Ephesians 6:15 (NKJV) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
Your feet:
In biblical times it was customary to wash a person’s feet when they entered your home after a long dusty walk. It was the result of the walk that cleansing was needed. The walk which God has called us to is a walk of the “good news of peace.” The road can be rough and many times there are lots of problems along the way. Rejection is not an uncommon experience. Regardless, we are to walk out the peace of God. That is, not just talk about it, but demonstrate peace in our nature and attitude even toward the unlovely and the God deniers.
For me, some of my earliest lessons came when I was in the California Army National Guard. Basic training in 1967 was my first experience away from family and my mostly Christian friends. My first week of “Basic Training” was challenging to say the least, as I heard foul language, dirty stories, and male ego trying to find its place and acceptance among other men. I met and came under Army Sergeants, called DI’s, exhorting absolute authority. Nothing suggested, do it or suffer the consequences.
That week, I prayed this prayer, “Father, how can I live for you in this place?” The Lord’s answer was simple very simple, “be you.” For me that meant to read my Bible regularly, it meant, don’t be phony or something you are not. Live as a “son of God,” don’t be a moralist, in other words, don’t be judgmental and condemning, but peaceful and loving in all you do and say. He helped me to be prepared for rejection, but He also gave me great favor with equals and with my superiors. So many stories I could tell about the road that the “feet shod with the gospel of peace,” walks upon.
Covering and protection
This part of the armor of God provides a covering and protection for the feet. The feet speak of our “daily walk.” I am reminded of what David the Psalmist said in Psalm 18:
Ps 18:33-36 “He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places. 34 He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip.”
The rest of the Psalm is a very worthwhile read. It is the testimony of King David and the warfare he faced. It is a picture of “having done all to stand.” He testifies how his enemies “had fallen under his feet.” How the Lord “armed him with strength for the battle.” Other Psalms which David wrote along with the “sons of Korah” are,
Ps 25:15 “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.”
Ps 31:8 “And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.”
Ps 40:2 “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
Ps 47:3 “He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet.
Ps 56:13 “For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God In the light of the living?
Ps 66:9 “who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved
Soloman writes:
Proverbs 4:26-27 “Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Isa 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
What a great biblical study is to be had concerning the “feet.” I have to move on in today’s lesson, but you could camp on the subject of your feet and your walk before the Lord for a long time!
Preparation of the walk
Preparation is a very important word. Previously I mentioned my beginning time in the Army. That beginning was about preparation for going into combat for our country. Little did I know, it was also a time which God would use to prepare me for the battles I would face in life and the “spiritual warfare ahead?” Preparation and our walk are vital to understand if we want to please the Lord and experience His favor in all we do.
What is meant by preparation? It is the same as preparing for a successful trip. Preparation is the first step toward success. Knowing where, when, how, the necessary luggage needed, what do I do when I arrive, who will I be with and who will I meet?
We are ordained to carry “good news” to everyone in our sphere. The Good News that God’s anger has been satisfied, His demand of righteousness has been met We are to offer people “peace,” peace with God, peace in their minds, peace with others, a community of peace, peace that comes out of righteousness and delivers joy unspeakable and full of glory. Listen to what Peter says in his first epistle, 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
Peter learned well from Jesus who had this to say recorded in Matthew 20:28, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Our feet carry us on a journey of serving others and that translates to giving our life for them, maybe not as Jesus, in dying for the sins of all mankind, but in simply living our life for the benefit of others. Listen to Paul’s counsel in Romans 12, beginning with verse 9:
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who curse you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
In our study of Ephesians 6:15, “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace,” we have looked at a comprehensive view of this part of the “armor of God.” Once again, can you see how that the “armor” is a “lifestyle” of Christ in us, the hope of glory?