Defining True Peace
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.
John 14:27
The peace that Jesus leaves is what enables every Christian to:
· To fight back fear.
· To rejoice amid trial.
· To sing while suffering.
· To stand with the greatest confidence in the face of death.
The peace that Jesus provides is the gift of an attitude that impacts every part of life. It is so much more than the absence of trouble. Which, by the way, is a fabrication. In this life, there are hardly any moments where we do not have some trouble. There is always something. This is why true peace comes from a higher source — one from outside this world. What Jesus brings to us is never impacted by circumstances. It is, however, a peace that can and will affect our circumstances and bring glory to Christ.
John 14:27a – Defining True Peace
In scripture, two types of peace are defined: objective and subjective. The first may be described as a state of peace, while the other is the experience of peace. Both come from a supernatural source. We will only discover the experience of peace once we are first brought into a state of peace.
Romans 5:1-11 – A State of Peace
Paul writes:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
“Peace,” as found here, is the removal of hostility between God and us. The Christian is no longer at war with God. Our rebellion ceased at the cross. Our sins have been forgiven. Now, we move from the perspective of hope and assurance, 5:4-5. Think of it. We have gone from enmity and war against God to now having God dwell in us. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him, John 14:23. Perhaps Paul summarized it best at the end of the first section of Romans 5. In verses 10-11, he says that we have received reconciliation.
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
The Christian lives in a state of peace with God.
Colossians 1:20-29 – What Brought About Our Peace?
Notice Colossians 1:19-20.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
The present state of peace we enjoy was made through His blood, shed on the cross. And now, look at 1:22.
But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—
Because of this reconciliation, Jesus presents you to His Father as holy, faultless, and blameless. These are qualities you presently possess as a Christian. You have, are, and will stand justified in the sight of God. You have been set free from condemnation, Romans 8:1. You have been, and will be, delivered from the wrath to come, 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
Indeed, we must remember that the work of Jesus entails an inherent responsibility. In Colossians 1:23, Paul speaks of the need for our continuous cooperation with God, whereby we allow Him to ground us and make us steadfast so that we will not be shifted away from the hope of the gospel. We must be committed to spiritual maturity (1:28). As we grow, we work by the strength given to us by Christ (1:29).
Concluding Thought
We need to grow to a better understanding of how the strength of Christ is powerfully at work in us and that the state of peace we enjoy is not precarious. It is not unstable. Because of the righteousness Jesus has brought us and given us through His death and our acceptance of it through faith, we have peace with God.