Ephesians 6:10-18; The Armor Of God, A Walk in The Christian Life (Part 2)

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We are going to continue at looking at how The Armor of God is paralleled to The Christian Walk. The piece we are looking at now is:

Breastplate of Righteousness

Sanctification, Jesus changes us from who we were to a new creature, becoming more separate from Worldly Ways.

So, first, let’s look at what Sanctification is. It is one of those words that is used in Christian circles that sounds complicated but, it really is not.

sanctification

[ˌsaNG(k)təfəˈkāSH(ə)n] 

DEFINITION
  1. noun form of sanctify
 sanc·ti·fy

[ˈsaNG(k)təˌfī] 

VERB
sanctifies (third person present) · sanctified (past tense) · sanctified (past participle) · sanctifying (present participle)
  1. set apart as or declare holy; consecrate:
    “a small shrine was built to sanctify the site”

    synonyms: consecrate · bless · make holy · hallow · make sacred ·

    dedicate to God 

ORIGIN
late Middle English: from Old French saintifier (influenced later by sanctifier), from ecclesiastical Latin sanctificare, from Latin sanctus ‘holy.’
 
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries · © Oxford University Press ·
(As found on Bing.com 05/04/2017)
So essentially, what we see is that it means to be set a part by God. It means that we allow The Holy Spirit to start to transform us into Righteous People. In other words, it is only after we come into a knowing Relationship with Jesus before we can become “righteous”.

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NKJV): And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

You see, until the day we ask Jesus to be Lord and Savior in our lives, we are sinners that cannot obtain access. In fact, we are told that without God, we are fallen creatures.

Romans 3:10 (NASB): as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

Wow, think about that for a minute, none of us are righteous. That means we cannot even be truly in God’s presence. If we even attempt to, we are stricken dead.

Isaiah 59:10 (NET): But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.

That means in order for us to enter into His Presence, there has to be something to build that bridge, so to speak, to be able to do that. God loves us so much that He made a way. He built that bridge. Why? Because nothing we do will matter to Him unless we are righteous in His sight. What is that bridge? It is Jesus’ Death and Resurrection.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV): For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 10:9-10 (NLT): If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

Now comes the great news. When God. Jesus, enters into our lives, He does not leave us broken/unrighteous. In fact, He changes us so that we can be viewed as the new creation. It is because of what He has done, that enables us to be in God’s presence. This is where the sanctification process works in our lives. This is where we need to become set apart from the old. This is where we learn to live for Him.

Romans 6:6 (KJV): Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV): Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV): I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So this is where we see how the Breast Plate of Righteousness works. It basically is that piece of Armor that we look to for encouragement to walk away from things like addictions, gossip, “unholy” anger, anxiety, depression, etc. This means that we need to start looking to Him to be restored to be that person He would want us to be.

I want to encourage you to seek Him through His Word daily and through Prayer. It’s by these things and fellowshipping with others, that we learn what it means to be truly “sanctified”. And know this, this is a process we should be willing to go through until the day we are called home.

Until Next Time:

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NLKJV): The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”

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