. Possibly one may know what needs to be done, but be unwilling to do it. Virtue or righteousness is when we put our knowledge of what is right into practice. It is when we live out in our lives the things that we know are true. Righteousness is concerned with right living, and right living follows from accepting and practising the ways of God.

When we put on the belt of truth we are opening ourselves to the truths of Scripture, and accepting those truths. We learn what God says about himself, about us, and about our relationships to him and to one another. We learn what God has done for us in his mercy and grace, through the life and death of Jesus. We know what he will require of us if we surrender our lives to him: that is to allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to change us into his likeness. When the breastplate of righteousness is in place, held firm by the belt of truth, then our lives are being lived in the way that is pleasing to God.