Nothing occurs in Scripture by accident or by chance.  Paul lists the articles of spiritual armor found in Ephesians 6:13-18 in a particular order for a certain reason. The first article is the girdle of truth (justice) and the second is the breastplate of righteousness. These two accouterments should form the foundation of every Christian’s life just as righteousness and justice form the foundation of God’s throne. The reason for this is because, ultimately, God will become enthroned within each one of us. Therefore the foundation of our lives must be the same as his. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?” The foundation of God’s temple is truth and righteousness.

As I shared the first two parts of this series with my family on Sunday, November 17, I said that I see righteousness and justice as the two sides of the same coin. I used to always view righteousness as the heads side and justice as the tails side. As I shared my views on the armor of God, though, it occurred to me that perhaps truth (justice) was really the heads side. I considered this because I believe one can never find God and repent of his sins unless he has some inner hunger for truth. So long as a person does not love the truth he will call evil good and good evil. And so long as a man cannot even recognize truth he cannot repent. He cannot repent because he has nothing to repent of. He has thus committed the “unforgivable” sin because he will not (cannot) believe in Jesus in that condition because he has no reason to seek his salvation. Therefore a hunger for truth has to be the first condition of one’s soul before he will ever seek salvation, before he can ever respond to the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. The gospel cannot be good news to him if he sees no need for it.

So, as we considered the analogy of the coin one of my daughters suggested that perhaps a better analogy would be that of a precious stone where each of the facets represents some aspect of these two foundational concepts of truth and righteousness. We saw that truth is like faithfulness which is like justice which is like God’s Law since justice is the application of God’s Law among men. We also saw that righteousness is like lovingkindness which is like mercy which is like grace which is like love. Then we considered Psalm 119 and the many words God gives us there for his Law, words like statutes, commandments, precepts, testimonies, rules, and God’s “word.” Reconsider a few verses from that majestic psalm to see how these new words tie into our foundational spiritual armor.

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is the truth. (Psalms 119:142 KJ2000)

The righteousness of your testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live. (Psalms 119:144 KJ2000)

You are near, O LORD; and all your commandments are truth. (Psalms 119:151 KJ2000)

My tongue shall speak of your word: for all your commandments are righteousness. (Psalms 119:172 KJ2000)

Now, as we continue thinking about facets of precious stones and as we prepare to shod our feet as God’s overcoming warrior, let us consider Isaiah’s prophecy:

Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for no longer, there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. (Isaiah 52:1 KJ2000)

The first beautiful garments we put on are the garments of truth and righteousness. Our armor is not the bulky metallic garb the knights of the middle ages wore. Our garments glow now unseen, but one day will shine forth as multitudinous light beams as from myriads of prismatic jewels.  Our foundational garments insure that nothing unclean shall ever enter into us, we who comprise Zion, the holy city, New Jerusalem. But now we who wait for this manifestation of glory comprise those whom Isaiah describes next.

Sing, O barren, you that did not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you that did not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the LORD. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; For you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and your descendants shall inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded; for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were refused, says your God. For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the LORD your Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the LORD that has mercy on you. (Isaiah 54:1-10 KJ2000)

Now we live in days as were the days of Noah and these are the days in which God will do his work, his very strange work, a work next described, again, by Isaiah.

O you afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your pinnacles of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones. (Isaiah 54:11-12 KJ2000)

Thus we can now see the first two pieces of Christian armor as actually representing particular facets of the precious stones God is molding each of us into. Let us not neglect so great a salvation, for this is the preparation for the next piece of armor we must now don.