3. Peace?”Paul urges us , Romans 12:1818 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
What a perfect example of our role in the Fruit of the Spirit mentioned inGalatians 22-23.We are to submit our wills to God’s leading and our actions to God’s Word, but the actual results are up to Him. Only God can create peace through the work of the Holy Spirit. Especially the peace mentioned in Galatians 5-the peace of a harmonious relationship with God.We are born at war. At birth, our sinful nature has already declared war on God and His truth. Our heart’s desire is to be separated from Him, and if we persist in this desire until death, He will give us what we want.But God's methods of warfare are not what we expected. Instead of a battle, He sent us the Prince of Peace
Isaiah 9:6
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.The government will rest on his shoulders.And he will be called:Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus' goal in coming to earth was more than simply to cease hostilities; He came to bring about a full and abiding relationship of restoration and love.
The cost of this peace was His life Isaiah 53:5But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.But, just as we cannot force another to be at peace with us, even Jesus' sacrifice on the cross did not ensure that we would accept His terms of peace. Romans 3:10-11
10 Asthe Scriptures say,"No one is righteous- not even one.11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
None of us can accept Jesus’ offer of peace through our own will and power. Our natural selves do not want it. Only God can lead us to want peace with Him; The Holy Spirit leads us to want Jesus and His message. Once the Spirit draws us, we believe in Jesus, and then the peace comes.
Romans 5:1Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.However, the fruit of the Spirit includes a peace that goes beyond that of salvation. It is a sweet relationship. We are called to His presenceEphesians 2:11-18Oneness and Peace in Christ
11 Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
We are called to be confident in that presenceHebrews 4:1616 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. because we are His friends John 15:1515 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.As Isaiah says, Isaiah 26:33 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you!God's peace transcends earthly mattersPhilippians 4:4-74 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.[a]
6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Believers are told“not to worry about anything,” for we have a wonderful promises that His“peace will guard our hearts and minds.”
It is a peace "which transcends all understanding"To the worldly mind, such peace is incomprehensible.
Its source is the Holy Spirit of God, whom the world neither sees nor knows. John 14:1717 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.The Spirit-filled Christian has a peace that is abundant, available in every situation, and unlike anything that the world has to offer.
The peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God is not the peace of this world. The world's peace depends on having favorable circumstances: if things are going well, then we feel peaceful; when things go wrong, the peace is quickly driven away. Jesus made the distinction between His peace and the world's wavering peace:
John 14:27
27 "I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.
The believer who places his or her full confidence in a loving God and is thankful in every circumstance will possess a supernatural peace. Aninner calmwill dominate the heart. The faithful believer will know peace-his heart and mind are "guarded" by it-despite the tempest raging without. No one, especially those outside of Christ, will be able to fathom that peace. To most, it will remain a mystery how someone can be so serene in the midst of turmoil.
God's supernatural peace surpasses natural understanding. A cancer patient who experiences a remission of the disease may proclaim, "I am so thankful to God!" That is praise. A cancer patient who is dying and in pain may calmly say, "Everything is all right. I claimRomans 8:28
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.Romans 8:28and I have peace in my heart." That is "the peace that passes all understanding."The alternative to being filled with the Spirit and His peace is to be filled with alarm, filled with doubt, filled with worry, or filled with fear. How much better to let the Spirit have control and perform His work of growing fruit to the glory of God!
“What does the Bible say about inner peace?”The world places a priority on inner peace, and it offers thousands of suggestions to those who seek "peace of mind and soul." Usually, the gurus of inner peace point to oneself as the source of peace. There is much talk of meditation, finding an "inner light," andchakras. If we need any help from outside of ourselves, worldly wisdom says, it will come in the form of a "spirit guide" or perhaps some crystals or herbs. The problem with such advice, besides the obvious endorsement of witchcraft, is that it completely ignores the source of true peace-the Lord Jesus Christ.Paul refers to "the God of all peace"
Romans 15:13,33
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit……….33 And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen
Galatians 6:16
16 May God's peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
The termpeaceis often used as a greeting and a benediction.
Luke 24:36
36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. "Peace be with you," he said.
So what exactly is peace, and how can we have "inner peace"?A word often translated "peace" in the Bible actually means "to tie together as a whole, when all essential parts are joined together."
Inner peace, then, is a wholeness of mind and spirit, a whole heart at rest. Inner peace has little to do with external surroundings.
Jesus said, "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."
He had also told His followers that
"in this world you will have many troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world"John 16:33.
So peace is not the absence of trouble; it is the presence of God.Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit .When the "God of all peace" comes to live inside a believing heart, He begins to produce His own characteristics in that life.
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,Inner peace comes from knowing that circumstances are temporary and that God is sovereign over all
Isaiah 46:9-119 Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.10 Only I can tell you the futureefore it even happens.Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east- a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.I have said what I would do, and I will do it.Peace comes from exercising faith in the character of God and His Word. We can choose peace rather than give way to fear and worry. Inner peace resulting from a relationship with God allows us to keep things in proper perspective. We can accept difficult situations on earth by remembering that our citizenship is in heaven Philippians 3:2020 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.We are commanded to "live in peace" with others, as far as it is up to us
Romans 12:18;2 Corinthians 13:11;Hebrews 12:14
To live at peace means we interact with those around us in accordance with our own wholeness of mind. Our reactions to circumstances can bring peace to an otherwise chaotic situation. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9). And James 3:18 says, "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
God's desire is that we who know Him learn to live in peace within ourselves first.
Then we can radiate that peace to others, bringing calmness and wisdom to tense situations, and in so doing be lights in the world Matthew 5:14;Philippians 2:14-15