"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."
~ John 17:22-23 (NKJV)
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible describes our sin as shameful nakedness, exposing us as we truly are.
Naked is no way to enter the heat of battle.
The second component of spiritual armor is a covering of righteousness. Ephesians 6:14 and Isaiah 59:17 call righteousness a breastplate. Elsewhere righteousness is called beautiful clothing (Job 29:14; Psalms 132:9; Isaiah 61:10) and fine linen (Revelation 19:8).
Regardless of how many or how notable our good works are, they clothe us with no more than filthy rags. True righteousness is not a put on, but comes only by wearing Jesus Christ. As we increasingly yield our hearts to His Spirit, we exude His character in our thoughts and feelings, words and actions. When Jesus is at work through us, His glorious righteousness covers us as a garment of light.
Shall Darkness overcome such Light?
"O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
~ John 17:25-26 (NKJV)
If marks of righteousness can be identified, surely they are love and unity.
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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise. I am praying that despite the few comments this week, God is using this series to reach those who will benefit from the study.
Deletewell...you really got me chewing with these scriptures Anne! i expanded the scripture in Genesis and there were two to three things that really stood out to me which generated more questions in my mind. ended up bookmarking all of your links because i'm finding this study of yours to be considerably different from the norm. by that i mean although i've heard sermons before about putting on the armor of God....this is in greater detail and it's a lot to chew on.
ReplyDeleteliked the one scripture that said...."being clad in zeal."
\o/
Bud, it's good to hear that you're spending time chewing on the Scriptures. I think I may have also done a series on spiritual armor before. Perhaps any difference you're detecting is found because of the difference between experience in training, and experience in battle.
DeleteAm so thankful for these posts. It seems His righteousness is the basis for the whole thing ALB. Paul hammers on the subject 37 times i think in Romans alone. It is both the the foundation of His throne and and the great armor-covering for our heart. Thank you, too, for showing us this beautiful aspect that we are indeed clothed in Him. What joyous luxury! What comfort! What rest! Keep edifying the body. Keep showing Him high and lifted up!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Makala, for your kind support. This is a challenging series to write. I fear I do insufficient justice to the subject of spiritual armor, as critical as it is. I thank the Lord that His righteousness has been my clothing and the armor of my heart.
DeleteIf all goes as planned, Monday's post will be a postscript to the series, concerning the subject of forgiveness as an expression of righteousness and salvation.