The Breastplate of Righteousness
(The Divine Armor Part 2)
“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
(Ephesians 6:11,12)
n this second section, we move a bit further downward.
Salvation, we have seen, is a choice, and is therefore represented as a helmet,
a protection for the mind, the forehead. So what about righteousness? That’s
fairly important for a Christian to have, certainly. “Thou lovest
righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Psalms 45:7) And what is
this anointing the psalmist is speaking of? It fills us with gladness, it
seems, and it exalts us above the station of an ordinary person. But we must
take care here, not to delude ourselves into thinking that we have earned this
position of our own merits.
Noah, Hebrews 11:7 tells us, became “heir of the
righteousness which is by faith.” “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as a leaf; and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 65:4) So what shall we
do, then? “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His
angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matt
16:27) Since “all... have come short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) aren’t
we all in trouble? Well, that is what the sacrifice of Christ was for, to
provide us a way of salvation.
And as we accept this salvation, and put on this spiritual
“helmet” sealing and protecting our choice, we also lay aside our previous
filthy rags, and “white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was
said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season.” (Rev 6:11) Two
things become clear here. First, there is a call to a deeper understanding of the
Sabbath. The connection between the 7th day and the Victory is this – that on
the 7th Day, Yah rested, because all the works were completed. All that was to
be done was done, and there was nothing else to do. All creation was perfect,
and so there was rest. So it is with us, when we have claimed the Victory in
Christ, we come to that understanding, that all the work was done, and
completed at the cross. And there is nothing else for us to do but rest. Once a
week, we have a most important reminder of this blessed provision.
The second thing that is revealed by this statement is that
the robes were given to the saints. Those who are redeemed put on clothing not
their own. In fact, they put on the Righteousness of Christ, “I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me
in the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride
adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isa 61:10) Our deficiencies are covered
with the Righteousness of the Redeemer, and we are thus equipped to stand in
the day of judgment.
Our very name is changed when we put on this robe, “In
those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is
the name wherewith she shall be called, “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jer
33:15) We are not to put off the name that Yah has given us to bear. The name
we have as an organization, as a church, is vital to our connection with
Christ. We cannot deny the title He has given us to bear, or we deny His
authority over us, and we thereby deny Him. The Lord is the righteousness of
His people, not that we have earned it, but because we have chosen the free
gift of salvation, and been clothed in righteousness.
Now, turning to the armor, we see righteousness not called
a robe, but rather, “Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness.” (Eph 6:14)
As does a robe, the breastplate covers the main body, the
largest and so perhaps the most vulnerable place on a warrior. And whereas a
robe is a garment for a time of peace, so now it is a solid, secure object,
which can protect us from both the front and the back. Salvation is a choice,
and Righteousness is the condition which results from it – a condition of the
heart.
If we are wearing a helmet, we can’t see it. We don’t
always “feel” that we have salvation, we don’t always have the emotional
confirmation that Yah is with us. Yet the knowledge of our decision is what
gives us the constant assurance. Righteousness, however: we can look down and
see that, spiritually speaking. “But in every nation he that feareth Him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” (Acts 10:35) Righteousness is
connected to actions. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
alone. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac
his son upon the altar? And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, ‘Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called
the friend of God.’” (James 3:17,21,23)
Abraham’s faith, and the resulting condition of his heart,
allowed him to do the required actions, to undertake the most painful trial of
going forth to sacrifice his son. By faith, because he “believed God,” he was
granted the garment of righteousness, but this showed itself by his works. A
condition of his accepting the covering was obedience. The undeserved grace of
Yah was his to wear, because he believed AND obeyed.
The head is higher in the body than the heart. Even so:
emotions are good, and we would not be human if we did not have them, but if we
allow them to rule us, we have a serious problem. Those readers with quicker
eyes will notice that the date I post this is February 14th, so let us talk
about the heart, for a while, on this Valentine’s Day.
To a natural man, “The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” But the redeemed will have prayed,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
(Psalms 51:10) A man who has accepted the grace freely offered, and put on the
helmet of salvation, will become aware of higher principles than desires of the
flesh. For the greater love, the love that Yah desires he have, someone may
need to put away the desires of his heart, following his forehead rather than
his chest. This is a most painful process, and all are called to bear their
cross, and for this reason, we are not left defenseless.
