The Readiness Given by the Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15)
A soldier requires appropriate footwear. That was also the case with ancient armies as well. They would have worn strong sandals that would have protected their feet. The sandals also had thongs which were wrapped round their legs to which they could attach grooves to protect their legs. Those sandals would have metal studs on their soles which prevented the soldiers from slipping when attacking or defending a position.
We can see that Paul highlights two features of the soldier’s footwear. One is readiness and the other is that it is connected to the gospel of peace. He begins with the outcome because that is where the Christians are as they fight the enemy. But in trying to appreciate what Paul means by this description, we will begin with the source and aim to identify what occurs when it is appropriated. The source is the gospel.
The gospel of peace
There is a sense in which the declaration of the gospel is like a recruitment drive by Jesus as he sends out his witnesses to find volunteers for his army. This imagery is found elsewhere in the Bible, for example, in Psalm 110, where we are told concerning the Messiah that his people will be volunteers in the day of his power. The day of his power refers to the time of his reign when he governs all things for the good of his kingdom, or from his enthronement until his return.
An unexpected feature of his recruitment campaign is that he aims to find the volunteers among his enemies. Imagine what would happen if that was the method used by earthly armies. But it is the method that Jesus uses. The fact is that every one of his soldiers was once an enemy of his kingdom – there is no other place to recruit them from. And he brought them into it by speaking to them through the gospel of peace.
What can be said about this conflict from the rebels’ point of view? First, it is personal in the sense that every person is involved in it. Every person that we meet is taking part in it. In some way, and probably in many ways, every person today revealed on what side of the conflict he or she is. Second, it is prolonged in the sense that it keeps on going, sometimes with more sophistication on our part. Third, it is preferred by the those who oppose God and his ways. None of them are conscripts in the conflict with him, but all are happy in being opposed to God. Fourth, it is pointless because the Almighty God cannot be defeated. Fifth, it will be punished eventually by God on the Day of Judgement with great severity.
What can be said about the conflict from God’s point of view? First, it is real; it is not a sideshow in the divine activities. God is against them even although at times he sends good things to them. Second, he is ready to forgive them their rebellion because he has provided the remedy through what Jesus did in obedience to his Father’s call to him to become the Saviour. Third, he reveals the terms of reconciliation in the gospel which is that they are to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Fourth, the restoration to divine favour that he provides is permanent because instead of being enemies they become his children, members of his family forever.
The readiness that they possess
The peace that is mentioned in the gospel is not only proclaimed to us, but also provided for us. While this distinction is obvious, it does need to be stated often because it is possible to be fascinated with the gospel as a theory and not to experience its benefits. This is a danger with those who have Bible knowledge and who become intrigued by what it says and how it fits together. To put it another way, it is possible to know about Jesus and his work and not to know Jesus as our personal Saviour.
So we need to ask how the gospel of peace gives readiness for fighting against the foe. What ideas come to mind when thinking about the feet of a soldier? An obvious one is stability, which is what his sandals would have provided for him. Where do Christians get their stability from? They get in from the Bible, especially from its doctrines, character stories, and promises.
A second aspect of having our feet in the correct position is immovability. Paul challenged the Christians in Corinth to be steadfast and immoveable (1 Cor. 15:58). We know that they had been the opposite of that outlook and the letter of 1 Corinthians reveals some of the disastrous effects that occurred in the church there. But we should be encouraged by the apostle’s confidence that they could become immoveable. What is necessary for a person to be immoveable? It is determination to stand. We may have heard of the comment of Athanasius when he was defending the truth of the person of Jesus. Eventually, it came to the point when it was said to him, ‘Athanasius, the world is against you!’ His replay was, ‘Then Athanasius is against the world.’ Sometimes the enemy of immovability is the desire for popularity. Athanasius saw that danger and refused to fall for it. It takes determination to stand for the truth when it is attacked.
A third feature of a standing soldier is availability. Such an individual is alert and watchful, noticing where the enemy is attacking, and is ready to defend the position. A soldier having a snooze is not available for defending the position. Some soldiers defend locations where there is no longer a battle (we recall reading stories of soldiers on Pacific islands who did not realise the Second World War had been over for decades and were still defending their positions). Both kinds of soldier are not available for active duty. And there may be Christian equivalents. Later, in verse 18, Paul tells the Ephesians to stay alert in order to pray appropriately for others. And some Christians may live in situations where there are no longer any real battles.
A fourth feature of a standing soldier is endurability, that he keeps on standing at his post. Perhaps the soldier guarding Paul in a literal sense would wonder why he had to guard a weak old man. But he was not asked for his assessment of the situation. Instead, he was given a task to do and to remain at it until he was relieved. Christians are called to endure through opposition and difficulty, to remain where Christ has placed them, and to resist the devil at all times.
There are several important lessons that we can take from this illustration of the sandals of a soldier. First, we can see that those features of stability, immovability, availability, and endurability, along with his commitment to truth and his realisation of the state of justification, mean that the soldier is ready to take up the pieces of armour that Paul will describe next. He can grab the helmet, the shield and the sword and use them. But if he is unstable, easily moved, and unavailable for duty, he cannot use the other pieces.
Second, we can see the folly of Christians who get distracted from the task of resisting the onslaughts of the devil. The main reason why they do so is that they forget the ongoing reality of spiritual warfare, that each believer is called to it day after day, called to stand in his or her place. Every Christian is meant to stand in his or her position wearing the same armour that God has provided for all of them. I suppose we could liken a church to a platoon of soldiers in which each has to do what is required of them. If any are not in the expected position as soldiers of Christ, there will be a gap that the devil can use. We need to check that we are marked by truth, are appreciating the doctrine of justification, and are ready to always stand on the gospel of reconciliation. After all, it is hard to spread the gospel without defending it from attack of some kind.
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