Peace The World Cannot Offer

God offers us His peace so we can live all our days free of fear, worry and anxiety. He wants us to walk in the Spirit, with no more heavy burdens.

But the problem is we are living in a world that is in desperate need of the peace that only Jesus Christ can offer. Fear, anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies are rampant. Alcoholism, drug addictions, opioid abuse, and suicides are all around us.

The world defines peace as: “The nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world. It is a state of mutual cooperation between people or groups, especially in personal relations.”

The Bible tells us that God’s peace, goes much deeper than that. As a matter of fact, the Bible has a lot to say about this godly peace. The best example I can start off with is the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. They go into an area of the world in order to halt hostilities by show of force. But we as Christians are called by the Bible to go far beyond peacekeeping. We are called to be peacemakers. Unlike peacekeepers, peacemakers do not need a physical show of force. They instill a true and lasting peace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lives are not just protected by necessary physical intervention. Lives are changed from the inside out to achieve an eternal harmony:

• “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 KJV)
• And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (James 3:18 KJV)

Jesus warned us that the world’s peace will be at enmity with God’s peace. The world, through Satan, is at war with the Gospel:

• “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.” (Matthew 10:34-35, 37 NLT)

Carter Conlon from Times Square Church gives an excellent and very timely teaching on the voice of the devil compared to the voice of God entitled “Get The Devil Out Of Your Head”. Click on the following play button to listen to it:

Jesus offers a higher peace that the world could never offer. It is offered to everyone who loves Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength (Luke 10:27). It is an inner peace, not an external peace that can fade away:

• “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 KJV)
• Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT)

The Jews only had a taste of this peace in the Old Testament times. It was a foreshadow of the peace to come through Jesus Christ:

• The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11 KJV)

The following is a blessing the Levitical Priests were to pronounce over the people:

• “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NLT)

But because of Jesus, not only Jews, but Gentiles, can now fully experience God’s peace:

• But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. (Ephesians 2:13, 17 NLT)
• Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (Romans 5:1 NLT)

It is very interesting that when Jesus sent His disciples out to minister to the villages, He gave them these instructions about peace:

• And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. (Matthew 10:12-14 NKJV)

On the evening of the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples that abandoned Him during His most crucial hour only three days prior. What is truly amazing is that Jesus not only once, but twice pronounced peace on them:

• On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:19‭, ‬21 ESV)

Jesus literally was the Prince of Peace:

• For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. (Isaiah 9:6-7a NLT)
• And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:13-14 KJV)
• Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 KJV)

You must put yourself in the boat with the Apostles. You have already seen the miracles Jesus has performed. But now you are witness to the instantaneous peace He instills on Creation. This is truly a wake up call that He is not only the Prince of Peace, but He is the God of Peace:

• And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:39‭-‬41 ESV)

Because of Jesus, who is the God of peace, we are called to walk in God’s peace:

• Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:9 KJV)
• 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 KJV)
• Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14 KJV)
• Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3 KJV)
• We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” (Luke 1:74, 79 NLT)
• For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 KJV)

God’s peace was so important to Paul that he opened up every single Epistle he wrote with a blessing of peace:

• Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7b KJV)
• Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3 KJV)
• Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:2 KJV)
• Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:3 KJV)
• Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:2 KJV)
• Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:2 KJV)
• To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:2 KJV)
• Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:1 KJV)
• Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:2 KJV)
• Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Timothy 1:2 KJV)
• To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (2 Timothy 1:2 KJV)
• To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. (Titus 1:4 KJV)
• Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philemon 1:3 KJV)

Not only was godly peace so important to Paul, but Peter and John also opened up some of their writings with a blessing of peace:

• Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2 KJV)
• Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2 KJV)
• Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. (2 John 1:3 KJV)
• John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne. (Revelation 1:4 KJV)

Like Peter, Paul, and John, Jesus’ half brother Jude also opened up his letter with a blessing of peace:

