Opening: Clip of Nike commercial – “It’s gotta be the shoes.”
This 1989 classic Nike commercial was intended to convince the buying public of the importance of having the right shoes. And, although shoes are often much more of a fashion statement than functional, there are still many times when having the right shoe is crucial.
As many of us watch the Summer Olympics over the next few weeks, we’ll see just how important shoes are to many of the athletes. Obviously that’s not a big issue for swimmers, divers and gymnasts, but for many of the athletes, having the right shoes will determine whether or not they have a chance to win a medal.
Many sports have their own specialized shoes. The successors to Michael Jordan on the U.S. basketball team wear shoes that give them the proper traction and stability as they run and jump. Even though volleyball players also run and jump, their shoes are designed especially for their sport and they differ quite a bit from the basketball shoes. Cyclists wear specialized shoes that allow them to provide the maximum force to their pedals. And in track and field, each event requires different kinds of shoes. In fact, those who compete in the decathlon, an event that requires athletes to compete in ten different events, may very well use ten pairs of shoes, one for each discipline.
So, as Paul continues his description of the armor of God, it’s not surprising that he now focuses on the shoes. Let’s read our passage out loud together. Once again, we’ll read from both the NIV and the more literal NASB:
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:15 (NIV)
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
Ephesians 6:15 (NASB)
The Romans soldiers wore heavy leather shoes called caligae. These shoes were bound by thongs over the instep and around the ankles and the soles were thickly studded with hobnails, which served to reinforce the shoes, provide better traction and which could also be used as a weapon by kicking the enemy. Those shoes that were worn by the ordinary soldiers were so essential that those soldiers came to be known as the caligati.
Germanicus, was the adopted son of emperor Tiberius and one of Rome’s most beloved generals. When he was among the soldiers he began to put the caligae on his young son, who was appropriately nicknamed “little boots”. So when that boy later became emperor, he was known not by his formal name, but by his nickname, Caligula.
This is perhaps the most difficult of all the pieces of the armor to understand. This is the only piece of the armor where Paul doesn’t actually identify it directly. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. But if you look at verse 15 carefully, you’ll find that Paul doesn’t actually use the word shoe at all. It’s implied in the verb which is translated “fitted” or “having shod”, which literally means “having sandaled”, but the word “shoe” isn’t there. In fact, if we take this phrase literally, we are actually to sandal our feet with “readiness”, or “preparation” and not the “shoes of readiness” or the “shoes of preparation.”
As a result, the commentaries and sermons on this passage tend to be divided into two major camps:
• The most adhered to, and the correct view in my opinion, views the gospel of piece as the foundation that prepares or readies us to stand firm against the evil one in this spiritual war we’re involved in.
• The second view, one taken by many well-respected biblical scholars and teachers, is that readiness refers to the idea that believers should be ready to go out and defend and spread the gospel of peace.
While that second view is certainly in line with other passages that exhort believers to be ready to share the gospel with others, given the context, I’m not sure that is what Paul has in mind in this passage. But I think it is helpful to us to understand how those who hold to that position support that view. So let’s begin by looking at...
The shoes as a picture of readiness to share the gospel
As, I’ve already shared with you, Paul’s description of the armor may very well have been influenced by his familiarity with the Roman soldiers, but it was even more influenced by his knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures which described the armor of the Messiah, Jesus. And I have no doubt that when he writes about having our feet fitted with readiness, he was influenced by this passage from Isaiah:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 52:7 (NIV)
Many of you may be familiar with that passage because Paul quotes it in another of his letters. And in Romans chapter 10, there is absolutely no doubt that he uses that verse from Isaiah in that context to support the importance of preaching the good news. And the idea of being ready to proclaim the gospel is certainly consistent with other passages like these:
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5, 6 (NIV)
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
So there is absolutely no doubt that the Bible teaches that we are to be ready to share the gospel with those who ask us about the hope that we have in Jesus. I’m just not sure that we can properly use this passage from Ephesians to make that point. So let me share with you why I view...
The shoes as a picture of a firm foundation
As we’ve done all throughout our journey through Ephesians, we must keep this passage in its proper context within Paul’s letter. And in Chapter 2, we find that Paul’s focus is on Jesus, and not on His followers, as the one who proclaims the gospel of peace:
He [Jesus] came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
Ephesians 2:14 (NIV)
This is actually very consistent with the passage we just looked at in Isaiah since the point of Isaiah’s proclamation was that the people will welcome the approach of the messenger who can declare that God is about to fulfill His promise of redemption. But God took that even one step further. Not only is Jesus the one who proclaims peace, He is also the means of that peace.
In the more immediate context, we find that Paul is writing in this section to believers who are engaged in spiritual warfare with Satan and his demons. There is absolutely nothing in this section to indicate that Paul is referring in any way to sharing the gospel with unbelievers. That certainly seems to be confirmed by the fact that the instruction to put on the armor begins in verse 14 with the command to “stand”, which is also consistent with the 3 other uses of the verb “stand” in verses 11 and 13.
As I’ve tried to make clear from the very beginning of our study on spiritual warfare, our responsibility is not to take new ground, it is to stand firm and hold the ground Jesus has already taken.
