Breastplate

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the ^[a]wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of ^[b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

This is a little bit wordy but we have to ask the question. “What did the writers mean when the word righteousness is used?” So here is as close as I can find.

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:11 RSV)

The Hebrew words tsadiyq, translated as righteous, and ישר (yashar, Strong’s #3477), translated as upright, are paralleled many times in the Bible indicating that in the Hebrew mind they were similar in meaning. Upright is another abstract word but it is used in a concrete manner, such as in Jeremiah 31:9, where it means “straight” as in a straight path.

Hebrew Poetry will also parallel antonyms, words of opposite meaning, such as in the following verse.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but the LORD upholds the righteous. (Psalm 37:17 RSV)

Here we find the word wicked (rasha, Strong’s #7563) being used as an antonym, here as well as in many other passages, to the word righteous (tsadiyq). While the word wicked is an abstract, we can find its concrete meaning in the verb form, רשע (R.Sh.Ah, Strong’s #7561), which means to “depart” in the sense of leaving God’s way.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. (Psalm 18:21 RSV)

We now have a few clues into the meaning of a tsadiyq. He is one who is straight and does not depart from the way of God. The next step is to understand these concepts from the Ancient Hebraic culture and thought.

The Ancient Hebrews were a nomadic people who traveled a circuit through the wilderness, following the same paths from pasture to pasture, campsite to campsite and watering hole to watering hole. Anyone leaving this path can become lost and wander aimlessly, one who has “departed” from the path.

A righteous person is not one who lives a religiously pious life, the common interpretation of this word, he is one who follows the correct path, the path (way) of God.

I can say thank you God because I have not, am not and will not live a pious life. I will try but that is not my nature. As we have seen in the prior blogs each aspect of the armor of God provides a unique perspective and creates a sense of completeness as you build it.

It’s not an accident that Paul says, “Put on the whole armor of God.” While each piece offers a unique gift it is best realized as a whole. You cannot be righteous if you don’t have Faith, you cannot be righteous if you don’t have truth, and you cannot be righteous if you do not bring peace with you. You can be honorable, you can be good, but to be useful to God you need the whole package. When you combine these elements, it makes it possible to advance on the path before you shielded and unable to go backwards following the truth by faith. You will not wander, and it will bring you to your Helmet, salvation.

Thank God, for His armor.