Righteousness is conceptualized as a breastplate.

Breastpiece, Breastplate. 1. Part of the ceremonial garment of the high priest (Ex 25:7).

See PRIESTS AND LEVITES.

2. Piece of armor worn to protect the chest. The word is used figuratively in several passages. Isaiah 59:17 says that God put on righteousness as a breastplate as he prepared to take vengeance on his enemies. The apostle Paul exhorted Christians to wear a “breastplate of righteousness” in order to stand against the devil (Eph 6:14) and a “breastplate of faith and love” as they await Christ’s return (1 Thes 5:8).

BREASTPLATE.—1. חשֶׁן ḥoshen, a plate worn as part of the high priest’s dress (see next art.). 2. שִׁרְיָן shiryān, θώραξ. Both the Heb. and Gr. words probably described a cuirass rather than a simple breastplate. Such a cuirass as worn by the Greeks protected the back as well as the breast and stomach. In addition, it often gave protection to the neck and to the hips. It was well suited to suggest the many-sidedness of ‘righteousness’ (Is 59:17 = Eph 6:14). Another form of the word, shiryōn, is usually rendered ‘coat of mail.’ The phrase ‘coat of mail of righteousness’ is awkward, but it is more accurate than ‘breastplate of righteousness’ in both places cited above. In 1 Th 5:8 faith and love form the θώραξ, perhaps with a hint at the two parts, front and back, of which it was usually made. The Rom. lorica (= θώραξ) was of various kinds. It was sometimes (a) a simple jacket of leather reaching to the middle of the thighs with double thickness at the shoulders, or (b) an arrangement of iron or brass rings which could be worn over a leathern jacket, or (c) a vest made of small metal plates overlapping one another, or, lastly, (d) when called segmentata it consisted of two broad pieces for the back and breast respectively, of five or six bands fastened on to the ‘breast-plate’ and ‘back-plate’ and running round the lower part of the body, and, lastly, of four such bands over each shoulder. The ‘segments’ are stated to have been of leather; and the fact that no broad plates of iron have been found among the many remains of Rom. armour which have been brought to light, is against the modern theory that the lorica segmentata was of iron. See also Polybius ‘F’ quoted under ARMOUR.

W. E. BARNES.

BREASTPLATE Piece of defensive armor. Paul used the military breastplate as an illustration of Christian virtues. Ephesians 6:14 reflects Isa. 59:17, symbolizing the breastplate as righteousness. Faith and love are symbolized in 1 Thess. 5:8. Breastplates were also strong symbols of evil (Rev. 9:9, 17). See Arms and Armor.

Lawson G. Hatfield

Entity Metaphor — An ontological metaphor in which a specific concrete entity is used to conceptualize an abstract concept.

English Example: “This is my burden to bear.”

This sentence makes use of the entity metaphor HARDSHIP as BURDEN, in which a physically heavy load is used to conceptualize a hardship that the speaker must deal with.

Biblical Example: “...for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” (Luke 1:76)

In Zechariah’s prophecy in Luke 1, he uses the entity metaphor PATH as MINISTRY. In other words, Jesus’s future ministry is conceptualized as a paths on a journey that John the Baptist must prepare.

Jesus Christ, righteousness of

Jesus Christ pleased his Father perfectly in his life on earth and in his death. He now gives believers a new status before God and a new power for living.

righteousness, of believers

A sincere desire to please God by keeping his law is both commanded and approved by him. However, human fallibility means that true righteousness must be the product of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer.

righteousness, as faith

Full faith and trust make a person pleasing in the sight of God.

Human righteousness compared with God’s righteousness

Human beings cannot by themselves achieve righteousness in the sight of God Ecc 7:20; Isa 64:6; Mt 5:20 See also Pr 21:2; Da 9:18; Mt 23:28; Lk 16:15; 18:9; Ro 3:10,20; Php 3:6-7

True righteousness is the result of the action of God

Ro 8:3-4; Eph 4:24; 1Jn 2:29 See also Ro 6:13,16-20; 8:10; 14:17; Gal 5:5; Eph 5:9; Php 1:11; Heb 12:11; Jas 3:18; 1Pe 2:24; 1Jn 3:10

6:14c. The breastplate of righteousness refers not to justification, obtained at conversion (Rom. 3:24; 4:5), but to the sanctifying righteousness of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) practiced in a believer’s life. As a soldier’s breastplate protected his chest from an enemy’s attacks, so sanctifying, righteous living (Rom. 6:13; 14:17) guards a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil (cf. Isa. 59:17; James 4:7).

