Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

In addition to the belt of truth, we are to have put on the breastplate of righteousness. Notice that the text implies that the breastplate has been put on. It’s not an imperative, it’s a condition that exists: “having put on…”

The purpose of the breastplate, of course, is to provide protection for the vital organs in that region of the body: the heart, lungs, etc. But what does the “breastplate of righteousness” mean?

First, I think, it means that we have been declared righteous by God because of Jesus’ death in our place and his having credited us with Jesus’ perfect obedience. Satan’s continuous accusations cannot stand because we have been declared righteous by the Judge Himself. This fact is protective of us in battle when Satan’s arrows of doubt and accusation are flying.

Next, I think it means, at least to some degree, that we are living a righteous life, or at least attempting to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to be putting to death the deeds of the flesh and living in the strength which God provides. We need to be careful though, because often we will think we are better than we are, and we tend to start living as though our own righteousness was good enough on its own to carry us through in the day of battle. That would be a dangerous assumption. But at the very least, we need to be humbly seeking God and His strength in our efforts to live for Him. In any case, it is the perfect righteousness of Christ that is the strength of our breastplate.

An interesting passage in Isaiah 59:17, speaking of God preparing to wage war, says, “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head.” Now obviously He did not need to have an imputed righteousness given to Him as a breastplate. In this case it is speaking of God’s own righteousness. But there is another thought I would like to put in the mix here. When God puts on righteousness as a breastplate, I think it signifies that His cause is just and righteous. Could it mean the same thing for us? When we enter into a spiritual battle wearing the breastplate of righteousness, we are being engaged as a soldier in the army of the King of kings. We’ve been given the responsibility of waging war and holding ground against the enemy. We have been given a righteous cause for which to fight and it is our duty to be thoroughly prepared so that when all is said and done, we will still be standing.

Is your breastplate in place today as the battle rages all around you?