The Armor of God: Truth and Righteousness
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;"
-Ephesians 6:13-14
Truth
During the Passover feast in Jerusalem, the eleven* Apostles who remained with Jesus in the upper chamber. There was a question asked by Thomas:
"Thomas saith unto him, Lord ... how can we know the way?"
To this, the Master answered:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
-John 14:5-6
At an earlier event Jesus said "to those Jews which believed on him,
"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
-John 8:31-32
The truth will set us free which involves more than mere belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. An effort has to be made by the individual disciple of Christ to repent of his or her sins.
In his closing message of the Book of Mormon, Moroni teaches the reader:
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
-Moroni 10:5
Jesus also taught about the Holy Ghost to His Apostles, bringing us back to the Passover feast.
"These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
-John 14:25-26
There is something interesting with the metaphor of armor which Paul used for the readers to practice the gospel in their lives. He tells us to have "your loins girt about with truth". For historical context, men in ancient times would wear armored skirts (or kilts) around their wastes to protect their groin when they were engaged in combat.(1) To girt or to gird up one's loins with the truth means to protect ourselves by living a chaste and virtuous life. The path of discipleship under Christ therefore means to live the law of chastity, which is not engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage between husband and wife.
There is a lot that can be discussed concerning chastity and virtue, and to simplify the case for the time being, I revert to the Seventh of the Ten Commandments:
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
-Exodus 20:14
For husband and wife, who live faithfully to each other in marriage, are able to safeguard one another in their companionship, and help one another remain faithful to each other and to remain faithful to God.
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh."
-Moses 3:24 (Cf. Genesis 2:24)
"Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord."
-1 Corinthians 11:11
Righteousness
The breastplate is a representation of righteousness. Why is the breastplate a symbol for righteousness? Let us reflect on what the breastplate covers: which is the heart and lungs. These organs of the body can be looked upon as poetic expressions for the desires of our heart, and the lungs are a means for vitality.
The Lungs:
I would like to start with the lungs first. The lungs' function is for us to breathe, and to live from day to day. This brings to mind a couple of things from holy writ:
"And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.
Moses 3:7 (Cf. Genesis 2:7)
In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin in his angelic sermon spoke on how we should serve the Lord, who has given us the breath of life.
"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another - I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. ...
"And now ... he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him."
Mosiah 2:21, 23
Since vitality is important, let's take a closer look at this word so we can understand the etymology. The adjective vital comes from the Latin root word vita, which means "life". Vitality means "The capacity to live, grow, or develop." Man (Father Adam) was given life or vitalized, or endowed with life by God.(2)
The Heart:
The heart is emblematic of desires. Now what are the desires of the heart? Each of us must ask this question of ourselves: do the desires of my heart aligned with God's desire?
Mark 12
28. And one of the scribes came ... ask[ing Jesus], Which is the first commandment of all?
29. And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Turning to the Book of Mormon, the words of Nephi and King Benjamin, once again:
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism - yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel."
-2 Nephi 31:13
To "follow the Son with full purpose of heart" means to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. Why must one repent and be baptized - which means to come unto Christ? This is to put off what is called the natural man.
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."
-Mosiah 3:19
As living souls and creations of our Heavenly Father, we are obligated to serve Him with all of our hearts. To serve the Lord our God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, means to give ourselves to Him entirely. Jesus Christ gave Himself with utmost devotion for all of us, which means He expects nothing less from us, if we are to call ourselves His disciples.
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