“Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).

In the armor of God described in Ephesians 6, the shoes seem somewhat mundane when contrasted to the more glamorous pieces. Yet, these shoes play a vital and indispensable part in the effective warfare of a Christian.

They are defined as “the preparation of the gospel of peace,” with the emphasis on preparation. Much could be said relative to the gospel (I Corinthians 15:1–4), with its focus on the substitutionary death (Isaiah 53:1–9), physical burial (Hebrews 2:14,15), and bodily resurrection (Acts 2:29–36) of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible identifies the creation account as part of the gospel’s message (Revelation 14:6,7), as well as the promise of the eternal Kingdom (Revelation 11:15–18). And no gospel message would be clear without a presentation of the nature of sin and its awful consequences for the unbeliever (Romans 3:10–23; II Thessalonians 1:7–9), nor without an understanding of the anointed, incarnate Son of God (Isaiah 9:6; Acts 4:12).

The receiving of all of that data requires preparation. Peter says that we must be always ready to “give an answer (apologia) to every man” (I Peter 3:15). Paul noted that he was set “for the defense of the gospel” (Philippians 1:17), and that we were to “know how (we) ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6), and to participate with him in the “confirmation of the gospel” (Philippians 1:7). This great work cannot be carried out by the “wisdom of words” (I Corinthians 1:17,18), or in any way be misunderstood as “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6–9) or other way (John 10:1–11). Our feet must be shod with such solid preparation that we will not suffer injury when our feet are dashed against a stone (Psalm 91:12), and so that we can “run, and not be weary; and . . . walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). HMM, III