The Fruit of the Spirit Pt.3: Peace
The Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of peace which is so rich, deep and delightful! Yet most people today tend to use the word peace in a very limited sense.
Think of an overstretched mum trying to look after the needs of everyone in her family and also pressurised with her responsibilities outside her home-life. What does she dream of? She dreams of a week away in the sun to relax in a peaceful environment. She dreams of a holiday from her everyday demands.
Picture a harassed dad arriving home after a stressful day at work and his three boisterous little boys jump on him, looking for fun and games. But all their dad can say is ‘Boys, give me a little peace and quiet for five minutes!’ As happy as he is to see his boys, all he wants is time out to recover from the pressures of the day.
When peace is mentioned, the absence of noise and disturbance is often being referred to, or freedom for a while from everyday duties and demands. Of course, peace is also spoken of as being the opposite to war. When a nation fights in a conflict, its people usually long for the warfare to end and for peace to be established.
When we come to the Bible, we are directed away from this very limited understanding of peace. In the Scriptures, we are given the full and positive meaning of the word ‘peace’. The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom and the root meaning of Shalom is wholeness. The word Shalom describes the wholeness of a Christian who lives in a right relationship with God and in good, healthy relationships with fellow believers.
Therefore, having close, loving relationships with God and His people are key in experiencing true peace. Shalom is the supernatural, sweet harmony of a caring community of God’s people with every believer seeking to honour Christ and to help their fellow believers. In this way Christ's people enjoy a deep sense of wholeness and well-being.
In Acts 10v36 Peter spoke to Cornelius about the message of God. Peter described God’s message as the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. The Gospel is all about this peace we can experience through Jesus Christ. The life of every believer in Christ is to be marked by this peace. Yet Christ's people are not immune from the turmoil of this life. Indeed, Jesus has warned us that as we follow Him in this world, we will have trouble. In fact, Christians can suffer even tougher trials than people who don't follow Christ. We can be hit by hardships common to all, such as serious illness, loss of employment or broken relationships. Then, on top of these, we can be afflicted by troubles peculiar to God's people, such as persecution for being committed to Christ.
Yet in the midst of such trials, our lives can still be marked by this supernatural peace. Indeed, as we grow in Christ-likeness, His peace will be more and more evident in us. Peace is a key characteristic of Christ. In the Bible, He is called the God of peace. As we develop in our walk with Him, we'll exhibit His peace in increasing measure.
Before He went to the cross, Jesus spoke to His disciples of a very special gift. He said to them in John 14v27, 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.' As we walk with Him, Christ gives us His peace and we are to let His peace rule in our hearts and relationships as brothers and sisters in God's family. In Colossians 3v15 Paul wrote to the Christians at Colosse, 'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.'
Christ has given us His Spirit to produce His peace within us! As we keep in step with His Spirit, we'll grow as His people of peace. There are three aspects of this peace to consider, peace with God, peace within our souls and peace with other Christians. These aspects of peace are all related to each other. They are three different expressions of the fruit of the Spirit, peace. These different expressions of peace belong together and complement each other. They combine to make us people of true peace!
In this edition of the Messenger, we’ll focus on peace with God, which is foundational, and we’ll leave our consideration of peace within our souls and peace with other Christians until next time.
God made each of us precious creatures in His image. The Almighty created us to know and worship Him in loving relationships with Him. But when we arrived in this world, we weren't at peace with Him. We were born in sin with hearts rebelling against our Creator. We wanted to live life our own way. We wanted to serve ourselves and our own ends. This sinfulness alienated us from God. Our self-centredness cut us off from our Creator.
The living God is absolutely holy and He cannot accept us with our sin. This sin creates a vast gulf between us and God which we could never cross by ourselves. What is more, in our rebellion, God doesn't simply see us as sinners. He actually regards us as His enemies (Romans 5v10). For by nature we resist His rule over our lives! Due to our rebellion, we deserve God's wrath. If we continue in our sinful way, we live under His righteous anger and condemnation moment by moment as we head for eternal punishment and torment in hell.
