Ephesians 6:14b: The Armour of God: Part Two

The various parts of the armour seem well suited to the parts of the body they attach to. The word of God is well suited to be a sword because of its ability to penetrate the heart. The helmet of the hope of our salvation is well suited to protecting our heads. The gospel of peace prepares us for all of our Christian actions and is well suited to the shoes of gospel peace readiness. The truth makes us well prepared as a belt. And righteousness is well chosen to protect our hearts as a breastplate. Sin is a terrible enemy of our hearts and righteousness is it best protection. Today as we continue thinking about the gospel armour we are looking at the breastplate of righteousness. Ephesians 6:14b, ‘and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.’ There are two aspects to the breastplate that must be covered. Some have thought that the breastplate represents the Christian’s commitment to holiness and growth in sanctification; others have thought that it refers to the Christian’s justification and the imputed righteousness of Christ. We see both as part of the armour. These two aspects of the breastplate of righteousness make the Christian ready to meet two of the major assaults of the devil, accusation and temptation. We will look first at the breastplate as referring to our justification and secondly as our sanctification.

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