The Peace of God (3)

Thursday, August 6: Colossians 3:9 – 17

 

Verse 15 offers us an image upon which we can ponder the peace of Christ and its role in our lives, it’s an image, a paradigm, which has been part of my life for many years. But first please consider the verses leading up to verse 15.

 

What do you see in verses 9 – 11? What’s the story?

 

What do you see in verses 12 – 14? What’s the story? What’s the picture? Note that in verse 12 Paul isn’t talking to miserable worthless sinners who ought to be groveling on the ground hoping that God will love them; he is writing to “those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved”! Paul is writing to the sons and daughters of the Living God.

 

Let’s consider that if we are going to experience the peace of Christ in verse 15, that we need to live in verses 12 – 14 (note that we see “gentleness” again in verse 12). If we aren’t going to be compassionate we aren’t going to have peace, if we aren’t going to be gentle and patient with others we aren’t going to have peace, if we aren’t going to be forgiving we aren’t going to have peace – and for sure, if we aren’t going to love others we aren’t going to have peace.

 

Also, take a look at what follows verse 15 because that is part of the story too, what do you see in verses 16 and 17? How do these two verses fit into the story of our lives in Christ?

 

Okay, now let’s look at verse 15:

 

            Let the peace of Christ

                        rule in your hearts

                        to which indeed you were called in one body

            and be thankful.

 

Note the role of thanksgiving in verses 15, 16, and 17. A thankful person is likely to be a peaceful person. Thanksgiving is a key element of healthy relationships, and this is especially true of our relationship with our Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. When we live in thanksgiving to God, we become thankful for others.

 

Note that we are called to peace in one body; that is, as a family of brothers and sisters – if we are going to have peace within ourselves we need to practice peace in our relationships: marriage, family, friends, the workplace, and most certainly church.

 

Are there areas of our lives, are there relationships, in which we are not practicing the peace of Christ?

 

Paul is writing about the “peace of Christ”. This isn’t a peace that comes from positive thinking, or the latest pop culture fad, this is the peace of Christ – it is the peace that flows from the Person of God in Christ. To touch the peace of Christ is to touch the Person of Christ – it is touching the Divine and being touched by the Divine – it is an encounter with God, it is God living in us. Remember in Philippians 4 that it is the peace that surpasses all comprehension.

 

Now I’d like us to please look at one word in this verse, in the above translation (NASB) it is the word “rule”. We are to “let” or “allow” the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. That is, we are to submit to the peace of Christ. The peace of Christ is already within the sons and daughters of the Living God, the question is whether we will submit to that peace in our hearts. In other words, the issue isn’t getting the peace of God within us, it is whether we will obey the Word of God (for example in verses 9 – 14, and in verses 16 & 17), allowing that peace to rule.

 

When Christians look for the peace of God they are, more often than not, looking for something they already have but which they refuse to submit to – it may take a while to ponder this to really begin to realize what this means – I’ve been meditating on this passage for years and I am still, by God’s grace, experiencing new depths in it.

 

The Greek word translated “rule” is βραβευέτω – it’s an imperative verb and it means “to be the judge, to control, to rule”. This is the only place in the NT where this verb occurs. The Holy Spirit through Paul is saying that we are to submit ourselves to the rule of the peace of Christ in our hearts. We are to allow the peace of Christ to control us, to be the arbiter of our hearts and lives. The word “umpire” is a pretty good word for this – the peace of Christ is to umpire our lives – telling us what are the balls and strikes, when we are out of bounds.

 

This can be a challenge when we’re surrounded by anger and violence – if we let the world around us rule our hearts, if we take our lead from the world, no matter what form it may be, we will not know what it is to have the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts. This is very much in line with our previous passage in Philippians 4.

 

Are we learning what it is to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts? What does this look like in our lives? Our marriages? Our families? Our churches? Our other relationships? Our thought lives? Our emotional lives?

The Peace of God (2)

Wednesday, August 5: James 1:19 – 20; 3:8 – 18.

 

How would you explain James 1:19 – 20 to your grandchildren or to a Sunday school class of younger people? Have you known men or women who were examples of these two verses? What were they like? Do these verses challenge you today? Have they ever challenged you?

 

Consider the verses coming before and after these two verses, how do they form a story, a message?

 

The Holy Spirit has convicted me of verse 20 many times, many times I have been selfishly angry, and the Lord has convicted me of this sin. Part and parcel of this conviction has been to ask forgiveness of those I have been angry with. While I don’t recommend that we sin in order to share the Gospel, I have learned than when I sin and seek forgiveness from others that I am able to model love for Christ, love for others, and a desire to obey Christ. I’ve also learned that in seeking forgiveness that I am able, by God’s grace, to show the world a way, in Christ, to heal relationships.

 

In some of my bibles I’ve written the name “Bob” above the word “man” in verse 20. When I read verse 20 I read, “…for the anger of Bob does not achieve the righteousness of God.” I read it this way whether or not I’ve actually written my name in the verse – it is a good reminder to me that God’s Word is speaking directly to me.