The word translated “readiness” or “preparation” is a word that is used both in classical Greek and in the Greek version of the Old Testament to picture a firm foundation. That would certainly be consistent with the main purpose of the shoes of the Roman soldier, which was to provide him with a sure-footed foundation as he engaged in battle so that he could stand his ground. And for the follower of Christ, that firm foundation is described here by Paul as...
The gospel of peace
I don’t know about you, but my initial reaction is that the idea of peace seems to be out of place when we’re talking here about war. How can one be “at peace” when one is at war? In order to answer that question, we need to have a proper understanding of what Paul means by the “gospel of peace.” Let’s begin by looking at the concept of peace.
• Peace
When most of us think of peace, we tend to view it in terms that are similar to this dictionary definition:
The absence of war or other hostilities.
Therefore, we have a hard time understanding how peace can be an essential piece of armor in the spiritual battle we’re engaged in. But the Biblical concept of peace does not in any way contradict its use as spiritual armor. The concept of peace in both the Old and New Testaments is not merely the absence of external trials and tribulations.
o “shalom” (Hebrew) = completeness, wholeness, to be at rest
The Greek word also incorporates those same concepts, but is also has an additional meaning.
o “eirene” (Greek) = “to join together that which has been separated”
In just a moment, after we briefly look the concept of the gospel, I want to come back and see how the gospel of peace joins back together what has been separated in three areas of our lives.
• Gospel
As I’m sure many of you know, the word translated “gospel” is a Greek word that means:
o “good news”.
It is the same Greek word from which we get our English word “evangelism”, which is the sharing of good news. The Greeks, as well as the Romans, used that word to describe the proclamation of important events like news about the victory over their enemies or the announcement of the accession of a new Caesar or the emperor’s birthday. The New Testament writers appropriated that secular word and applied it to the best news that any man could hear – that Jesus Christ had come to bring peace. That’s why Paul encourages his readers to be ready for battle by making sure that they have the firm foundation of the gospel of peace. That gospel of peace is to operate in three areas of our lives.
Three aspects of the gospel of peace
• Peace with God
As we saw earlier, the idea of peace requires the joining together of that which has been separated. At the beginning of Ephesians chapter 2, Paul describes how all of us were separated from God at one time. We were His enemies and subject to His wrath. We had no peace with God.
But Jesus changed all that. Here’s how Paul described the process a little later in chapter 2:
...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace...
Ephesians 2:12-14 (NIV)
We were separated from Christ, and, as we’ll focus on a bit more in a moment, also separated from Israel and God’s covenants with His chosen people. But Jesus is the peace who brought us back together with God. Once again, we find that putting on the armor is actually a matter of clothing ourselves with Jesus. In order to put on peace, we put on the One who is peace – Jesus. And when we place our faith in Him, he restores our relationship with God and gives us peace with God. Here’s how Paul described that reality in Romans:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Romans 5:1 (NIV)
The only way that it is possible to have peace with God is through the One who is peace Himself – Jesus Christ. Any other effort we make or any other method or procedure that we try to follow will always leave us short of that peace. In Colossians, Paul describes this peace using a slightly different picture:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:19, 20 (NIV)
In this passage, Paul writes about how Jesus made peace by reconciling all things to Himself. Unless you’re an accountant, you probably don’t’ use that word “reconcile” very much, but hopefully you’re all familiar with the concept. Every month when you get your bank statement, the amount shown on that statement is different from the balance you have in your checkbook, so you reconcile those two amounts by accounting for the checks and deposits that haven’t cleared the bank yet and for any items the bank has charged or credited you for that you have not yet recorded in your checkbook. In other words, you bring together what has been separated – the Biblical definition of peace.
That’s what Jesus did for us by His shed blood on the cross. He accounted for the sins that separated us from God and brought us back together with God. And if we’re going to stand firm against the evil one, we must begin with our peace with God to provide us with the right foundation.
But, as we’ve seen with the other pieces of the armor, there must be something more to the gospel of peace since the verb Paul uses indicates that it is something we must put on ourselves. And our peace with God, while it is certainly an integral part of the gospel of peace, is clearly something that God does for us completely apart from our own effort or merit. So let’s look at the additional aspects of the gospel of peace:
• Peace of God
This aspect of peace is very clearly described by Paul in Philippians 4:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)
The great thing about this passage is that it not only describes the peace of God, but Paul also gives us some practical instruction on...
How to put on the peace of God:
1) Delight in God
Satan is a master at trying to use our circumstances to try to get us to quit delighting in God. We certainly see him attempt that tactic with Job. But we are able to stand firm during those times by delighting in God regardless of circumstances. So Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord always. In fact, that’s so important, he repeats the command a second time. And Paul is not asking his readers to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. He’s writing those words from prison after all.
The song “Blessed be Your Name” which was written by Matt Redman and his wife Beth, is the second most popular worship song in the United States for good reason. It is a song that is centered on the idea that we can rejoice in God and bless his name whether we’re on the highest mountain tops or going through the lowest valleys. The bridge paraphrases Job’s response to all the calamities in his life with these words:
You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name
That’s how we stand firm against Satan by putting on the peace of God.
