Ephesians 6:14–15 . . .

“The First Three of Six Pieces of Spiritual Armor”

Paul the apostle wrote his powerful and possibly most memorable text about spiritual warfare and weaponry in 6:10–13. Before he began his detailed explanation of the essential spiritual armor suit we must wear, he first pleaded passionately to his readers: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” You can read highlights of those four spiritual warfare verses in my previous commentary.

In today’s follow-up passage, as Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Ephesian church body, he concludes with his popular “be strong in the Lord” exhortation. The phrase implies that human effort is inadequate but God’s power is invincible. Paul means to urge or encourage fellow believers to remain faithful in their belief in and service to the Lord Jesus. This is Paul’s exhortation to fight the good fight through dedicated discipleship.

Given his Jewish upbringing, Paul was continually guided by Old Testament teaching. As he unpacks the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10–20, he almost certainly has in mind the armor of the Roman soldiers he saw every day throughout the empire. Thus, when appropriate, you’ll see in this commentary how the construction of three armor pieces — (1) the belt of truth, (2) the breastplate of righteousness, and (3) well-fitted footwear of peace — illustrate the apostle’s teaching.

The Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness (6:14)

In this epistle, one quickly notes that believers have many resources to benefit them in their service to God. Midway in the final chapter of this letter to the Ephesians church body, Paul introduces the Christian to the powerful enemy — the devil — as well as the effective power we receive when we wear the armor of God. Before focusing on the “belt of truth” — the first of this passages’s three pieces of armor — please realize the many other gifts and benefits Paul assures us of in chapter 1, which every believer has inherited after becoming children of God. See all of them here.

The belt of truth is the first piece of the “full armor of God” to be listed in Ephesians 6:10–17 because, without truth, we become lost. If that were to happen, the devil’s schemes will surely overpower us. Character, not brute force, wins battles. That passage begins with the admonition from the apostle, Paul, to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” The key to understanding the armor of God is that all the armor pieces belong to him, come directly from him, and are to be beneficially used by us.

“The belt of truth”  Ancient Roman soldiers wore a leather apron to protect their thighs from the attacks of their foes; called a “tasset,” this piece of armor is a complement or counterpart to the “belt of truth” (v. 14). Without God’s truth we lack proper support — we remain completely vulnerable and are left, effectively, with no legs to stand on. If we lose the truth of the gospel (1:13; 4:21, 24; 5:9), the bottom gets cut right out from under us, rendering believers unable to withstand the assaults of false doctrine, half-truths, and other deviations from the Lord’s revelations. Knowing the truth of the gospel, we can rest assured that God has declared us righteous in Christ.

It’s fitting that the belt of truth is the first piece of the full suit of armor that God provides his children. Because Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), it’s only through him that we become one with God. Therefore, truth is of the utmost importance in a Christian’s life. Without truth, the rest of the armor would be of no use to us because we’d not have the Spirit of truth from which to benefit (John 15:26).

“In referring to the full armor of God, Paul invokes the image of a soldier ready for battle. The Roman soldier’s belt in Paul’s day was not a simple leather strap, such as what we wear today. It was a thick, heavy, leather-and-metal band with a protective piece hanging down from the front of it. While the belt held the soldier’s sword and other weapons, the spiritual armor “belt of truth” holds the sword of the Spirit, linking truth and God’s Word (cf. John 17:17).

“We are to actively lay hold of the truth of God’s Word and use it. The ‘belt of truth’ is a crucial piece of defensive armor guarding our inmost being in the battle against the enemy’s lies and deceptions. Without an understanding of truth, we are left vulnerable to being ‘blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming’ (4:14). The ‘belt of truth’ protects and prepares us for the battle that every Christian faces.”^[1] When Paul compares the armor of God with military gear, each piece represents a part of God’s strength that he extends to us when we become his children. 

“The breastplate of righteousness”  Christians must also wear this breastplate, the part of the soldier’s armor designed to protect his vital organs from arrows and painful impact. The righteousness that Paul suggests could be the righteousness of Christ by which we’re justified (2 Cor. 5:21) and/or the morally correct righteousness that we practice as we demonstrate the genuineness of our faith to the world (James 2:14–26). Understanding that God has declared us righteous by faith alone encourages us to repent and keep fighting after we fall. When we effectively wear and practice “the breastplate of righteousness,” we become better able to resist our sinful actions and strive to be holy.

The imagery is of an armed Roman or Israelite soldier, prepared for battle. A typical armed soldier wore a breastplate made of bronze over chain mail, which covered the heart. Fitted with loops or buckles and attached to a thick belt, if the belt became loosened, the breastplate would slip off. At salvation, a “breastplate” is issued to each repentant sinner. Uniquely designed by God, “the breastplate of righteousness” serves to protect our heart and soul from evil and deception. Here again, the warrior’s character is his defense. God himself is symbolically described as putting on a “breastplate of righteousness” when he goes forth to bring about justice (Isaiah 59:17).

