Ephesians 6:14 BSB; Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,
The armour of God is essential to the believers walk with and in Christ. What we see in these verses are building blocks. Our faith in Christ says we are able to lean on His strength and power in order to stand in our fight against Satan with the purpose to still be standing when the fight is over.
Jesus Christ won the victory for us at the cross and now He wants us to walk in that victory, that is the purpose of the armour.
This is why truth is first. We must know the truth, Jesus. When we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ the truth for us changes. That is, we are no longer under God’s wrath because of sin but we are made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That is, the righteousness of Christ Jesus delivered us from the guilt of our sin (1 Corinthians 1:30). Now we are to live as one who is righteous before God.
(resolutions, sympathies, etc.). See 4102 /pistis (“the Lord’s inbirthed persuasion”).Ephesians 6:14 refers to “the breastplate of righteousness” (ton thōraka tēs dikaiosynēs) and 1 Thes 5:8 to “the breastplate (2382 /thoraks) of faith.” This indicates righteousness results from obeying the faith God births in the heart (this is confirmed in texts like Js 2:14-26). HELPS Word-Studies
As we saw the belt of truth is connected to our faith in Christ as THE TRUTH and now we see the breastplate of righteousness is also connected to our faith and our obedience.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The heart is where moral choices are made because this is where our will, emotions and sympathies lie. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us our hearts are wicked above all things this is why God had to give us a new heart. As a believer I am to protect my heart from lies and perversion. We will not walk in victory or truth without faith that leads to obedience.
Faith opens the door to the ability to obey God from the motivation of loving Him. The only way to avoid disobedience is to, by faith, choose to believe what God says is true and then act upon His Truth, not how we feel. When I move deeper into God’s righteousness, I find myself saying, God said it and I believe it. Why? Because at that point I am usually walking by faith not by sight with no or very little understanding.
Using Our Armour
When I first began my walk in and with Christ Jesus there were still a lot of worldly ways in my thinking. But as I struggled to obey, failing many times, I became sensitive to evil and sin. I began to hear and see sinful ways in
my attitudes, actions, and words. I would watch TV or a movie and would find myself saying, “I don’t remember that being in this”. Becoming aware of what was there it made my heart sad and I did not enjoy it anymore.
Well, now I know that was the Holy Spirit grieving because I was feasting my eyes and mind on ungodly things. I had to learn to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit and as I did ,by faith, my faith grew stronger in the strength and might of the Lord and through each trial and act of obedience my heart becomes more sensitive to sin. I am not saying I am where I will be but I am saying the truth (Jesus) holding the breastplate of righteousness (living to please God) is what we use to guard our heart from desiring the ways of this world and our flesh. This is not easy and it definitely shows that the path of righteousness is very narrow.
Proverbs 4:23 KJV Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
The breastplate of righteousness is used to keep careful watch over our heart as we read scripture and consider what is right before God.
Why the heart? Because that is where we choose (engage our will) in our words, attitudes, and actions. Proverbs 4:24-27 connects our words, eyes, and feet to our heart. We know we are guarding our heart when we fight to keep our lips from lies, our eyes on the things of heaven, and our feet on the straight path and not on the path of evil (Psalm 1:1).