• Please put yourself in the boat with the Apostles. You have already seen the miracles Jesus has performed. But now you are witness to the instantaneous peace He instills on Creation. This is truly a wake up call that He is the Prince of Peace:And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:39‭-‬41 ESV)

Even after the women with the issue of blood for 12 years was physically healed, Jesus knew she needed a blessing of peace to make her complete:

• Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” (Mark 5:33-34 NLT)

Now let’s delve into this godly peace. Isaiah calls it a perfect peace. This peace is so remarkable that no matter how chaotic things get around us, we can experience it. It surpasses all understanding:

• You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)

Even fear will melt away:

• For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

This godly peace only comes by means of the Holy Spirit working in the life of the Christian:

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)
• But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (James 3:17 KJV)

There is coming a time very shortly that the world will grasp desperately for peace. Because only true peace exists in Jesus Christ alone, the world will fall for a false peace:

• For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. (1 Thessalonians 5:3, 11 KJV)
• For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NLT)
• And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3-4 KJV)
• “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:21 KJV)

How is God’s Inner Peace Achieved?

This article would not be complete without getting to the most important question of all, “Are you a Christian and do you still lack inner peace?” This question may seem invasive, but we must get to the heart of the matter, because it can be life changing. We have learned that God is the God of peace and that God offers an inner peace that surpasses all understanding to every single Christian, no matter what outside circumstances they are going through. As we delve further into Scripture, we learn that inner peace is reliant on holiness that comes through faith. Or in blunt terms, “If you are lacking God’s inner peace, your holiness, brought about by faith, is not where it should be.”

God’s message about holiness isn’t about outward things. It is about faith. The path to holiness is not through human ability, but through faith. He makes it very clear and simple. This is His wonderful answer to the anxious cries of multitudes of Christians who lack inner peace and thirst for the understanding of how to be holy—->we are holy as we rest in His holiness! So now is the time to put off all reliance on the flesh and make this your declaration: “I claim my holiness that is in Jesus Christ. I am a part of His body and my Father sees me as holy because I am in Christ!”

• Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. (Romans 6:19 NLT)
• God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. (1 Thessalonians 4:7 NLT)
• Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. (Ephesians 4:21‭-‬22‭, ‬24 NLT)
• Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT)
• Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14 NLT)

Remember, this work is a heavenly work brought about by submission to the Holy Spirit:

• For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 KJV)

In order to avoid any confusion, we must take into account that holiness is the state, while sanctification is the process. Sanctification is a lifelong process (from the time one is saved) of being made holy only through the merits and justification of Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit that is then reflected in man. Sanctification cannot be attained by any works-based process, but only through the works and power of the divine.

Jesus prayed this prayer the night before He was crucified for every believer who would ever come to Him to be sanctified:

• “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify (make holy or set apart for sacred use) them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” (John 17:15‭-‬20 ESV)

Think of the correlation between God’s inner peace and sanctification with this analogy:

• Sanctification is like a train you are taking to your destination. You are anxious before your train comes, wondering if you will make your scheduled destination. Once your train comes in on time and you get on board and the train moves ahead, a peace comes over you. As long as you stay on board the train and don’t get off at any of the stops, all is well. But if you decide to get off at one of the stops along the way to take care of a tempting issue, anxiety returns. Now you find yourself wondering if you will be able to get on board another train and make your destination on time. All this worry and lack of inner peace, all because of a needless act that lacked faith to stay on board.

Now for the key to obtaining a ticket for this train that ensures God’s inner peace. It involves one last set of questions that go hand-in-hand with sanctification and holiness: How do you look at sin and evil? Do you look at sin as something that only must be avoided and hopefully you won’t fall into it? Or do you look at it the way God does with a righteous hatred?

• Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (Romans 12:9 ESV)
• Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction. (Deuteronomy 7:26 NLT)

If you begin to look at sin and evil the way God does, your train is approaching. I can hear the whistle now. Get ready and board and stay on board!

• Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. (Deuteronomy 5:33 NLT)

Click on the following PDF for further correlation between sanctification and inner peace:

Sanctification 101

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