The absence of Peace…

“There is no peace (shalom) for the wicked,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 48:22)

 

Paul summed up the state of all men in Adam writing…

AND THE PATH OF PEACE HAVE THEY NOT KNOWN.” (Ro 3:17note)

“There is no peace for the wicked…. false prophets said peace , peace… AILIENATED ROM 8:7; engaged in evil- col 1:21′

Peace Defined

We are never told to pursue happiness, but the author of Hebrews does tell us to pursue peace and warns us against the danger of coming short of God’s grace. (He 12:1415note) (see the complete article – Grace and Peace By: J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M)

Peace in the Hebrew mindset (especially as implied in the Hebrew word shalom – click discussion of “Jehovah Shalom” the LORD our Peace) implies health, wholeness, soundness, welfare, health, well-being, prosperity and peace as opposed to war. For example in the Greek translation of the Hebrew (Septuagint = Lxx) of (2 Ki 5:22) the phrase “All is well (shalom)” is translated by eirene. In (Jdg 18:15note) we have the phrase “asked him of his welfare (shalom)” where “welfare” is translated by eirene.

Eirene is used in the famous Aaronic blessing

Jehovah lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace (shalom translated eirene in Lxx). (Nu 6:26)

As G Campbell Morgan said “There is no escape from God; and that fact is the reason of confidence, and the secret of peace, in the days most full of the apparent triumph of evil men.”

Alexander Maclaren adds that “Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.” (Ed: In other words peace is not just a truth [which it is] but is ultimately a Person, Christ Jesus – [cp Jn 14:27, note especially the phrase “in Me” in Jn 16:33, cp Ro 1:7noteRo 5:1note])

Eirene not surprisingly is associated closely with the Messiah, the Source of all peace, the One Who is Himself Peace. In that sense, there will be no universal peace until the Prince of peace appears. In the meantime we can pray

1. – Peace With God -Rom 5:1

Paul then went on to explain the path of peace with God writing that all who believe in the gospel have…

“been justified by faith (and) have peace (eirene) with God through our Lord Jesus.” Christ.” (Ro 5:1note)

having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION (foundation) OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE (Ep 6:15note)

In Colossians, Paul explained how this peace was made possible for all men (all of whom are born into Adam), writing that

it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him (Christ) to reconcile all things to Himself (God the Father), having made peace through the blood of His (Messiah’s) cross… (Col 1:1920note)

“Peace Through The Blood of The Cross” col 1;20;

rom 5;10; 8″17;

” peace between jew and gentile… He tore down the partition.” eph 2:13-14;

heb 10″12  onesacrifice for sins for all time

‘Rom 5;2 – access  stand in Grace… favor…

2. Peace of God –

Peace through Prayer – Prayer..Peace guards… Phil 4;6-7;

Peace Through His WORD – “They who love His law have great peace”

Peace through The Lord Jesus – “My Peace I give you…”Grace and Peace to you through… He Himself Is Our Peace-{Eph 2:14 }

Peace through the Holy Spirit – The Fruit of The Spirit…Peace…”

The Source of Peace

Peace with God (Ro 5:1 note)

God of peace (Ro 15:33noteRo 16:20,

notePhp 4:9note 1Th 5:23noteHeb 13:20note)

The peace of God (Php 4:7note)

The Lord of peace (2Th 3:16)

for the mind set on the flesh (the mind inherited from Adam which is controlled or dominated by the evil nature opposed to God) is death, but the mind set on (possessed by, controlled by, dominated by, yielded to) the Spirit is life andpeace, (“if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace” NLT) (Ro 8:6note)

In Colossians, Paul explained how this peace was made possible for all men (all of whom are born into Adam), writing that

it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him (Christ) to reconcile all things to Himself (God the Father), having made peace through the blood of His (Messiah’s) cross… (Col 1:1920note)

Wuest adds that “by His (Messiah’s) death, (Jesus) satisfied the just demands of the law which we broke, thus making it possible for a righteous and holy God to bestow mercy upon a believing sinner and do so without violating His justice. Our Lord thusbound together again the believing sinner and God (in an indissoluble, living union), thus making peace. There is therefore a state of untroubled, undisturbed wellbeing for the sinner who places his faith in the Saviour. The law of God has nothing against him, and he can look up into the Father’s face unafraid and unashamed. This is justifying peace.” (Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

The peace Paul describes here is not a subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, but an eternal, objective reality. So the first great result of justification is that the sinner’s war with God (cp Ro 1:30noteRo 5:10noteRo 8:7note) is ended forever, Paul explaining that

although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Col 1:21note).

