The Whole Armour of God, Our Footwear Part III

“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” Ephesians 6:15

During my study of the whole armour of God, I previously covered in Parts I&II the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. Now we come to the footwear. During the Roman era, centurions wore sandals, which consisted of a sole with straps and hobnails (or studs) on the bottom of the sole. The straps, of course, were to keep the sandal securely on the foot, while the hobnails offered the centurion stability when he took an offensive or defensive position. As you can imagine, he could not afford the sandals falling off or slipping when involved in hand to hand combat. The sandals also provided the centurion mobility. He could be fleet-footed and during an engagement with the enemy, he was not burdened with heavy, clumsy footwear.  

In the same manner, Christians must wear shoes that won’t come off, provide stability in all kinds of terrain, and are light weight. We are prepared for engagement with others. However, it should be noted that our preparation is ‘of the gospel of peace.’ Many people think that this verse primarily means we should be prepared to share the gospel with sinners. However, as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, pointed out, the context of putting on the whole armor of God is a defensive action; it is the equipment worn as we make our pilgrimage from birth to physical death. We must stand against the wiles of the Devil, but still walk. We do not walk alone but as an army.  In verses 12-13, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  If I understand what Paul said, it is for that continuing battle that we wear this armor; it is defensive and must be worn continuously. We are told in James 4:7 to, “… Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” In 1 Pet. 5:8, we are admonished: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

What then shall we say of this gospel of peace? Are we looking to find peace with the devil? No, that will never happen. What is meant then?

• First, it has to do with our own peace with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom. 5:1,2  Our justification by faith is the foundation upon which we stand!

• Secondly, our justification by faith through grace also has to do with our inward and outward walk because as justification starts our journey, our perseverance and sanctification must end it in this life.

  • “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 1 Thess. 5:23 Sanctification is the supernatural process whereby we become more like Christ inwardly, and we die to our old sin nature.

  • Hebrews 13: 20,21 speaks of both our inward and outward walk, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

• Lastly,  it has to do with our peace with God with respect to Christ’s body of believers. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Col. 3:12-15  While Jesus taught that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mat. 12:25), He is not referring to those houses already divided by false teaching. Again, as Paul wrote, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”(Gal. 1:8) 

No, we cannot under the guise of unity, enjoin ourselves to the quislings of our faith. As we learned of the belt, it is a girdle of truth; which is the whole counsel of God. Justification by faith alone is our breastplate of righteousness; which is our assurance of our salvation because God justified us and declared us righteous. “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Rom. 3:26 We were imputed a real righteousness; Jesus’ sinlessness; He, having endured temptation, hunger, thirst; all of these things and more, yet He sinned not. His righteousness being imputed to us is no more conceptual than is our sin conceptual. Our sin is real, even as the righteousness of Christ that is now ours! That, my friends, is the gospel of peace that provides us the reliability, stability, and mobility that will carry us through this life as we stand during the evil day and then walk with a bounce in our step because of this great salvation.