Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Jacksonville

Giants and Grasshoppers - Part Eight

June 20, 2021 Cornerstone Christian Fellowship
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Jacksonville
Giants and Grasshoppers - Part Eight
Show Notes Transcript

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Today we will look at the breastplate of righteousness.

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Sunday June 20th 2021
Fathers’ Day
Giants and Grasshoppers
Part Eight



1).  Eph 6:10 ¶ 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 wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 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-

As we look at the whole armor of God that has been supplied for us, it is interesting to note the armor associated with God Himself as recorded in Isa 59:17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

Not that God needs to be protected, far from it, but as the battle belongs to the Lord, it is interesting to note that righteousness and salvation are the two pieces of armor in common with that provided for us in the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. What we can conclude from this is that righteousness, which we will deal with shortly, and the salvation that is to come from it, the salvation of the soul, are paramount in our understanding of the spiritual warfare.
a).  We will remember from last time that the whole armor of God can only be put on by those who first of all have the belt of truth firmly in place, something only possible for those who have progressed to spiritual maturity.
b).  The belt of truth itself finds its definition in the same kind of determination and resolve possessed by Joshua and Caleb at Kadesh Barnea with regards to the land and their inheritance. The same resolve that we have seen in Ruth clinging to Naomi and Rebekah going with the oldest servant; with David and his encounter with Goliath, and in the Apostle Paul as he headed to Rome. And we are to have this same resolve and determination with respect to our own heavenly calling and inheritance. We are to take that which God has said about these things and then govern our lives in such a way that we will allow nothing to prevent us becoming a joint heir with Christ in the Age to Come – 
Lk 9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…….

Php 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 ¶ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind;

1 Peter 1:4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Again, from these verses we can see the necessity for spiritual maturity if we are to attain the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
c).  We had seen through the type of the first generation of Israel that they had progressed from a rudimentary, ‘gnosis’ knowledge surrounding the death and shed blood of the Passover lambs in Egypt to a mature ‘epignosis’ knowledge of God’s purpose for them in the land by the time they had reached Kadesh Barnea. A mature knowledge that was necessary if they were then to be able to enter the land and defeat their enemies.
d).  And as we had noted, the same is true for us – We have been redeemed from the bondage of sin and are in the process of being led by the Spirit to the land of our calling, and while on this journey God is teaching those with ears to hear all that they need to know about the land and what is expected of them if they are to gain their inheritance in it. And this is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the pastor-teachers as they proclaim the gospel of the glory of Christ.
e).  And once we have come to a place of maturity in this, we must resolve to enter the conflict with the inhabitants of the land, according to God’s instructions, being ‘strong in the Lord and in the power of His might’.
f).  And as we noted with Israel, maturity does not of itself bring about this kind of resolve. Israel had the maturity but did not have the resolve, having been deceived - Nu 13:30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out……..

Once we have come to the place of determined resolve, pictured in the belt of truth, we are then able to attach the next piece of the armor, the breastplate of righteousness.

2).  Before we look at this though, let’s spend a moment refreshing our memory as to the reason we need the whole armor of God – 
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [KJV]

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:13 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.

We must put on the whole armor of God if we are to stand against the wiles of the devil, if we are to have victory over the systematically organized plan of our enemy to overthrow us from the goal of our calling; his predatory plan that is executed through deception.
a).  To understand the nature of this predatory plan a little more fully, we can turn to the Book of Revelation and look at the Church in judgment at the end of this dispensation, as recorded by the Apostle John Ephesus - Re 2:4 "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.                  

Pergamum - Re 2:14 "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam……15 "Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate

Thyatira - Re 2:20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

Sardis - Re 3:1b… ¶ "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

Laodicea - Re 3:17 "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—

Contained in these condemnatory remarks that Christ made, and will make, to the ‘Church’, all the eternally saved from this dispensation, we can see the outworking of Satan’s predatory plan of deception. We can see the now familiar transition from leaving their first love in Ephesus, to the finality of the ‘Church’s’ perception of itself compared with the reality of the Lord’s description, in Laodicea.
b).  At some point then, those pictured through the Ephesian church will have turned away from the truth of the Word of the Kingdom, receiving a lie instead, which will lead to them being overthrown by deception, by the systematic and predatory plan of the enemy – 
2Co 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

The solution to this situation for those who would hear it, is repentance, to change their minds. To turn away from the lie, back to that which God has said, exemplified for us in Christ’s words to the Ephesian Church in - Re 2:5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works……

And it is within ‘the first works’ that should not have stopped that we will find the righteousness that makes up the breastplate.
 c). The spiritual warfare verses from Ephesians give us this instruction - Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

There are several things we should note here. To be able to ‘stand’ our waist must be girded with truth, and we must put on the breastplate of righteousness, something that will happen automatically if the belt of truth is in place. And because putting on this breastplate is something that we are to do, the righteousness referred to here cannot be the righteousness of Christ imputed to us at our new birth, as receiving that righteousness is based entirely upon the work of Another, completely apart from ourselves.
d).  We can see this in the foundational type from – 
Ge 3:21 ¶ Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

The covering that God provided for Adam and Eve because of their sin, involved death and shed blood, and was entirely the work of God, apart from any input from Adam and the Woman.  And for us the covering provided because of our sin also involves death and shed blood and is entirely the work of Christ – Ro 5:17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Rather than ‘the gift of righteousness’ that we see in Romans Chapter 5, the righteousness we see in Ephesians 6:14 is akin to the righteousness found in - Re 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

The righteousness spoken of here is plural, hence the translation ‘righteous acts’ – and shows us a process over time, where numerous ‘pieces of righteousness’ if you will, are accounted to us.
e).  And this is how we should understand the righteousness comprising the breastplate in Ephesians 6:14.
f).  The gift of righteousness of Romans 5:17 is a one time, never to be repeated event, but the breastplate is made up of a continual accumulation of righteous acts that come out of faith, the faith to the saving of the soul, that comes from the truth with which our waist is girded.

