Holiness Is Our Goal When We Wear The Whole Armor of God |

The attire of the high priest and of other priests under God’s leadership in the Old Testament is described in detail in Exodus 28. The clothing of the original Levitical priesthood was indeed their holy uniform designed for religious duties and included trousers, robes, hats, sashes, belts, breastplates, and turbans, all designed by Almighty God. In their clothing/uniforms they would be conducting their religious duties under what is now called the Mosaic Law.

The whole armor of God in the New Testament is an updating of that priestly uniform, but it is also a metaphor for the uniform of Roman soldiers serving during the First Century. Thus, the whole armor was meant to resonate with Jews and Gentiles…with Jews in terms of the priestly garments and with both Jews and Gentiles with the Roman military that was everywhere visible in the Holy Land.

While this “whole armor” suggests a connection at the highest level of human personality with a Holy God who has called those wearing that “armor” to service, it does not describe a real uniform made of real cloth, real jewels, or real head coverings. Rather, it is an invisible spiritual uniform that points to a lifestyle consistent with following Christ, a lifestyle that has both priestly and soldierly dimensions.

As a “royal priesthood,” our lives as well as our mouths proclaim the joy and hope that is the occasion of our spiritual release from the darkness of ignorance and unbelief. We are essentially grateful to be saved souls.

The armor we wear is not a literal uniform. Each element of the “armor” stands for spiritual qualities that we as saved persons are anointed with the ability to express. These qualities should be visible in our speech and behavior – our very beings – as we communicate to our fellow humans the transforming reality of Almighty God in Christ and through His Holy Spirit that has re-directed us from the fallen state into which we were originally born.

Belt of Truth. We are called to speak the truths of Christ found in Holy Scripture. We are called to live those truths, and to the extent that we understand them to apply those truths to our everyday lives.

Today’s church world fails to preach on so many terms that are crucial for understanding and growing in one’s appreciation for and dedication to the Holy Scriptures and the gospel. Terms like salvation, holiness, sanctification, truth, heaven, hell, dissipation, sin, atheism, agnosticism, degradation, perfection, repentance, obedience, or soul are not frequently used in churches. As a guest preacher in one church, the head elder said that he did not want me to criticize the Catholic Church because a nearby Catholic church had given them some pews. At another church I visited, the pastor complained to me that I had not said hello to his mother when I came into the church.

Breastplate of Righteousness. Righteousness has developed connotations of being uptight, self-righteous, high bound, and holier-than-thou in the minds of many in our society, including many evangelical Christians. First, it should be noted that a “breastplate” is primarily defensive. It protects us from both wounding and deadly assaults to the middle of our persons which can be destroyed by a frontal attack on our abdomens or hearts. The abdomen is the part where we digest the food that nourishes us and sustains us day-in and day-out, year-after-year of our lives. The heart also keeps us alive, but does not need to be replenished the way our digestive organs do, but is on autopilot all our days unless some disease assails us.

Thus, the breastplate is reliance upon God and upon His Word to protect us from insults, malicious gossip that denigrates our faith and/or our personal expressions of Christian, Biblical commitment. If we are ridiculed or outright insulted by unbelievers, we have no need to lash out to prove our machismo nor do we need to feel discouraged or question our beliefs. There is no need to answer tit-for-tat to insults or to prove that those who belittle our faith or related commitments have a distorted understanding of the Scripture or of our commitment to that Scripture.

Shortly after beginning teaching at a high school for gifted students in NYC, word had gotten out that I was one of “those” born again believers (there were only 5 out of 275 teachers who considered themselves to be evangelicals).

As I entered the teachers’ cafeteria one day a group of six or seven teachers were eating and laughing uproariously. As they saw me walking in their direction, one of them called out, “Tell us Jeff, are we all going to hell?!” With that question called out, the entire table burst into uproarious laughter. Because of the breastplate that comes with our salvation, this believer was unphased by the derisive laughter and contemptuous attitudes.

Sandals of the Gospel of Peace. Our footwear enables us to move forward more easily and more safely in our everyday goings and comings. They protect our feet against wounds by stones or sharp items that might be on the ground. Sandals at that time, like soles of shoes today, provided some support for the persons walking. Our feet become less tired with sandals and more so with shoes.

We can see that the metaphor here shows how the gospel of peace extends our perseverance in the ways of holiness, the ways of God. The sandals symbolize our commitment to the Gospel of Peace and also ARE the Gospel of Peace. Sometimes peace with God helps us or helps us to help others find greater peace with other humans, but sometimes peace with God leads us to be in conflict with others.

When I was teaching high school, at one point, a clinic to refer girls for abortions was passed by a committee of parents, teachers, students, and administrators. This clinic passed with only one dissenting vote – mine. However, subsequently, 9/11 took place, and because of the financial strain put on the state budget the clinic was never created. That was a small but good side effect of that terrible event.

We must stand for the truths of God even when we are uncomfortable doing so and should trust God for the outcomes whether those outcomes are in our favor or not; however, our “standing up” should not be in a spirit of hate or animosity nor accusatory.

Shield of Faith. When we die to self and put on the shield of faith in Christ, we are defended by the Holy Spirit against the arrows of “outrageous fortune.” The slings and arrows of life become elements in our purification as we await our final glorification in Heaven.

We receive so many slights, times of neglect, rudeness, over-charges, rejections or backbiting, being ignored when we needed or desired attention, putdowns, insincere affection or so-called “positive feedback,” outright mistreatment, prejudice, dismissive attitudes, indifference to our feelings or needs, insults, and rejections. Even so-called loved ones may regularly hurt our feelings or reject us (sometimes called “death by a thousand cuts”). A pastor friend recently texted me that his family considers him to be “cultic.”

However, we are united with Christ and His loving cause of sustaining and saving souls. His love sustains us. Our faith in Him enables us to deflect some (not necessarily all) of the above hurts and personal dislocations to the point where life continues to be not only bearable but a love-centered opportunity. Like the shield in hand-to-hand combat, we are able to move forward in our struggle against enemies (in our case, Lucifer and his witting and unwitting henchmen) seen and unseen.

Helmet of Salvation. In Exodus 28, the priestly headpiece is the clearest signification of the High Priest’s authority. It is described as follows: “³⁶ You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE Lord.”

As a helmet, our salvation is a protection for our heads – our minds. Even in the midst of battle, or especially in the midst of battle, we need to keep our wits about us. In the midst of the fight we are thinking beings. We need to remain alert and focused. And the helmets keep the soldier’s head from being easily bashed in. Our greatest vulnerability as human beings is to live without the leading of the Holy Spirit and the guiding of God’s Holy Word in Scripture.

But the Aaronic description of the “turban” of the priest should help us understand that our leadership as men and women in society derives from our salvation as born-again Christians living 24/7 under the leadership of a holy God. The plate of gold on the High Priest’s turban was emblematic of Holiness. Here the priestly analogy seems more helpful than the soldierly analogy. The helmet was more defensive for the soldier. But the turban for the priest was more emblematic of the identity of the High Priest as a living symbol of the holiness of God, a holiness to which every member of the congregation aspired. Holiness of lifestyle – not merely being good citizens or good people with God’s help – remains the true goal and really the only proper goal for Christians.