The God of Peace – July 22, 2018 – Steve Miller
Have you ever heard a parent say how much they enjoy it when siblings fight and argue with each other? Me neither. I've also never heard my mom say how glad she feels that my brothers and sisters and our families are each living in separate states or countries. I know that my parents' favorite thing in all the world is when we're all together for reunion and having good fellowship with one another. They like peace and wholeness in our family. God feels that same way about His children, His Church.
Romans 15:33 - The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
HELPS Word-studies: eirḗnē(from eirō, "to join, tie together into a whole") – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God's gift of wholeness).
Last week Tom taught about God's good kind of jealousy for us, His Bride. I think we can understand that the God of peace (or wholeness) wouldn't want His Bride to be suffering from multiple personalities disorder, both for our sakes and for His. Yet in reality, we often see a lack of wholeness and unity in the greater Body of Christ, in local communities, within individual congregations, and in our own Christian families and marriages. We need the God of peace to be with us to give us peace.
Romans 16:20
Philippians 4:9
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Hebrews 13:20-21
If the promised blessing for us is that the finished work of Christ on the cross has equipped us to do His will and works in us what is pleasing to Him, then what is His will and desire? How are we enabled?
Colossians 3:12-15 - 12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule (umpire) in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
We are God's chosen, holy, and dearly loved people, but we need to be clothed with godly character, attitudes, words, and deeds. The fact that we are chosen and loved by God gives us the proper clothes, but we still have to put them on. The lack of any of these characteristics will threaten peace in our relationships.
Greater peace will come to the Church if we let the Lord and the clear teachings in His Word be the judge of our doctrine, and value relationships with our brothers and sisters more than propping up the views we ourselves hold.
Romans 14:1
(NIV) Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
(NLT) Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
(ESV) As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
HELPS Word-studies dialogismós (from /dialogízomai, "back-and-forth reasoning") – reasoning that is self-based and therefore confused – especially as it contributes to reinforcing others in discussion to remain in their initial prejudice.
To be sure, there are some doctrines (or teachings) that are non-negotiable to the Christian faith. Jesus is the Son of God. He died and rose again to save us from sin. We are saved by grace through faith.
1 Corinthians 11:19 - No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
There are other doctrines in the Church that are mistaken, but do not keep a person from salvation. For example, the belief that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased today contradicts clear Scriptures, but those who espouse it, while missing out on part of God's will for them, still have a relationship with the Lord.
Philippians 3:15-16 - 15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Still other teachings are not clearly explained in Scripture, and we will do well not to impose them on our brothers and sisters. God does not call all of us to the same habits and methods, nor are we walking at the same level of maturity all at once. God asks each of us to live by faith with a sincere conscience and to genuinely love one another.
Romans 14:1-9
What about the denominational divisions that are already in place in the body of Christ? What about marriage and family relationships that have been harmed or broken by a lack of peace? How can we overcome barriers and divisions that already exist between us as groups or as individuals?
Ephesians 2:13-18
If God can unite Jews and Gentiles, then He can also break down the dividing walls we've made. It's the cross of Jesus that has brought us into God's family, so the cross and the Holy Spirit also empower us to love one another as brothers and sisters within His family.
One of the enemy's chief strategies to harm and weaken us is to tempt us to strife and division in our churches and families. It's a regular battle we must fight. Therefore God gives us strategy for maintaining His peace.
Philippians 4:2-9
