The Prince of Peace (His Perfect Peace 1)
You don’t have to look too far in our world to see that we have a deep yearning for peace. This distinct absence of peace is felt on all kinds of levels. We often don’t feel a sense of inner peace. Neither do we find ourselves at peace with the God who made us. We certainly don’t experience peace with one another in a world where conflict and war remain an ongoing narrative of our time. In this series we will be thinking through some of the Bible’s key teaching on the topic of peace and we will be closely examining some of the things which most rob us of our sense of peace such as anxiety, conflict, discontentment and sin.
We are in the midst of a mental health epidemic in which anxiety and depression continue to rise and effect over 1 billion people globally. I can personally relate to all of these facets of peace. My own sin gets in the way of experiencing peace with God, my own actions often cause my experience of peace with others to hang in the balance and my own fears, anxiety and discontentment can leave me struggling to feel peace within myself. I need to experience more of God’s peace in my life.
With all that in mind, it’s no great surprise that peace is a key topic in the Bible. Indeed, there are nearly 250 occurrences of the word “peace”. The underlying words used for peace carry rich meaning – in the Old Testament the Hebrew word is Shalom, while in the New Testament the Greek word is Eirene. The English language really just does not do justice to these words. These words have been defined more accurately as harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquillity. Taken together as a whole, these words give us a very different picture of what Shalom/Eirene is all about!
The Kings of Israel were supposed to work to bring Shalom to the nation of Israel. After dealing with some of the loose ends left behind by his Father, Solomon says: “…But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace for ever” (1 Kings 2:33b). After David’s battles achieved peace on all sides, Solomon did then enjoy a prolonged period of peace. However, after Solomon’s reign, sustained periods of peace were increasingly hard to find. The responsibility of Israel’s Kings was not merely to achieve the cessation of conflict, but to bring the nation together to work for the common good. During the time of the monarchy we also see a long line of prophets who were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah who would be called the Prince of Peace. Through Him we would be able to have restoration and wholeness in our relationship with ourselves, with God and with others. In this first session, I want to examine the character of our triune God and demonstrate how peace is fundamental to the heart of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
1. The God of Peace
The Bible says quite clearly that God is the God of Hope and that He is the very definition of love, holy, righteous and light. There are also quite a few references to God being the God of Peace (Romans 15:33, 16:20, Philippians 4:9, 1 Thess 5:23, Heb 13:20).
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
Romans 15:13 and 1 Corinthians 14:33
Once again what we are seeing here is that Peace is an intrinsic characteristic of the God who made us. If we want to know what peace is, we need to look to God because He is the very source and definition of peace. Isaiah 26 looks forward to a time when they would sing a song about how God would bring peace.
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal…12 Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Isaiah 26:1-4,12
God Himself is the source of peace – He is able to keep in perfect peace (v3), those whose minds are steadfast. If we want to experience God’s peace, then there is a responsibility on our part to trust in God. In these verses God is described as the Rock eternal who establishes peace for us (v12). Isaiah then says that all they had accomplished, was in reality done for them. God is peace and any peace that we might have achieved is actually from God. None of this should surprise us given what we are told in the priestly blessing in Numbers 6 when Aaron is instructed to pray that God would turn His face on them and give them peace…
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 ‘“‘The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.’” 27 ‘So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’
Numbers 6:22-27
2. The Prince of Peace
While God is the God of peace, there are also many specific references to God the Son bringing peace. Earlier in Isaiah, the coming Messiah is given the title: “Prince of Peace” (9:6) and it is said: “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end” (9:7). Jesus Himself taught that “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt 5:9).
But how did Jesus bring peace? In Mark 4 we read of how the disciples struggled on the lake during a furious storm. Despite having experienced fisherman among them, the disciples were feeling incredibly anxious in a situation that seemed totally out of their control. Jesus brought calmness and peace to the situation. He rebuked the wind and said to the waves: “Quiet, Be Still” (v39).
Then in Mark 5 Jesus heals the woman who had struggled with bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered under the care of many doctors, but despite all their efforts, things had only gotten worse. The woman had faith that if she could just touch His clothes, she would be healed. But Jesus felt the power go out from Him and demanded to know who had touched Him. The woman fearfully told Him the truth and He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (v34). Jesus gave her the gift of healing, but while doing so He sent her out in peace. Jesus really is the Prince of Peace.
Towards the end of Jesus life when He and the disciples are in the Upper Room, we learn that the hearts of the disciples were troubled because of what He had been telling them about leaving them. In this context, Jesus tells them on two occasions: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:1,27). Jesus assures them that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house. Jesus then assures them that His Father would send them “another” advocate/counsellor. The sense is here is that this “another” would come alongside them and continue where Jesus left off:
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you… 25 ‘All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 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.
John 14:25-27
I can totally understand why Jesus leaving them was such a big deal. And yet Jesus is very clear that His going would be a good thing for them: But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (16:7). As Jesus leaves them He wishes them peace. But He is eager to point out that He does not give to them as the world gives. No, Jesus offers them real peace before reminding them not to be troubled or afraid. It is a staggering promise that is very encouraging both for us and for Jesus’ disciples. Never does Jesus promise a trouble free life – quite the opposite in fact! But later in ch.16 Jesus encourages them to take heart: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (16:33).
Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He came into this world so that we might experience His peace – peace and reconciliation with His Father (Romans 5:1) achieved through His death on the cross. Peace within because of the hope we have in Him regardless of all that is going on around us. Peace with one another because relationship with Him begins to transform all our relationships!
3. The Spirit of Peace
So Jesus extends to us His Peace and that peace is intrinsically linked to the gift of His Spirit. Paul writes to the Romans that the Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). It’s therefore no surprise that when Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit, peace is centre stage. Indeed it comes in the 1st triplet of qualities alongside love & joy:
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25
Before we get into these verses, a brief word of context for Galatians 5. In this chapter Paul has been describing the inner battle. He urges the Galatians to live by the Spirit, because the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit. So he lists the acts of the flesh (v19-21) and then contrasts them with the fruit of the Spirit. These nine-fold qualities comes as one package and are the impact of the Spirit being at work in our hearts. Amongst these nine qualities we learn that the Spirit is working to bring us peace.
We’ll get more into that in subsequent sessions, but for now I just want us to see that Father, Son and the Spirit are all deeply involved in bringing peace to our hearts. We often speak of having a peace about something – that is a result of the Spirit’s work in us. Amidst the chaos of life going on around us, we need God’s peace, which only He can give. His perfect peace comes from us trusting steadfastly in God.
I myself can testify to periods of struggle in all kinds of areas of life. But amidst the chaos and the difficulty, there has often been a moment when God has broken in and brought me His peace. Typically the situation has still remained a challenge to me, but God’s peace has transformed my perspective allowing me to cope with all that life brings.
Will you allow God to bring His peace into your life today?
See other posts in this series: