By Greg Daley

Paul now comes to the second piece of armor, following the loinbelt of truth:

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

The prophet Isaiah speaking of the Messiah said:
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.”

Christ came to earth to do the will of the Father and to accomplish God’s will, he wore righteousness as a breastplate. If he needed this armor to do the Father’s will, how much more do we? As believers in Christ, righteousness has been imparted unto us so that we can take our place in Him and walk in intimacy and fellowship with the Father. He has also clothed us in His armor to win the battles in our lives and accomplish all of God’s will. Righteousness is provided for us in Christ.

2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Righteousness is more than just a theological term to describe our right standing with God. It is also a piece of armor whereby we overcome the enemy by guarding our hearts and casting down vain imaginations, ungodly beliefs and bringing every thought into captivity and to the obedience of Christ.

Rev 12:10-11
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

According to Rev 12:10, the Devil is the accuser of the brethren.

If you were not engaged in warfare you would not need to wear this kind of armor. But you do need to wear this kind of weaponry because someone out there wants to hurt you very badly!
Remember Eph 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The Devil wants to assault us. He wants to tell us that we are not righteous and that we are of no value to God or man. He wants you to believe that your value as a person is based on performance and what he or others say about you.

The word “devil” is taken from the Greek word diabalos, and is a compound of the words dia and ballo. The word dia carries the idea of penetration and the word ballo means to throw something, such as a ball or a rock. Literally, the word diabalos describes one who strikes again and again and again until, finally, he penetrates the mind with slanderous accusations.
He especially delights in finding believers who do not know they are righteous. They are easy prey. The devil sneers as he whispers to your mind, “You’re the worst believer who has ever lived; you’re a failure; why would God want to use or have anything to do with you? God can’t use you, you stupid thing!”

If your breastplate is not firmly fixed and in place, those slanderous accusations will most likely penetrate your mind and emotions. Christians who don’t know they have been made righteous in Christ tend to habitually walk in condemnation. Why? Because the devil never misses a chance to insert a condemning thought in their minds. People who don’t know they have been made righteous often walk in constant shame and guilt. The enemy makes them feel like failures. When you view yourself as “I’m just a sinner” or have a “bad guy” syndrome, with sin consciousness, it can actually create an opportunity for the devil to shame you. Shame lies to us about who we are. Guilt says you made a mistake but shame says you are a mistake. If he can shame you, he can get you to receive a false identity and weaken your relationship with the Father and get you to give into temptation.

However, when we understand that God has freely imparted righteousness to us and that this God-given righteousness now serves you as a gorgeous breastplate, it will affect your attitude in a very positive and life changing way. Your confidence in God rises up and you begin to do exploits for Him. When you get a revelation in your spirit of your true identity in Christ, and you understand all he has done for you, it will cause you to identify with Him and not with the lies of the devil and the weakness of the flesh. Paul writes in Romans 13:14: “rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desire of the flesh.” Colossians 3:10: “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
It’s true that all have the ability to blow it and sin, however the promise of God has always been: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 If we are cleansed from all unrighteousness then there isn’t any remaining!

Even your prayer life can be changed as you wear your breastplate.

1 John 5:13-15 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.
NIV

The word “confidence’ is taken from the Greek word parresia and has been translated in other places as boldness or openness. This word portrays the picture of a person who is exceptionally open and bold in how he approaches situations; so open and bold that he almost appears to be arrogant. As you walk in your “breastplate of righteousness”, righteousness consciousness will begin to develop, causing you to overcome the accuser’s accusations and be free of false emotions of unworthiness and condemnation. And, just like the Roman soldier whose breastplate became more polished and shiny with each step he took as the overlapping metal pieces rubbed onto each other, with every step you take in righteousness, you will become more and more blinding to the eyes of the enemy. We need to make the decision of faith to believe God has given us the gift of Righteousness.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you have made me a New Creation and that I am righteous because I have received Your gift of righteousness by receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. There is no condemnation to me because I am in Christ. I have on the breastplate of Righteousness and I am in right standing with You. I am in a place of covenant privilege. You have crucified my old nature, with Christ on the Cross, and I have now become a partaker of Your divine nature. I refuse to look to the past and to dwell on past mistakes and failures because you have cleansed me of all unrighteousness. I choose, today, to walk in my true identity as a son (or) daughter of the Father, made righteous by the blood of the lamb. I take my place as a saint in the house hold of faith. I believe that Your grace and the Holy Spirit within me will continue to make these truths real to me and enable me to walk this way so that, as Jesus is, so am I in this earth, in Jesus name.