Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule …
Summary: Following Paul’s logic always keeps us on our toes. Today’s challenge is discerning which rule Paul is referring to.
What rule? What is Paul talking about?
In the prior verse, Paul writes, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”
He also says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ …” in the verse before that. He finishes this statement with another “rule” possibility when he writes, “… through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
We have three choices to consider when sorting out what Paul means.
Or do we?
Is it possible that all three statements are the same?
Let’s summarize the three options:
- The only thing that counts is the new creation (being in Christ).
- We should only boast (vaunt, glory, rejoice) in Jesus Christ.
- We live apart from the world (flesh) because of Christ.
Perhaps the rule he is thinking of is that we should put Jesus Christ first in our thinking and our lives.
Paul says that all who follow this “rule” are blessed with peace and mercy. Is this true for all who put Jesus first in their lives?
Speaking from personal experience, I would say, “Yes, it is true.” Submitting to Jesus as my Lord and King has changed everything for me.
Let’s start with mercy. Jesus is all about forgiveness. Have you done things you know were wrong? Have you made mistakes you wish you could take back? Is there anything in your life that would cause you to quake in fear if you were dragged in front of the Judge of the Universe who knows every secret you’ve ever had? Then, what you are looking for is mercy.
Jesus is where we find mercy.
If you know the Judge’s Son, you have an “in” with the Judge. If the Son is the Judge’s only Son, there is no competition for the Father’s attention. If the Father says that whatever the Son wants, he gets, then all you need is Jesus’ love.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Then he allowed himself to be crucified for you and me.
As the song says, “What a friend we have in Jesus …” Who else would do that for you?
Only Jesus.
And yes, when you know the Judge’s Son, you have nothing to worry about. Ultimately, that is the reason we have peace.
Application: Be in Christ, and peace will follow.
Food for Thought: How is the peace of Christ different than being in the world without Jesus?
In a world without Jesus, we are easily divided and left vulnerable to attack. People feel hurt, angry, and oppressed. People feel isolated and helpless.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Whenever I read that verse, I cannot help but remember how a lion stalks it’s prey: it strike fear, and allows fear to bring confusion, then works to isolate it, running it in different directions until it grows too tired to run anymore.
In the peace of Christ we are never alone, neither in Spirit nor in this life. We are united with Him and in Him. His peace guards our heart. His peace helps us to let go of hurt and anger, and releases us from oppression. His peace replaces fear with love and gratitude.
Philippians 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:13-17 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
Colossians 3:15-17 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Chris,
Your comment reminds me of our neighbor’s cat.
The other day I looked out in the backyard and the neighbor’s cat was laying flat on the ground by some rockery. She didn’t look like she was sleeping, she looked flat.
When I looked a second time I realized why. About four feet away were three pigeons walking around under a tree looking for food. The cat was about to pounce.
After chasing the cat away, I feel the same way you do about our “adversary.” Even the little demons can stalk us like a cat while their master, the devil, prowls around like a lion.
Great verses and summary CH.
I think people often throw a word like love or peace around rather flippantly. But in the world peace is often simply circumstantial. But how do we maintain peace when our lives are in apparent chaos? How do we keep peace during the storm? The peace, or Shalom, that Jesus gives to us is there even when we are in the valley of the shadow of death.
His peace lasts.
John 14 : 27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jesus said this to His disciples after He said that He was going away. He said this the night of His betrayal in the garden, the day before His crucifixion. He said this after Judas had gone to betray Him and He told Peter that he would deny Him before the rooster crows. In fact, just a little earlier He also told them:
John 14: 1 – 3: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God a ; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Peace in Christ includes peace that all of His promises will be kept. It has an eternal perspective in view. It reveals that through faith in Christ, we will be with Him for an eternity in a glorious place which includes a mansion He has personally prepared for us. It means that in Him we have peace with God. This is a peace that calms the soul as the storm rages. It is not a peace the world has without Christ. But it is a peace available to us.
Thank you, brother!
Well said!
How is the peace of Christ different than being in the world without Jesus?
Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Romans 10:3
This world we exist in is in a state chaos as mankind is increasingly seeking the self-centered perversions of their own imaginations over the righteousness of God.
The 2022 Gallop poll reported that 20 percent of Americans say the Bible is the “actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.” Meanwhile, 29 percent of Americans say the Bible is an “ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” That’s the highest number ever recorded, a three percent increase from 2017.
Man’s research by sexual diversity has declares there are now 107 different types of genders.
Man is replacing the Holy Spirit with a computer.
Today man is experimenting with AI computer software to the Pauline letters in the New Testament to test the AI’s reliability in distinguishing between epistles that are authentically Pauline versus and those which are disputed according to mainstream scholarship. Speculation is that AI might even become God-like when it evolves to the point where it will know more on an intellectual level than any human. And not long after that, AI might come to know more than everyone on the planet combined. This is the point where AI will become more like a God.
As Mankind seeks to live in a compromising righteousness, created and declared acceptable to all mankind.
God delivers His truly righteous, peace to His uncompromising, believing few.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Ron,
Interesting thoughts!
One observation on AI –
Computer models of human speech and thinking are just that, models. Their “thinking” is to our thinking as a picture of a human is to a real human. Computers only “know” one’s and zero’s. Where humans “know” feelings, smells, tastes, and sight, even what gravity feels like, computers only “know” what people say about these things. They then regurgitate information about what people know and present it as its own thinking.
I mention this because it is important not to fall into thinking about machines as sentient beings. However, we should be aware that people who fall into the trap of believing machines think can fall victim to manipulation by the machines. This is where it gets scary.
Of course, as you point out, God delivers peace to those who believe in Him. Amen!