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We typically think of peace as fruit of the Spirit as “peace of mind.” But most often Scripture speaks of peace as unity among believers.
Key Points
- Peace can refer to peace with God (Romans 5:1). We have been reconciled to God because of the cross. Therefore we are no longer under His wrath, and we have peace with Him.
- Peace can refer a trouble-free life. In the kingdom of heaven, we will be free from troubles, tears and enemies and will be at peace.
- Peace can refer to peace of mind. We can remain calm in the midst of trouble because we stand firmly on the promises of the gospel.
- Peace can refer to a unity or lack of strife among believers. As we recognize our equality under God and learn to trust Him more, we can be patient and forbearing with each other.
- Peace among believers is a theme in Galatians 5
- Greek Word: Strong’s G1515.
- Passages: Romans 5:1; John 16:32-33; Philippians 4:2-7; Ephesians 4:1-6.
Next: 06 Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Previous: 04 Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
Podcast Series Page: Fruit of the Spirit
Peace as a Fruit of the Spirit
Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to correct the teaching of the Judaizers. The Judaizers claimed that Christ’s death on the cross is not enough to be saved. They said to be pleasing to God, Gentile believers must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law.
Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians to refute that claim. He spends most of his time arguing that faith in Jesus is sufficient for salvation.
In the immediate context of this list, Paul explains why removing the consequences of the Law does not give us a license to pursue sin. Freedom in Christ gives us a different motivation to avoid sin. We have the teaching of the Spirit, who is giving us a heart that loves God and loves holiness.
Romans 5:1
Peace in the Bible is used in several ways. First, we have peace with God.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:1
What does it mean to have peace with God? Because we have been justified, we have peace with God. We have been at war with God. Now that war is over and we are justified. Peace has been declared. As Paul says a few verses later in Romans 5:10, we were once enemies of God, but now we are reconciled to Him.
Peace with God
Peace with God means we are no longer under God’s wrath. We are no longer God’s enemies. Because we have been forgiven and justified by the cross of Christ, the war between us is over. We now have peace. That’s part of the great news of the gospel.
Peace with God, as opposed to war, is not a fruit of the Spirit. The reason the Spirit works in us at all is because we have peace with God. Peace with God describes God’s side of the relationship. We are at peace with God because He decided to accept Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sins.
John 16:32-33
The upper room discourse in the Gospel of John starts in chapter 13 and continues for several chapters. In this talk, Jesus tells his disciples that he’s going to die, but that he’s going to be resurrected. He tells them he will be arrested that very evening. They’re going to scatter, and endure a period of great sorrow, confusion, and fear. Jesus also reminds them why these hardships must happen and what the ultimate outcome will be.
32Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. – John 16:32-33
As Bible students, we want to ask ourselves, well, what does Jesus mean by peace? It’s not a simple question. A few good options fit the context.
Peace the end of troubles
Jesus might mean peace as the end of trials, troubles and tribulations so life is marked serenity and peace instead. A life of peace is a life where I have no more enemies. Instead of turmoil and distress, I have harmony, blessing, and goodness.
But Jesus says, in this world, you have tribulation. That doesn’t sound trouble will end anytime soon. Instead, I think he means that ultimately our troubles the will not prevail. Jesus has overcome the world. Victory will be his. Ultimately, in the kingdom of heaven, we will find the peace where all our troubles, tears, death, and tribulation end.
This option is not a fruit of the Spirit either. This kind of peace is not something the Spirit produces in us now. Rather, it is our great hope. It is a promise one day God will fully realize in heaven.
Peace of mind
Peace of mind is probably the way we are most inclined to interpret this word. In John 16:32-33, Jesus might mean peace of mind. Because we know that God is in control, we feel a lack of anxiety despite our circumstances.
Scripture teaches that trusting God brings comfort in the midst of life’s troubles. Peace of mind is a fruit of the Spirit. As the Spirit increases our understanding of the promises of the gospel that promotes peace of mind during suffering.
But before we think we’re done and we’ve solved our interpretive problems, there is another way this word ‘peace’ used in Scripture.
