Eph. 6:15 says, “Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace.” In order for us to stand and withstand the attacks of the enemy in the spiritual warfare, we need to have a firm footing, a firm foundation.
Even when Satan is defeated and we win the victory, he still continues to struggle and fight against us. Our fight is not with people but with the evil forces in the air, the authorities and rulers of this darkness, with Satan and his armies.
Contrary to what we naturally would think though, our fight is not a boxing match, a marathon or a competition, but it is a wrestling. The main point in wrestling is to stand – the one who is defeated either runs or is on the floor. Our feet need to be shod with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace. We fight in peace and from peace, and we stand firmly in peace.
Christ made peace for us on the cross and He Himself is our peace (Eph. 2:13-17). We stand firm on our position of having peace toward God and toward man, and we fight by being one with God and with man in peace.
Don’t ever lose the peace between you and God and between you and the other believers, otherwise you lose the standing to fight! Stand in peace; enjoy peace; treasure peace; fight in peace; fight from peace, and let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your heart through faith!
The Gospel of Peace – Christ Made Peace for us on the Cross
In Eph. 2:13-17 we see that the Lord Jesus is our peace, and He Himself made us both one – both Jews and Gentiles are now one in Christ.
Christ abolished in His flesh the law of commandments in ordinances so that He might create the two – the believing Jews and Gentiles – in Himself into one new man, so making peace! He reconciled us both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity through the cross.
Then, Christ came and He announced peace as the gospel to us, the Gentiles who were far off from God’s promises and blessing, and He announced peace to the Jews who were near to God. Hallelujah!
This is the gospel of peace – Christ accomplished peace on the cross so that we believers can be one (no matter the race, color, culture, background, nationality, etc) and we can also be one with God.
Any ordinances we have in our natural man and background, be it doing things in a certain way, eating with chopsticks or with fork-and-knife, dressing in a certain way, walking and working in a certain way, speaking a certain language, eating a certain food, etc – all these have been crucified by Christ on the cross, and He made peace!
In Christ, we have peace. This is our firm foundation when we fight against the enemy: in Christ, we have peace toward God and toward man. Christ accomplished peace, and this peace is the firm foundation for our feet.
In the world there’s no peace; there’s peace talk, peace-seeking gatherings, United Nations, NATO, and many other man-made organizations and attempts to bring in peace. But we have good news and glad tidings: in Christ we have peace (John 16:33)! Through Christ we have peace toward God and we are even one with God, and through Christ we have peace toward man and are even one with the other believers. This is our firm foundation as we fight the spiritual warfare.
Having our Feet Shod with the Gospel of Peace
It is very interesting that our feet need to be shod not with the gospel of grace, the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, or the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Our feet need a solid foundation on which to stand in battle, and this solid foundation is the gospel of peace.
We don’t need lightweight footwear (as if for running) but a solid and firm foundation for our feet so that we may stand. In order for us to withstand the attacks of the enemy, our feet need to be shod with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace.
Hallelujah, we have this foundation! As we confess our sins and deal with any problem between us and God, we have peace toward God through Jesus Christ. As the Lord shines on us in our fellowship with Him, we also confess to Him and apologize to others for any offense – and we have peace in Christ with the others.
No matter what happens, no matter who is right or wrong, we need to keep the peace as our foundation. In the spiritual warfare we fight by standing in peace. Even though “peace” is opposite to “warfare”, and when we fight we don’t have peace, yet in the spiritual realm we fight with peace and in peace.
Satan has no peace, and wherever he goes there’s no peace. But we stand in peace: we stand in Christ, one with Him, having peace toward God and man in Christ, and we can withstand the enemy! In Christ, all our differences have been crucified and we all have been crucified – now we are the one new man, where there’s peace with God and with man!
I have to testify, even though by my natural birth I am a Romanian, yet I can be one not only with the Chinese (by the way, my wife is Chinese), but also with the Filipino, the English, the German, the French, the Arabs, the American, the Slovak, the Ghanaian, the Nigerian, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and all the other nationalities – simply because we are in Christ and He has made peace between us!
Never lose the peace between us and God or between us and the other believers, or else we will lose the standing to fight (Col. 3:15). Hallelujah, we stand in peace and we fight in peace.
Lord Jesus, thank You for making peace for us on the cross: now we have peace toward God and peace with man! Lord, You are our peace! You broke down the middle wall of separation, and now in You we are one with God and one with one another! Hallelujah for Christ our peace! We now stand in peace and fight in peace, having our feet shod with the firm foundation of peace. What a solid and firm foundation we have – the gospel of peace, Christ Himself as our peace toward God and man!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians (msg. 97), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 5 / msg 5, The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (4) – Spiritual Warfare.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Propitiation made by the blood, / Jesus’ redemption bought us for God! / No condemnation, justification! / We have peace toward God!
# Therefore being justified by faith / We have peace with God / Through our Lord Jesus Christ / Because the love of God is shed abroad / In our hearts, by the Holy Spirit / Which is given, which is given / Unto us, to us, to us.
# When I’m with the saints, / Happy am I! / Peaceful am I! / Restful am I! / When I’m with the saints, / Joyful am I! / A joy I can’t deny!
# Behold how good a thing / It is to dwell in peace; / How pleasing to our King, / This fruit of righteousness; / When brethren all in one agree, / They know the joy of unity!
"In Christ all our differences have been crucified and we all have been crucified – now we are the one new man, where there’s peace with God and with man!" Amen, thanks for sharing this post. Praise the Lord through His cross we can be one with God & man. Daily may this continue to be our experience, until He comes!