“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
“And let the peace of God [Christ]”
The better manuscripts translate “the peace of God” with “the peace of Christ.” If we know Christ’s peace, we know that God accepts us by His grace. That knowledge gives us a disposition of peace. The more the person and work of Christ dominate our thinking, the greater peace the Christian will have in himself. Gratitude for what Christ has done produces harmony in the soul.
“Peace” in the Bible has more to do with the ideas of harmony, blessing, the welfare of being, or inner prosperity. There is a harmony of the soul that comes from Christ. The peace of Christ steels our hearts against fretfulness and anxiety (Isa 26:3).
Worried enough, we might develop mental exhaustion or even a nervous breakdown. The peace of Christ is tailor-made for our minds and hearts (John 14:17; 16:33; 20:21; Rom 14:17; 15:13; Gal 5:22,23; Phil 4:6,7). We can worry ourselves into an early grave. God’s remedy is His own peace. His peace is internal tranquility amid external turbulence. God’s peace will enable us to sit down on the inside. It will enable us to come to rest. We will experience freedom from agitation and concern. We will not become exercised about everything.
Principle:
Harmony of the soul comes from understanding the person and work of Christ.
Application:
We may say, “It is my temperament to worry; I am just made that way.” God’s peace will enable us to relax on the inside.
We fret. We let circumstances or people or both get under our skin. “She gets into my hair.” “He gets under my skin.” When we worry, we take our case out of the hands of the Lord (Ps 37:1; Heb 13:20; 2 Thes. 3:16; 1 Thes 5:23). By that, we declare that we know better than He does how to handle our problems. We say, in effect, “I am smarter than God. I know how to handle my problems better than He does. I am going to work my way out of this problem.”
In every problem we have ever had, the Lord has been faithful (1 Cor. 10:13). In every dilemma, in every situation we have faced, He has been faithful. After the problem, we say, “What a fool I was for worrying.” We waste so much time worrying when we could put it in the hands of God. Yet it takes a toll on our nervous system.
An understanding of the sovereignty of God in our problem brings harmony to the soul.
