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EPHESIANS.56 P a g e | 1 Outline of the Book I. The Glorious Position of the Body of Christ (1:1-3:21) A. Greetings (1:1-2) B. The Believer’s “Astounding Station” in Christ, to the praise of His glory (1:3-14) --- The Grace of the Father (1:3-6) --- The Grace of the Son (1:7-12) --- The Grace of the Spirit (1:13-14) C. Paul’s Motivated Prayer & Praise 1 (1:15-23) D. The Believer’s Collective Transport (2:1-10) --- Dead in Trespasses (2:1-3) --- Made Alive with Christ (2:4-10) E. Unified in Christ (2:11-22) --- Brought Near by the Blood (2:11-13) --- The Cross Creates One New Man (2:14-18) a. By Abolishing the Law (2:14-15) b. By Reconciling Us to the Father (2:16-18) --- Fellow Citizens in the Household of God (2:19-22) F. The Mystery of the Gospel (3:1-3:13) --- Prayer Interrupted (3:1) --- The Dispensation of God’s Grace (3:2-5) --- The Gentiles are Fellow Heirs (3:6-13) G. Paul’s Motivated Prayer & Praise 2 (3:14-21) II. The Glorious Practice of the Body of Christ (4:1-6:24) A. A Worthy Walk that Promotes Unity (4:1-6) B. Measures of Grace for Equipping the Body (4:7-16) C. Exhortation to Put on the New Self (4:17-24) D. Conduct that Benefits the Body (4:25-32) E. Serious Calling/Serious Consequences (5:1-14) F. The Body Walking in Wisdom (5:15-6:20) --- The Example of Marriage (5:22-33) --- Parental Relationships (6:1-4) --- Occupational Relationships (6:5-9) --- Spiritual Opposition (6:10-20) G. Closing Statements (6:21-24) EPHESIANS.56 P a g e | 2 Ephesians 6:15 For someone who has been told repeatedly of the importance of standing in the midst of spiritual conflict (Eph 6:11, 13 [x2], 14), one’s feet become a valuable asset. The result of waging a successful campaign against the enemies of God will be found in the soldier of the Lord standing rather than retreating or lying beaten on the ground. A soldier’s feet and their preparation for battle will determine how he or she stands in the struggle. All has been provided for the soldier to stand, and by taking up those provisions, stand is what he or she will do. Verse 15 begins with kai connecting the proceeding thought to“the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph 6:14b), meaning that the unfolding description of the armor is continuous. The ESV’s translation includes the subject of “shoes,” stating, “…and, as shoes for your feet…” (Eph 6:15a). However, the word for “shoes” is not present in the Greek text. Rather, the emphasis is to be on the verb that is being used to strap on a type of footwear. The ABP gives this reading of Ephesians 6:15: “…and having sandals tied on the feet in preparation of the good news of peace…” Notice the italicized “sandals.” A common practice in Bible translation is that words that are italicized are not found in the original text, but have been added to supplement a better understanding of the verse for the benefit of the reader as determined by the translator. While it cannot be confidently said that the inclusion of “sandals” (ABP) or “shoes” (ESV, LEB, NLT) is inconsistent with the concept that Paul is conveying here,1 it is simply not listed in the Greek text as shown in the following translations: “…and shod your feet with the preparation of the glad tidings of peace…” (Darby) “…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…” (NKJV) “…and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace…” (HCSB) “…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…” (NASB) “…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…” (NIV84) “…by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace…” (NET) “…and having the feet shod in the preparation of the good-news of the peace…” (Young’s) 1 See Louw and Nida, p. 526. EPHESIANS.56 P a g e | 3 The use of “shoes” or “sandals” detracts from hupodes̄ amenoi, which means to “tie/bind beneath, put on, of footwear”2 (“having bound under”).3 This is what is defined as “having put on” in Ephesians 6:15. The argument is not that “shoes” cannot be implied, for we know that the armor is God’s armor, supplied in abundance to the believer. Rather, the implication should be directed toward the feet being presently equipped with the defensive attire already in possession of the believer. This is due to Paul’s use of the aorist middle participle for the third time in a row when dealing with the armor of God. It must be emphasized again