Through Paul, God instructs us to “put on” this armor (v. 11), implying this: We [elect] believers don’t automatically wear this life-saving all the time. Putting on the armor of God requires a conscious act on our part. To put on “the breastplate of righteousness,” we must first firmly wear our “belt of truth.” Without truth, our righteousness will sadly be based upon our own attempts to impress God. So, as we wear Christ’s “the breastplate of righteousness,” we’re expected to have a pure heart and love-filled actions. Wearing this breastplate brings about a lifestyle of putting into practice what we believe and feel in our hearts. 

A Soldier’s Footwear (6:15)

Ephesians 6:11–17 instructs believers in Christ to put on and continuously wear the full armor of God as an effective defense against Satan’s attacks. The good news gospel of peace is the message that Jesus gave to all who trust in him (John 14:27; Romans 10:15). With the gospel of peace comes God’s assurance that we’re his children and nothing can snatch us out of his hands (John 10:29).

One of Satan’s many schemes is to rob saints of their peace by promoting doubts, fears, and discord. He sets out to frighten us so that we panic and sometimes do what’s foolish and destructive. Satan finds troubled souls and begins to frighten them; they’ll fall into his hands when they panic. But we saints can resist Satan by pursuing and preserving the peace that comes from God, which is a peace that’s rooted in the realization that: (1) Satan is a defeated foe, (2) God’s purposes and promises are sure, and (3) we remain safe when we trust in our Lord.

Verse 15 speaks about preparing feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, an enemy sometimes places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace is that we need to advance into Satan’s territory, always aware of the traps therein. Because the grace message is essential to winning souls to Christ, we must be prepared to explain and personally share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Jesus much or at all. Satan also places many obstacles in people’s paths so he can sometimes halt the advancement of the gospel account.

The term “fully prepared” implies constant vigilance. It was required that a victorious soldier must always be prepared for battle; he had to have studied and realized his enemy’s strategy, remain confident in his own strategy, and have his feet planted firmly so he could hold his ground during attacks. His battle shoes were studded with nails or spikes like cleats, helping him keep his balance while actively engaged in combat. If he were to lose his footing and fall down, it wouldn’t matter how effective the rest of his armor was; the enemy had him. For us today, when we know and uphold the gospel of peace, we live with the knowledge that we’re continually under Satan’s attacks.

Interestingly and assuredly, the “peace shoes” that God supplies his soldiers have defensive and offensive purposes. So we can successfully defend ourselves against “all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (v. 16), we must have confidence of our knowledge of and relationship with Christ (1 John 5:14). We must stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, regardless of terrifying circumstances.

“When Satan attacks with a flaming missile of doubt, such as, ‘If God really loved you, He wouldn’t have let this happen,’ we dig our peace shoes into the turf of God’s Word and reply, It is written: ‘In all things God works for the good of those who love him’ (Romans 8:28). When Satan stabs from behind with, ‘Remember what you did?’ we dig in more deeply and reply, It’s written: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 1:9).

“In addition to standing our ground, shoes are also for moving. God expects us to go on the offensive by taking the gospel of peace to others. First Peter 3:15b says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Sharing our faith is one of the best ways to maintain our sure footing. God knows that, when we’re active in speaking about Him to others, we not only charge into Satan’s territory but we dig our shoes more deeply into truth, which will be much harder to dislodge.”^[2]

To prevent battle loss, soldiers must never lose their footing. The gospel of Jesus Christ produces peace. Such comforting peace gives Christian warriors a steadiness and a stability that enables them to stand firm in battle. As strange as it must seem at first hearing, the peace that God gives his children is a piece of God’s collection of armor that enables every Christian soldier to stand firm in spiritual war against Satan and his army of fallen angels.

Dr. Charles Stanley’s Daily Devotion — Ephesians 6:14–15

When you wake up in the morning and ready yourself for the day, you’re probably not thinking about stepping onto a battlefield. But the enemy is all around us, constantly assaulting our heart and mind with temptations, adversities, emotional attacks, and more. Some days, it feels as though we’re standing on the front line of combat without protection.

Therein lies our misunderstanding. We do have protection! The Lord made provision for our nakedness in battle. He hasn’t sent us to war unprotected. Instead, he’s given us a suit of armor that the enemy can’t penetrate: It’s the armor of God.

In 6:10–18, Apostle Paul provides step-by-step advisories on how to prepare well for our daily warfare. Today’s two verses highlight the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and well-fitted shoes — Warren’s next commentary features the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. Yet, most Christians fail to pay much attention to Paul’s instructions. We often say, Well, that’s a well-worded metaphor, but we needn’t take it literally since that armor isn’t real. But the armor that God gives us is real! It’s as real as the clothing you’re wearing now.

Do you want to see a dramatic change in your life? Do you want to stand strong in the face of adversity? Do you want to overcome temptation? If you answered those questions with three “Yes” answers, realize this: You must be adequately dressed for battle. Simply knowing about each piece of God armor can’t provide protection; you must put on all six pieces, wearing the entire set of armor continuously.

I challenge you to intentionally put on your spiritual armor — all day, every day. Simply try each piece on when you get dressed, keep your armor on, and meditate on 6:17–18. Throughout the days and nights, contemplate what armor you’re wearing and realize what God has enabled you to do while wearing his full suit of supernatural armor.

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