This is the fearful position of every single human being without Christ. So this is the perilous position of the vast majority of our fellow men today. Whether they realise it or not, people without Christ are already under God's condemnation. They are on the broad road that leads to eternal condemnation. What a dark and foreboding reality. This is the dreadful news of the Bible.
But the Bible also overflows with wonderful news. Indeed, it is the brightest, best and most beautiful news we could ever hear. The Holy God of heaven hasn't abandoned us in our sinfulness. Our Sovereign Creator hasn't turned His back on our corrupt, messed-up world. The Almighty actually stepped onto this perverse planet in the Person of His Son. Yes, the Son of God took on flesh. God the Son was incarnated. God actually became a man. The Lord Almighty walked this earth in the Person of Jesus the Nazarene and lived the life of perfect obedience and communion with His Father that we all failed to live. Then, in staggering, sacrificial, selfless love, this perfect God Man laid down His life on the cross of Calvary to pay the astronomical debt for the sin of all His people.
If we belong to Christ, we can be sure that Jesus' sacrifice atoned for our huge mountain of sinfulness. He bore His Father's holy fury for all our twistedness and transgression and sin. God the Father's righteous wrath thundered down upon Him as He was crushed and suffered the horror of hell in our place on the terrible tree. He was our Substitute! Jesus took all our punishment for us!
Wonderfully, His incredible sacrifice for us fully satisfied His Father's perfect justice. In response, God the Father raised His selfless Son from the grave. In this most dramatic act of resurrection, the Father declared to all creation His total acceptance of His Son's sacrifice! Therefore, the door is now open for sinners like us to come to the Holy God of heaven. Through resting on Jesus Christ alone as our Saviour, we can come to God assured of His welcome.
By embracing the Gospel of Christ, our position before God is totally transformed. The huge gulf between us and God is now bridged!
Instead of being separated from God by this enormous gulf, in Christ we are brought near to God.
Instead of being God's enemies, in Christ we're now God's friends!
Instead of being defiant rebels before God, in Christ we're now His devoted servants.
Instead of living under God's righteous condemnation, in Christ we enjoy the most loving relationship with Him.
In Christ, we become God's very children! We're His sons and daughters! We've been adopted into His family! God is now our heavenly Father with whom we can talk and commune moment by moment.
Christ is our elder Brother and good Shepherd on whom we can rely daily for provision and protection!
Instead of heading to hell, we're now heading to our eternal home of inexpressible peace and joy with our King in heaven.
So, in Christ, we can rejoice greatly in the glorious truth of Romans 5v1, 'since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!'
What does it mean to be justified before God? It means that, in Christ, we're declared 'Not guilty!' by God Himself! Indeed, in Christ, we're declared 'righteous' by the Judge of all mankind. In Christ, we are put right with God! We're no longer regarded as His enemies. We're no longer rebelling against His rule. We now have peace with God! What an indescribably wonderful blessing. This is the greatest gift anyone can ever receive! For this is salvation! This is the gift of eternal life through Christ. Clearly it is crucial to receive God's indescribable gift with repentant and trusting hearts. Do you have this peace with your Maker and Judge? Have you been justified in God's eyes? Have you repented of living your own way and relied on Jesus's sacrifice alone for your salvation?
This is the only way of salvation for lost sinners like us. This is the glorious Gospel of peace. There is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ. Once we are justified in God's eyes, our salvation in Christ is totally secure.
All who are justified in Christ are to grow in Christlikeness day by day. Our minds are to be renewed by God's Word and wisdom. Our lives are to be transformed by the Spirit's fruit. But it is being justified through faith in Christ that makes us true Christians. From that moment onwards, we're children of the living God and nothing shall ever separate us again from Him and His love for us in Christ.
Peace with God is absolutely essential. Indeed, having peace with God is the most urgent need in each of our lives. You may be on good terms with other people. You may have close friends and family. You may be fairly content within yourself. But if you have no peace with God, the Almighty still sees you as a rebel. Indeed, you are an enemy in His eyes, and you're heading down the broad road to the horror of hell. So your most pressing need is to have peace with your Maker and Judge.
As we reflect on the fruit of the Spirit peace, marvel at the way Christ has made the way open for us to have peace with the holy God of heaven. Next time we'll turn our thoughts to the blessings of peace within our souls and peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
