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Ephesians 6:14-18 (NIV)14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
In today’s post, we are will be moving on to verse 15 – and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace.
Boots, shoes, sandals…
Paul wrote Ephesians from prison in Rome between A.D. 60-62. Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. In referencing the time frame, Roman soldiers wore mainly a style of shoes called caligae.
Caligae were heavy soled, hob-nailed military boots or rather sandals. The Romans specifically designed the footwear to be worn for extended periods of time and miles without blisters.
Most notable though, are the hob-nailed design on the soles to ensure traction and stability.
Now that we have an image of what Paul was referencing, note the past tense used in discussing putting on the shoes.
NIV – and with your feet fitted…
NKJV – and having shod your feet… (shod is the past participle of shoes or meaning to have put them on)
ESV – and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the…
CSB – and your feet sandaled…
So the past tense implies this is an action we need to have already completed.
With the readiness that…
Readiness means the state of being fully prepared for something; prompt willingness.
Remember the reason Paul described needing to put on the armor of God in the first place. Look again at 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Note, a theme, this too is an active defense. It is something we are supposed to be prepared for.
So how do we prepare?
comes from the gospel of peace.
We are able to be ready and prepared because we are given the gospel of peace.
Gospel means “good news” or euanggelion in Greek.
When a new king was crowned, the euanggelion was the announcement that the monarch had taken the throne, that a new kingdom had taken power.
Lois Tverberg (Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus)
Therefore, when we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given peace.
It seems a bit ironic, doesn’t it, that in a list of battle gear and talk of fighting evil, Paul specifically uses the words gospel of peace.
Peace means a state without war.
Jesus provides us peace. Even in the midst of chaos and evil. We have peace when we are fitted and ready with His good news.
With our understanding of who really is our King. The ultimate ruler over all.
But why did Paul connect the shoes with the Gospel of Peace?
Like in the previous verse, Paul connects wording from Old Testament scripture that would have likely been familiar with the people of Ephesus.
Isaiah 52:7(NIV)
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!”
Let’s also go back to the concept and purpose of the nob-nailed sandals. To provide traction and stability. A solid footing and foundation.
Jesus is our traction and stability. Our solid footing and foundation.
I love this promise in Isaiah 35:3 :
Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
Friends, we have salvation because of Jesus Christ. With that truth, we are able to be prepared and ready to proclaim the good news to all others and as a way to rebuke evil. For we know who has already won the war and that can bring us peace!
I pray that you found this post informative to continue the journey of arming yourself against Satan’s schemes.
The Armor of God
- Part One: The Belt of Truth
- Part Two: The Breastplate of Righteousness
- Part Three: The Boots of Peace
- Part Four: The Shield of Faith
- Part Five: The Helmet of Salvation
- Part Six: The Sword of the Spirit
- Part Seven: Pray in the Spirit
God bless!
Melissa
p.s. Check out all of the beautiful sites I link up with.
I was thinking about this verse in Ephesians this week. In all that’s happening around us, peace is needed! Thank you for bringing this to light today.
I love when God brings me more information and resources to the very thing I’ve been thinking about! Yes, peace is very much needed! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
I never thought about it before, but having part of our armor as peace is ironic. I’m loving this series. Thanks, Melissa!
Thank you Heather! I’m really loving writing it! It’s so fun digging into God’s word and having Him open our eyes to new and different understanding. Thank you for reading and commenting. God bless!
I love the visual of the hob-nailed shoes. It paints a clearer picture of the traction and stability! How amazing the detail that God gives us through this image! Thanks for sharing!
I loved this image, too! To really see what Paul would have been looking at and to have the picture in my head of digging into His foundation so that I don’t loose my balance. So great! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
“Jesus provides us peace. Even in the midst of chaos and evil. We have peace when we are fitted and ready with His good news.” I know of a missionary nurse who shared the gospel while at gunpoint. The men were shocked that she was not afraid and were greatly impacted by what she was saying. This is a good example of having your feet shod with the gospel of peace.
Thank you so much for sharing that testimony! God’s good news has a way of affecting people in the more glorious and profound ways! God bless!
I’m enjoying this series of going through the Armor of God. God has given us all the tools we need to fight the devil, we just have to choose to put the armor on, don’t we?!?
Yes, we have to both realize we have God’s power available to us and then we have to choose to intentionally put it on. I’m glad you are enjoying the series, too. I’m having so much fun writing it! God bless, Julie!
This is a great series! Because of Jesus we can have peace even in the midst of turmoil. May we all be ready with the gospel of peace. Blessings to you! Thanks for linking up with us at the #LMMLinkup!
Thank you Gayl! Yes, if we are focused on Jesus we can always have peace. Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus!
There is so much truth in this post. Being able to find the peace amidst chaos is truly a message from God. It shows that we’re comfortable where we are and trust in His plan. Thanks for sharing!
Sydney Meek | meeklyloving.com
Yes, the importance of contentment and joy in all situations really does come only from an intimate relationship with Jesus! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
This really struck me: Be prepared for something; prompt willingness. Active readiness. Truly that is a great reminder for shodding our feet with the Gospel of peace.
I really enjoyed that aspect, too! That we are to be at the ready so that we are surprised by Satan’s tactics. That may seem daunting to always be prepared but that’s why we also are able to have peace when rooted with Jesus! He really does provide all we need! Thank you for stopping by Amy! God bless!
To be at war as lovers of peace. Our lives as Christians encompass some serious paradoxes. I love that you pointed it out!
It really does. And I envision the more time goes on the larger those paradoxes will be due to the state of our society and culture. The chasm between God’s original design and how the world is living life is so vast. Thank you for reading and commenting, Alice! God bless!
Caligae was such a beautiful information. Thank you for bringing in different versions so it made it very much possible to understand the in-depth meaning of the fitted for readiness.
I’m so glad you found the post beneficial! I find the visuals and different translations very helpful for me personally to grasp the intricacies of Paul’s list of armor. There is so much joy in finding nuggets of information that otherwise may get read right over! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your encouragement! God bless!
This is a great post! You know I just had a thought. I hear so many people say they don’t like their feet. They don’t like how their toes look. Maybe we need to change our focus and realize that our feet are beautiful when we are sharing the love and the peace of God.
🙂 That is a great perspective change! Whenever our focus is on God and sharing His love we are beautiful! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thought! God bless!
Love the image of the shoes! They have traction as the gospel should have traction in our lives. He alone is our peace.. something that’s take. A long time to realize that peace does not come from outward circumstances!
That’s is so true Aimee! So often we seek peace outwardly and fail to ever experience calm and contentment. When really we have access to peace at all times when we seek Jesus! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
Such a great series. I think often that we forget the battle that we are in. We can stand firm because Christ reconciled us to God. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Robbi! I agree, I think we focus on the here and now struggles and forget about the broader spiritual battle that is occurring. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. God bless!
Melissa, it is such a great post. Following God is the key to finding happiness in this life.