Justification by faith brings reconciliation and restoration of peace with God just as Adam experienced in walking in the Garden with God before the Fall!

Here in first Peter, the peace that Peter is asking God to “multiply” refers to that subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, the peace of God, for through their election, the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ (and their justification by faith as described above by Paul) the born again readers have a permanent possession of peace with God. As Horatius Bonar said “I hear the words of love, I gaze upon the blood, I see the mighty sacrifice, And I have peace with God.”

Wuest further explains that the peace of God which Peter prays for is “sanctifying peace, that state of untroubled, undisturbed tranquility and well being produced in the heart of the yielded saint by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22note). We have this peace to the extent that we are yielded to the Spirit and are intelligently conscious of and dependent upon His ministry for us.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Erwin Lutzer rightly says that “Emotional peace and calm come after doing God’s will and not before.”

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley’s execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!

Two kinds
of Peace

1. Experiential (Php 4:7 note)—day by day experience of the believer, can be forfeited.

2. Judicial (Ro 5:1 note)—The war with God is over.

A person can experience # (2) & not #(1). Example of WWII Japanese who hid for years in jungles, long after peace was established between the warring nations

 

peace robbers- anxiety -phil 4:6;  1 cor 10:13…way of escape;

Remember that the Greek word for PEACE is eirene which describes the joining together of that which has been separated while ANXIETY is the polar opposite the Greek word describing a mind which is pulled apart or drawn in different directions! As Wiersbe says

Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us the opposite direction; and we are pulled apart!

Jehovah Shalom
in the Trinity

God the Father

“God of peace” (Heb 13:20note)

God the Son

“Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

God the Spirit

“Spirit…of peace” (Eph 4:3note).

The Puritan Thomas Watson wrote that…

The godly man, when he dies, “enters into peace” (Isa 57:2); but while he lives, peace must enter into him.

“Safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God.”

Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.

Since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8% of the time! Of 3530 years of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace. Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made & broken. During this period there were 14,351 wars, large & small, in which 3.64 billion people were killed.

.

Matthew Henry wrote that…

Peace is such a precious jewel, that I would give anything for it but truth.

Grace and Peace by J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M.

Facing the Future: A Prescription for Peace (John 14) by Bob Deffinbaugh

Peace Like a River by Richard Strauss

CLICK MORE NOTES ON JEHOVAH SHALOM

Drop thy still dew of quietness
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
-Whittier

SHALOM
HEBREW FOR PEACE

Peace (07965) (shalom from salam/salem/shalam = verb meaning to be safe, to be sound, healthy, unscathed [Job 9:4], to be at peace, to be finished or completed [1Ki 7:51Neh 6:18], uninjured in mind or body) signifies a sense of well-being and harmony both within and without, health, wholeness, happiness, quietness of soul, preservation, prosperity, tranquility, security, safety and includes all that makes life worthwhile.

The general meaning behind the root sh-l-m is that of completion & fulfillment & thus of entering into a state of wholeness & unity (oneness) signified by a restored relationship, especially wholeness of the relationship between a person and God.

Shalom also conveys the sense of being at peace with God and involves more than forgiveness of sin, in that fullness of life, prosperity, and peace with men is the expected result of shalom.

In narrative books shalom typically is used to describe an absence of hostility or strife. In the psalms and the prophets it goes beyond this, so that in at least 2/3 of the biblical references shalom indicates a total fulfillment that comes when individuals experience God’s presence.

Shalom can describe a peace can that focuses on security or a sense of safety which can bring feelings of satisfaction, well-being, and contentment.

As you study this Hebrew word, keep in mind that shalom means much more than the cessation of violence and hostility. There is considerable difference between peace and a truce. Former President Herbert Hoover understood this truth as show by his statement that “Peace is not made at the Council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.” There is no single English word that can truly convey the richness of the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom.

