The Peace of God is the Standard for Believers

Many followers of Christ still struggle with condemnation, fear, anxiety, upset.

Yet this is not the eternal legacy which Jesus left us:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

He does not leave us peace, but His peace.

What is this peace?

Shalom! The possession of adequate and overabundant resource. We lack nothing in Christ, nor ever will. Through Him, with Him, in Him, our cup runneth over (Ps. 23:5)

Shalom is consummate peace, more than people, places, and things, more than a cessation of conflict, yet far more than adequate resource:

Original Word: שָׁלוֹם
Transliteration: shalom

It speaks to completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

What can we learn about the essential certainty of God' peace?

Let's start with the Gospel of John:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

Peace is a gift from God, a promise delivered to all those who believe on Him.
It's a gift that cannot be lost or taken away, one which we cannot attempt to earn, much like grace.

In fact, in every epistle, Paul always writes "grace and peace be with you." (cf Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3) The grace of God is inseparable from His peace:

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

Justified by faith, having received the grace of God (cf Ephesians 2:8-10) -- What is the result of this blessed gift of grace? Peace!

Further on in the Gospel of John, Jesus explains more about Peace, in connection with the Holy Spirit:

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

God' Word gives us peace. No matter what we may face in the world, we can rest in His peace. When Christ said "be of good cheer," he was telling his disciples, he was telling us to be of good courage, to be bold. With His peace, we have nothing to fear.

He confirmed this for his followers after his resurrection:

"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." (John 20:19)

In spite of their fears, in spite of their unbelief, Jesus greeted his disciples with "Peace be unto you." This is Grace personified, a free gift which our sin, of which fear is one, cannot limit or undo.

Now, how do we practice, or actively receive this peace?

Paul outlines the steps in his letter to the Romans:

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6)

We are spiritually minded to the degree that our minds are renewed by the spirit (Romans 12:2; 2 Cornithians 3:18) of God's Word:

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)

And

"Howbeit when he the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

God's Word quickens our spirits with His Spirit. Also:

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Romans 14:17)

If you have received the Holy Spirit, you have received the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, every believer is infused with righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), peace (John 14:17), and joy (John 15:11; 16:22)

And the Holy Spirit stirring within us bears the fruit of peace:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. . ."(Galatians 5:22)

And just as trees do not strive and strain to produce fruit, but yield fruit naturally, so do those of us who walk in the Spirit by faith yield the fruit of peace.

Faith is the key ingredient, the one work (cf John 6:29):

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15:13)

By faith, we receive the grace of God, and with that His peace, by faith. We do not have to conjure it up; we do not have to hunt for it or even hold tightly to it by our own efforts. We are receivers, not achievers of God's peace:

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

We "let" His peace rule in us, not just as a king, but like an umpire, leading us into His perfect will. As a net result, we are forever thankful!

And God's peace actively protects us believers, as well:

"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." (Romans 16:20)

As prophesied by God to our first parents after the fall (cf Genesis 3:17), the head of Satan would be crushed under foot of the Messiah.

And that brings us to another point:

"For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (Ephesians 2:14)

Christ Himself is our Peace! In giving us Himself, through whom we have both grace and truth (cf John 1:14), we also have peace! Well did Isaiah declare Him to be Prince of Peace! (cf Isaiah 9:6)

And He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us! (Deuteronomy 13:8; Hebrews 11:5)

So, peace is not a work, or even a maintenance, but an ongoing grace gift through the Holy Spirit, something that we always have within us.

Just as the only temptation for a believer is to fall from grace, the only thing that can disrupt the peace of a believer is the false belief that he must gain, strain, or maintain it.

What a blessed Savior is Christ Jesus, who accords to His very Self, that we may have peace, a solemn and certain promise also foretold by the prophet Isaiah:

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

We stay, or lean, or rest on Him, and He takes care of the rest!

The peace of God is the standard, not the deviation, for the believer. If you find yourself struggling with unrest, anxious, uptight, release all on the certainty of God's Word, meditate on His promise, that His peace will always be with you!