The Peace of Christ (Col. 3:15)

This sermon was preached on 7/4/2011

Paul continues his description of the new man, the new community that lives in union with Jesus. We have already observed that the members of the new community are to dress differently from those outside of it – of course, the attire Paul describes is the attire of their souls.

The apostle is fully aware that although his readers belong to the new man they still have aspects of the old godless community within them, and that these aspects will always cause trouble individually and communally. He has already stressed that love is the public practice of the new community (they had to put love on as the outer garment which everyone could see, and which would keep them close together, v. 14). This raises the concern that their remaining corruption will hinder the practice of love.

This raises another consequence, which is, what is the best environment for ensuring that love is present? I would suggest that Paul answers this question in what he says in verse 15: ‘And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.’ This in turn will result in thankfulness, which will then show itself in songs of praise, which will provide for them the path of dedicated commitment (piety) – we should note that peace, praise and piety are each accompanied by gratitude, which indicates that the crowning outlook of a Christian should be thankfulness.

The absence of peace

The first detail to note is the possibility of members of the new man (the church) not enjoying the peace of Christ. What is a situation like if peace is absent? The situation then is one of disharmony and conflict, and in such a situation it is not possible for the members to put on their best attire. Instead of love being on display, various aspects of self-promotion and disagreements will show itself.

The causes of the absence of peace in any situation is one’s enemies. Therefore, when peace is absent in the new community it means that its enemies are affecting it adversely. The spiritual foes of the new man are the world, the flesh and the devil, and their efforts will be focussed on destroying the peace of the new community. We have to be on guard for all possible attacks by our enemies.

The author of peace

A second detail that we must consider is the type of peace that Paul desired for the Colossians. As we can see, the particular kind of peace he had in mind was the peace of Christ. For Paul, the experience of this peace was an essential element of Christian experience as we can see from the introductions of his letters. These letters were sent to various churches and individuals, and from each of his introductory greetings we can see that Paul strongly realised that the recipients of his letters always needed to be supplied with divine grace and peace. So he wanted peace from Christ.

We may think that Paul set his sights high when he made such a claim. After all, Jesus is the sovereign and to get peace from him is a gift from the highest source. High though his sights were, the fact is that his aim was higher that receiving peace from Christ because he actually wanted the Colossians to have the peace of Christ. The apostle’s desire is that each of his readers would have Christ’s own peace in their hearts.

The clearest passage, as far as I can see, for helping us understand what is meant by the ‘peace of Christ’ is John 14:27, often described as the legacy of Jesus when he told his disciples, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.’ Matthew Henry, commenting on this verse, said this: ‘When Christ was about to leave the world he made his will. His soul he committed to his Father; his body he bequeathed to Joseph, to be decently interred; his clothes fell to the soldiers; his mother he left to the care of John: but what should he leave to his poor disciples, that had left all for him? Silver and gold he had none; but he left them that which was infinitely better, his peace.’

As I think of this feature of the character of the Saviour, the incident that first comes to my mind is the occasion when he was in the boat with his disciples as they crossed the Sea of Galilee during a great storm. His peace was so great that he slept comfortably through it until he was awakened by his petrified disciples. As I thought of that incident, I also recalled an incident in the life of James Macdonald, the father of the great evangelist of the early nineteenth century in the Scottish Highlands. At one time in his life he had resolved to emigrate across the Atlantic. The boat that they were on was caught in a frightening storm in the Pentland Firth and the passengers soon became panic-stricken, with most of them calling out for divine help. Macdonald sat calmly in the midst of the panic, and one lady rebuked him for his apparent indifferent attitude. His response was to say that he pitied those who had only begun to pray when the storm arose. Macdonald’s experience in that storm is a vivid example of Christ’s peace being communicated to one of his disciples. Many other similar stories could be told of disciples knowing great peace in situations of stress and trouble.

How did Jesus as a real man experience peace? One way by which he obtained inner peace was by his loving submission to the will of his Father. Connected to his submission was his life of prayer. The Gospels reveal that resorting to prayer was a regular feature of the Saviour’s life. Many a night he spent in prayer. The Gospel of Luke points out that Jesus was engaged in prayer before the important events in his life: his baptism, his choice of apostles, his transfiguration, to name a few. In prayer he committed his situations to his Father and one consequence was peace.

His submission and his prayer-life were also accompanied by an understanding of the Bible. Of course, Jesus read the Scriptures at a different level from us because he is the great Subject of the Bible as it focuses on his person and work. Nevertheless, his soul fed on the promises of God to the Messiah, and his mission as the Messiah was governed by the Bible’s requirements.

This possession of inner peace did not mean that Jesus was passive. He had to endure attacks from the evil one, and these attacks were designed to destroy his fellowship with God. Also he showed anger when appropriate, as he did at the cruelty of the religious leaders. So experiencing violent opposition and expressing strong disapproval were not inconsistent with his sense of inner peace.

This is the peace that Jesus promised his troubled disciples. It was a peace that arose from a constant sense of his Father’s approval, a peace that was developed by an ongoing prayer life and regular absorption of the Bible’s contents, and was a peace that could be maintained in the stressful situations of life. By implication, our experience of peace will also come when we sense the Father’s approval of our obedience, when we pray, and when we meditate on the Bible.

