Last week’s study, God’s Peace, Part 1 we studied about the different meanings and their application our secular society gives to the word peace. In addition, we saw how the word peace is defined as it is used in the Old and New Testaments. We also studied just a very small portion of verses in the Old Testament of how God’s peace applies to the life of a believer in Christ Jesus.
We are all familiar with the phrase used when someone has died, “rest in peace”. What is meant when this phrase is stated? Is the use of this term in agreement with what the Bible teaches us about the meaning and use of the word peace? We should not discourage the use of this term; however, Christians need to understand that the many meanings and or application of phrases and words that are common in our society can be different and even contrary to what the Word of God teaches us. Merriam Webster tells us that the phrase rest in peace is “used to say one hopes a person who has died will have peace in death.”
In the life of a born-again believer in Christ, experiencing the peace of God does not begin when one dies, but God’s peace is meant to be experienced while one is still living, living in a relationship with God through Christ Jesus.
On the last night that Jesus was with His disciples He told them in John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
“The world bases its peace on its resources, while God’s peace depends on relationships. To be right with God means to enjoy the peace of God. The world depends on personal ability, but the Christian depends on spiritual adequacy in Christ. In the world, peace is something you hope for or work for, but to the Christian, peace is God’s wonderful gift, received by faith. Unsaved people enjoy peace when there is an absence of trouble; Christians enjoy peace in spite of trials because of the presence of power, the Holy Spirit.” – Warren Wiersbe
On the day of His resurrection, Jesus twice states that the disciples should have peace. John 20:19-21, 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!
Did Jesus say this as a common greeting? Or was God’s peace something He knew the disciples needed at that particular moment? Warren Wiersbe in his commentary of the gospel of John says the following about God’s peace. “But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.” The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us. In our fears, we cannot lock Him out!”
The Apostle Paul started 12 of his 13 of his letters with the common greeting, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Only 1 Thessalonians does not contain this phrase in its entirety which he simply says, “Grace and peace to you.”
When Paul used this greeting, he is stating that the source of our “peace” comes “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. This is an expected reality in every believer in Christ.
The use of the term “grace and peace” in the beginning of letters was common in the early church because the early church consisted of Greeks and Jews, so this greeting was directed to both groups. Grace was a common greeting for the Greeks which meant unity and harmony. Peace was a common greeting for the Jews which meant “peace and health”. However, the use of the term peace in the New Testament, often referred to the inner tranquility and composure of the Christian whose trust is in God through Christ. If this is true, why do some Christians not have God’s peace? Also, why is God’s peace so hard for some to have sometimes when they need it?
After the most common use of the word peace in a greeting of a letter the second most common way the word peace is used in the New Testament is “The God of peace”, which means peace is one of God’s characteristics just like love. It is a title given to God because of who He is.
Being in an intimate relationship with God we should always recognize that peace, this characteristic of God is a part of who He is. When we do, we are recognizing that God is the source of our peace. Simply stated, because we have God in us, His peace is in us. Therefore, God’s peace or the God of peace (who He is) is also associated with the presence of God in the believer in Christ.
Romans 8:11, And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
1 Corinthians 3:16, Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
2 Corinthians 13:5, Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you…
Since God is in and with us, so is His peace.
Romans 15:33, “The God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 13:11, Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me– put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The Bible also teaches us what are some of the results of “the God peace” being in a believer.
II Thessalonians 3:16, Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
SANCTIFICATION—the work of God’s grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God’s righteousness. Sanctification as separation from the world and setting apart for God’s service.
Hebrews 13:20,21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
What does God do in a believer’s life?
21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The peace of God should be a part of a believer’s character which is the fruit of the Spirit in a believer.
Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Romans 8:6, The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
This verse teaches us that there is a contrast between who is in control of our minds and the result. The question that can be asked from this verse is, who is in control of our minds? The “mind of sinful man” or “the mind controlled by the Spirit”. If God the Holy Spirit controlling our thoughts, then His peace should be influencing our thoughts and emotions.
As believers in Christ the result of trusting God is peace. Romans 15:13, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. To “fill” means to fill up to capacity. We always need to realize that the peace that we receive from God is conditional to our trust in God, “peace as you trust in him”. The last part of this verse is the result of being filled with “joy and peace” from God, “so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This is telling us that the result of God’s “joy and peace” in us, is that we will have more than enough “hope” than what we can contain.
Next week in part 3 we will study one particular portion of scripture that teaches us about the importance of the correlation of God’s peace in a believer and prayer.
Pastor John
