Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Eph 6:13-16
The Apostle compares the struggles of a Christian against the enemies of his soul to the warfare of a soldier against the enemies of his country. What are the spiritual truths, the Christian graces, typified by these outward weapons?
(1) The Christian’s girdle is truth. To be sincere and earnest in our purpose, to have the heart engaged in the work, and the will turned honestly to the love of Christ, is the great security for consistent perseverance in the warfare against His enemies.
(2) The breastplate is righteousness; it is the inwrought righteousness of our Savior.
(3) The feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. By preparation seems here meant a foundation or firm footing. Resting on the strong support of the Gospel, the Christian soldier will be ready to meet and to resist all efforts for his destruction.
(4) The Christian’s life is pervaded and defended by faith. The reason why faith is a complete covering and protection to us is that it carries us out of ourselves, and bids us rest our hopes and affections on the Lord Jesus Christ. It teaches us to find in His life an unerring pattern for our conduct, a direct manifestation of God.
(5) As the soldier’s head is guarded by his helmet, so is the Christian’s faith to be completed, his wavering mind stablished, and his faint heart encouraged by salvation.
(6) The sword of offensive warfare is compared to the word of God, with which our Lord Himself drove away the assaults of the great adversary.
"Praying always." As all human life was a campaign against sin, in which Christ, the Captain of our salvation, led His followers to victory, so the prayers of Christians were the watches of sentries by which the camp of the Lord was guarded and all assaults of the enemy repelled.
[G E. L. Cotton, Expository Sermons on the Epistles, vol. ii., p. 332]
(1) The Christian’s girdle is truth. To be sincere and earnest in our purpose, to have the heart engaged in the work, and the will turned honestly to the love of Christ, is the great security for consistent perseverance in the warfare against His enemies.
(2) The breastplate is righteousness; it is the inwrought righteousness of our Savior.
(3) The feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. By preparation seems here meant a foundation or firm footing. Resting on the strong support of the Gospel, the Christian soldier will be ready to meet and to resist all efforts for his destruction.
(4) The Christian’s life is pervaded and defended by faith. The reason why faith is a complete covering and protection to us is that it carries us out of ourselves, and bids us rest our hopes and affections on the Lord Jesus Christ. It teaches us to find in His life an unerring pattern for our conduct, a direct manifestation of God.
(5) As the soldier’s head is guarded by his helmet, so is the Christian’s faith to be completed, his wavering mind stablished, and his faint heart encouraged by salvation.
(6) The sword of offensive warfare is compared to the word of God, with which our Lord Himself drove away the assaults of the great adversary.
"Praying always." As all human life was a campaign against sin, in which Christ, the Captain of our salvation, led His followers to victory, so the prayers of Christians were the watches of sentries by which the camp of the Lord was guarded and all assaults of the enemy repelled.
[G E. L. Cotton, Expository Sermons on the Epistles, vol. ii., p. 332]
The Girdle of Truth
The breast-plate of righteousness - "What the θωραξ or breast-plate was, see before. The word righteousness, δικαισυνη, we have often had occasion to note, is a word of very extensive import: it signifies the principle of righteousness; it signifies the practice of righteousness, or living a holy life; it signifies God’s method of justifying sinners; and it signifies justification itself. Here it may imply a consciousness of justification through the blood of the cross; the principle of righteousness or true holiness implanted in the heart; and a holy life, a life regulated according to the testimonies of God. As the breast-plate defends the heart and lungs, and all those vital functionaries that are contained in what is called the region of the thorax; so this righteousness, this life of God in the soul of man, defends every thing on which the man’s spiritual existence depends. While he possesses this principle, and acts from it, his spiritual and eternal life is secure." [Adam Clarke]
No Armor for the Back
Having your loins girt about - "That ye may be ready for every motion. With truth - Not only with the truths of the gospel, but with "truth in the inward parts;" for without this all our knowledge of divine truth will prove but a poor girdle "in the evil day." So our Lord is described, Isa 11:5. And as a girded man is always ready to go on, so this seems to intimate an obedient heart, a ready will. Our Lord adds to the loins girded, the lights burning, Luk 12:35; showing that watching and ready obedience are the inseparable companions of faith and love. And having on the breastplate of righteousness - The righteousness of a spotless purity, in which Christ will present us faultless before God, through the merit of his own blood. With this breastplate our Lord is described, Isa 59:17. In the breast is the seat of conscience, which is guarded by righteousness. No armor for the back is mentioned. We are always to face our enemies." [John Wesley]
Standing Still
"It is a noble thing for a man, with a chastened ambition, restrained within due bounds by a wise reason, to aspire to achievements, and, when the potency to achieve is demonstrated, it is still more heroic for such a man, if it be the will of God, to fold his wings and stand still, and let those achievements go by. I wonder that some of the old music has been suffered to die out. I have always wondered why that song, “The Captive Knight,” should have gone into disuse. A returning crusader, in crossing a hostile territory, was seized by some nobleman, and thrown into a castle prison. After a time, on some bright morning, he hears the sound of distant music, which comes nearer and nearer; and soon the flash of the spears is seen; and by and by the banners appear; and at last he sees men approaching whom he recognizes as his old companions, with whom he has breasted the war in a thousand battles. As they draw still nearer and nearer, he can distinguish their countenances; and he calls out from his tower to them, again and again; but the music covers the sound of his voice, and they pass on and on, and finally the last one disappears, the banners gleam no more, and the music dies in his ear, and he is left alone to perish in his prison! There are thousands of captive knights in this world who see their companions passing by with the glories and honors of life, while they are in prison and cannot stir; and to them comes the message of our text, “Having done all, stand.” Stand still, and be patient, and be as manly and as noble, in standing still, as you fain would have been in attainment and achievement." (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
