Peace is a word with several different meanings in the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament meaning of peace was completeness, soundness and well beings of the total person. This peace was considered God-given, obtained by following the Law. - Ps. 119:165 - Peace sometimes had a physical meaning, suggesting security, - Ps. 4:8 - contentment, - Is. 26:3 - prosperity - Ps. 122:6-7 - and the absence of war. - 1Sam. 7:14 -

The traditional Jewish greeting, SHALOM, was a wish for peace.

In the New Testament, peace often refers to the inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in God through Christ. This understanding was originally expressed in the Old Testament writings about the coming MESSIAH. - Is. 9:6-7 -

The peace that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of was a combination of love, hope, trust and quiet in the mind and soul, brought about by a reconciliation with God. Such peace was proclaimed by the host of angels at Christ's birth and by Christ, Himself in His SERMON ON THE MOUNT.

'Glory to God in the highest heaven'
and peace to men who enjoy his favour'. - Luke 2:14 -

Happy the peacemakers;
they shall be called sons of God. - Matt. 5:9 -

He also taught about this kind of peace at the Lord's Supper and shortly before His death.

Peace I bequeath to you,
my own peace I give to you,
a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. - John 14:27 -

The apostle Paul later wrote that such peace and spiritual blessedness was a direct result of faith and love in God.

So far then we have seen that through our Lord Jesus Christ by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God's glory. - Rom. 5:1-2 -

For he is the peace between us and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his, own person the hostility cause by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them by restoring peace through the cross to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God. In his own person he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father. Eph. 2:14-18 -

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace all the time and in every way. The Lord be with you all. - 2The. 3:16 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -