Ephesians 6:15 says, “Having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace.” Our feet must be shod in order to have a firm footing and the strength to stand in the battle. This is not for walking a way or running a course but for fighting the battle.
The expression the firm foundation of the gospel of peace means the establishment of the gospel of peace. Christ has made peace for us on the cross, both with God and with man, and this peace has become our gospel (2:13-17). This gospel of peace has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness with which our feet may be shod. Being thus shod, we will have a firm footing that we may stand to fight the spiritual warfare. The peace for such a firm foundation also is Christ (v. 14).
In order to understand Paul’s thought in this verse, we need to see that here the gospel is the gospel of peace. According to verses 15 and 16, on the cross Christ accomplished peace so that the Gentiles could contact the Jewish believers and so that all the believers could contact God. This peace is the glad tidings, the good news; in other words, it is the gospel. For this reason, verse 17 says that Christ preached the gospel of peace.
We also should preach this peace as the gospel. The gospel of peace spoken of in 6:15 is the peace accomplished by Christ on the cross for all the believers to be one with God and for the Gentile believers to be one with the Jewish believers. This peace is our gospel. With this peace there is a firm foundation, which is a secure footing for our standing. Therefore, the peace accomplished by Christ on the cross is a firm footing, a firm foundation. As we fight against the evil powers, the peace Christ has accomplished is a firm foundation for our feet. To take part in the spiritual warfare, our feet must be shod with this firm foundation.
In fighting, the crucial thing is to stand. We must be able to stand and to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Those who are defeated will run, but those who are victorious will stand. As we wrestle against the enemy, we will find that Satan does not run away. Even when we are victorious over him, he continues to wrestle with us. Therefore, we need to be able to stand. Spiritual warfare is a wrestling match. In order to wrestle against the enemy, we need a firm footing. If we have our feet shod with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace, we can withstand any attack of the enemy. If we have such a firm footing, nothing can shake us. No matter what happens, we can stand and withstand in the evil day.
Usually peace is the opposite of warfare. When we have peace, we do not fight, and when we fight, we do not have peace. But here we fight with peace and in peace. We fight by standing in peace. If we lose the peace between us and God or between us and other believers (Col. 3:15), we lose the standing to fight. Christ is the peace for us to be one with God and to be one with the saints. This peace is the firm foundation that enables us to stand fast against the enemy.
Ephesians 6:16 says, “Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.” We need truth to gird our loins, righteousness to cover our conscience, peace as the standing for our feet, and faith to shield our entire being. If we live by God as truth, we have righteousness (4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). Having all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the flaming darts of the evil one. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle, we need to be equipped with all these four items of God’s armor.
The shield of faith is not something that we put on, but something that we take up in order to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. Faith comes after truth, righteousness, and peace. If we have truth in our living, righteousness as our covering, and peace as our standing, we will spontaneously have faith. This faith is a safeguard against the flaming darts, the attacks, of the enemy.
We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.
We also should have faith in God’s heart. Every Christian needs to know and trust both God and the heart of God. God’s heart toward us is always good. No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may experience, we should always believe in the goodness of God’s heart (Rom. 8:31-39). God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.
Along with faith in God’s heart, we should have faith in God’s faithfulness (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:9). We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, with God there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. Furthermore, God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) but is always faithful to His word.
God is not only faithful but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God’s ability. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul declares that God “is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think.”
Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God’s word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, “God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word.” We should praise God for His faithful word.
We also need to have faith in God’s will. Because God is a God of purpose, He has a will (1:9, 11). His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should not doubt God’s will, and we should not care for our happiness or our environment. Rather, we should have faith in and care for God’s will. Our environment may change, but God’s will never changes.
Furthermore, we must have faith in God’s sovereignty (Rom. 9:19-29). Because God is sovereign, He can never make a mistake. Under His sovereignty, even our mistakes work for good. If God did not sovereignly allow us to make mistakes, we could not possibly make them. When we are wrong, we need to repent. Yet there is no need for us to regret, for that means we lack faith that God is sovereign over our mistakes. After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we should exercise faith in God’s sovereignty. We could not have made that mistake if He had not sovereignly allowed us to do so. Hence, there is no need for regret.
We all need to have full faith in God, in God’s heart, in God’s faithfulness, in God’s ability, in God’s word, in God’s will, and in God’s sovereignty. If we have such faith, Satan’s flaming darts will not be able to damage us.
The flaming darts are Satan’s temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks. Every temptation is a deceit, a false promise. Satan often makes proposals to us. For this reason, we need to get into the Word. If we are not in the Word, we will have no covering against the devil’s proposals. Doubts and questions are also the flaming darts of Satan. Note that a question mark looks very much like a serpent. It was Satan who asked Eve, “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). When the devil questions us in this way, our response should be to flee, without even talking to him. Many times Satan attacks us with lies, but the shield of faith guards us against these flaming darts.
The devil’s flaming darts come as thoughts injected into our mind. These thoughts may seem to be our own thoughts, but they are actually Satan’s. We should never confess to the Lord all these thoughts injected into us by Satan in his subtlety. Instead, we should say, “Lord, I am fallen, but I am under Your cleansing. Satan, this thought is yours, and you must bear the responsibility for it. I will not share this responsibility.”
If we would have the faith to be defended against Satan’s flaming darts, we need a proper spirit with a conscience void of offense. However, faith is not mainly in our spirit nor in our conscience but in our will, the strongest part of our heart. Romans 10:10 says that we believe with our heart. According to our experience, this faith in our heart is related mainly to the exercise of our will. No one with a weak will can have strong faith. In James 1:6 we are told that he who doubts is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind. Such a person has a vacillating will. Hence, if we would have faith, we need to exercise our will.