From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 35 of a series. Read part 34.

It is "My peace" - a one-of-a-kind peace, not a peace "as the world gives" - that the Prince of Peace freely bestows upon His people.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

The New Testament declares the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Prince of Peace as both a present fact for the believer in Christ, and the future eternal hope of both His people and of an entire creation that is now under the bonds of the curse.

Sinful Man: The Enemy of God

The state of peace is not the natural condition of man since the Fall. Romans 5:10 declares that it was "when we were enemies" that "we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son." The natural condition of sinful men is that they did do "not like to retain God in their knowledge," and therefore "God gave them over to a debased mind" (Romans 1:28).

Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:16-18)

Try as he will, sinful man cannot make peace in any sense - with his fellow man, among nations, or even within himself - because he is under condemnation. As Jesus the Messiah told Nicodemus,

this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

Messiah Has Reconciled Enemies to God

But the Messiah has reconciled believers who were in this wretched condition:

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (Colossians 1:21-22).

The Holy Spirit declares that peace with God is the present, permanent state of every believer in Christ:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have [are now having - the verb is a present, active, indicative] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have [a perfect active indicative denoting a once-for-all accomplishment] access by faith into this grace in which we stand [more literally, in which we have been placed permanently], and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

The Means of Appropriating This Peace

And as the Prince of Peace Himself told His disciples, it is a unique peace:

These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:25-27)

Jesus said that it is "My peace" - a one-of-a-kind peace, not a peace "as the world gives" - that He freely bestows upon His people. How does the believer in Christ appropriate this peace experimentally in a body still tortured by sin, and in a world that is still under the curse? By two means, which are both made possible by the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us.

The peace purchased by the Prince of Peace takes root in the believer through a continually-growing knowledge of the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit "teach[es] you all things":

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly [more literally, let it be fully at home within you] in all wisdom... Colossians 3:15-16)

The peace purchased by the Prince of Peace is also continually applied to the believer by the intercessory work of Christ as we open our hearts to Him in prayer:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

The Promise: Eternal, Untainted, Unbroken Peace

We experience the peace that has been purchased the Prince of Peace through the blood of His cross imperfectly while we remain in these bodies of sinful flesh. But we have the certainty of the ultimate, perfect, eternal manifestation of that peace when we are with the Messiah in glory - when "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2):

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." (Revelation 21:1-5)

The entire creation, plunged into the curse and chaos of sin when Adam fell, awaits the final dawning of this peace along with us:

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Romans 8:19-25)

The Prince of Peace, the One who occupies the first position, the One who originates peace and is the source of peace, the Captain of our salvation, is Himself the guarantee of ultimate, eternal, untainted, unbroken peace for both the people of God and the entire created order. The Messiah's words are indeed "true and faithful." This is the hope that awaits "the revealing of the sons of God." Therefore the inspired writer to the Hebrews could, at the end of his epistle, pronounce this great benediction to every believer:

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Next: The Greatest Announcement in All of History

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