Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

How many times have you heard teachings on the whole armor of God? I’ve probably heard it twenty times or more over the years. The one thing I have never heard is it taught in order.

First in verse 14 we see the loin gird and then the breast plate.

Third we see in verse 15 the feet shod.

Fourth in verse 16 the shield.

Finishing in verse 17 with the helmet and the sword.

This is the order of getting dressed for battle. Looking at the elements from spiritual aspect of how each element attaches itself to our born again beginning, what is the order?

15 is the gospel of peace, that moment where we make peace with God. 17 is our salvation, that moment when we are saved from the power of sin. 16 faith is given in measure even if we do not know what it is and how it functions. 17 the spirit is given so that we might know and understand the word of God by the faith that we have been given. 14 the righteousness by faith which we have is finally understood not to be attached to our actions but rather God’s declaration. Lastly and I mean this from a general sense 17 salvation keeps popping up daily because salvation is not a single item issue, it is new every day, refreshed thru repentance, confession and forgiveness throughout our lives.

There does not seem to be an order here in the spiritual experience of placing on the armor unless you see it like this, “Put on all the armor of God and stand up.” Any soldier will tell you preparation to do battle is not doing battle. Also, and this is probably the most important part, because it completes the list at the end of verse 17 with a colon:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Do the right thing. Be right. Righteous acts. We hear terms like this and others that always point to us.

Allow me to go far afield of normal thinking. Going back to the first use meaning of righteousness.

Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God, did nothing but believe, I say again, did nothing, and righteousness was placed in his account. This had nothing to do with Abraham’s actions, life, or even obedience of faith. All Abraham had to do was believe God.

The primitive root to the Hebrew word for righteousness means rectitude. This stems from the idea that God has the right to do as He wills. The issue of justice, just, and justification are all drawn from the issue of God’s right to declare anything according to His will and has no attachment whatsoever to the recipient of His declaration.

We attach and I mean we, not God, we attach right to action. Our need to do so does not stem from our right standing before God but a sense of judgment. My actions will be judged, I better be right. That is the law, legalism and has nothing to do with God’s righteousness.

We are declared righteous by faith by God who has the authority to do so. Nothing we can do, no matter what it is, can undo what God declares. We do not have the power or authority to undo what God has declared. Because of the insecurities laid upon us by those who would judge us, we want to be right. Our actions are based more on opinion and fear of judgment than faith. So what should your motive be?

1 Timothy 1:5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. ESV

Aim to love.