What is the readiness of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15)?

A further character of the gospel is that of peace, as has been mentioned already. Peter preached it as such in the first preaching to the Gentiles, to Cornelius and to his household. In the same way we find it mentioned by Paul in Eph. 2:17 that portion so abounding with grace and peace (in an especial way applied to Gentile believers in that chapter). But the express term, "gospel of peace," we find in the closing chapter of the same Epistle (Eph. 6:15), "and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace:" Here (Eph. 6) it is not a question of preaching the gospel to poor sinners, but of the believer's contest with the hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenlies, who oppose the saint's progress in the realisation of our blessings in the heavenly Canaan. It would he just as absurd here, where we have to do battle with wicked spirits, to talk of the evangelist ready to preach the gospel, as it would be to transpose the "breastplate of faith and love" from 1 Thess. 5 into Eph. 6

But what is then the meaning of "your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace"? It simply means that the feet of the soldier of Christ, i.e., every believer, to stand his ground in such a contest, must be steadied and strengthened with the preparation which the gospel of peace gives us. In short, it means that to stand his ground in that contest, the believer must have "peace with God," which is the fruit of believing the gospel of peace. Only think of a soldier going slipshod into the battle, or with torn boots, especially over stony or muddy ground! How can he stand his ground against the enemy with his feet blistered and wounded?*

"Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Some insist upon it that this means going out to preach the gospel; it is nothing of the kind. It is the soul walking up and down habitually, practically, in that blessed avenue "the gospel of peace." You can go out and preach the gospel, and announce it without being there yourself. God may even bless it; but when He speaks of the armour, He does not speak of mere ability to go out and announce it, but yourself in the full, blessed, daily, hourly enjoyment of the gospel of peace. That is what He means. Not having and knowing the truth merely, but having the truth under our feet, in the blessed peace and enjoyment of it. "Every place the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you." He shows you the land, all before you. It is the soul standing there, the blessed gospel of peace under its feet, the soul really there walking up and down in the peace of its possession.

The feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This does not mean the preaching of the gospel to others, Christian service or soul winning. We have through the gospel perfect peace with God. We know that God is for us, who then can be against us? This perfect peace we have, in which we stand is our preparation. And we have the peace of God as well, yea, the legacy our Lord left unto us, "My peace I give unto you." Therefore we are not terrified by our adversaries (Phil. 1:28). Israel wandered over the desert rocks and desert sands for forty years with shoes, which did not wear out. We too wander through the wilderness, the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, a peace which will last as long as God Himself. Knowing this Peace, knowing we are in God's hands, knowing that we are Christ's and Christ is God's, knowing that all things are ours, we can stand and withstand the wiles of the devil. He cannot touch one who rests in the peace of God and who trusts in the God of peace.

It is a blessed privilege to carry with us wherever we go the wonderful message of the Gospel of peace. This is a privilege which God has given to all His saints; it is not the prerogative of the preacher, although he has his special privilege in relation to God's testimony. This preparation is not only for our speaking the word of the Gospel of peace, but that our every step should be marked by the peace that is consistent with the Gospel. The Gospel not only brings to us peace with God, but a life that is honouring to God and in which are all the beautiful features exhibited in Christ in Manhood here.

Next, we have the feet shod for the way. We remember, as to Israel, how perfectly their feet were shod, how their shoes never wore out, spite of the flinty desert they were traversing all the forty years of their journey through. Our feet are shod differently, but, of course, in a higher way. Our "preparation" is that which is wrought by the effect of "the gospel of peace." It is not a question of carrying the gospel to others. It is our feet that are shod with this "preparation;" it is a peace which God has preached to us in it, the peace with Himself, which gives peace, therefore, as to all things: "For, if God be for us, who can be against us?" It is this peace that arms the feet, then, for all the difficulties of the way. What circumstances are there which are not in His hand? What difficulties can be too much for Him? The wilderness is still the wilderness. The trials and difficulties are there. They are best met in the consciousness of our being unable to meet them, but they must be met also with the faith that the God of peace Himself is with us and that He will give us peace always, by all means. That is the Lord's word for His people. "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in Me ye shall have peace." Here are shoes that never wear out. How blessed the experience of the way in which God has furnished us thus!