 

In considering James 3:8 – 18, please pay particular attention to verses 17 – 18. Note the word “gentle” which we considered yesterday in Philippians. What are the characteristics of “the wisdom from above”? In verse 18, how is the fruit of righteousness sown?

 

We live in a culture that is permeated by violence and anger – not just physical violence as we normally think of violence, but violence in the way we communicate (the loudest and most belligerent mouth wins), violence in the way we do business, violence in politics – “might makes right and the means justifies the end”.

 

If we are going to experience the peace of God, and share that peace with others, we need to know not only what that peace looks like, but we need to understand that when we adopt the ways of the world that we are touching what is demonic (James 3:15). As sons and daughters of the Living God, as brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, are we showing the family likeness in our lives?

 

What can we learn from these passages in James? Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show Christ to us through these passages, and let’s share the “wisdom that is from above” in peace with those around us.

 

The Peace of God

Today the small group that I participate in begins a focus on the peace of God in preparation for our virtual meeting next Tuesday morning. Below is our passage for today:

This week we want to ponder “peace”. How can we have the peace Christ? How can we share the peace of Christ? In the midst of the pandemic and economic and social uncertainties, people are looking for peace and if they can’t find it they are looking to deaden the pain through a number of ways.

 

The foundation for knowing, experiencing, and sharing the peace of Christ is knowing who Christ is in us, and who we are in Him – it goes back to the question, “What’s in your wallet?”

 

Tuesday, August 4: Philippians 4:4 – 9.

 

This is one of those passages that is so familiar that we miss its meaning and we miss its action items. We sometimes think that the Scriptures are some kind of treasury of magic sayings; if we say them over and over enough, or if we memorize them, then fairy dust is going to fall on us and things will be just fine. Lots of folks know something of this passage and seem to think that if they read it, or memorize it, that they’ll have peace – but is this true?

 

I verse 7 Paul writes of the peace of God which passes all understanding, or comprehension – in other words, God’s peace is so “other” than the peace of the world, that even when we experience it we just don’t understand it – it is, after all, God’s peace.

 

But we don’t experience God’s peace just by wishing for it, we experience God’s peace as we live in relationship with Him as His sons and daughters; living in relationship includes responding to Him and His Word in obedience and trust.

 

You might want to consider spending some time in this passage for a few days, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it, to reveal Jesus Christ to you through this passage. You might want to think about memorizing it, don’t be in a hurry, take your time, a few words a day is good – even if you forget the memorization in a few weeks or months you’ll “see” things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

 

What do we see in this passage that requires our obedience? In other words, by God’s grace, what are we supposed to be doing, how are we supposed to be living?

 

v. 4: What do you see? What does this look like in your life? Is this something you need to cultivate? Those who follow Christ are called to be joyful in Christ! Do others see you rejoicing in Jesus Christ? Your family? Your friends? Are you having a bodacious life in Jesus Christ? When we rejoice in Christ we open ourselves to experience God’s peace.

 

v. 5: Paul says that our gentleness is to be known by everyone, and then he reminds us that Christ is present and near all the time – we are to live in that awareness. Take a look at Galatians 5:22 – 23; gentleness is an element of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes to Titus (3:2) that we are to malign no one, we are to be peaceable, and we are to be gentle. While we’ll look at gentleness again this week, because it is closely linked to the peace of God, let’s consider the common sense principle that someone who cultivates anger and vitriol and talks maliciously about others isn’t likely to put himself in a position to experience God’s peace.

 

Are we known for our gentleness? Are the people we associate with known for gentleness? Are the people we listen to and watch on media, people who radiate peace and gentleness? Do we talk critically about others? Do we malign others? Do the people we read and watch and listen to speak respectfully of others? Let’s remember that we are sons of the Living God and brothers of Jesus Christ – is the family likeness radiating from us? I’m reminded of the following quote (I don’t know who first said it); “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

 

v. 6: Our Father wants us to talk to Him all the time about everything. What else do you see in this verse?

 

v. 7: God’s peace guards both our hearts and our minds – both our emotional and intellectual health. God’s peace “guards” us – He builds a wall around us.

 

v. 8: Boys, if we expose ourselves to violence, lust, greed, vitriol, gossip, slander, hatred; if we are always looking for the bad in others, if we have a habit of believing the worst about others, if we are not looking for things that are excellent and things worthy of praise – then we can’t expect to live in the peace of God. People who are pretty much always looking for a reason to be mad, to find fault, to impute impure motives, to uncover deep and dark secrets in others can’t expect to live in the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sons of Light, not of darkness – we’re to be focused on the Light, not on darkness and evil.

 

v. 9: Now this verse is really a wake–up call to me. I read this passage for decades and never paid attention to this verse. Paul says, “…practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” If we don’t practice what Paul has been writing we can’t expect to experience the peace of God or the God of peace. If we aren’t willing to, by God’s grace, learn and practice rejoicing, gentleness, thanksgiving; thinking and meditating on the pure and honorable and excellent – then we can’t expect to experience the peace of God.

 

As sons of God we are to live as our Father and Lord Jesus – no matter what other people, or what society and culture, are doing.

 

Are there things that need to change in our lives in order for us to obey this passage and experience the peace of God which passes all comprehension?