Put on Peace
Dec 24, 2018 2225
The armour of God is a famous part of the Bible. It’s introduced with these words:
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Eph 6:11).
The Apostle Paul then goes through the various items of the armour of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the word of the Spirit (vv. 14–17.)
But there is one item of the armour that I have haven’t mentioned. It’s an item that most people often forget. It’s the shoes. After all, a sword and shield are much more impressive than shoes, aren’t they?
A soldier’s shoes were made of tough leather, so that he could walk confidently, and even run, on any terrain. None of the other parts of his armour were any good if he couldn’t walk safely.
So, in the armour of God, what does Paul say is represented by the shoes?
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared (Eph. 6:15).
The peace of the Good News is the foundation of the armour of God. It’s a prerequisite for us to serve God.
No-one is prepared to serve God until they have his peace in their lives and freely share it with others.
There are too many Christians who aren’t qualified to serve God because they are missing the shoes. Their lives don’t reflect the peace of God. They aren’t peacemakers but strife-bringers. They seem to be at war more against other people than against the sin within themselves. No matter who they may be or what positions they might hold, they still need to learn the first principles of the kingdom of God, and apply them to their own lives. In the armour of God, the quality of peace is foundation of all the rest of the armour.
As Ephesians 6:15 says, peace comes from the Good News. How does this work? Paul explains it in Romans:
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 4:25–5:1).
It isn’t possible to wear the armour of God unless you have first understood what the Gospel is, and second, accepted it for your own life. It doesn’t matter how many sermons you preach or how many starving people you feed, no-one is prepared to serve God until they have his peace in their lives and freely share it with others. This is the peace that comes from knowing and believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When you have the peace of the Gospel in your life, it’s only then that you’ll be able to correctly represent the Prince of Peace. Then you’ll be ready to share the Gospel of peace with others.
When you have the peace of the Gospel in your life, it’s only then that you’re ready to fight in this world. Until then, you’re defenceless.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Michelle
Dec 29, 2018
So so very true. Is there any possibility of explaining in detail the armour of God. Thank you