A Walk through Ephesians - Pt 28

 

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:14–20 ESV).

 

Now the Apostle Paul comes to the second piece of equipment we need to “put on” for the battle in which we are engaged: “the breastplate of righteousness” (v. 14). In a physical soldier’s armor, this is the part of the armor that protects the front and back of the torso. It’s keeping your spine, internal organs, and especially your heart and lungs safe. The reference to “righteousness” is important for us to understand. In a broad sense, the word in the original language is δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosuné). It means being in a “condition acceptable to God.” It also refers to “the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God” (Thayer’s Dictionary).

 

Righteousness involves the condition of your heart and state of your character. However, for the apostle his intention is for us to realize this state of being right is not attained through our good work; it comes through the love of God, in that by giving up Christ, his Son, to die as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of men he has attested his grace and good-will to mankind, so that they can hope for salvation as if they had not sinned. But the way to obtain this hope, he teaches, is only through faith, by which a man appropriates that grace of God revealed and pledged in Christ; and this faith is reckoned by God to the man as δικαιοσύνη. Thus it is "the state acceptable to God which becomes a sinner's possession through that faith by which he embraces the grace of God offered him in the expiatory death of Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

This is the protection we need for our heart! God has always been interested in wining His people’s hearts. That desire is at the core of Him asking us to follow Him in righteousness, which is why Jesus didn’t destroy the Law when He came. Rather, He revealed the full expression and intent behind God’s law — that we might develop His character and become like Him (cf. Matthew 5:17-20, 48).

 

Faith then becomes the act of putting on this “righteousness.” It takes us from the doing of the law to the living of our life in Christ. I like to say it puts me in a position where I’ve learned to live in the “third person”. That is to say I depend on God not myself. The moment my mind begins to drift away from the declaration that only God is enough for me is the moment I lose the battle. Trust Him and only Him!