Scripture speaks of our having
both peace with God and the peace of God. It is the latter which
perhaps is more directly connected with the third fruit of the Spirit found in
Gal. 5:22, although it is our peace with God which provides the basis
and motivation for all spiritual fruit.

 

In Romans 5:1 we read:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ." This verse refers to the results in our
consciences of knowing that Christ has died for our sins and has been
resurrected and taken to glory as a sign of God’s acceptance of His work of
atonement for sin. The hymn writer, J. G. Deck, has expressed this truth so
well:

 

"And now we draw near to
the throne of grace,

For His blood and the Priest are
there;

And we joyfully seek God’s holy
face,

With our censer of praise and
prayer.

The burning mount and the mystic
veil,

With our terrors and guilt, are
gone;

Our conscience has peace that
can never fail,

‘Tis the Lamb on high on the
throne.

 

We can draw near by faith to an
infinitely holy God without fear of rejection or judgment, since Christ has
borne the judgment for us. Thus, we have peace with God, and not terror
in His presence.

 

The peace of God involves
a further step, having to do with our daily lives. In His closing address to
His disciples, the Lord Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give unto you" (John 14:27). What is the nature of this peace which Christ
gives to us? It is the very peace which He possessed as He walked through this
scene. We think of the time a great storm came up while Jesus and His disciples
were in a ship. The disciples were terrified as the wind and the waves buffeted
the ship; but where was Jesus? He was in the bottom of the ship—asleep! He was
at peace about all things because He knew that nothing happened without God His
Father allowing it, and He was perfectly subject to His Father’s will. The Lord
Jesus also experienced all sorts of slighting, opposition, reproach, and
rejection by man; but none of these things ruffled Him, troubled Him, or led
Him to try to defend Himself. Not that He did not feel the reproach and
rejection—no doubt He felt these things far more deeply than we ever could
because of His perfect, sinless nature. But He committed all to God, trusted in
Him, had perfect, unclouded rest in Him, with the result that "when He was
reviled, [He] reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not" (1
Peter 2:23). The Lord Jesus was at peace in the presence of all the things
which were so much against Him. And this peace which characterized His life He
gives to us—amazing grace!

 

Note, again in John 14:27, the
result of this peace which He gives to us:"Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid." The apostle Paul brings out a similar
thought:"Be careful [anxious] 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" (Phil. 4:6,7). Do we become angry, or
irritated, or peeved, or sullen when things do not go our way? Do we
fret and worry when we find ourselves in adverse or uncertain circumstances?
How often this is so with each of us. And do we not often excuse ourselves on
such occasions by saying, "We are only human," or "You would do
the same if you were in my shoes"? But when we respond this way we forget
that Christ offers us His peace—"the peace of God which passeth all
understanding"—for such circumstances. We should rather ask, "Would
Christ respond this way if He were in my shoes?" The answer is obvious—
and it should humble us.

 

Another writer gives the
following comments on Phil. 4:7:"Paul was in prison when he wrote to the
Philippians, unable to build up the churches or to labor in the gospel. He
might have been cast down in spirit, but he never was more happy in his Me. How is this? Because, instead of being anxious and troubled about the danger to the
Church and the afflictions of individuals, and about souls that were perishing,
he looked at them in connection with God, instead of looking at them as
connected with himself. If God was in peace about these things, why should
not he also be? Thus the simple resource of spreading out all before God
and casting it off himself into the bosom of his Father had for its effect that
God’s peace kept his heart and mind. Nor was it special to the apostle. He puts
it before the saints as that which ought to be equally their portion. It is
evident there is no room left for anxiety. God would not have His children
burdened or troubled about circumstances. Till the Lord come, this is the
blessed source of relief. God is here working, and His peace keeps our hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus, where we give Him His honor and our trust"
(from Lectures on Philippians by W. Kelly).

 

One frequent reason for our
failing to realize the peace of God in our lives is our allowance of unjudged
sin in our lives. Whenever we sin—that is, when we do what we want to do
rather than what God wants us to do, or when we have the consciousness
of liking anything that God does not like—a barrier comes up between us and God
our Father. It is not that we have lost our peace with God, for
"Our conscience has peace that can never fail." But, just as with
human relationships in which we tend to avoid one whom we have offended, we
feel uncomfortable in God’s presence as long as we have not judged our sin. And
when a trial comes our way while we are in such a condition, our unjudged sin
prevents us from drawing near to the throne of grace and drawing upon the
infinite reservoir of God’s peace. The only solution is to humble ourselves and
confess and judge the sin in God’s presence; then communion with the Father is
restored and His peace can once more flow unhindered to us and thus "keep
[our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

 

As we walk in the Spirit and are
filled with the Spirit, we will manifest this fruit of the Spirit—peace—in all
of the circumstances of our lives. And as we do so, we will find people
wondering at us, curious as to how we can remain calm and at peace in adverse
and trying circumstances. This is because it is the peace of God which
we have, and that peace "passeth all understanding."

 

 

FRAGMENT. Anxiety reflects upon
God, weakens and discourages our souls, and gives Satan an occasion against us.
If God is our Father, and if His promises are true, He will provide for us and
supply our needs. Why then should we be anxious?