The breastplate of righteousness (v. 14b.) This piece of armor, made of metal plates or chains, covered the body from the neck to the waist, both front and back. It symbolizes the believer’s righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) as well as his righteous life in Christ (Eph. 4:24). Satan is the accuser, but he cannot accuse the believer who is living a godly life in the power of the Spirit. The life we live either fortifies us against Satan’s attacks or makes it easier for him to defeat us (2 Cor. 6:1–10). When Satan accuses the Christian, it is the righteousness of Christ that assures the believer of his salvation. But our positional righteousness in Christ, without practical righteousness in the daily life, only gives Satan opportunity to attack us.

6:14c. The breastplate of righteousness refers not to justification, obtained at conversion (Rom. 3:24; 4:5), but to the sanctifying righteousness of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) practiced in a believer’s life. As a soldier’s breastplate protected his chest from an enemy’s attacks, so sanctifying, righteous living (Rom. 6:13; 14:17) guards a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil (cf. Isa. 59:17; James 4:7).

The armour itself is allegorized in relation to qualities which every believer needs. It self-evidently is not the case that some members of the community are helmets and others shoes (contrast the head addressing the feet in the body image of 1 Cor. 12:21). The armour all belongs to one individual but it is not thereby individualist: the virtues to which it corresponds are communitarian ones, as earlier references in the letter demonstrate: truth-telling (cf. 4:25, ‘for we are members one of another’); righteousness (5:9); peace (2:14); the unity of faith (4:13); and unity in the spirit (4:3).

There is, furthermore, a certain natural progression in the order in which articles of clothing and weaponry are presented, not only in relation to the image of a soldier preparing for battle but also in the corresponding virtues of the Christian life. First comes the belt, which is truth, i.e. initial acceptance of the gospel (cf. 1:13); then the breastplate of righteousness, i.e. holy living (cf. 4:1); shoes are the gospel of peace, i.e. the readiness to witness to others (cf. 6:19); and when faith is spoken of as a shield, it is not so much initial belief that is meant but faith as the means of becoming rooted in Christ (cf. 3:17); the last two images, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (‘which is the Word of God’, understood as the word of judgement, see below on v. 17), may refer to the final goal of the Christian life. Thus the sequence is conversion​—​holiness​—​evangelism​—​endurance​—​salvation​—​judgement. While the separate elements in this allegory may be arbitrary (faith could just as well be the belt or the breastplate as the shield, for example), yet, as a set and in this particular sequence, the correspondences are not arbitrary.

The belt/girdle of truth reminds us of the faithfulness and steadfast loyalty of the Messiah in LXX Isaiah 11:5. Those qualities must now be possessed by Christians.20 The breastplate of righteousness reminds us of Yahweh’s armor in Isaiah 59:17; Wisdom 5:18, and 1 Thessalonians 5:8. It now becomes the accoutrement for Christians. It is also a virtue required of Christians.21

[14–17] Before going on to describe various pieces of this armor, Paul reiterates the command to stand firm. He then begins by urging the church to gird itself with truth. Here Paul does not seem to be speaking of the great war belts that would have been worn outside the armor, which play such a key role in epics such as Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid. Rather, the article in question would have been more like a leather apron worn under the armor, protecting the upper thighs while allowing freedom of movement. Paul seems to be drawing directly on the LXX of Isa 11:5, where the Messianic figure is girded with righteousness and truth. He has already emphasized the importance of “speaking the truth in love” (4:15), avoiding falsehood, and speaking the truth with each other (4:25). In 5:9 truth, as well as righteousness, is one of the fruits of light that believers are to manifest now that they are no longer darkness. Truthfulness in particular is a crucial component of the common life of the church, which will render the church’s witness to the spiritual powers regarding the mystery of salvation effective. This particular point should call readers back to 1:13, where Paul declares that Christ is the source of the “word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.”

In Eph 4–5 Paul has already indicated that failures of truth will have significant consequences for the church’s ability to walk in a manner worthy of its calling. Here in chapter 6 Paul treats truthfulness as one of the church’s defenses as it seeks to present the mystery of salvation to spiritual powers seeking to frustrate God’s economy. In this way one can begin to see that there is a connection between those virtues and practices necessary to walk in a manner worthy of the church’s calling and the armor of God needed to withstand attack from spiritual forces opposed to the church’s witness to the mystery of salvation.

