The Breastplate of Righteousness

Eph. 6:14 says, “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” (The Holy Bible:ESV, 2016)

Righteousness is defined by God’s standards.  It is being perfectly good, without sin.  Righteousness is an attribute of God.  It is something we cannot obtain by ourselves no matter how hard we try to live right.  There is a difference between imputed and practical righteousness.  Let’s look at imputed righteousness first.  

“Righteousness is an attribute which stems from a covenantal relationship. “ (Elwell, 1988)  A covenant is a lasting arrangement formed for mutual benefits that was well known in Bible times.   There were different types of covenants, but a well known one was the blood covenant.  Living in covenant meant you were entering into a relationship that would change how you lived your life.  What is true of one partner becomes true of the other as well when you share identities.

“Contracts and covenants differ in a few areas. In terms of initiation, contracts are made by the exchange of promises, whereas covenants are sworn by solemn oaths. In application, contracts are limited by the terms of the exchange of property (“this is yours, that is mine”), while covenants involve an exchange of life (“I am yours, you are mine”), which covers a virtually unlimited range of human relations and duties. In terms of motivation, contracts are based on profit and self-interest, while covenants call for self-giving loyalty and sacrificial love. Contracts are temporary while covenant bonds are permanent, even intergenerational. “(Hahn, 2016)

Each tribe would choose a covenant representative head.  This person represented the whole group.  (Remember how Goliath represented the Philistines and David the Israelites in the challenge to Israel?) Covenant ceremonies consisted of a series of exchanges between the representative heads.  An exchange of garments was an exchange of identity.  What is true of one is true of the other. An exchange of weapons showed protection.  You would fight for each other. The exchange of a token possession signified that all they had was in common- resources and debts.  They would exchange names adding part of the name from the other to their own name.  If you asked for something in the name of your covenant partner, they would fulfill your request.  The exchange of vows and blood was done with uplifted arms clasped together with the other representative at cuts in wrist so essence of one flowed into the other.  They would cut an animal and walk between the two halves of the animal signifying, “May this happen to me if I ever break the covenant.”  It is a walk into death of self and the right to independent living.  If the covenant is broken, one of the representatives must die.

God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15.  God was the only one who went between the two cut pieces of the animals.  Christ is the one who paid the price for man breaking his end of the covenant.  He gave us His garment-one of righteousness- in exchange for ours of sin.  He paid the price for our sin, but we are seen as righteous in Him when we by faith accept his provision.  We are in Christ and He is in us.  We are now part of the new covenant through Jesus.

“Individuals cannot attain to righteousness, but receive it as a gift from God (Rom 3:21–5:21). There is no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ.” (Elwell, 1988)





“So God as the righteous Judge justifies—places in a right relation with himself within the new covenant of grace—those who believe the gospel of the Father concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he justifies Jew and Greek alike on precisely the same basis, by faith alone without works, and he makes no distinction whatsoever between the people of the Old Covenant and the Gentiles.” (Toon, 1996)

Practical righteousness is how we live day by day.  We learn to put off the old self and put on the qualities God teaches us. It is a moment by moment choice, and an area we can continually grow in.

"Therefore, since God has made them his own and given to them his righteousness, their duty and privilege is to be righteous in conduct. And he promises that on the last day and for the life of the age to come he will actually make them to be truly and effectually righteous in all that they are, become, and do.” (Toon, 1996)

"Already there is the provision of a right relation with God through the preaching of the gospel, but there is not yet the experience of the fullness of righteousness as an imparted gift. Now believers merely have the firstfruits of that which awaits them in the age to come.” (Toon, 1996)


Dr. Michael Sprague, Louisiana State Chaplain with Capitol Commission, addresses the meaning of the Breastplate of Righteousness in the following video.

Eph. 4:22-24 exhorts, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.“ (The Holy Bible:ESV, 2016)

“... we should see the point as the complete setting aside of the old ‘garments’, having nothing further to do with them, and replacing them by new ones. What is to be Put off is described as the old nature. As past sins are dealt with by the grace of forgiveness, and as repentance determines to abandon them completely, all that belongs to the old way of life, the way of the heathen that has been described in verses 17–19, is to be set aside decisively.“ (Foulkes, 1989)

“Practical righteousness involves both putting off and putting on. … Unlike imputed righteousness, it’s not a once-in-a-lifetime action.  It is a moment-by-moment, day-by-day, repeated choice and action.” (Shirer, 2018)

Satan will try to tell us we are not good enough and question how God could love and forgive someone who fails so often.  We need to remind him that we are clothed in Christ's garment of righteousness.  We are viewed through His righteousness, and nothing we do can change that.  

Having a vibrant relationship with God is where our focus should be. Growing in relationship with Christ will lead to growing in righteousness. “One of the most cunning tricks of the enemy is to get us to sink our energy into changing instead of focusing it on cultivating health and wellness in Christ.  But if we concentrate on having a vibrant, healthy spiritual life, we’ll automatically grow and change as a result.” (Shirer, 2018)

A special thanks to Dr. Timothy R. Valentino of Evangelical Seminary for his teaching on covenant and his slides.

Works Cited

Elwell, W. &. (1988). Righteousness. In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2) (pp. 1860-1862). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p.136. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Hahn, S. (2016). Covenant. In D. B. J.D. Barry, The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Shirer, P. (2018). The Armor of God. Nashville: LifeWay Press.

The Holy Bible:English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Toon, P. (1996). Righteousness. In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology (pp. electronic ed., pp.688-689). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Valentino, T. R. (2020).