Ephesians 6:14 (ESV) — Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of
truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
NOTE: The
breastplate has a front and a back, it also dips down and covers the thigh. The
name comes from the primary area of protection, the breast. It protects the
lungs, the heart, and the gut -- all vital areas where wounds will kill a
person. The term breastplate was a Roman description, so I think we have to be
careful of drawing too much inference from the Roman name. On the other hand,
the term is used in other places:
1 Thessalonians 5:7–8 (ESV) — 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who
get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the
day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet
the hope of salvation.
Isaiah 59:15–18 (ESV) —
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and
it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation
on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
In the first
passage, it is in contrast to those who sleep at night and get drunk at night.
As believers, we belong to the day. The idea of activity versus non-activity.
So putting on a breastplate carries the idea of going to work or battle, i.e.,
doing something with your life.
In the second
passage, God puts on "righteousness" as a breastplate as he goes
forth to execute judgment upon the earth. This probably would have been the
common understanding of the term for a Jew. Additionally the metaphor of a
helmet of salvation suggests Paul knew this passage well.
So why
righteousness? In 1 Thessalonians, the
name for the breastplate is different. Rather than righteousness, Paul uses
faith and love. That suggests a relationship, especially since Paul also
discusses the helmet in the same terms as Isaiah did and as Paul did later to
the Ephesians. The new question is what is the relationship of faith and love,
to righteousness, and why these choices for the primary armor?
Let me quote the
Lexham Theological Workbook on the word "righteousness:"
δικαιοσύνη
(dikaiosynē). n. fem. righteousness, justice. The quality of conforming to a
standard or norm, normally carrying an ethical overtone.
This noun is related to the adjective δίκαιος (dikaios, “righteous”)
and is the usual Septuagint translation of the Hebrew צֶדֶק
(ṣedeq, “righteousness”) and צְדָקָה (ṣĕdāqâ, “righteousness”). The
basic use of dikaiosynē in the NT is to describe character and actions
characterized by moral integrity as measured by God’s revealed will. The NT
uses the term in four primary ways: (1) as an attribute of God, highlighting
his justice and faithfulness; this is often referred to with the phrase
“righteousness (dikaiosynē) of God” …; (2) as a standard of justice to which
persons are held accountable …; (3) to describe morally upright or virtuous
behavior and character …; and (4) especially in the letters of Paul, a status
of acceptability before God on the basis of faith, the gift resulting from
justification …. (Anderson, G. P. (2014). Righteousness. D. Mangum, D. R.
Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook.
Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.)
In my mind, the use
of the word righteousness points back to the quality (moral integrity) of my
witness. Just as my truth or integrity holds all the pieces together, my armor
is my witness. My protection from the enemy is the degree to which my life is characterized
as a follower of Jesus Christ. If I am not APPLYING the word of God and seeing
CHANGE in my life, I will have no armor against the enemies attacks.
But what about faith
and love? Actually Jesus summed up the entire law into one commandment with two
corollaries, which are actually faith (love God with ally your heart, soul, and
mind) and love (love your neighbor as yourself). So the quality of the armor is
the degree to which I "live" as a believer. I am NOT saved by works.
But the strength of my armor is dependent upon works. I will fail and be
destroyed by the enemy if I do not walk with God in integrity.
PRAYER: Father, I
have never really thought about the armor of God as a reflection of my walk
with you. So far I have seen that the belt and breastplate are pieces I have to
get. They don't fall on me because I am child of God through Jesus. I need put
on the pieces and strengthen them through obedience to the word of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment