Truth and Righteousness

I’m excited to dive into our second night in Ephesians 6 and this is where we are going to start breaking down the armor that Paul mentions in verses 14-17. Tonight we are going to look at 2 pieces of the armor and that is the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. I didn’t get to mention it much last night but it’s important for us to know that the one that has put on the whole armor of God is imitating Jesus who wore the armor perfectly. Every attribute that is mentioned in this armor can be seen fully in Jesus Christ. To give you an idea of what the next few nights will look like, they will follow the same basic outline or pattern: What is the context of what Paul is talking about or what would the first century armor be used for. The second thing is what does wearing the armor mean and look like in our lives, and finally how did Jesus wear the armor. Over these next 4 nights, I cannot stress to you all enough just how important it is that we put this into our lives. What we must recognize is that in these verses, Paul is not giving advice. Paul, like a good doctor has found the problem and has given the prescription. Our lives hang in the balance as to whether or not we wear this armor. Paul does not say all that he says in verses 10-13 just to get to verse 14 and say, “here’s a suggestion. Take it or leave it.” No, instead after showing us who our battle is against and highlighting the forces that are against us says, “Seeing that this is the case, this must be so! Do this! Put on this!” As we are on this earth, we must put on the full armor of God now. We cannot afford to only put on part, we must put it on in full. The day will come when the armor is no longer needed but that day has not been reached yet for any of us. William Gurnall wrote probably the greatest book on the armor of God, it is a massive book, clocking in at 656 pages with small print and single spacing, says, “In heaven we shall appear not in armor but in robes of glory; but here they are to be worn night and day, we must walk, work and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.” So let’s open up in prayer and then we will dive into Ephesians 6. Each night we will read all of the verses leading up to piece of the armor that we will be reading about so let’s go ahead and read Ephesians 6:10-14

Ephesians 6:10–14 NASB95

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Context of the Armor

Now from the get go, let me just start by saying that I love my NASB translation of the Bible. I really don’t think that you can get a more word for word accurate translation of Scripture than in the NASB Bible. But that doesn’t always mean that the way that the NASB translates a certain word or phrase always makes it the easiest to understand. The last half of verse 14 is simple enough to understand but “Girded your loins” is not really a phrase that I think we use anymore so here is how my other favorite translation, the ESV, translates Ephesians 6:14, “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Now, that’s easier to visualize right? We’ve gone from girding our loins which sounds like a grilling technique for making pork loin to putting a belt on. Both verses mean the same exact thing though. You all know how belts work right? What is the primary purpose of a belt? It keeps your pants up and holds them in place. It also stops your pants from falling to the ground and tripping you up. But is this what Paul has in mind as he points people to the belt? And why do you think that he would start with the belt? Why not the breastplate or the helmet or the thing that we would thing is more important in a battle? It comes down really to what the Roman soldier would use the belt for. In the first century, Roman soldiers would wear a large tunic, one could say almost like a poncho and it would fit pretty loosely on the body. I don’t know if you have ever worn a poncho in a rain storm but they tend to get in the way of things and this was the case for tunics worn in the 1st century. A Roman soldier, if he was going into battle, didn’t want to run around the battlefield naked, although that is one surprise tactic that could have an impact on the battle, would take the extra material of clothing and he would tuck it into his belt so that it would not get in the way of combat. John MacArthur puts it like this: “Girding the loins was a mark of preparedness, and the soldier who was serious about fighting was sure to secure his tunic with his belt.” What does Paul mean then when he says that we should fasten or secure on ourselves the belt of truth? We’ll get to it in a little bit. The next piece of armor that Paul mentions is the breastplate. This one is a little bit easier for us to see the need for. If you’ve ever seen Gladiator movies or been to something like Medieval Times, you’ve probably noticed that there was a big piece of armor that protected the torso of the gladiator or soldier right? Now if you are a soldier, why would you want something big and tough right over your chest? It’s to protect your vital organs right? You don’t need to be a doctor to know that if you get stabbed in the heart in the middle of battle that you have a pretty high percentage chance that you will die. 1st century Roman soldiers knew this so they would wear over their tunic a piece of tough leather or heavy material with animal horn or hoof pieces sewn in to strengthen the material. Since most fighting at this time was hand-to-hand combat, the soldier would have a significantly higher chance of survival with the breastplate on than if they did not have one on. What I hope you are seeing is that Paul has a reason for including these pieces of armor. They are things that would be obvious to the people that he originally was writing to. Now what Paul is saying may have been obvious to his original audience but that does not mean that it is obvious to us in the 21st century so what does this mean for us?

How Do We Wear the Armor?

