Our Enemy, the Devil - Pt 8

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:13-18 ESV). The third piece of armor Paul mentions in Ephesians 6 is the shoes of "the readiness given by the gospel of peace." Imagine a fully armed soldier. He has his sword, his shield, his helmet, his breastplate and his belt, but his feet are completely bare. The picture probably seems strange, and it should! Just by thinking about it, we can tell something is missing. But the problem goes beyond just looking odd. A shoeless soldier could run into real trouble in the heat of battle. The battlefield is not a carpeted artificial surface. It is riddled with debris, rocks, and other things to cause us to stumble. One of the last things you want to deal with in the middle of a fight is worrying about where you step. In short, shoes allow us to step freely and without fear while we turn our full attention to the battle at hand. It allows us to maintain a position of strength during the heat of battle. The question for us is what are these shoes made from the “gospel of peace”? The gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the Kingdom of God, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of peace are some of descriptions attached to the word gospel throughout the New Testament. Do all these different qualifiers mean that there are multiple gospels set forth in the Bible? Of course not. The Greek word translated gospel, euaggelion, simply means "good news." This raises a question: The good news of what? The first description used in the Gospels also summarizes all the others: The gospel of the Kingdom. The good news of the Kingdom of God includes the good news about Jesus Christ, His grace, and His plan of salvation for all mankind. This plan gives us peace now, and will bring peace to the whole world! This is the message God's people are eager to share with others. Our loving Father is preparing us all for a future beyond imagination and description. This is the message that gives us sure footing in the midst of the enemies attacks. No matter what he might whisper in our ear, God’s “good news” has already been shouted from the heavens! Jesus is alive!