2) Gracefully endure the weaknesses of others
When Paul writes, “Let your gentleness be evident to all”, he is writing to believers about our relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters who may not be as mature as we are. Someone once observed that Christians are the only ones who shoot their own wounded and unfortunately, there is some degree of truth in that statement. We’ll come back to this principle and look at it in some more detail in a moment.
3) Pray
I’m convinced that Satan loves to get us to worry about things because that distracts us from the battle and causes us to put down our armor and then we are vulnerable to attack.
So how do we deal with worry and appropriate the peace of God? [Wait for answers]. That’s right, we pray. And what does Paul say we should pray about? [Wait for answers]. That’s right – everything. I’ve found that this is a pretty good rule of thumb when it comes to applying this passage: If something is significant enough for me to worry about, then it’s significant enough to pray about. Worried about your health? Pray about it. Worried about your finances? Pray about them. Worried about your kids and the peer pressure they face? Pray about it. You get the idea.
4) Focus on truth and righteousness
I know this probably doesn’t surprise you, but in much the same way that the individual pieces of the armor worked together to protect the Roman soldiers, each piece of our spiritual armor does not operate in a vacuum. As we saw last week, righteousness depends on truth. And the peace of God requires both truth and righteousness. That’s why Paul reminds us to think about those things that are true and then to put into practice those things that are in accordance with the truth – that’s the practical righteousness we focused on last week.
Let me share one word of caution with you here. I’ve often heard very well-meaning Christians justify their decisions, attitudes and actions by claiming that they have “a peace about it.” But inner feelings of peace are not necessarily the peace of God. The peace of God is always rooted in the character of God and the Word of God – in other words in righteousness and truth. As we saw last week, Satan primarily attacks our minds and our emotions. And he’s good at it. So if we don’t put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, our thoughts and feelings can easily separate us from God rather than bring peace.
Let’s look at the third and final aspect of the gospel of peace.
• Peace with others
On the cross Jesus not only tore down the barriers that separated us from God, but He also destroyed the walls that separate us from other believers as well. The gospel of peace has established an army of individual believers who are united under one head, Jesus. Just as it is not possible for one soldier to win a war on his own, it is not possible for individual followers of Jesus to be successful in spiritual warfare either. That’s why, as we’ve already emphasized several times, that the armor God provides for us is only effective when it is used in a corporate setting and not just on our own.
The verb that Paul uses in verse 15 is a plural verb. We could literally translate it something like this:
all of you having sandaled your feet with the gospel of peace
One of Satan’s most effective tools is to try to create barriers within the body of Christ and to bring separation among the members of that body. Unfortunately, many of us have experienced that first hand, sometimes in its most severe form - a church split. And when that occurs, Satan not only succeeds in damaging the witness of those believers, he also gains a foothold in the lives of those individuals.
Much of chapter 2 of Ephesians is devoted to the concept of peace within the body of Christ. Earlier we read a passage from that chapter where Paul described how the Gentiles were once the enemies of the Jews. They were excluded from citizenship in Israel and had no hope of receiving the blessings of the covenant that God had made with His chosen people.
But Jesus, who is our peace, changed all that. His work on the cross broke down the dividing wall which separated the Jews and the Gentiles so that all who are followers of Jesus can become one. The distinction between Jew and Gentile no longer exists in the church. But Jesus did more than just break down barriers between Jews and Gentiles. He destroyed every possible barrier that could disrupt the unity of the body. And then He expects us to maintain the unity and peace that He has created.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3 (NIV)
You’ll remember from our study of that passage that our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to maintain the unity that Jesus created through His death and resurrection. He has initiated peace with each other, but now we must keep it. When we looked at this passage from chapter 4 almost a year ago, I shared with you four attitudes that help us do that. Let me remind you of those once again:
Four attitudes that promote peace with others:
o Humility
I particularly like Lawrence Richards’ definition of humility:
It is not a weak man’s surrender, but a strong man’s rejection of selfishness and determination to be actively concerned with the needs and interests of others...
o Gentleness
We saw Paul use this word in Philippians a bit earlier. Here’s how William Barclay described a gentle person:
He patiently bears wrongs done to himself but is ever chivalrously ready to spring to the help of others who are wronged.
It means that rather than fighting for my rights, I’m more concerned about protecting the rights of others.
o Patience
William Barclay described patience like this:
[Patience] is the spirit which bears insult and injury without bitterness and without complaint. It is the spirit which can suffer unpleasant people with graciousness and fools without irritation.
In the body, that means that we’re willing to be patient with those who hurt or frustrate us without attempting to get even.
o Bearing with one another
The idea here is that we’re willing to bear with those who are different than us. As we saw earlier, it means putting up with the weaknesses of those who may be less mature that we are.
Every one of those four attitudes is a reflection of the attitude that God has toward us and He expects us to treat others in the very same way in order to maintain peace with them.
If we want to be able to stand firm against the evil one, then “it’s gotta be the shoes.” We need to make sure that we are fitted with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace – peace with God, the peace of God, and peace with others. Only then will we have the solid footing that we need to stand firm in our spiritual battle.