Philippians 4:6-7
6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7
If we read only those two verses, most of us would think Paul means peace of mind. The alternative to being anxious is remembering that God who loves you and is in control. But if we back up a few verses, we find there’s another issue going on in Philippians 4.
2I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:2-7
Paul starts this discussion by urging two women in the community to live in harmony. These two believing women are engaged in a feud which is troubling the church community. Paul urges them to stop fighting and live in harmony. Then he exhorts them to rejoice in the Lord and let their forbearing Spirit be known to everyone. The two verses that we just read about not being anxious about anything and the peace of God guarding your hearts follow.
Peace with each other
The force of the passages concerns these two women who need to stop fighting with each other. Peace frequently describes how the church is supposed to work and live together. The majority of passages that talk about peace talk about believers getting along with each other.
Getting along with each other is a big theme in Galatians 5. Paul urges them not to bite and devour one another. He urges them to love each other instead of backbiting and factions that he currently sees. Right before the list of the fruit of the Spirit, Paul gives us the list of what comes from the flesh. The majority of items on that list concern how we get along with each other.
Given that larger context, I can’t rule out that the fruit of the Spirit that Paul is talking about is peace with one another as opposed to strife.
Understanding precedes peace
Assume Paul means peace within a community of believers. How is peace within a community of believers a fruit of the Spirit?
I have been arguing that the fruit of the Spirit is not a set of feelings that automatically come upon us when we become believers. We don’t float around in this bubble of good feelings all the time. Instead, over time in the midst of hardship and trials, the Spirit teaches us the importance of the gospel and its implications for our lives.
Each of us is inclined to make ourselves the center of the universe. Each of us believes that it’s okay to trample others to meet our own needs. But the Spirit breaks through that selfishness and teaches us that the gospel is true, that God exists and His promises can be counted on, that everything we have comes from His hand, that we are sinners who need mercy, and God offers mercy through the cross. One day, God will prevail over sin and death.
The hope of the gospel becomes our personal hope through the work of the Spirit because of the truth he teaches us. We don’t walk around with a vague feeling of joy. We come to understand God is on our side. He’s working for our good. The more we understand that, the more we respond to life with gratitude, humility, prayer and joy.
But the understanding proceeds response. The personal commitment to the truth leads to the fruit in the end.
Conflict in the Church
Why is it then, that you find conflict in every local church. Someone’s feelings are always being hurt. Someone always thinks they have a better plan than the one being implemented. Some groups are always critical of other groups. We fight over which ministries get attention from the pulpit and which don’t. We fight over what kind of music we’ll sing, how often we serve communion and even the color of the carpet in the sanctuary.
How could peace be a fruit of the Spirit given that church and communities are filled with bickering?
To the extent that the Spirit has not yet changed us, we will continue to bicker. But as we actually embrace the truth of the gospel, our reactions and responses will change. But it’s not easy and, it’s not automatic. We can describe the fruit of the Spirit as a lifelong struggle to be people of faith.
In my experience, the more clearly a church teaches the gospel, the less fighting there is. Because when fighting erupts, we can appeal to the common ground of the gospel to work it out. The less the gospel is actually taught, the less common ground exists and the more the fighting continues.
Peace among Believers
The more I understand how sinful we are, the more I am free to forgive other people. I can stop expecting them to be perfect. I can stop demanding that they perform to my expectations. Instead, I can put my weight on God and His promises. I can expect Him to teach and correct all of us. I don’t have to argue with my church friends because God is in control. We are both going to survive. God is going to teach us both.
I can talk to my friends reasonably from a position of humility, not arrogance. I can gently plead my case rather than lashing out in anger. I can even walk away and ask God to keep my mouth shut until I can speak in love.
Peace among believers comes about because the same Spirit is working in all of us. The more we grow in our confidence in God, the more we are free to treat each other as we would want to be treated. The more the Spirit teaches us, the more we can say, ‘I do trust God. I do believe He’s working for my good. Even if you, my friend, are not working for my good right now, I can relax and let God handle it.’ That’s one way peace among believers comes about.
