The Full Armor of God – Week 3, Part 2

Just a reminder that I am still on vacation and so there won’t be any daily devotion until Tuesday. However, I do hope you will enjoy today’s Bible study. Have a great weekend!

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Concluding Thoughts on Chapter 3 – The Breastplate of Righteousness

Looking closer at the word “righteousness,” we find the original Greek word was dikaiosynē

(Strong’s G1343) which is defined as, “state of him who is as he ought to be.” It comes from the root word dikaios (Strong’s G1342) which means, “observing divine laws.” And so, we see that righteousness in the context of Ephesians 6:14 is keeping in step with God’s will, and living the way that a Christian ought to be living.

I want you to notice something here, because it’s important to our walk of faith. Righteousness is more than simply doing good. To the world a righteous life is a moral life. It’s an upstanding citizen with high principles and good values. It’s an honest person with integrity and virtue, but there’s one thing that’s missing in that equation, which is conformity to God’s will.

When we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we’re conforming our lives to God’s will. We’re being transformed into the likeness of Christ, because that’s what we were created to be.

Take a look at this verse:

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. (Colossians 3:10, KJV)

When we take off the old man, we turn away from bad habits and the sinful life we once had. And just like putting on a set of fresh clothes, we put on the new man which is a life that’s conforming to the image of Christ. I use the word “conforming” here rather than the past tense “conformed,” because the new man is growing each day. Every time we’re reading the Word or hearing the gospel, we’re renewing our minds. We’re learning more, and thus we should practice more.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (1 John 3:7, KJV)

I love the way this verse is expounded upon by MacLaren’s Expositions on the Bible:

‘Even as He is righteous’–the water in the great vessel and the little one are the same, but the vase is not the cistern. The beam comes from the sun, but the beam is not the sun. ‘Even as’ does not mean equality, but it does mean similarity. Christ is righteous, eternally, essentially, completely; we may be ‘even as He is’ derivatively, partially, and if we put our trust in Him we shall be so, and that growingly through our daily lives. And then, after earth is done with, ‘we know that, when He shall be manifested, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’

Now, let’s look at unrighteousness for a minute. If righteousness is observing God’s law, then unrighteousness is sin.

I had a reader ask me once, “If God forgives me, why can’t I sin today and ask for forgiveness tomorrow?”

Let me start by saying, that would be like taking off your breastplate in the heat of a battle. You’re inviting the enemy to take his best shot when you’re most vulnerable. Choosing to follow your sin puts you in a dangerous place where Satan has a foothold. It opens a door for something much worse, not to mention the fact that confession without godly sorrow is little more than just moving your lips.

Do not open leave yourself open for attack. Heed the words of Peter who warned us to be sober-minded and alert. Suit up for battle stand firm, stay strong!

Answer Key for Chapter 3

Q. What are Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:5 likened to?

A. Warfare.

Q. What were Roman breastplates made of?

A. They were generally made of leather, bronze, or iron.

Q. What does it mean to put on The Breastplate of Righteousness?

A. To put on The Breastplate of Righteousness is to live a righteous life. It’s something we put on every day.

Q. What does Proverbs 4:23 tell us to guard? Write the verse out here.

A. It says to guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)

Q. What are some practical ways you can protect your heart?

A. This answer will be different for everyone as we see the changes we need to make in our lives.

Fill in the Blanks:

If you know that he is ________________, you know that everyone who does _________________ has been born of him. (1 John 2:29, NIV)

A. righteous, what is right

For with the heart man believeth unto __________________; and with the mouth confession is made _________________. (Romans 10:10, KJV)

A. righteousness, unto salvation

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and ____________________________, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly ________________ for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)

A. training in righteousness, equipped

Q. With what are we to fill our minds?

A. The truth of God’s Word.

Q. What does Paul say we should take captive? How do we do that?

A. He says we should take our thoughts captive. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We make our thoughts obedience to Christ.

Q. What are some reoccurring thoughts that you struggle to take captive? What are some enticing lies that Satan has told you about these thoughts? What are some truths that can tear these lies down?

A. These answers will be different for everyone.

Free Printables

I’ve created some 8.5 x 11 high res images for you with some of the thoughts and verses from this study. I’ll have a few of them for you each week. Please click the images or the links below to view and print your copies.

Psalm 106:3 Coloring Page – Click here

Psalm 106:3 Bird Print – Click here

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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.