“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
“to which also you were called”
God calls us to the peace of Christ to rule our hearts. His peace is our calling. This calling is toward personal peace, not peace between nations. This peace is a calmness of soul, even though an extraordinary trial presses upon us. The peace of Christ should be the arbitrating factor in our souls because God called us to peace. God has called us into a life of Christ whereby He blesses us by who and what Christ is.
“To which” is literally “into which.” At a point in time, God called us into the body of Christ, whereby He graces us with the blessings of positional truth. At the moment of our salvation, God provides everything we need for the Christian life. That is our status before Him.
“Called” doubles for the idea of election. At a point in time, God entered us into union with Christ. Jesus Christ is the key to our election. From eternity the Father elected Him to deal with the problems of the human race (Eph. 1:4,5). One of the things God does for us at the time of our salvation is to place us into a status whereby we share His election.
“in one body”
“One body” recognizes that all believers are in the universal church. They are all in the body of Christ. The “body” is a technical term for all believers in the church age. Here the body also indicates action and service. Every believer is in full-time Christian service.
PRINCIPLE:
God has called us to peace.
APPLICATION:
It is evident that many Christians do not possess their possessions. We do not experience the peace that God wants to give us. Yet this is our calling. It is useless to say, “But if you knew my wife, she is so horrible to me.” “If you knew my boss, he is a monster to his employees.” Circumstances do not play a part in the peace of God.
The peace of Christ is adequate despite any obstacle we might encounter. His peace is sufficient for any situation. Therefore, there is no justification for statements such as “If you knew the pressure I am under at work all day” or “If you knew the kind of relatives I have to deal with.”
Thank you for ‘enlarging’ my thoughts on the peace of Christ. Some clarification in dealing with tough issues . . . sickness & death. Having His peace rule in my heart & mind, doesn’t mean that I don’t feel?
Loss . . . sadness . . .dealing with parents who are both ill, not knowing if they will survive. They are oth Christians, so I know their future Home with Jesus. Would you comment on feelings of loss . . . and how that relates to the peace of Christ? Thanks so much!
Lavonne, You are right in that Christians still “feel” the loss of a loved one after death, etc. Christians “sorrow,” but not as others “who have no hope” 1 Th 4:13. Many passages speak of the believer in sorrow. The “peace” in Col 3:15 has to do with the provisions of God for the believer.