Belt of Truth

Before we dive in too far, I think that it is important that we know that Paul is not describing every single person on the planet. Who is it? What type of people is Paul describing and wanting to empower with the armor of God? It’s not the unbelievers that may have an interest in the things of God. No, Paul is directly addressing Christians and we need to keep that in mind. As Paul describes the person that wears the armor of God, we must remember that that person is an already saved child of God. With that being said, why do you think that Paul starts with the truth? Maybe an even better question is: What is truth? Or perhaps an even greater question: Whose truth is it? All questions that we will try to answer in a relatively short period of time. So, why do you think that Paul starts with the belt of truth? It is because without a secure commitment to Christian truth, the devil will have free reign to do with you as he wishes. Paul starts with the truth because there must be a firm commitment, a standing firm in that which is really true. Now what is the truth that Paul has in mind? Because in this day and age, and certainly during the days of Paul, truth seems to take on a variety of different meanings. There is truth that is not truth, there is truth that is preferential truth, and then there is absolute truth. The first one involves someone that so desperately holds onto a lie that they claim it to be true. This is obviously not the truth that Paul has in mind. Paul also doesn’t have preferential truth in mind so what would be a good example of preferential truth? Let’s talk ice cream. To me, the best kind of ice cream is mint chocolate chip. Specifically green mint chocolate chip. That’s true for me right? Not every single person can say that mint chocolate chip is their favorite, they’re wrong of course, but the truth is simply that not everyone will have mint chocolate chip as their favorite ice cream. However, that does not invalidate the truth for me. Then there is the truth that Paul is talking about and that is truth that is absolute. This is truth that is constant and never changes. This is the very truth of God, His Word, and His Law. The problem comes when people look at God’s truth as if it is just preferential truth. You may have heard people say before, “Well Christianity is all well and good for you if its true, but its not for me.” Absolutely it’s for you! In fact, Christians are doing you a grave disservice if they do not insist on the absolute truth of God and God’s Word. It’s suicide if we don’t. What if you were to say, humans breathe oxygen and that’s true and good for them, but my truth is that I need water alone to survive? Now I do you a grave disservice if I don’t tell you that you’re wrong because what is going to happen if you go and live in the ocean for a few hours? You die! And you die believing something that is absolutely false despite your insistence on it being true. What Paul is talking about for us is that if we do not hold fast to God’s truth, if we are looking for truth anywhere else as the point of absolute truth, we are allowing Satan prime access to us. Now of course the devil is going to do all that he can to blind you to the truth of Scripture. Adrian Rogers said, “The devil is a liar. He cannot stand the truth; he cannot face the truth. And if you would overcome him, you must be people of truth: You must know the truth, live the truth, believe the truth, do the truth, and tell the truth!“ The truth is of utmost importance in the Christian life. Jesus Himself prays in John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” We are to be set apart for the truth, in the truth, and by the truth. What you guys need to understand as young Christians is that not everything that claims to be true really is. Not everything that claims to be Christian is really Christian and the Christian and church that seeks to remove itself from the truth that is clearly proclaimed in God’s Word has not girded their loins with truth. Ian Hamilton said, “When the church has drifted from the infallible truth and authority of God’s Word, it becomes prey to the devil and his schemes. Conversely, when the church affirms its absolute confidence in God’s truth, it see through the devil’s wiles, exposes them for what they are, and confirms itself afresh in the truth of the Gospel.” So, with all that being said, where does the Christian get his truth from? It’s not from social media, it’s not from the world, it’s from God and the Word. John says in 1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” We know that the devil is going to lie to us. The only way that we can fight back is with truth. The devil is going to tell you to reject God, reject his Word, to reject truth in the name of convenience but we have to understand that the commands of God are not a burden. David in Psalm 19:7-11 says this:

Psalm 19:7–11 NASB95

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.

There is great gain in holding to God and His Word. It is to be desired above all else! Now let’s quickly look back to the breastplate of righteousness that Paul also mentions.

