Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
Part of the armor of God is putting on the shoes (of the gospel of peace).
Ephesians 6:15 (NIV)
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Paul is referencing the Roman soldier uniform when he talks about the Christian armoring themselves with God’s armor for spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6:15, Paul refers to the feet being guarded with the gospel of peace. The feet are vital for a soldier, and it is important that they have solid footing. For the Christian solid footing is also important for Spiritual combat. What does it mean to guard your feet with the gospel of peace?
Part of the enemy’s strategy is to steal our peace. Our battle is not with man, but with thoughts and attitudes that are against God. We fight this battle in our minds daily. The devil tries to steal our peace and get us to doubt God. This leads to worrying about things that Jesus tells us to not worry about. For the Christian to be effective for God, we need to be at peace. In order to combat this, we need to arm ourselves with the peace of the gospel.
For the Christian the gospel is the settling peace that God gives us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we stay close to God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. Peace is one of the Fruit of the Spirit that will be exhibited in our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can then have confidence and stand on God’s promises in our life. In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about not worrying. God promises to provide for our needs. We can go into battle with no worries.
When we live with peace with God, we can face anything. God gives us peace in the battle and lift us up in the middle of the battle. Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Comments