The Administrator of Peace

Of course, Jesus is not only the person giving the legacy, he is also the Executor or Administrator of the legacy. When each of us makes a will, we know that we will not be alive to enact it. With Jesus it was different. He knew that he would rise from the dead in order to ensure that we received his legacy.

The peace that Jesus promised is a unique type that is totally different from peace that the world gives. It is a peace that is heavenly, that comes from another world. At that time, the people of Israel were under the pax Romana, the Empire-wide system of peace that was imposed by the Roman Empire. It was a peace from another place, but it was not a peace that was linked to liberty or love for the subjects of the Empire. But the peace that Jesus offers is connected to the freedom he gives his people and the love he has for them.

The unique peace of Jesus is different in a second way, which is that it is internal and not merely external. External peace is often merely the absence of hostilities whereas biblical peace is the presence of serenity and calm.

A third difference found in the unique peace of Jesus is its certainty as opposed to the desire of well-meaning people to have peace personally or their wish that others would have peace. Many sincere people want their friends and family to have inner comfort and say so with their words of greeting. But they are unable to ensure it. Jesus guarantees his peace to his followers.

A fourth difference located in the unique peace of Jesus is its basis. The peace of the world is dependant often on circumstances (adverse events spoil it) or on possessions (what we accumulate) or on achievements (what we can do). Obviously there is nothing intrinsically wrong with wanting pleasant circumstances, nice possessions or good achievements. But it is folly to make them the basis of our peace.

Instead the unique peace that Jesus offers is based on a relationship with himself by the Spirit through meditation on the Bible and in prayer. It is a peace that can and should be known, no matter what happens in the world. Sadly, it is a peace that can be disrupted, but the main reason for this will be disobedience to Christ, which results in the Father’s disapproval of us.

Aspects of the peace that Jesus gives

Not only is the peace of Jesus unique, it also is comprehensive in that it possesses many ingredients. Here are some of the reasons why disciples of Jesus should have peace in their souls.

First, they know the forgiveness of their sins, not just the sins of their pre-disciple days but also the sins they commit daily. When they sin, the indwelling Spirit prompts them to confess these sins. He reminds them that if they confess them, the Father is faithful and just to pardon them because of the atoning work of Jesus. As they confess them, they discover again that he is their Helper (1 John 1:9–2:2). The continual presence of sin is not really the main barrier to peace in a disciple’s heart; it is unconfessed sin that is the barrier. The Christian who is continually asking for cleansing is the one that will know Christ’s peace.

Second, they know that they possess permanent blessings from Christ. Earlier we mentioned the privileges of justification (right standing before God) and adoption (membership of God’s family). To them, we could add the guarantee of a place in heaven as well as many other permanent blessings. These blessings never are taken away, although the comfort of them will be lost if we don’t confess our sins.

Third, disciples should have peace because they know that all the outworkings of providence are in the hands of Jesus. All power is his in heaven and on earth; he is able to work all things together for their benefit. So even adverse circumstances in themselves are not able to destroy the peace of Christ in our souls. Sometimes they do, but that happens when we focus on the bigness of the problem and not on the activity of Jesus on our behalf.

Fourth, disciples should have peace because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. He has come as the Spirit of Jesus, to give to each of his people the presence of Christ. He ministers in our hearts in ways similar to how Jesus would work if he were present physically with us. The Spirit, in addition to leading us to confess our sins, reminds us of our privileges, accompanies us in prayer, meets us in the Bible, and produces within us the fruit of the Spirit, which is Christlikeness. Part of that fruit is peace, the peace of Jesus.

Attaining the peace of Jesus

Paul reminds the Colossians that Jesus should be King in their hearts. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and it is inevitable that divine peace will be present where his rule is acknowledged. Paul’s concern here is communal peace as we can deduce from his reminder to the Colossians that they had been called to experience peace as a body or as a congregation (which we can describe as a local expression of the new man or new community).

The way to have this communal peace has many aspects. But it is obvious that it can only be enjoyed by those who are Christ-centred. Once we move away from this central feature, we will lose peace. This often happens in churches. The church in Colosse faced the danger of adopting notions that reduced the centrality of Christ (so there was a doctrinal aspect); they also had problems arising from religious practices, especially asceticism. And it is often the case that those who defend the truth in regard to doctrine and practice can lose their sense of peace by becoming angry or passionate about the errors, and the passion and anger are not coming from an ongoing relationship and communion with Jesus. So we have to remain Christ-centred.

Peace is also maintained when members of the new community are other-member focussed. Unless I know otherwise, I should always assume that another Christian has the best of motives. His or her suggestion may be wrong (perhaps because of lack of knowledge), but I will not help maintain peace if I automatically assume that the other person’s motives are wrong. I should be willing to do anything for the benefit of others in the congregation. Paul’s illustration of the body pictures this reality of other-centredness. If the toe only thinks about itself, there is no harmony of action. Paul’s exhortation means that every decision we make, every attitude we have, every word that we say, and every action that we do will have the maintenance of peace as the goal.