Another thing the Bible teaches is the more we understand what God is up to in the world, the more we can be at peace with each other right now. In this world, God is very patient. God blesses His enemies. He sends rain and goodness to those who love Him and to those who mock Him. He postpones His judgment to give us a chance to repent.
But God also says, vengeance is mine. A day is coming when God will judge. He will show mercy to some. He will bring justice to others. They will be judged and found guilty.
When I know God is patient and forbearing, then I strive to follow His example. I know that I’m guilty. I know that God has been patient and forbearing with me. How do I have any right to demand that He throw the book at you?
But I also know God will bring justice. But it’s not my job to make sure that happens. God will judge with righteousness and justice when it’s time. I can be at peace with others because I can count on God to make things right. I don’t have to fight back. I don’t have to assert my rights. I don’t have to demand fair treatment. I can wait, trust God and be at peace.
Ephesians 4:1-6
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. – Ephesians 4:1-6
Paul describes the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. God is saving all the people sitting around you in church. God is saving people in other countries, tribes, and groups. God teaches us the same gospel and brings us into the same kingdom. This is the unity of the Spirit.
If I accept the idea that God is gathering His people throughout the world, then I can’t believe I’m the only one who knows anything. I can’t act as if He’s only working in me. I’m not the only one whose eyes are being opened to the truth.
Paul says with humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance, we should be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are called to be diligent in showing patience with each other’s faults and flaws. We ought to keep short accounts and actively seek peace as opposed to strife. We are called to be quick to forgive and quick to admit our own mistakes.
If the most important truth to me is my perceived offense in the way you treated me, then I’m making a mockery of my claim to believe in the work of the Spirit of God. How could it possibly be true that my primary problem is other people’s shortcomings? Step one of repentance is realizing I’m a sinner and God would find me guilty apart from the blood of Jesus Christ. How other people treat me is nothing in comparison to that.
Once I realize I’m a sinner, the next step is realizing you and I are in the same boat. The gospel teaches us we are equal before God. I have no basis on which to judge myself superior to anyone.
You can be part of the kingdom of God or you can be outside it. Those are your choices. You can choose to accept Jesus, but you don’t get to choose who else accepts Jesus. You are now family with everyone else who accepts Jesus as Lord.
The minute we start wrestling with the question of whether we are going to be offended by someone, the content of our faith becomes important. It’s so easy to think the most important issue on the table is my needs, my perceived offense and what I want. But the Spirit of God teaches us to take off those self-centered blinders and focus on the big picture.
The fact that God has reached out to us across all lines of race, religion, tribe, Jew, Gentile, background and social status ought to mean something. God has also reached out across the line of ‘I’m ticked off at you and you’re ticked off at me.’
Church is often the place where we wrestle with this truth the most. Whenever someone disappoints us, we are quick to go to war. It’s just so natural for us to get offended, to get angry, to get our feathers ruffled apart from the work of the Spirit of God.
Even if we can’t trust each other all the time, we can trust that God is in control. God is patient and God is forbearing. We can learn it’s not our job to pass judgment. It’s not our job to give everybody what they deserve, especially among fellow believers. Whether we like it or not, we believers are in this together in a way that we are not in it with anybody else in the world. God has formed a bond between us. It is a serious mistake to take that bond lightly or try to break it. But thankfully, we have the Spirit of God at work in us to teach us how to be at peace with each other.
Summary
To wrap this up, I think there’s two really good contenders for what Paul means by peace. One is the peace of mind or the confidence we have as we stand firm in our faith. We can face trials with peace as opposed to anxiety, because we firmly believe the promises of God.
The second good option is peace in the community of believers. As the Spirit removes our self-centered glasses and teaches us that we believers are equal before God, we learn to be forgiving, forbearing, and to wait on God to set everything right. As we let go of our self-centered ways and we stand united on the promises of the gospel. We become more slow to anger and less prone to strife.
Neither of these options is a feeling that the Spirit pours out on us. Rather, they are both a change in perspective that grows out of our understanding of truth.
Copyright © 2024 · Krisan Marotta, WednesdayintheWord
Photo by Bill Williams on Unsplash
Season 24, episode 05