The next piece of God’s armor is the breastplate of righteousness. The term “breastplate of righteousness” appears in the LXX of Isa 59:17 and Wis 5:18. There is also a similar image in Isa 11:510 The breastplate covers and protects a soldier’s vital organs. In addition, righteousness and truth are linked in 4:24 as characteristics of the new person that believers are called to put on. Further, in 5:9 righteousness and truth are linked as two of the three fruits of light that believers are to manifest. Thus, if one must decide whether the breastplate of righteousness is the righteousness that comes from faith in God, or the just and righteous actions of believers (and it is not clear that only one of these is in view), then the connections with 4:24 and 5:9 would probably favor the just and righteous actions of believers (Heil, Ephesians 284). More significantly, the use of truthfulness and justice as components of God’s armor and as practices of a community that walks in a manner worthy of its calling reinforces the notion that the common life of the church is a crucial component in its witness to the spiritual powers in the heavenlies.

14. Stand therefore, he says, in the armour provided, which alone will make you invincible. RSV having girded your loins with truth accurately translates the Greek participial phrase, showing the tense used, and conveying the sense of a deliberate personal action. The order in which the pieces of armour are described is the order in which the soldier would put them on. Strictly the girdle is not part of the armour, but before the armour can be put on the garments underneath must be bound together. The metaphor of girding is often used in the Bible because it describes a preparatory action necessary for a person with the flowing garments of those days before work could be done, a race run, or a battle fought (e.g. see Luke 12:35; 1 Pet. 1:13). Isaiah 59:17 and the description of the Christian’s armour in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 do not mention the girdle, but Isaiah 11:5 says of the ‘shoot from the stump of Jesse’ (Isa. 11:1) that ‘Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins’. We may conclude that it is not the truth of the gospel that is alluded to, but the undergirding of truth in the sense of ‘integrity’, ‘truth in the inward being’ of which Psalm 51:6 speaks. As ‘the girdle … gives ease and freedom of movement’, so ‘it is the truth which gives this freedom with ourselves, with our neighbours and with God. Lack of perfect sincerity hampers us at every turn.’2

Secondly, there is the breastplate of righteousness which must be put on. This description comes from that of the heavenly warrior in Isaiah 59:17, and this fact, as well as the reference of 2 Corinthians 6:7 to ‘the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left’, seems to indicate that what was in the apostle’s mind at this point was not the righteousness of God which is imputed to us (Rom. 3:21–22), that means our justification and the forgiveness of our sins; but, as Calvin, Westcott, Moule and many others take it, uprightness of character, ‘loyalty in principle and action to the holy law of God’ (Moule, CB). To neglect what we know to be righteous action is to leave a gaping hole in our armour. We may compare this use of the word righteousness with that in 5:9 and in Romans 6:13 and 14:17.

The first piece of equipment which Paul mentions is the girdle of truth: having girded your loins with truth (verse 14). Usually made of leather, the soldier’s belt belonged rather to his underwear than his armour. Yet it was essential. It gathered his tunic together and also held his sword. It ensured that he was unimpeded when marching. As he buckled it on, it gave him a sense of hidden strength and confidence. Belts and braces still do. To ‘tighten one’s belt’ can mean not only to accept a time of austerity during a food shortage but also to prepare oneself for action, which the ancients would have called ‘girding up their loins’.

Now the Christian soldier’s belt is ‘truth’. Many commentators, especially in the early centuries, understood this to mean ‘the truth’, the revelation of God in Christ and in Scripture. For certainly it is only the truth which can dispel the devil’s lies and set us free,4 and Paul has in this letter several times referred to the importance and the power of the truth.5 Other commentators, however, especially because the definite article is absent in the Greek sentence, prefer to understand Paul to be referring to ‘truth’ in the sense of ‘sincerity’ or (NEB) ‘integrity’. For certainly God requires ‘truth in the inward being’, and the Christian must at all costs be honest and truthful.6 To be deceitful, to lapse into hypocrisy, to resort to intrigue and scheming, this is to play the devil’s game, and we shall not be able to beat him at his own game. What he abominates is transparent truth. He loves darkness; light causes him to flee. For spiritual as for mental health honesty about oneself is indispensable.

