Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV) 14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
To help us resist the devil, God has provided mighty weapons with which we fight. Currently we are looking at a kit of primarily defensive weapons that Paul describes in Ephesians 6 as the whole armor of God. Almost since warfare began, soldiers have looked for a way to protect them against the weapons of their enemy. Even today the modern soldiers wear a kit of body armor that can protect their vital organs from many types of threats. In Paul’s day the Roman army possessed the finest weapons of the day, both offensive and defensive and it is their armor that Paul uses to illustrate what God has provided us.
This armor is not a suit of battle clothes we put on when we enter a battle. It is a set of spiritual truths that need to become our reality in all aspects of life, especially those times when we are in the heat of battle. Nevertheless, every day we live in the world we are in a battle zone whether we feel it or not. This armor will keep our vital spiritual organs safe all the time. The enemy of our souls is a master of deception so when we least expect it, we can be in the greatest danger. When the whole armor of God is in place, it exposes the enemy’s schemes and protects us from sin, temptation, discouragement, depression, and anything else the devil may use to hinder our Christian walk.
We have studied the belt of truth, which protects us in the areas we are inherently weak by making sure that they are in the open between us and God. Bringing our weaknesses to the Father in openness, transparency and repentance will keep them from being vulnerable to the enemy. The belt of truth also strengthens us by applying the truth of the Word of God to the area of weakness.
Today we will look at the second piece of God’s armor. Paul says that we stand with our loins girded with the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. The Roman breastplate was called the Lorica segmentata and was made up of segmented metal plates. It included some kind of padded undergarment to keep the breastplate from chafing and to add protection from bruising. The breastplate covered all the vital organs of the body except the brain.
The breastplate was also the first thing the enemy saw. They often shined in the sun, especially those of the officers. The breastplate did not necessarily look like the actual chest of the soldier. The plates of the lorica segmentata were molded to look like the ideal male physique. No matter what was underneath, the enemy saw an imposing specimen. The breastplates of the Roman army announced to the enemy that they were well equipped to fight the battle in which they were about to be engaged.
Paul wants us to know that when we have the breastplate of righteousness in place, our vital organs are protected. When we face the spiritual enemies arrayed against us, it is not our “flabby abs” that they see. They see a soldier in perfect right standing with God, protected by his strength. The breastplate we wear shines, not with the reflected light of the sun, but the glory of the Son of God that is within us.
There is nothing the enemy has that can penetrate the breastplate of righteousness. My positional right standing with God keeps the enemy from getting to my vital organs (The source of my life in God and my faith.) It protects my heart, the pump that keeps life flowing within me. It protects lungs of my spirit that keep air flowing to my cells, and it protects the spiritual equivalent of my liver, kidneys and other organs which take the impurities from my life. Since this armor is designed to protect the spiritual not the physical, it is made up of truths from the word of God. It is important for us to understand what these truths are and how they work if we are going to enjoy the protection they provide.
The truth of the righteousness of God in Christ is one of the most powerful in the Bible. Righteousness is simply being in right relationship. We use this specific word to describe the spiritual truth, but it is easier to understand the nature of righteousness if we look at it in the natural.
Anyone who drives knows what it is like when we see a police car on the side of the road and we know the occupant has a radar detector. If we are on a highway, we are usually over the speed limit at least a little bit. It is always interesting to be in a line of traffic on an interstate and suddenly everyone’s brake lights go on. Sure enough, we soon see the police car sitting in the median and we know why everyone slowed down. Depending on how far over the speed limit you are, you will experience the fear that comes from being outside the law and we hope that we slowed down enough soon enough.
As I have gotten older, I have learned that going much over the speed limit is not really going to get me to where I am going any quicker. I try to observe most speed limits and, at least, I try to make sure I am not driving faster than the traffic is flowing. When I am on interstates with a high speed limit, I usually drive the posted speed. When I am doing that and I see the policeman on the side of the road, I do not press the brake to try and slow down. I am right with the law and therefore with the officer. I can wave to him and not worry that I have gotten his attention. I am at that moment righteous because no laws have been broken.
This same principle is true of our right-standing with God. When we have the truth of righteousness in place, we do not fear the enemy because we are right with God. When that is the case, we are protected by our relationship with him and the covenant we have in Christ. The difference is that we are not right with God because we are within the speed limit. We are right with God because of what he has done for us in Christ, Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV) 21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
I chose to quote this from the KJV because I think the very end of the verse is clearer. He (Jesus) was made to be sin for me. He never committed sin, but my sin was placed upon him. He did this so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ. The NKJV says that we might become the righteousness of God. To me this implies that we could have something to do with the result. When the KJV says we were made right with God, that implies that some outside force is what produced our righteousness. That is the truth of the breastplate of righteousness.
We are in right standing with God, not because of our behavior. Jesus never committed one sin in his life, but he was made sin for us. We never committed anything that could make us right with God, but he made us righteousness in Christ. If I am going to be covered with the breastplate of righteousness, I must accept this as truth but also believe it to be true for me. We may not feel right with God. We may have past behavior that would disqualify us from being right with God. However, the truth of the Word of God is that we have been made that way. Does our behavior matter? Yes, but not the context of our ultimate right standing with God. Next time we will look more closely at how this works and how we can be assured that our breastplate is securely in place whenever the enemy comes against us, protecting our vital spiritual organs.
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