The Lord becomes our Righteousness, and we are not given a
flexible, yielding covering like chain mail – but rather a plate: a sturdy
armor with which to hide the scars that living in this world will naturally
cause. The heart may be desperately wicked (or at least we may have memories of
a deceitful heart), but it is also soft, and easily injured. It can be injured
from the front – an underserved criticism, perhaps, or a temptation to the
senses. It can also be wounded from behind – a sharp and sudden reminder of
one’s past. But “My grace is sufficient for thee,” saith the Messiah, and the
breastplate of righteousness, our concern and resulting actions in the best
interest of others, protects us from both of these assaults.
As inflexible as plate armor is, it also leaves the arms
free to move, and it does not restrict movement of the legs either. It does not
imprison our humanity; it does not transform us into cold, unfeeling beings,
cut off from emotion. Quite the opposite – it strengthens us instead to deal
with a deeper level OF emotions, and gives us the freedom to act on our
feelings, to help ourselves and others as best we know how. If we follow our
hearts only, with no regard for principles and common sense, we will assuredly
do more harm than good. The breastplate gives us a layer of protection, so we
have time to weigh the counsels of our hearts, before we act upon them.
Look again upon the breastplate:
Notice the mark upon the chest:
This the seal that Yah places upon the body of the
believer. The lion is a symbol of strength, mastery, royalty and courage. The strength
and the royalty are not our own, we are rather “heirs” to the kingdom, and
partakers of the strength that was in Yahshua be His divinity. But the mastery
is ours to attain, though also by His grace and empowerment, and the courage is
also a decision we must make.
In these last days, we are told, the faithful prophesy. The
spirit of Yah is poured out upon all flesh, and the work which closes up this
chapter of earth’s history will be accompanied by miracles as in the days of
the Apostles (see Joel 2:28-32, 3:14-16). We who have claimed salvation stand
ready to give the earth Heaven’s final testimony, and when there is faith
enough upon the earth, there will be healing of the sick and raising of the
dead (Rev 11:11). We stand ready to work Yah’s righteousness. But we need to DO
in order to become ready.
The apostles spent time with Christ, watching Him heal and
calming storms. When He therefore “called unto Him the twelve, and began to
send them forth two by two; and gave them power over unclean spirits,” they
went. They were FAMILIAR with the healing, and with the casting out of demons.
“And they went out, and preached that men should repent, and they cast out many
devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” (Mark
6:7,12,13) So it is with us, as we study the Word of Yah daily, and meditate on
His ways, we become familiar with Him.
I have heard it said that some Christians may be a single
act of obedience away from receiving the anointing they were promised. Some
have all the knowledge of the Scriptures, all the insights of the Spirit,
certainly more than I now do. But if they do not act upon it, if they do not
begin to practice works of faith and obedience, can they be of any use?
“‘But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he
came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered
and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the
second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father?’ They say unto him, ‘The
first.’ Jesus saith unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and
the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.’” (Matt 21:28-31)
Acting on one’s faith takes courage. Having the knowledge
is not enough. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to
him it is sin.” (James 4:17) We must not only be hearers of the Word, but doers
thereof. For this reason Righteousness is a breastplate, covering our hearts,
and sealed with the mark of a lion. We are led by principle, not feelings, for
indeed, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7) since “faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1) It
takes courage to believe in that which we have not seen, but Christ encourages
us, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
Let us not be that “one act of obedience” away from where
Yah has called us to be. Let us not be content with simply being “better” than
we were before we were called. It is ours to claim the righteousness of Christ,
and to put away the old corrupt desires after the flesh alone, and to step into
the place, which Christ has gone ahead of us to prepare. By our faith, we DO
have that power to do always that which pleases the Father. We therefore stand,
having on the breastplate of righteousness.
Of those that are called the “seven deadly sins,” (Pride,
Envy, Sloth, Wrath, Greed, Lust and Gluttony), we find that of these, Greed is
the primary condition of the heart. Wrath and Envy may also be associated with
the emotions, but it is greed, seeking the good of our selves before that of
others, which is in the most obvious opposition to righteousness. Righteousness
seeks first to have us fulfill the best good of others, losing sight of our own
desires in order to be faithful servants to our fellow man. Greed, and it’s
other name, selfishness, turns our best efforts inward, and the gifts which Yah
has given to us for the edification of others are wasted.
“How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that
prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart.” (Jer
23:27) Even the best gifts of Yah, if not protected by the breastplate of
righteousness, will be perverted by the natural heart of he that has received
it, and by his greed, both he and his followers shall be overcome. But this
need not be the case. The second item of armor is as free as the first, and
when one chooses Salvation and puts on the helmet thereof, Righteousness is not
far behind. Salvation is a choice, and righteousness is the step
that results from it.
David.