Paul’s been talking to the Ephesians about putting on God’s armor to stand against the enemy, the devil and his army. He says to do this so that we’ll be able to stand firm against our enemy!
No soldier would think of going into battle without their weapon and body armor and we shouldn’t either! Paul metaphorically lists each piece of armor that we have available to us, those similar to what a Roman soldier would have carried into battle his day, and briefly describes what it’s useful for. We should learn each piece and put it on each day!
So yesterday we talked about the belt of truth that holds all of the other pieces of armor together & today we’ll look at the next 2 pieces of armor.
The next piece of armor Paul describes is Body armor of God’s Righteousness, traditionally known as the “breastplate of righteousness”. This body armor was custom fitted to completely protect the soldier’s internal organs! Our spiritual body armor protects our heart and other core organs from the devil’s lies that we’ll never succeed, never be good enough and never go the distance. The truth is that God’s Own Righteousness has us covered and qualifies us to live in God’s business, fighting His battles here on earth!
Next are Shoes of peace. In Roman times, sandals were common footwear. Their’s were closed toed, laced up like boots and spiked on the bottom for leverage in sandy soil. Our shoes, both protecting our ability to walk through this world without slipping and falling, is the peace that comes from understanding the Good News of the Gospel of how God, through Jesus, has reconciled our relationship with Him. Jesus paid the FULL PRICE for our salvation. He has made peace with God FOR US! Knowing this will help us to “stand firm” in a slippery world!
So far we have our Belt of Truth, Body Armor of Righteousness & our Shoes of Peace! More to come!
Think about it!
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