The Armor of God: The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
This blog post is
part of a series on spiritual warfare.
If you need to catch up, click on these links to read previous posts:
How to Defeat a Spiritual Stronghold
The Armor of God: Stand Firm!
The Armor of God: The Belt of Truth
The Armor of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness
Our scripture passage is Ephesians 6:10-20.
Ephesians 6:15
- …and having shod your feet with
the preparation of the gospel of peace
Today, we are putting on our shoes. We have realized we are surrounded by
spiritual warfare between God and our enemy, Satan. We have recognized his tactics of spiritual
strongholds in our mind and heart. We
have determined and are motivated by the commands of our Father to stand firm
in the face of attack. We have wrapped
ourselves up with the truth, being in Christ, who is Truth, and living truthful
lives. We are secure in the
righteousness of Christ which was given to us in exchange for our sin, and Christ
being in us, living out His life in us of holiness and obedience.
Now it is time to put something on our feet: the
preparation of the gospel of peace!
The word gospel (Strongs 2098) is euaggelion. It’s
a compound word from eu, good or well, and aggello, to proclaim
or tell. In other words, to tell what is good. The word originally denoted a reward for good
tidings; later, the idea of reward was dropped, and the word stood for
"the good news" itself.
The English word
"gospel," i.e. "good message," is the equivalent of euangelion (English,
"evangel"). In the NT it denotes the "good tidings" of the
Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith, on the
basis of His death, His burial, resurrection, and ascension. It is the root of our English words evangelist
and evangelism.
Paul uses the word gospel
in two distinct ways, though the two are connected.
(a) Historically: of the basic facts of the
death, burial and resurrection of Christ, as in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:
Now I make know to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which
also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you
hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance
what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures.
(b) Doctrinally: of the interpretation of
these facts, indicated by the context, as in Galatians 1:6-9:
I am amazed that you
are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a
different gospel; which is really
not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the
gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
should preach to you a gospel
contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now,
if any man is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
Have you ever heard someone say, “That’s the gospel
truth!”? By using that phrase, their
purpose is to convince you that what they are saying is absolutely true. The word “gospel” has become synonymous with
“truth” although the unbelieving world does not accept the actual gospel of
Jesus Christ as the truth.
It is important to remember that we are putting on the shoes
of the gospel, and that our gospel
must be the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ. We cannot stand firm, or walk confidently, if
our shoes have holes of unbelief and doubt, or wrong doctrine. If we are going to battle in spiritual
warfare, we must be standing on a firm foundation of the pure gospel.
This is exactly why we study God’s Word diligently, as we
are encouraged in 2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent
to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be
ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
As we share the gospel, this is equally important. If we are sharing with a pre-Christian, we do
not need to get caught up in pointless arguments or debates about things which are
not essential for salvation. We should
keep it to the simplicity and purity of the gospel. It’s interesting: that’s exactly the point and purpose of 2
Timothy 2:15. Let’s read the verses in
context:
2 Timothy 2:14-16 – Remind
them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless
and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to
be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it
will lead to further ungodliness.
Here’s an example: If
you are trying to witness to a co-worker, don’t get caught up in political
debates, even in your passion for truth and righteousness. Focus instead on speaking and living words of
grace and truth to create a desire to know more of the God you serve, so that
you do not inadvertently alienate a person before you ever get a chance to
share the gospel with them!
Remember: our enemy is NOT
another person. Our enemy is spiritual.
Why do you think Paul uses the phrase “gospel of peace”? What is it about the gospel that is connected
to peace?
Let’s look at another passage in which we find the word
“peace” in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and see what we can learn about the
gospel itself.
Ephesians 2:14-15
- For He Himself is our peace,
who made both groups into one
and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in His flesh the
enmity, which is the
Law of commandments contained in
ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body
to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to
you who were far away, and peace to those who
were near.
We are speaking of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself is our peace. The gospel makes peace between God and men. When Christ paid our sin debt as
law-breakers, He abolished the enmity (what the Law held against us), and
reconciled us to God. The gospel also
made peace between Jews and
Gentiles, as the Law was abolished and we now all come to God through Christ,
not trying to keep the Law.
So, the gospel is a gospel of peace because it establishes
peace between God and men. We once were
enemies of God, but now we have been “brought near by the blood of Christ”
(Ephesians 2:13).
So, practically, how
do we put on the shoes of the gospel of peace and how does the gospel help us
in spiritual warfare?
Here are few applications from scripture.
#1 – We put on our
shoes by accepting the gospel, through personal salvation.
Ephesians 1:13 – In
Him, you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also
believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.
If you want to go out into battle unprepared, the easiest
way to do it would be to run out barefoot!
The physical shoes we wear are a great illustration of how we protect
our feet. Settle with God the fact of
your salvation. It is vital to your ability
to stand in spiritual warfare. If you
find yourself losing battle after battle, perhaps you need to go back and
establish if you really, truly have given yourself completely to God, or have
you only recognized God intellectually, but not surrendered your life and heart
to His Lordship?
2 Corinthians 13:5 - Test
yourselves to see if
you are in the faith; examine yourselves!
Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in
you—unless indeed you fail the test?
(I’m adding that topic to my list of potential future
blogs: How do you test yourself to see if you are in the faith?)
#2 – We stand in our shoes,
by planting our feet firmly on the foundation of the gospel.
Ephesians 6:15 - …and
having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
The word for preparation
(Strongs 2091) is hetoimasia. It
means the condition of a person or thing so far as prepared; preparedness,
readiness. This would agree with our
point #1, that we must first be prepared in our own life by accepting the
gospel.
