The preparation of the Gospel of Peace (shoes) and the Shield of Faith
1. Gospel of Peace (shoes)
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Verse 15 says Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace refers to shoes (or boots). The Roman soldier had boots which were bound around his calf with leather thongs. And the Roman legionaries were famous for the long distances they could march under pressure. And one of the great requirements of any soldier is to be mobile. And our mobility depends before mechanized transportation, on our feet. Soldiers in a battlefield area are usually ordered to sleep with their boots on because if there is an alarm in the middle of the night and they had to wake up in the dark and feel around for your boots!
Soldiers in a battle must be mobile and available, So, what Paul is saying here is ‘Make sure that in a moment of crisis you have your shoes on’’. And this is what Paul is saying. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. It has got to be done in advance. So what does that mean? It means two things. First of all, if we are to communicate the gospel, it requires advance preparation. We have to be acquainted out of Scripture with the basic facts of the gospel. Some believers who are saved and born again and members of churches are unable to explain the gospel. So the preparation is needed that we are equipped beforehand to explain to others what the gospel is. Then it says, “the gospel of peace.” There are two types of peace in the bible, first peace with God with followed by the peace of God. We receive peace with God at the point of our salvation and we then be to experience the peace of God in our lives. We can share the peace with God as we share the Gospel.
So, the shoes (or boots) are the preparation of the gospel of peace.
2. Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
In the Roman legions there were two kinds of shields. One was a small, round shield, the other was a long, oval shield. And the one that is referred to here is the long, oval shield which would protect every part of you from arrows and other missiles. And so, Paul talks here about a kind of faith that protects us totally. And we are going to need it because if we begin to minister for the Lord or challenge Satan, he is going to fight back. And he will not only fight back at us personally, and our homes, our families, our business, and other areas of our lives. And we need a shield of faith that can cover ourselves, our family, our business, our car, whatever it may be. We need a total protection. And that is through faith and remember that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. In other words, we have got to take time in God’s Word to find out God’s provision. God does provide a total protection. It is there in His Word. But some of us do not have a complete shield. There may be areas of our lives which are unprotected. We all know by now that when we are used by the Lord in any way, there usually is a backlash of the enemy who likes to step up the pressure on our family and life in general. And so Paul says very reasonably, “Take. the shield of faith that will cover everything.”
Please that we have to ‘take up’ each the shield. It does not drop. into our hands. It does not grow. We have to lay hold upon it, grasp it. And it is true that the Roman soldier was trained to grasp the shield very firmly. It was strapped around his left arm. You have got to have it on your arm, firm and secure.
Amen
Personal Prayer
Next time in Part 4 we consider the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit.
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