Ro 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…..

And it is no surprise that the righteousness of the breastplate corresponds to the fine linen of the Bride as only those who have on the breastplate of righteousness will be in a position to overcome the wiles of the devil, and it will be these overcomers alone who will make up the Bride of Christ.  The two go hand in hand.

3).  To understand the righteous acts of the saints that comprise the breastplate, we need to go back to foundation, to God’s dealings with Abraham - Ga 3:6 ¶ just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

And what exactly was it that Abraham believed God about? Well, the Scripture tells us - Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Abraham believed that which God had said concerning the promise that in Isaac his seed would be called with respect to the land and the inheritance, and that through Isaac and his descendants the promise would be fulfilled. In the absolute and resolute certainty that God would be faithful to His promises, Abraham then acted in faithful obedience. What he believed then became an act of righteousness - Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

Not only did Abraham believe what God had said but he also then acted upon that belief. A good work emanating from his faith – Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

And let’s please note, that what God had said, that Abraham then believed, was in relation to a land, an inheritance, and his descendants.
a).  His belief, his faith was accompanied by works, righteous acts, which brought his faith to a place of completion.
b).  And the same must be true for us – 1Th 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Here in 1 Thessalonians, we see the same breastplate from Ephesians Chapter 6 called ‘the breastplate of faith and love’, and here we find the inextricable connection between faith and righteousness, just as we saw with Abraham.
c).  In other words, once we have determined to go into the land and claim our inheritance, having put on the belt of truth in the likeness of Caleb and Joshua, we would then organize our life in such a way as to be faithfully obedient to all that God has said regarding the reward of the inheritance in the land of our calling.  What we believe will be translated into action, good works, righteous acts, within the scope of our calling, fulfilling our responsibility as a servant in the Lord’s house.  In doing this we will put on for ourselves the breastplate of righteousness now, and we will be preparing for ourselves the wedding garment that we will put on at a time yet future.
d).  In fact, it is only by having the determination to succeed, represented in the belt of truth, that we will have the incentive to organize our lives in faithful obedience.
e).  It is only by maintaining the belt of truth that we will sustain our faithfulness for the long haul.  These two pieces of armor work in unison for our protection, to let either slip will open us to deception.
f).  And the breastplate being described by the words, ‘faith’ and ‘love’ in the Thessalonians verse is completely consistent with this thought.
g). Faith is simply believing that which God has said and that which we have believed will result in good works, acts of righteousness, in accordance with our faith.
h). And love is the Greek word ‘agape’ which is connected to sacrifice.  Whether we see this as love for one another, or love for God, makes no difference as the result is the same – the death of self.  Our flesh needs to die and dying to our flesh is a righteous act emanating out of having faith to the saving of the soul.
i). Also, to have ‘agape’ love for one another is the pinnacle of the process to spiritual maturity. A process that necessitates the continual death of self. The righteousness acts of which we have just spoken.

4).  It is sobering to consider that the Christians in Ephesus to whom this great spiritual warfare passage was written, are rebuked at the Judgment Seat, as we saw, for leaving their first love.
a).  They turned aside at some point from seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, because of being deceived, and pursued other things instead. They remained the ‘church’, the called-out ones, but their focus was no longer on the purpose for which they had been called out.
b).  And the Lord’s admonition to them was to repent, to change their minds about what they were doing, and to return to the first works, the good works, the acts of righteousness they had done when seeking the Kingdom and His righteousness first was fresh and new.
c).  When Scripture says we will need patience, perseverance, endurance, long suffering in pursuit of the Kingdom, these words are not given for rhetorical effect. They are essential if we are not to be diverted from our purpose as the Ephesians were. Scripture admonishes us – 
Ga 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

It is the breastplate of righteousness that figuratively protects the heart - Heb 10:35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 37 "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Let’s remember the church at Sardis, who had a name that they were alive, but as far as the Lord was concerned, they were dead.  And why were they in this condition?  Because their works were not perfect/not brought to completion before God.  Their faith had not been brought to its goal.
d).  They had believed what God had said, but what they had believed had not turned into works, into acts of righteousness – 
Jas 2:20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

The breastplate of righteousness does not exist apart from faith and works and neither faith nor works can exist apart from hearing the Word of God - Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

And the Word we are to hear, the Word of the Kingdom, deals specifically with our calling and the land of our inheritance. This Word is essential for us if we are to have victory over our enemy.  
e). Without the hearing of this Word, we cannot be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Without it we cannot have our waist girded with truth and nor will the breastplate of righteousness be ours.
f). And without these two foundational pieces of the armor there will be no possibility of standing against the wiles of the devil -
Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

To believe that hearing the Word of the Kingdom is of itself enough is a deception, it is part of the devil’s systematic scheming. Let’s make sure that not only do we seek first His Kingdom through hearing the Word but also the righteousness that He will account to us through our acts of faithful obedience to it.

More next time – if we remain and the Lord is willing.