Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Soldiers wouldn't run into battle in a pair of sandals with their feet exposed and God wouldn't have his soldiers fighting this war barefooted and devoid of the preparation of the gospel of peace. Our feet are one of the most valuable assets God has given us. They take us where we go and in the scriptures, they are almost always associated with a journey. This journey we are on is no walk in the park but more like a path a soldier would take in a war, we'll need to have our feet shod and not exposed to the elements; if a soldier loses the use of his foot then the journey has come to a halt, forward progression stops and the whole journey has come to a standstill. This armour of the feet serves the same purpose as every other piece of armour, to come between us and the harm of outside elements, whether they be foreign or domestic. Truth girds up the loins of our mind and comes between us and the lies Satan would cast our way. Righteousness covers our heart like a breastplate and comes between us and the darts of unrighteousness that would pierce us through, killing us and any ministry God may give us. The preparation of the gospel of peace guards our steps and comes between the bad news that can sweep us off our feet, halting our progress in the Lord's work.
The preparation of the Gospel of peace speaks more of us being prepared than us preparing the Gospel. In other words, The Gospel of peace keeps us prepared rather than us having to prepare the gospel of peace. This verse speaks of us being prepared to stand, which is the first and chief instruction in this discourse on the whole armour of God. If we cease to stand then we have ceased to carry out the first instruction. If the enemy can sweep your feet out from under you then you will have ceased to stand and have become an easy target for attack. To stand is no hard task unless someone is trying to knock you off your feet, then standing becomes an extremely hard task. One that requires not only strength but a sure footing and good balance. I believe this is the idea of the verse today, to have a sure footing and a good balance in the Gospel of peace. The enemy will come along and try to knock your feet out from under you with convincing arguments, with feelings of emotion, with doubts and accusations, the only way you can ever stand up to these attacks is to be rooted and grounded in the Gospel of Peace. Have your feet planted firmly in His Word. Know what He has said and to whom he hath said.
"Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name, On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand!"
Dear Christian soldier, don't leave home until you have shod your feet with a sure standing in His word. Paul told the church at Thessalonica [2Th 2:15] "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." Five more times Paul instructs us throughout his epistles to "stand fast." This is only possible if we have our feet rooted and grounded in the gospel of peace.
No doubt this portion of Ephesians was written either while Paul was examining the soldier that was guarding during his imprisonment or while he called to mind the outfit of the Roman soldiers who he had become so familiar with through his Gospel ministry. They say that Roman soldier's footwear was clad with iron spikes so that their feet would be planted firmly in the soil beneath them. This would give them more force against the enemy they would press against in a battle. It matters not how strong you are or how much you weigh if your footing is unstable. More important than your footing or strength to stand is the ground you stand on, if the ground you stand on is unstable then you will be unstable, and the man who has the better footing will overcome. We can rest assured that the footing of our enemy is weak, His kingdom is built on lies, he is called the father of lies. His whole battle is fought from the shifting sands of lies and deception. On the other hand, we have a solid rock to plant our feet in, the words of the Lord are yay and amen, they will never pass away. We say with David, "He pulled me out of the horrible pit and the miry clay, set my feet upon the rock, and established my goings." If satan will overcome you the first order of business will be removing the solid ground from which you stand, he can't fight against the word of the Lord, he may try, but His lies are quenched by the solid rock of God's word, which is also how Jesus defeated Satan, with The Word of God. Having our souls anchored in the truth of his word does not ensure we won't be attacked but it does ensure that we can stand when the attack comes. Satan doesn't have a leg to stand on, He is no match for God's word or the man or woman who has prepared themself by grasping and standing in the truth of the Gospel.
Satan may whisper, "You've been too bad" have your feet firmly planted in the truth "Where sin did abound, grace did much more abound." He may whisper "You are wasting your life" have your feet firmly planted in the truth "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This is the ground we stand on and there is no more solid ground to be found in this life or the one to come. This solid ground of His word is "Forever settled in heaven." Taking away the confidence in the Word of God is the oldest trick in the book and precisely what Satan said in the Garden "Hath God said?" Don't fall for this trap, it is the leg sweep that has knocked countless millions to the ground of sinking sand. Be sure that you can stand against the enemy so long you are rooted in God's word, but as sure as you can stand and fight there you cannot stand and fight on Satan's ground. He is more subtle than any beast of the field and you will not beat him at his own game. Stand firmly on the word and don't move from there. This is one reason I am such a strong proponent of the King James Bible. I have the solid rock of his Word and I am going to stand on every jot and tittle. Don't let satan pull you into the idea that we don't have an accurate copy of His word, or that we just have to make do with what we have, or that you have to be a Greek and Hebrew scholar to know what God has said. Don't start down that slippery slope! It is unstable ground! I Stand on every word found in my King James Bible and pray I won't be moved. Plant your feet in the Word of God and you will be prepared to stand in the evil day.
Onward Christian Soldiers!!
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