Armor of God – The Breastplate of Righteousness

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then…with the breastplate of righteousness in place… (Ephesians 6:13-14, NIV).

In my last post, I discussed what might be considered the first line of defense in the Christian’s stand against Satan and his attacks: “…the belt of truth…” (Ephesians 6:14, NIV). By and through the truth of God’s Word, we can stand in victory against Satan, a.k.a. “…the father of lies…” (John 8:44, NIV).

Today, we’re looking at what Paul refers to as “…the breastplate of righteousness…” (Ephesians 6:14, NIV). When Satan attacks, he strikes at the very heart of the Christian. Therefore, we must remain guarded if we are to continue to stand. Fortunately, we are covered in Christ’s righteousness. The Prophet Isaiah states it this way: “… (God has) arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10, NIV). The Apostle Paul adapts Isaiah’s language of “a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10, NIV) to “the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14, NIV). Paul knew that we would be fighting nothing short of a spiritual war.

So, just what is righteousness? Paul puts it this way: “God made (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV). In other words, God made an exchange at the cross, taking our sin and trading it for Christ’s “right-ness” before him. Because of this one act on the part of Jesus, we are declared forgiven and free. We now stand against Satan protected by “the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14, NIV), the victory already won!