It started during a recent tornado warning. I was ready for bed when I heard the tornado siren go off. I quickly got dressed in street clothes and put on my shoes. I then grabbed the dogs, their collars, and the leashes before heading to the basement.
Growing up in South Mississippi, I learned how to prepare for tornadoes and hurricanes at an early age. At some point, it was drilled into me that you always put your shoes on. If high winds cause damage, there will likely be broken glass and debris everywhere. I learned to always be prepared by first putting my shoes on.
As I stood in the basement with the puppies waiting for the all clear signal, I began to think of the importance of shoes and how easily I take shoes for granted. The verse in Ephesians popped into my head. When Paul writes to the Ephesians about the armor of God, he says your feet should be “prepared” Eph 6:15 NIV, or in the ESV, the verse reads “as shoes for your feet, put on readiness”.
Put your shoes on and be ready!
Who should be ready?
(This passage on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) can be read in its entirety by clicking this link: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6&version=NIV).
Paul writes to the Ephesians from prison. This letter was sent to the entire church and was likely circulated to other churches in Asia Minor. Paul uses battle language in his teaching of the armor of God near the end of the letter as a rhetorical device meant to stir the church to action.
We are prone to reading the New Testament from our individualistic, modern mindset. I have often heard this passage taught as a message to the individual believer. However, we know that the church would have read this letter aloud during an assembly of believers. So, it would be more accurate to think of Paul writing to an entire battalion of soldiers than to a lone knight riding off into the sunset.
The church should put its shoes on and be ready.
What shoes should we wear?
Paul uses the battle metaphor because it is a powerful visual concept familiar to the ancient believers. As Klein puts it, the pieces of armor are a metaphor, but they point to necessary weapons for the spiritual battle that the church faces: “truth”, “righteousness”, “the gospel”, “faith”, “salvation”, “the word of God” and “prayers”.[1]
In the case of shoes on the feet, Paul writes, “and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15). This is popularly taught to mean the church should be preaching the gospel. While it is true that the church and believers should be preaching the gospel, the context of the letter and the general flow of thought in Paul’s writing may indicate a more subtle meaning.
Paul’s emphasis throughout the letter has been on the new life of being a Christ follower. The first three chapters are about the believer’s new identity in Christ and the benefits of following Jesus. In chapters two and three, Paul spends some time explaining how Jesus gives us a relationship with God and how everyone who believes in Jesus is united as one body. In chapters four and five, Paul gives practical life instructions on how to live as followers of Jesus.
Chapter six then turns to the body of believers that must be ready for opposition and dangers. When Paul writes that the church must put on shoes of the gospel of peace, he means that we must always be ready to walk in a way that shows our new life in Christ. Because of the gospel of peace, we no longer return insult for insult, injury for injury. Because of the gospel of peace, we no longer believe the myths and lies of the pagan world. Because of the gospel of peace, we are ready to respond to circumstances around us with the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
A Message for the Church
Because of the gospel of peace, we are prepared and ready to meet the challenges of life as representatives of Jesus. When we have our shoes on, we are prepared to announce and promote the peace found in Christian living. Whatever comes our way, we can continue to walk in the world unharmed because the peace of God is in our lives.
Paul is convinced that life will challenge the peace of God among us. The enemy works to steal, kill, and destroy God’s children. The church faces temptation, false teaching, jealousy, infighting, as well as divisions among its members. The gospel of peace sown into our hearts is intended to protect the church from evil and worldliness. The gospel of peace allows us to walk in peace and love among the brokenness, destruction, and harmful debris of the world that is in darkness.
Ephesians 6 is Paul’s tornado warning to the body of believers that follow Jesus.
Wake up.
Be alert.
Put your shoes on.
Be ready.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”. Ephesians 6:10-11
Copyright @ TA Boland 2024
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[1] Klein, William W.; Garland , David E.; Still, Todd D.; Rupprecht, Arthur A.. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (The Expositor's Bible Commentary) (p. 272). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
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