This article is an adaptation of a sermon I gave to my Church on Sunday, 3rd May, 2020.
Main Scriptural Passage
“Rejoice in the LORD always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The LORD is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.“
Philippians 4:4-7 (KJV)
The Concern
Bad news, problems and chaos surround us and they bombard our lives on a daily basis. At times you feel your sanity attempting to “ooze” itself away with every negative headline, every negative word, and every negative feeling. You can find yourself, at times, wanting a break from it all; you want everything to stop.
I was recently looking through a series of quotes on peace by many famous people; authors, political figure heads, etc. The quotes were good and insightful. However, there was a key element in each quote that I found to be questionable. It was the belief of achieving peace through one’s own action. Breathing, Meditation, Yoga, and working on your conscious self are all encouraged.
My concern, however, is not really about making a conscious effort to be in a state of peace. My concern is really about how many of us aspire not just to feel at peace but to be in constant, permanent and true peace through our own actions.
The Problem and Solution
It is one thing to try and feel at peace in a particular situation, just for a moment. It is another thing to feel constantly at peace despite the varying moments of life. We all, as human beings, feel distraught, frustrated, vex and confused at times. Therefore, we can find ourselves in a never-ending search for peace; peace that lingers, disappears, and then reemerges again periodically.
Upon considering it all carefully, it would be impractical and unfair for us as human beings, who can be prone to being distraught, frustrated, vex or confused, to expect to attain true, lasting peace on our own, by our own efforts. If we are truly able to attain it on our own strength, then might as well we ask cars to wash themselves, unwritten books to write themselves, or food to make and cook itself.
The scripture expressly addresses the topic of Peace, always connecting it to one key source: Jehovah God Himself. The scripture even goes further to label Jesus Christ as being “the Prince of Peace”. He both rules over Peace and Peace itself originates with Him and is contained in Him.
Today, you may be searching for Peace; true Peace. However, you may be struggling with how to attain it or what true Peace is or even looks like. Let’s look at three (3) key points that the Scripture presents to us that can show us the nature of true Peace; God’s Peace.
#1 Peace comes from God
Philippians 4:7 describes peace as being “the Peace of God”. Colossians 3:15 also calls it “the Peace of Christ” and Galatians 5:22 sees Peace as being part of the fruit of the Spirit. We therefore see here that Peace comes from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the Holy Trinity.
Understanding the source of something gives you directive as how to acquire it. Ignoring that source either prevents you from acquiring it in its true and complete form, or even preventing you from acquiring it altogether. Ignoring God and ignoring the fact of Him being the true source of peace is leading many, today, in acquiring peace that is incomplete, temporal and, frankly, non-existent.
People are desperately searching for peace, or desperately trying to understand why they can never find peace, while at the same time ignoring God, His Word, and His mercy extended towards them.
Understanding God as being the source of peace is understanding His nature (being the Prince of peace), His sacrifice (Jesus Christ dying on the cross) and His redeeming work (through the power of His Spirit).
To sum it all up, Knowing God is knowing Peace. You can never be truly at peace if you ignore the very source of peace Himself.
#2 Peace Starts in the Mind
The work of God in bringing peace into the life of someone starts with the mind of that person.
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 (ESV)
We can gather a few things from this scripture:
- The mind is important
- A focus on flesh is an acceptance of death
- A focus on the Spirit is the acceptance of life and peace
- It is important to set your mind, not necessarily on peace, but on the source of peace.
In our main scriptural passage, we are asked to “rejoice” which speaks about the expression of emotions (the heart). Then we are also encouraged to let our “moderation” be known to all men. Moderation, or reasonableness, shows forth a mental process.
The same passage even encourages us to not be careful, or rather, not to be anxious (which shows forth feelings) but to make our requests known to God through prayer and supplication.
These are things that must be considered in the mind. Being at peace in God is not just about feeling at peace or seeking after a feeling or experience of peace. It entails coming to a decision, in the mind, to not just experience, but to live in such a peace.
Coming to such a decision does not mean that, by our own strength, we can attain everlasting peace. We can only attain peace and live in peace by a Holy Spirit-led action of surrender to God’s will.
“Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Psalm 34:14 (ESV)
Seeking and pursuing peace first starts with a turning, or repentance, from evil and focusing on doing what is good. To repent means to turn from wicked ways. In order to repent, we must be given revelation knowledge of such wicked ways.
When God gives insight into our own sinful state, He is revealing to us His wisdom; His holy wisdom that sees all, knows all and reveals all. This is confirmed in Proverbs 9:10, where it says:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.“
Proverbs 9:10 (KJV)
In God’s viewpoint, wisdom truly begins in a person when they learn to fear Him, which means to revere Him or to know Him. To know Him is to have a relationship and to have a relationship, first, entails surrender to Him. This wisdom and understanding works and develops in the mind, governing everything else.
Such a wisdom is built is also of God Himself, as seen in James 3:17, which says:
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
James 3:17 (ESV)
Therefore, the wisdom and understanding from God, which is pure, is understood and grasped in our minds, revealing to us our need for a Saviour and then bringing to us peace. That’s why God focuses so much on the renewing of our minds. Renewed minds understand and accept God’s wisdom and are granted His unending peace.
#3 God’s Peace guards our Hearts and Minds
Our main passage encourages us, showing that “the peace of God” which goes beyond “all understanding” will “keep” our “hearts and minds in”, or some translations say “through”, “Christ Jesus”. It is important that our hearts and minds are kept, or guarded. It is even more important that they are guarded in, or through, Jesus Christ.
The Importance of guarding the Heart can be seen in Proverbs 4:23, which says:
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)
The Importance of guarding the Mind can be seen in James 1:5-8, which says:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:5-8 (ESV)
The guarding of the Heart is the protection of the emotions, not just from them being harmed, but from them becoming out of control and unstable. When we cannot control our emotions, desires, and feelings, we can become irrational, doing this that can harm both ourselves and others.
The guarding of the Mind is the protection of the intellect. A guarded Mind perceives the external in a God-focused light, embracing and understanding Godly wisdom, while consciously rejecting the wisdom, cares, and desires of the world.
Both the Heart and the Mind are guarded by the Peace of God. Such a Peace goes beyond what can be understood and goes beyond what can be comprehended. This therefore shows us that:
- It is divine by nature and not made by mortal men. Therefore, it cannot be understood simply by carnal thinking.
- It is complex in nature but effective in action. Therefore it can protect and guard, withstanding any attacks to shake, change or remove it. Because it passeth goes beyond understanding, it cannot be overcome.
(Specifically, in this context, the Greek word for the word “passeth” is “hyperechousa” which means “to excel, surpass, or be superior to”. Therefore, no form of understanding by any being in existence, excels, surpasses or is superior to the Peace of God).
“Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.”
Psalm 119:165 (ESV)
We can trust and know that God’s Peace, which is superior to the understanding and wisdom of all other beings, is strong enough to guard our very emotions, intellect, and sanity, keeping us in a peace that truly lasts.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.“
St. John 14:27 (ESV)
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