God’s Peace goes far beyond our minds.

Then God’s peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus.

“Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing! Let your gracious attitude be known to all people. The Lord is near: Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving. Then God’s peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — keep thinking about these things. Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you……
…..May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with your spirit! Amen.” Philippians 4:4-9, 23 ISV (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)

God’s peace guards our hearts and minds.

Before we we were born again, we were without hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:13) Then Messiah Jesus came.

“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Ephesians 2:17-18.

The whole armor of God

In concluding his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used military terms reveling God’s whole armor we put on in order to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. One piece of our armor is our feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18.

The Hebrew word for God’s peace is shalom.

Shalom is a word full of rich meaning of which much is lost in the English translation. Howard Snyder has written books about it. Here’s just a taste of his spiritual insight.

The Old Testament teaches that God’s plan is to bring a universal peace (shalom) to his creation. This means more than the absence of conflict and immensely more than “inner peace” or “peace of mind.“

In the Old testament sense, shalom might be called an ecological concept. It carries the sense of harmony, right relationship and the proper functions of all elements in the environment.

When it speaks of the gospel of peace, the New Testament builds on the shalom promises of the Old Testament. The apostle Paul, for instance, tells us that the kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in The Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Peace is at the heart of God’s reign.

The New Testament theme of peace ties the kingdom directly to Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to be in the kingdom.

At Jesus’ birth the angels announced “peace on earth” as the meaning of Jesus’ coming (Luke 2:14). Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6); like Melchizedek he is “King of Peace” (Hebrews 7:2).

God reigns through Jesus Christ, and the meaning of that reign is peace. Excerpts from: The Kingdom as Shalom Howard Snyder

Wisdom none of the rulers of this world has known.

“Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom — but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Rather, as it is written:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

 

~ Bill Bremer

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Bill Bremer is Founder and Managing Director at Kingdom Relationships Colorado.

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