Perhaps we do not need to choose between these alternatives. The judicious Gurnall writes: ‘Some by truth mean a truth of doctrine; others will have it truth of heart, sincerity; they I think best that comprise both … one will not do without the other.’7

The second item of the Christian’s equipment is the breastplate of righteousness (verse 14). Some expositors have maintained that in God’s armour, although there is a breastplate, no protection is provided for the back. They then go on to argue that we must face our enemy with courage and not run away from him, exposing our unguarded back. John Bunyan made this point in Pilgrim’s Progress. When Christian reached the Valley of Humiliation, ‘he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him’, whose name was Apollyon. ‘Then did Christian begin to be afraid, and to cast in his mind whether to go back or to stand his ground. But he considered again that he had no armour for his back, and therefore thought, that to turn the back to him might give him greater advantage with ease to pierce him with his darts. Therefore he resolved to venture, and stand his ground.’8 It is a good point of spiritual counsel, but remains a doubtful example of biblical exegesis, for the soldier’s breastplate often covered his back as well as his front, and was his major piece of armour protecting all his most vital organs.

In a previous letter Paul has written of ‘the breastplate of faith and love’,9 but here as in Isaiah 59:17 the breastplate consists of ‘righteousness’. Now ‘righteousness’ (dikaiosynē) in Paul’s letters more often than not means ‘justification’, that is, God’s gracious initiative in putting sinners right with himself through Christ. Is this then the Christian’s breastplate? Certainly no spiritual protection is greater than a righteous relationship with God. To have been justified by his grace through simple faith in Christ crucified, to be clothed with a righteousness which is not one’s own but Christ’s, to stand before God not condemned but accepted—this is an essential defence against an accusing conscience and against the slanderous attacks of the evil one, whose Hebrew name (‘Satan’) means ‘adversary’ and whose Greek title (diabolos, ‘devil’) means ‘slanderer’. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus … Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.’1 This is the Christian assurance of ‘righteousness’, that is, of a right relationship with God through Christ; it is a strong breastplate to protect us against Satanic accusations.

On the other hand, the apostle wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:7 of ‘the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left’, apparently meaning moral righteousness, and has used the word in the same sense in Ephesians 4:24 and 5:9. So the Christian’s breastplate may be righteousness of character and conduct. For just as to cultivate ‘truth’ is the way to overthrow the devil’s deceits, so to cultivate ‘righteousness’ is the way to resist his temptations.

Alternatively, as with, the two possible meanings of ‘truth’, so with the two possible meanings of ‘righteousness’, it may well be right to combine them, since according to Paul’s gospel the one would invariably lead to the other. As G. G. Findlay put it, ‘The completeness of pardon for past offence and the integrity of character that belong to the justified life, are woven together into an impenetrable mail.’2

The several items of the soldier’s armor appear in the order in which they would be put on. Together they comprise the panoplia worn before taking the field. First of all, the belt tied tightly around the waist indicated that the soldier was prepared for action. To slacken the belt was to go off duty. The “belt” (zōnē) was not an ornament but served an essential purpose. It gathered in the short tunic and helped keep the breastplate in place when the latter was fitted on. From it hung the scabbard in which the sword was sheathed (v. 17).

In Isaiah 11:5 the Messiah is depicted as wearing the belt of righteousness around his waist and faithfulness as the sash around his body. Here truth (alētheia) is said to be the soldier’s belt. It is to be interpreted objectively as the truth of the gospel (Eph 1:13; 4:15), or It is what the psalmist describes as “truth in the inward being” (Ps 51:6 RSV)? Something of both elements may be combined, if we regard it as “the truth that is in Jesus” (Eph 4:21) and “the fruit of the light” (5:9). Because the Christian has accepted the truth of revelation and is now indwelt by the risen Lord, who is himself the truth, his life has truth (or reality) as its basis and he displays the consistency of character that springs from it. Certainly alētheia in this verse is closely linked with dikaiosynē (righteousness) as elsewhere in Ephesians (4:24; 5:9).

The “breastplate” (thōrax) covered the body from the neck to the thighs. Polybius tells us that it was known as a heart-protector. Usually it was made of bronze but the more affluent officers wore a coat of chain mail. The front piece was strictly the breastplate, but a back piece was commonly worn as well. In Isaiah 59:17 we are told that Yahweh himself put on righteousness like a breastplate (cf. Wisdom 5:18). In this context dikaiosynē (“righteousness”) stands for uprightness and integrity of character. But this moral rectitude and reputation for fair dealing results directly from the appropriation of Christ’s righteousness (see comment on Eph 5:9). The Christian’s protection is not to be sought in any works of his own but only in what Christ has done for him and in him.

15 Once the breastplate has been fitted into position, the soldier puts on his strong army boots or caligae. Josephus described them as “shoes thickly studded with sharp nails” (War VI.1.8) so as to ensure a good grip. The military successes both of Alexander the Great and of Julius Caesar were due in large measure to their armies’ being well shod and thus able to undertake long marches at incredible speed over rough terrain.