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Truth and Righteousness

2 Corinthians 10:4-5
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Remember that our war is not against flesh, specifically meaning other people, but that our war is against imaginations, false knowledge, and disobedient thoughts. If we want to pull down strongholds, we must bring each of these into subjection.

And how do we do this? We must renew our mind.

Romans 12:2
2 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.

[Note: Read Ephesians 4 in context of what we are discussing, Spiritual Warfare and Strongholds.]

Paul refines this in Ephesians 4. He says to “put off […] the old man” [Ephesians 4:22] and to “put on the new man” [Ephesians 4:24], and in between he says to “renew your mind” [Ephesians 4:23]. So, again the battle is fought in our mind, and Paul says to renew our mind, or as he later says, “crucify the flesh” [Galatians 5:4]. I like the way Pastor Raymond Woodward put it, “the devil’s attacks against your life will always fail if your flesh refuses to cooperate.” But for this to be true you must first take off that old garment (uncrucified flesh) and be willing to put on the new (crucified flesh), AND renew your mind.

In Ephesians 6 Paul gives us a better idea of what that new garment is.

Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Paul tells us that we need to stand against the wiles, which is the Greek word for method (μεθοδείας -meth-od-i'-ah), but more specifically the cunny, crafty, deceitful, trickery or treacherous method, used to attack us. Paul instructs to “put on the whole armor”, not only will this protect and equip us to fight the fight in our mind, but it will also equip us to fight the fight against hell itself (i.e. principalities, powers, darkness, and wickedness).

The first two pieces of armor will be our focus in this session.

TRUTH: First, is the belt of truth, or as verse 14 says, “having your loins girt about with truth” [Ephesians 6:14]. The belt is probably not the most notable of the items listed, but it could be argued to be the most important. Why? The belt was wrapped around the waist and on this belt was a specific place where the shield, sword, and the spear (offensive weapons) could be attached. Without the belt the soldier would have to lay down one or more of these items, since he only has two hands. Also, the breastplate (defensive weapon and the largest item) was designed so that both the front and back were attached to the belt so that it would be held in place. If the belt isn’t in its proper place, nothing else will be. And how fitting that is, for the belt represents truth. And it should be said that without truth, everything else will fall out of place.

John 8:32
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

So, what is truth? Jesus said,

John 17:17
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Paul is declaring to us that the first arena we need to fight in is the mind, and the first things we need to overcome are strongholds, so it stands to reason that the first piece of armor that you put on is the WORD. Without the Word of God, you do not have truth, and without truth, the enemy will overtake and rule your mind and will take over and establish strongholds every time.

RIGHTEOUSNESS: The second piece of armor we are to put on is the breastplate of righteousness. Typically, the breastplate was small pieces of leather or metal that were overlapping, similar to the scales on a fish. This created a flexible, protective covering over the soldier’s trunk (from neck to knees, both front and back). It was the largest and most heavy piece of armor that the soldier carried. Paul likened the largest item to “righteousness” and I am reminded that Jesus said, “[…] seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;” [Matthew 6:33]. So, the concept of righteousness must be important.

So, what is righteousness? Simply stated, righteousness is the character of Jesus Christ. The Greek word, δικαιοσύνη (dee-kah-yos-oo'-nay) means justice, rightness, or conformity to God’s will (reminds me of “it’s not my will, but thine be done” [Luke 22:42]). Ultimately, it simply means, alignment with God’s nature. It’s not about rules, it’s about agreement.

We can look at righteousness in two dimensions, first it’s positional. Meaning it’s given to us through repentance, baptism in Jesus Name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Thus, righteousness is imputed to us, not because of anything we have done, but because of what He did at Calvary (“my righteousness is filthy rags” [Isaiah 64:6]). This level of righteousness is not earned. He made it available to all (“while we were yet sinners” [Romans 5:8]). Christ did the work, Christ provided the ways, the means, and the plan. We are simply recipients of this salvation.

Hebrews 2:3
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

The second dimension is practical, or “lived out” righteousness.

1 John 3:6-8
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

So, this practical righteousness must express itself through you. Again, it’s not works that saves you, but once you are saved your works will change as through righteousness you align yourself with God’s nature.

Think of it this way. You aren’t given the Holy Ghost to simply speak in tongues, dance a dance in the altar, shout out a victory shout while in a church service. Nor is this Pentecostal, Apostolic life a list of “to do’s” or “do nots” to get to Heaven. God gives you the Holy Ghost so that you can receive the Holy Nature of Christ in your life, in order that you can live above sin and reflect His character in the world. The reason you are blessed with this Acts 2:38 experience is so that when you walk out these doors, the world can see Jesus through you and “see that the Lord is Good” [Psalm 34:8].

2 Peter 1:3-4
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

This is where the breastplate of righteousness comes in. We wear His righteousness so that we can escape or be protected (defensive weapon) from the “corruption that is in the world through lust.” [2 Peter 1:4]

If you want to overcome strongholds, if you want to live a victorious life, if you want to be “more than a conqueror” [Romans 8:37] you must FIRST, hide the Word in your heart [Psalm 119:11] and SECOND, put on the robe of righteousness [Isaiah 61:10].