Breastplate of Righteousness

What does Paul mean when he talks about putting on the breastplate of righteousness? Some people think that he is talking about that initial moment of saving faith. They say that Paul is pointing the reader to the justification that they receive through Christ but I think that is a stretch because we need to remember that Paul is already writing to Christians. A non-Christian, as we have said, cannot put on the armor of God. What righteousness is Paul talking about? It is the righteousness that comes from living a God-fearing, Christ-centered, sanctified life. I think it was Steven Lawson that said that putting on the breastplate of righteousness is the putting into action and the living out of what happens when we put on the belt of truth. Putting on the belt of truth is holding onto the truth of God in our hearts and then putting on the breastplate of righteousness is living that truth out. Do you remember what we said the primary purpose of a breastplate was for a Roman soldier? It was to protect the vital organs right? Like if you are a soldier and you get a finger chopped off, it’ll hurt but you could keep going. If you get stabbed in the stomach or stabbed in the heart, you’re a dead man. What Paul is saying then is that if we want to survive the onslaught of the devil, we need the holiness of God to protect and lead our hearts. What we also need to remember is that the righteousness that guards our hearts is not our own righteousness. The righteousness that guards our hearts is the very righteousness of God. There is no righteousness anywhere outside of God Himself. How do we get this righteousness then to begin with? If we possess no righteousness in ourselves, how are we made righteous? This is the question that bothered Martin Luther so greatly prior to his conversion. Luther could not understand Romans 1:16–17 where Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”” Verse 17 specifically waged war with the great reformers soul because to him, the verse just did not make sense. Eventually Luther finally made the connection that the righteousness of God being revealed from faith to faith was not a man-centered righteousness but a gracious bestowal given by the Gospel to everyone that believes in Christ. The righteousness that Paul speaks of here is not the righteousness that is required by us but is the righteousness that is freely given to us through Christ’s perfect righteousness. I guess we could say that the breastplate of righteousness does contain the initial justification with God that comes when we first come to faith in Christ and it also contains the holiness that we are to live out in our daily lives so that we can stand firmly against the Devil. But what about Jesus? Where do we see Jesus wearing these pieces of armor?

Jesus and the Belt and Breastplate

Believe it or not, Ephesians 6:14 is a direct reference to a couple of different places in Scripture that all point to Jesus. Where do we see the belt of truth in reference to Christ? Well one of the first places is in Isaiah 11. What happens in that chapter? Isaiah 11 is a very specific prophecy that is known as a Messianic prophecy. These are the prophecies or areas of Scripture that point ahead to the day when the Messiah or Christ will come. Listen to what the Lord says in Isaiah 11:1-4 and tell me if you can see Jesus in these verses?

Isaiah 11:1–4 NASB95

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

Do we not see Jesus doing this? As we have gone through these 4 and a half chapters of Mark have we not seen the Spirit of the Lord rest on Him in His baptism? Have we not seem Him teach with the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and strength. Has he not delighted in the fear and righteousness of God? We’ve seen all this happen in just these first few chapters! But is this where we see a reference in Ephesians 6:14? Maybe but look one verse over in Isaiah 11:5 “Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.” Do you see it? Now you might say, “Brady, you’re dumb. Isaiah says that righteousness and faithfulness is the belt around his waist and Paul said truth is!” Here’s the thing, if you were to take the Greek Old Testament that Paul had and looked at the word that is used for faithfulness in Isaiah 11:5, do you want to know what Greek word you get? Its the exact Greek word that Paul uses for truth in Ephesians 6:14. When we looked at Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, what was it that He used to fend off Satan’s temptation? It was the Word of God. Jesus Himself, put into practice and saw the absolute necessity of holding fast to the truth of God and the Bible. Not only that, but Jesus Himself says that He is truth incarnate! We read in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”’ So, we see that Jesus wears the belt of truth but what about the breastplate of righteousness? Look at the prophet Isaiah again. In Isaiah 59, the Lord is pointing out the wickedness of the world. He sees that there is no righteousness and He knows that something must be done about that. He sees that man on his own is unable to atone for his own sins so what does God do? He intercedes. Isaiah 59:16–17 says, “And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.” Here we see Jesus as the One that puts on the breastplate of righteousness and to jump ahead a bit the helmet of salvation because man on his own has absolutely no way of getting a single inch closer to salvation. A few verses later we read in Isaiah 59:20–21 “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord. “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”” Alec Motyer summarizes these verses like this: “When the Lord dons this clothing he is publicly revealing what he is. But he is also declaring what he intends to do and that he is able to do it. It is a work which will display and satisfy his righteousness, save his people, repay his foes and be carried through to completion by the driving motivation of divine zeal.” What does Jesus do then as He lives out the breastplate of righteousness and belt of truth? These things carry Him to the cross so that we may one day put on the very same garments. As Paul so wonderfully puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Do you see the full weight of what Paul is saying? In order for us to be able to put on the breastplate of righteousness, we had to receive it from someone else. In order for us to have any righteousness at all, we had to exchange out imperfect righteousness with someone that possessed perfect righteousness. The only way that we can wear the breastplate of righteousness is if we first take off our own. It is only when we put on Christ’s righteousness, His perfect righteousness, that we will be able to be saved and that we will be able to endure. As we close, I want you to think about this: If you have been saved, that means that you have had the breastplate of righteousness given to you. Have you put it on? Are you living out a holy life? What practical difference should the breastplate of God’s righteousness make in your life? As we sing, take a moment to pray and to respond.