that the aorist tense speaks of a past event whose results are ongoing, being the acquisition of the armor at the moment of faith in Christ. The middle voice signifies that the believer must act in being prepared, showing the need to appropriate that which has been graciously provided. The participle acts as an imperative calling attention to the necessity of putting on the armor if one is to have a chance to attain victory. Again, the armor is supplied, but it must be appropriated. Beal and Radmacher believe that Paul’s intention was to paint a picture that resembled that of Roman caligae, which was a half-cut boot that was held into place with straps wrapped around the ankles and shins of a soldier. They explain that “the leather soles allowed for long marches, and, most importantly, were heavily studded to provide a strong foothold for throwing a spear or sword fighting.”4 Constable records that “Roman infantrymen wore tough sandals studded with sharp thick nails on the bottoms to increase traction.”5 “These nails, known as hobnails, were firmly placed directly through the sole of the shoe for increased durability and stability.” Evans summarizes, stating “hobnails provided traction when needed.”6 This would resemble a crude pair of cleats in today’s understanding. Imagine these spikes dug into the ground, preventing all sliding motion from overtaking the saint in the thick of battle! Many commentators have found a resemblance between the apostle’s words here and Isaiah 52:7 which reads: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Being a Pharisee before his conversion, it is not lost on us to remember that Paul is very familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures and would often draw from them for the defense of the gospel (Acts 17:2; Rom 3:10-18; 9:25-29). But the context of the Isaiah passage, speaking of YHWH’s deliverance, has little resemblance to the situation that Paul is speaking of in Ephesians 6:15 (and is found to be more in common with Paul’s argument in Romans 10:15). 2 BDAG, p. 1037. 3 Robertson, Word Pictures, Eph 6:15. 4 Beal and Radmacher, Ephesians, p. 254. 5 Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Eph 6:15. 6 Tony Evans, Victory in Spiritual Warfare: Outfitting Yourself for the Battle (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2011), p. 78. EPHESIANS.56 P a g e | 4 Paul’s imagery of the feet being strapped up and ready for the coming hardship finds its significance in the word “readiness.” This “readiness” is the word hetoimasia meaning “state of readiness” or “preparation.”7 In another entry, Brown has translated this word in reference to Ephesians 6:15 as “shod with the equipment of the gospel of peace”8 (emphasis added). Narrowing down the specific definition is more difficult because this is the only time that this word occurs in the New Testament. Barnes defines this word as “readiness, fitness for, alacrity,”9 while D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones understands this as “firmness.”10 All of the mentioned understandings are correct in definition, but the context must determine the meaning. It would seem that the idea of “firmness” makes the most sense within the passage seeing that Paul’s repeated calls to “stand firm” serve as the overarching measurement of the believer’s success in the spiritual battle. “Preparation” and “readiness” give the modern-day indication that an “any-moment” surprise attack may be sprung upon us, and if we are not prepared, we will be sorry. This is true, but it does not seem to be Paul’s point in writing. His understanding is that the “gospel of peace” gives us firm ground in which to make our stand; the “gospel of peace” does not “ready” us to make our stand. Taking into consideration the aorist middle participle structure that has been continuous when dealing with the armor of God, the believer’s confidence in the “gospel of peace” (being that it is already a possession lavished upon the believer in Christ, made possible by the sacrifice of Christ) would be a settled state on a firm foundation. Lincoln agrees writing, “The reference is, therefore, not to readiness to proclaim the gospel but to the readiness or preparedness for combat and for standing in the battle that is bestowed by the gospel of peace.”11 This is the “digging in” of the hobnails so that the saint will be immovable in the heat of battle.