Peace Of Mind In A World Of Anxieties And Animosities-Part-4 Series

Bible says “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have accessto the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-18)

“For he himself is our peace...” (Ephesians 2:14)

The word peace occurs seven times in the Book of Ephesians (1:2; 2:14; 2:15; 2:17; 4:3; 6:15; 6:23). Paul begins this Epistle with greetings—“Grace and peace” (1:2). In this salutation, grace comes first and then peace. As a result of God’s grace in and through Jesus, one experiences peace, reconciliation, wholeness, newness and access (2:14; 2:15; 2:17) with God. It is because of this Peace that Christians are to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:4).

In this very remarkable passage of Ephesians two, the apostle gives us the way of peace. He uses as an illustration the fact that Jesus Christ bridged the widest gap which ever has existed between men -- the abyss between the Jew and the Gentile. Why it is so difficult to settle the Arab-Israeli problem in the Middle East. The greatest minds of our day have tried to work that out, and no one has gotten anywhere near a settlement. It is because this conflict is extremely difficult to bridge. Paul describes how Christ actually does it. And this is a wonderful picture for us of how peace can be brought in any area of conflict. Paul says, "He is our peace,” speaking of Christ, and He has made peace “so making peace" and, "He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near." In those three occurrences of the word peace, you have the Blue print of how Christ makes peace, the way he goes about it. So it is very important that we note these. He is our peace (2:14) that is the source of peace. Then there is the procedure of peace, how it is actually brought about -- he came and made peace (2:15) finally there is the means of proclaiming that peace -- he preached peace. (2:17)

The word peace in Ephesians 2:14 is about the Prince of Peace that Isaiah (9:6) prophesied about seven hundred years before His coming in human flesh (John 1:14). One can say that Christianity had a life before its birth (Genesis 3:15). This One that is called Jesus is the One who reconciles lost people to God. It is in this same vein that Isaiah also predicts: “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). Again, Isaiah proclaims: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). One can say that the Gospel is the Good News that God is creating a new world in which peace dwells. This peace can only be found in the One who became flesh. Paul starts with a definition of what true peace really is. True peace is oneness. It is not merely the cessation of hostility, the absence of conflict; it means being one.

Paul as he seeks to grasp the richness of God’s grace calls out: “For he himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Again, Paul puts across the very center of this peace as existing only in Jesus, as he expresses elsewhere in very concrete words: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Jesus enters the world of sinful history in order to redeem. Just a perusal of God’s whole revelation reveals God coming down to save sinful men and women. As one reflects upon the Incarnation, one quickly realizes that the cross of Christ and the message of the atonement are the last phases of the Incarnation. One cannot understand the life of Christ if one does not understand His life as culminating in the Cross. God makes “peace through his bloodshed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20).

It is obvious that the death of Jesus was not a tragic defeat; it was a component of God’s age-long purpose (mystery) for the deliverance of both men and women from condemnation.