Shalom is used as a greeting and also as a way of inquiring after someone’ state of being and conveys the idea of wanting the very best for him in life. Shalom is still used today in Israel in greeting and thus wishing one another well, saying in essence “may all things be prosperous with you.” The idea is to be happy, to be whole, to be right with God, fellow humans, and creation. Shalom always means everything which makes for a man’s highest good.

Peace is the opposite of the rivalry, instability, and division brought by envy and ambition.

Someone has well said that

Peace in the Jewish sense is the symphony of life made meaningful through a right relationship with God. (New Geneva study Bible: Thomas Nelson: Nashville)

The Greeks greeted one another with “Grace!” but the Jewish NT writers went one step further in addressing one of the deepest needs of every man by adding “peace” in many of their introductions, substituting “eirene” (see below) for “shalom” (17x).

MacDonald has said that the combination of “grace and peace” is in one sense “in miniature, the gospel for the whole world.” (MacDonald, W. Believer’s Bible Commentary).

The essence of the gospel is “grace, therefore peace”. Through the gospel we are all brought under His grace and therefore have peace with God and peace within. The gospel is not so much about not fighting but about wholeness of life (shalom) as God intended it.

Shalom – 210v in the NAS – Ge 15:15Ge 26:293128:2129:637:41441:1643:2327f44:17Exod 4:1818:72332:6Lev 26:6Num 6:2625:12Deut 2:2620:10f23:629:19Josh 9:1510:21Judg 4:176:23f8:911:133118:61519:2021:131 Sam 1:177:1410:416:4f17:182220:713214225:5f3529:730:212 Sam 3:21ff8:1011:715:92717:318:28f3219:243020:91 Kgs 2:5f13334:245:1220:1822:1727f2 Kgs 4:23265:1921f9:1117ff223110:1320:1922:201 Chr 12:17f18:1022:92 Chr 15:518:1626f19:134:28Ezra 9:12Esth 2:119:3010:3Job 5:2415:2121:925:2Ps 4:828:329:1134:1435:202737:113738:341:955:182069:2272:3773:385:810119:165120:6f122:6ff125:5128:6147:14Prov 3:21712:20Eccl 3:8Song 8:10Isa 9:6f26:31227:532:17f33:738:1739:841:345:748:182252:753:554:101355:1257:2192159:860:1766:12Jer 4:106:148:11159:812:51213:1914:131915:516:520:1023:1725:3728:929:71130:533:6934:538:42243:12Lam 3:17Ezek 7:2513:101634:2537:26Dan 10:19Obad 1:7Mic 3:55:5Nah 1:15Hag 2:9Zech 6:138:101216199:10Mal 2:5f

Shalom while most commonly translated as “peace” is rendered by a number of English words in the NAS – close(2), ease(1), favorable(1), friend*(1), friendly terms(1), friends*(2), greet(1), greet*(5), greeted*(1), health(1), how(1), Peace(2), peace(153), peaceably(1), peaceful(2), peacefully(3), perfect peace(1), prosperity(3), rose(1), safe(2), safely(7), safety(6), secure(1), state(1), trusted(1), welfare(14), well(17), well-being(5), who were at peace(1), wholly(1).

R. C. Sproul comments…

Shalom…first of all means an interlude of safety from the ravages of warfare. The insecurity that comes from war made its mark on these (Hebrew) people. They looked for the day when the swords would be beaten into plowshares (Micah 4:3). The Old Testament concept of peaceascends into a theological vision. It is a vision of a new relationship between God and us, and with each other: a relationship of friendship. In sin we are estranged from God (Ge 3:8910Ro 5:12note), but in Christ we have peace with God….The fruit of peace with God is peace with others (Gal 5:22note)….Too often we desire to be the recipients of joy and peace. We wait for it to come to us through other people and circumstances. However, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” (Mt 5:9note) suggesting we should initiate peace. Anticipate how you can actively bring peace and joy to a situation, relationship, or task. (Sproul, R.: Before the face of God )

It is surely no accident that God named His holy city “Jerusalem“. The meaning of “Jerusalem” is somewhat debated, especially the first part (“jerus-“) which many feel means ‘foundation’. There is more agreement on the second part of the name as a cognate of the word “shalom”. Thus Jerusalem is variously translated in modern evangelical references as “city of peace”, “possession of peace,” “foundation of peace” “founded peaceful” , and “city of wholeness”. How wonderful that believers shall one day dwell in the “New Jerusalem” (Rev 3:12noteRe 21:2note) eternally at peace and oneness with our great God and Father through Jesus Christ our Lord..

