The shoes do not picture the gospel itself, but the preparation to use the gospel! To "buy up the opportunity." To be ready when the opportunity presents itself to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The soldier in the spiritual battle must be ready at any time to move against the opponent. The soldier must not be shod with the sandal common to Jewish life. The Romans had placed great emphasis on the sturdy footwear of their soldiers because only the well-shod army is able to move quickly and for long distances. The feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The life which he lives in obedience to the law of his God must furnish him protection in battle! How can he fight if he does not live the life which is required by his Lord? The Footwear of the Gospel ← ⤒ 🔗 His moral rectitude! No one can do battle, much less stand in that warfare, if his own righteousness is lacking. The righteousness of Christ is not meant, but his own subjective righteousness as a believer. The Christian must have a breastplate when he goes into spiritual battle and his breastplate is his righteousness. This was a most important piece of equipment because it gave protection in battle against both arrow and sword and javelin. It covered him from the neck to the thighs. The Roman soldier also had a breastplate which covered the front and back of the person and protected his vital organs. If he is not, none of the other pieces of armor will do him any good. The Christian must first of all be truthful, sincere, dependable. This is the only way the soldier will be prepared to fight. He refers to the belt worn by the Roman soldier wherewith he gathered up his loose garments. The Girdle of Truth ← ⤒ 🔗įirst of all he speaks of the loins being girded with the truth. To be able to stand in the spiritual conflict one must be just as well equipped. The Roman soldier was well equipped and certainly had been successful. He, no doubt, has in mind the Roman soldier of his day. However, nowhere else does he speak of this armor as completely as he does in this last chapter of Ephesians. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 he mentions some of the pieces of this armor. Paul uses the imagery of the armor elsewhere in his writings. The only way they will be able to hold their ground is by putting on the whole armor of God. and having done all, to stand." There is great danger lurking everywhere for these Ephesian Christians and Paul wants to safeguard them against all the pitfalls of spiritual life.
Paul again begins with the words "stand therefore." This he emphasized in verse 11, "that ye may be able to stand " verse 13 "that ye may be able to withstand.
The interpreter must always be careful that he does justice to the figure which the writer employs, and yet not press every detail concerning the various pieces of armor so that he misses the purpose for which the illustration is used. Before coming to the close of this beautiful epistle, Paul goes into detail concerning the armor of God to which he has referred in the previous verses.
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