According to Vines
Expository Dictionary, the word “preparation” also has the meaning of firm
footing (foundation). Vines proposes, if
that is the meaning in Ephesians 6;15, then the gospel itself is to be the firm footing of the believer, his
walk being worthy of it and therefore a testimony in regard to it.
Zodhiates Complete Word Study Dictionary agrees with Vines. I’m paraphrasing him below.
This meaning (foundation, basis, firm footing) best agrees
with the scope of Eph. 6:15, the only passage in the NT where the word occurs
in relation to the use of the military shoe.
Paul advises Christian converts to “stand firm against the schemes of
the devil,” “having done everything, to stand firm,” and “stand firm,
therefore…” This intimates the firm and solid knowledge of the gospel in which the
believer may stand firm and unmoved like soldiers in their military duty. The Roman soldiers were furnished with shoes
that had cleats on the soles for this purpose.
Paul warns the believers about deserting the gospel they
heard (Galatians 1:6) and the necessity of continuing in our faith, firmly
established and steadfast, and not moving away from the hope of the gospel
(Colossians 1:23).
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – Now
I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also
you received, in which also you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain. For I
delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried,
and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
How does this enable
us to stand firm?
We have a cause to stand – the gospel of Christ. Anything that raises itself against the truth
of the gospel must be our enemy. Having
a solid footing, a firm foundation through first of all, a personal experience
of the gospel – we are truly believers and are not “intellectual assenters”
acting like we believe, and then through a thorough and complete understanding
of the gospel, as our minds are enlightened by the Spirit of God through His
Word, allows us to stand firm in spiritual warfare. We are unable to be shaken or moved away from
this firm foundation of truth. We “dig
our heels in” so to speak. We are not
standing on rocky or sandy soil trying to do hand to hand combat with the
enemy. If we are not firmly grounded in
the truth of the gospel, we will be easily swayed – pushed away, discouraged
and defeated.
How do you respond
when spiritual warfare comes? If we
run, turn our backs, abandon the truth of the gospel and embrace the sin and
the world God rescued us from, we are not standing firm in the gospel. We have forgotten to put on our shoes!
Here’s a practical
example of standing firm in the gospel:
Something happens in your workplace where you just don’t do
your best. For whatever reason, you fail
at a project or at least feel like you weren’t able to achieve what you
wanted. Satan whispers in your ear, “You
are worthless. Another person would be
much better at this job. You should just
give up and quit.” To make matters
worse, your boss brings you in and confronts you about the failure. You feel humiliated. You have two choices. You can believe what that little voice is
whispering in your ear, and agree with it, and lose confidence in your ability
to do your job, or even worse, become angry at your boss for confronting you
and walk out. Or, you dig your heels
firmly in the gospel and remember what God says:
I cover all your
mistakes!
I love you despite any
human failures!
You don’t have to be
perfect, because my perfect Son covers you!
Humble yourself,
accept discipline and teaching, and wait for me to exalt you.
#3 – We walk in our
shoes, by an obedient life, worthy of the gospel.
Ephesians 4:1 – Therefore
I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling with which you have been called.
Ephesians 4:17 – So
this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as
the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind…
Ephesians 5:1 – Therefore,
be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also
loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a
fragrant aroma.
The gospel transforms us, so as we move forward in our
Christian life, we walk in awareness that we are propelled by this gospel,
changed by it, and motivated to obey God because of its power in our life. There are many, many verses in Scripture
about how we proclaim the gospel just by our actions, without using words.
#4 – We leave
footprints of our shoes, by proclaiming the gospel.
Remember what we just learned about the gospel of peace? This amazing grace which God extended to us reconciled
us to God! The longer we walk
with God, the more we begin to understand the significance and value of this
great gift, and this creates in us a passion for others to know Him.
Paul says it this way:
Therefore if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things
have come. Now all these things are from
God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
(2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
We are to be ministers of reconciliation.
What a great concept!
Remember, we are talking about spiritual warfare, and we began this
study to learn how to defeat spiritual strongholds in our mind and heart. What better way to keep Satan out of our mind
and heart than to think about, ponder, talk about, write about, speak about,
the gospel of Christ? He hates the
gospel. By sharing the gospel, we are continually reminding ourselves of the power of God in our life, and all the wonderful, victorious things He has done for us and provided to us! As we are continually
grateful for what God has done in our life, our words and life will spill over
into sharing that with others, proclaiming the gospel, deepening and strengthening our own faith,
By proclaiming the gospel, we can be used of God to snatch
other precious people from Satan’s kingdom, and watch as God gloriously
transfers them into His own righteous kingdom!
How’s that for a strategy to defeat the enemy?
Ephesians 6:19 - …and
pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth
to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…
Isaiah 52:7 – How
lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces
peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation and says to
Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Romans 10:13 – For
“Whoever will call on the name of the LORD will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they
have not believed? How will they believe
in Him whom they have not heard? And how
will they hear without a preacher? How
will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news of good things!”
2 Corinthians 2:14 - But
thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the
sweet aroma of the
knowledge of Him in
every place.
The shoes of the gospel of peace leave footprints. Some of us have little feet, some have bigger
feet, and every footprint is unique. If
you walk across a sandy beach barefoot with your family, you can look back and
see that each person’s imprint is absolutely unique to them. We all walk “differently” in the way our feet
land on the ground, and how we push off on the heels. But covering all of our differences is the
precious gospel of Jesus Christ, and as we walk through life, fighting
spiritual battles, we can all leave footprints of the sweet aroma of Christ—the
gospel.
So…I ask you. What is
the condition of your shoes? What prints
are you leaving? How are you standing
firm? Are you on firm footing? Are you leaving the aroma of Christ where you
walk? Are you laboring as a minister of
reconciliation?
Do you have “beautiful feet?”
Stand firm…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace.
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