The apostle gives us another and direct interpretation of the shoe by saying: "Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Here is an important effect of the gospel itself upon us. Bringing us into peace with God, it brings us into peace with all things, which He governs and makes to work together for our good. Our God is over all. Without Him not a sparrow falls to the ground. The Lord of all is our Saviour. What provision we have in this for our feet, whatever be the way in which we may be called to walk! "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."

The person clothed, the hand consecrated, the feet are next provided for. The shoes are to enable us for the roughness of the way: and the apostle bids us have our feet shod with the "preparation of the gospel of peace." (Eph. 6:15.) For the peace of the gospel is to apply itself to all the circumstances of the way. Our Father is the Lord of heaven and earth. Our Saviour sits upon the Father's throne. What enduring peace is thus provided for us! And as the shoe would arm against the defilement of the way, so it would be a guard against the dust and defilement of it. Can anything better prevent us getting under the power of circumstances (and so necessarily being defiled by them) than the quiet assurance that our God and Father holds them in His hand? To be ruffled and disturbed by them is to be thrown off our balance. We try our own methods of righting things, and our methods become less scrupulous as unbelief prevails with us: "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." It is clear independency, — our will, not God's

Our feet must have on battle shoes, for the soles of the feet are sensitive (v.15). Thorns and thistles, sharp stones, hot sand, cold temperatures, can all have adverse effects. We need that which protects us against sensitive feelings that can lead us into wrong paths and associations, Such protection is "the preparation of the gospel of peace." This preparation does not refer to our preaching the gospel, but to the good news of peace being always a reality in our hearts. This peace is brought to us by the Lord Jesus through His sufferings and death, enabling us to face every objectionable thing without giving way to sensitive feelings. In this, let us watch to always have our shoes on our feet, and not be so easily hurt by the words, actions or inactions of our brothers and sisters in Christ, nor by those of unbelievers.

Verse 15. "And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." As Divine righteousness is the believer's confidence, so the peace of God is the sole footing upon which he can stand firmly as a witness for the truth. Christ is our Peace. It is by our reception, through the Spirit, of that blessed truth, that we are prepared to begin our walk with God. What we stand in, is the true grace of God (1 Peter 5:12) Our preparation for that standing is the Gospel of peace. Having been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, the saint is at war with that only which is contrary to Him. With feet thus shod, we are prepared to run the way of His commandments; a way which is, to them that keep it, evermore the way of peace. That which the natural man can never find, is now the prepared path of our obedience. Our sanctification is the work of Him who is the "very God of peace" (1 Thess. 5:23).

There is a double sense in which a Christian should have his feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. First, as we have seen, peace is the practical effect of his standing by faith in the righteousness of God. But he is, also, furnished as a messenger of peace to others. In this sense, every saint is an evangelist. If we walk in the power of the Gospel, we hold forth the word of life to others (Phil. 2:15-16). Belonging to Him who is the God of peace, we should be faithful witnesses of Him. Nature is contentious; but the servant of the Lord should not be so. In a world of strife, he is to be a man of peace. His animosities are buried with his other sins. lie is now at large, among his fellow-men, in the new and gracious liberty of Christ. Having in him, through the faith of Jesus, the springing well of life, he is to let that fulness go forth as a river in the streets (Prov. 5:15-17; John 7:38-39).

In a normal way we hardly think of shoes as being in the nature of armour, yet inasmuch as it is with our shoes that we continually come into contact with the earth, they take on that character from the Christian standpoint. If our contact with earth is not right we shall be vulnerable indeed. What does "the preparation of the gospel of peace," mean? Not that we should be preparing the way of the gospel in an evangelistic sense (though to do that is of course very desirable) but that we ourselves should come under the preparation which the gospel of peace effects. If our feet are shod in this way we shall carry the peace of the Gospel into all our dealings with men of this world, and be protected ourselves in so doing.