The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology has a nice summary of shalom:

“The biblical concept of peace…rests heavily on the Hebrew root “sh-l-m”, which means to be complete or to be sound. The verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning—to be complete or whole or to live well. The noun had many nuances, but can be grouped into four categories:

(1) shalom as wholeness of life or body (i.e., health);

(2) shalom as right relationship or harmony between two parties or people, often established by a covenant (see covenant of peace in Nu 25:12,13Is 54:10Ezek 34:25,26) and, when related to Yahweh, the covenant was renewed or maintained with a peace offering;

(3) shalom as prosperity, success, or fulfillment (Lev 26:3456789); and

(4) shalom as victory over one’s enemies or absence of war. Shalom was used in both greetings and farewells. It was meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it was spoken: May your life be filled with health, prosperity, and victory. As an adjective, it expressed completeness and safety. In the New Testament, the Greek word eirene is the word most often translated by the word “peace.” Although there is some overlap in their meanings, the Hebrew word shalom is broader in its usage, and, in fact, has greatly influenced the New Testaments use of eirene.”

Nathan Stone in his work Names of God (recommended) has some great insights on Peace or Shalom:

“This word is one of the most significant in the Old Testament, its various shades of meaning harmonizing with the doctrine of the atonement as the basis of peace with God. It is translated sometimes as “whole,” as in Dt 27:6: “Thou shalt build the altar of Jehovah thy God of whole[“uncut” in NASB] stones.” As “finished” the same word is used in Da 5:26: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it [“put an end” NASB].” So Solomon “finished” the temple (1Ki 9:25). As “full” it is used in Ge 15:16: “The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. [“complete” in NASB]” It is used in the sense of making good a loss and is translated as “make good” in Exodus 21:3422:56, and in other similar passages in the laws of Israel relating to losses inflicted by carelessness. Thus also it is translated as restitution or repay. In the physical and material sense of wholeness or completeness it is translated as “welfare” and “well.” In Ge 43:27 Joseph inquires concerning the welfare of his brothers, and using the same word again in the same verse asks if their father is well.. So Joab in 2Sa 20:9, before dealing the treacherous and fatal blow, asks Amasa, “Art thou in health [NASB “well“] my brother?” It is quite frequently used as “render” and “pay” or “perform” in the sense of fulfilling or completing obligations. This is particularly true of vows rendered to the Lord. “pay thy vows unto the most High,” says the psalmist (Ps 50:14). “When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee” (Dt. 23:21). On the contrary, “the wicked borroweth and payeth not again” (Ps 37:21). It is translated “requite” and “recompense” in a few instances. As the One who deals justly and makes right, Jehovah says in Dt 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense [shillem].” (Stone, Nathan: Names of God. Moody)

The basic idea underlying all the various translations of shalom is a harmony of relationship or a reconciliation based upon the completion of a transaction, the payment of a debt, the giving of satisfaction. Therefore this word is most often and most appropriately translated “peace”. It expressed the deepest desire and need of the human heart. It represented the greatest measure of contentment and satisfaction in life.

Of King ‘,Solomon it was said that in his reign Judah and Israel I dwelt safely (that is, in confidence and peace), every ‘man under his vine and under his fig tree (1Ki 4:25). It was to be characteristic of the reign of Messiah, the righteous Branch of David, of whom Solomon was typical, that Judah and Israel should dwell safely in peace (Je 23:6, cf Je 23:17).

One of the great names of Messiah was to be “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6), and Jerusalem, Messiah’s city, means city of peace or possession of peace.

Shalom is the word used in “peace offering.” The peace offering was one of the blood sacrifices of which the shed blood was the atonement on which reconciliation and peace were based (Lev 3; Lev 7:11‑21). In the peace offering this restoration of fellowship between God and man, broken by sin, but now atoned for by the shed blood, was indicated by the fact that both God and man, priest and people, partook of the offering. The various shades of meaning contained in this word all indicate that every blessing, temporal and spiritual, is included in restoring man to that peace with God which was lost by the fall.”

