Sit, Walk and Stand based on Grace and His Finished Work (12)

Put on the Full Armor of God (5) – The Shoes of The Gospel of Peace

After having girded our waist with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 :15 : ”and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (NKJ). The New Living Translation says it like this : “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”

The shoes worn by the Romans soldiers during Paul’s time were actually sandals. “ The shoes worn by the Roman warrior generally came in the “sandal” variety. They had thick leather soles that were studded with small nails to provide stability in hand–to–hand combat. The sandals came up above the ankle and were held securely to the foot by extensive leather straps.”
Source :http://www.realarmorofgod.com/armor-of-god.html

Some have interpreted Ephesians 6:15 as Paul telling us to go and preach the Gospel of Peace ( Romans10:15 : “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” ) However I believe that the picture here is of the Christian standing his ground against the devil in spiritual warfare. Paul in Ephesians 6:10 says “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (NKJ) When we stand, the part of our body that comes into contact with the ground is our feet. Paul says we need to put on our feet “the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” What is this peace that comes with the Good News and what is this Good News? Romans 5:1,2 tell us “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (NKJ) The Good News is that we have been made righteous and now have peace with God because of what Christ has done for us on the cross! The peace that comes with this Good News is that Christ has done it all for us, we don’t have to slog to earn it with hard work or any form of self effort.

Why is it so important to protect our feet with this Good News of peace? The kind of shoes we wear will determine if our stand is stable. To stand against the wiles of the devil, Paul says we have to put on our feet the peace that comes with the Good News which is we have been made righteous in God’s sight by faith and we now have peace with God “because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” This right standing with God is by faith and we have peace with God not because of what we have done but because of what Christ has achieved for us on the cross. It is so vital that we are standing on the foundation of His finished work and not our own efforts. When we stand on our own works, it is like putting on the wrong shoes eg. wearing bathroom slippers to play soccer . When the devil attacks us with storms in our lives, we will never be able to prevail. The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He tries to steal our peace by causing us to focus on our own works and self effort to earn points with God which often leads to fatigue and frustration. When our feet are shod with the Good News of peace, we will be able to stand securely, we will not slip or slide and fall when the devil attacks us in the evil day.

The most important aspect of the Gospel of peace I believe is that when we put on the shoes of peace, we are putting on Christ Himself. The Bible calls Jesus the Prince of Peace “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) When we put on Christ (our Peace) as our shoes, the devil cannot attack our feet and cause us to fall.

How do we put on Christ as our shoes? When Noah and his family were in the ark, the storm came. Even when Noah fell, he fell in the ark. He did not fall into the overwhelming waters of the flood. When Christ is our peace, we rest in the certainty that even when we fall in our Christian life, we fall in the Ark (Christ). We have been made forever righteous in Christ. When our feet are shod with this revelation, the devil cannot use our failures and shortcoming to steal our peace. We can stand victorious with our feet in the Prince of Peace and He will crush Satan under our feet. “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. ..” (Romans 16:20 NKJ)

--------------------------to be continued----------------------------------