5 Bible Verses about Spiritual Allegories

Truly, truly I tell you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs up somewhere else, he is a thief and a robber; he who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gate-keeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice; he calls his sheep by name and leads them out.read more.
When he has brought all his sheep outside, he goes in front of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice; they will not follow a stranger, they will run from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus told them this allegory, but they did not understand what he was saying to them; so he said to them again, "Truly, truly I tell you, I am the shepherd of the sheep; all who ever came before me have been thieves and robbers ??but the sheep would not listen to them. (I am the Gate; whoever enters by me will be saved, he will go in and out and find pasture.) The thief only comes to steal, to slay, and to destroy: I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd; a good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep. The hired man, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, deserts them when he sees the wolf coming; he runs away, leaving the wolf to tear and scatter them, just because he is a hired man, who has no interest in the sheep. I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me (just as the Father knows me and I know the Father,) and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, which do not belong to this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; so it will be one flock, one shepherd.

Tell me, you who are keen to be under the Law, will you not listen to the Law? Surely it is written in the Law that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-woman and one by the free-woman; but while the son of the slave-woman was born by the flesh, the son of the free-woman was born by the promise.read more.
Now this is an allegory. The women are two covenants. One comes from mount Sinai, bearing children for servitude; that is Hagar, for mount Sinai is away in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for the latter is in servitude with her children. But the Jerusalem on high is free, and she is 'our' mother. For it is written, Rejoice, O thou barren who bearest not, break into joy, thou who travailest not; for the children of the desolate woman are far more than of the married. Now you are the children of the Promise, brothers, like Isaac; but just as in the old days the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit, so it is still to-day. However, what does the scripture say? Put away the slave-woman and her son, for the son of the slave-woman shall not be heir along with the son of the free-woman. Hence we are children of no slave-woman, my brothers, but of the free-woman,

For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem,read more.
do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive?

Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also (though he is the saviour of the Body) is the head of the church; as the church is subject to Christ, so wives are to be subject to their husbands in every respect.read more.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to consecrate her by cleansing her in the bath of baptism as she utters her confession, in order to have the church as his very own, standing before him in all her glory, with never a spot or wrinkle or any such flaw, but consecrated and unblemished. So ought husbands to love their wives ??to love them as their own bodies (he who loves his wife loves himself). For no one ever hates his flesh; no, he nourishes and cherishes it (just as Christ does the church for we are members of his Body). Therefore shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the pair shall be one flesh. This is a profound symbol, I mean as regards Christ and the church. However, let every man of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife reverence her husband.

put on God's armour so as to be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. For we have to struggle, not with blood and flesh but with the angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, the potentates of the dark present, the spirit-forces of evil in the heavenly sphere. So take God's armour, that you may be able to make a stand upon the evil day and hold your ground by overcoming all the foe.read more.
Hold your ground, tighten the belt of truth about your loins, wear integrity as your coat of mail, and have your feet shod with the stability of the gospel of peace; above all, take faith as your shield, to enable you to quench all the fire-tipped darts flung by the evil one, put on salvation as your helmet, and take the Spirit as your sword (that is, the word of God),