The LORD bless you and keep you
The LORD make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you
The LORD lift up His countenance on you & give you SHALOM .

What’s the promise
in Ps 119:165?
.

Great peace have those who love (continually, LXX:agapao) God’s law & nothing causes them to stumble (LXX: skandalon) (Spurgeon’s note)

The STEADFAST(undeviating) of mind Thou will keep in PERFECTPEACE (shalom shalom), because he TRUSTS in Thee. 4 “Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock (KJV marginal note translates it as “the Rock of ages”).

It was from this latter expression that Augustus Toplady got the idea for one of the greatest hymns in the English language, Rock of Ages. Seeking shelter in a cleft in a rocky crag during a violent thunderstorm he experienced peace, safety, & shelter from the storm just as believers do today when they learn to run into the Strong Tower of Jehovah Shalom.

Steadfast mind (click for brief discussion of steadfast) = means to lean on God in total confidence & security & TRUST is the ultimate expression of that confidence. The Object of that trust is Jehovah (Who gives Shalom Shalom) (See Devotional) (Play and ponder the words of the hymn “Peace, Perfect Peace” based on Isa 26:3. See devotional).

 

Now the GOD OF PEACE, (cf Ro 15:33Ro 16:201Co 14:332Co 13:11Php 4:91Th 5:23) Who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, EQUIP you (Greek = mend what is broken, restoring to former useful condition, making us whole and what we ought to be) in every good thing TO DO His will (our responsibility), (enabled supernaturally by His Spirit Who is continually) working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, thru Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21-note)

The PEACE OF GOD comes when the Spirit of Christ controls our internal being whatever our external circumstances. The worst ocean storm never goes more than fifty feet deep. Gales rip across the Atlantic and cause waves a hundred feet high, but far below the water is calm as a pond on a sunny day in June. In the same way the PEACE OF GOD which surpasses all understanding keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus in the midst of all storms and perils.

Horatio Spafford understood this metaphor, for his only son died of scarlet fever in 1870, his investment in real estate in 1871 burned to the ground that same year in the great Chicago fire, and then in 1873 he was devastated by the news that all 4 of his daughters had died in a shipwreck in the Atlantic. Later, as he was in route to Europe to meet his wife who had survived, he was shown the spot in the mid-Atlantic where his daughters had perished, and was suddenly overwhelmed by an inrush of SUPERNATURAL PEACE (the PEACE OF GOD). With tears streaming down his face, Spafford picked up a pen to record his feelings and from his heart filled with the  Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18noteGalatians 5:22noteIsaiah 28:3) and His gracious gift of a deep inner peace peace of God prompting the timeless words “It is well with my soul”.

“2 THESS  3:16;

3. Relational  Peace with Others

” as much as in you be at peace with All Men

The Peace of Harmony, Peace with Others – This is the peace of unity and oneness in the body of Christ; oneness of mind and purpose (Ep 4:3note1Th 5:13note)

1 thess 5:13

 

The Source of Peace

Peace with God (Ro 5:1 note)

God of peace (Ro 15:33noteRo 16:20,

notePhp 4:9note 1Th 5:23noteHeb 13:20note)

The peace of God (Php 4:7note)

The Lord of peace (2Th 3:16)

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley’s execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!

Two kinds
of Peace

1. Experiential (Php 4:7 note)—day by day experience of the believer, can be forfeited.

2. Judicial (Ro 5:1 note)—The war with God is over.

A person can experience # (2) & not #(1). Example of WWII Japanese who hid for years in jungles, long after peace was established between the warring nations

The Source of Peace

Peace with God (Ro 5:1 note)

God of peace (Ro 15:33noteRo 16:20,

notePhp 4:9note 1Th 5:23noteHeb 13:20note)

The peace of God (Php 4:7note)

The Lord of peace (2Th 3:16)

In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley’s execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need. So can we!

Two kinds
of Peace

1. Experiential (Php 4:7 note)—day by day experience of the believer, can be forfeited.

2. Judicial (Ro 5:1 note)—The war with God is over.

A person can experience # (2) & not #(1). Example of WWII Japanese who hid for years in jungles, long after peace was established between the warring nations