“And the PEACE of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7)
One of the types of peace the Lord gives is the “peace of God”. This is in the context of one who is already a Christian living his daily life for the Lord while experiencing an inner peace that brings one through the storms and trials.
Source
This inner peace is supernatural and comes from God above. As the Lord Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) This is not the world’s peace but His, “my peace”. A peace that can have outward circumstances crumbling all about and yet know deep inside that God is still in control and working it out for His great purpose of conforming us in character to the image of His Son. (Romans 8:28.29). This is what the Son had as He went to the cross. And the fruit of the indwelling Spirit of God in the believer is peace. (Galatians 5:22)
God is not only the Savior of the soul but also of the mind. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah, the prophet 26:3)
Effect
The mind (intellectual understanding) and heart (emotions) is kept stable, calm and content when naturally one might go into depression, suicide or uncontrollable anger when certain circumstances occur.
Qualifications
Philippians 4:6 teaches: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” There needs to be the attitude of not overstressing about seen circumstances, but looking to the Lord with your faith in Him. It is then that this unexplainable inner peace takes over. Also as we set our mind on pure and virtuous things and obey what the Lord has already shown us through His Word via His apostles like Paul, then “the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:8,9)
Timing
This inner peace is not a promise for the future but can be experienced even today by the believer.
Duration
“Peace with God” never changes because it is based on the objective cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His wrath is removed for the one justified by faith. The “peace of God” for living is based on our daily faith, which can be subjective and thus change.
WARNING – The Lord said that His peace is “not as the world” gives. Therefore there is a pseudo peace that will disappoint you from the world below. This worldly peace, rather than keep your heart and mind, will disillusion and leave you empty and disappointed. This could lead to other serious repercussions.
The world’s peace can come in the form of riches but that is temporary and eventually unfulfilling. It might come in the form of illicit sexual pleasures but those are fleeting and can leave one empty and damaged inside. It might come in the form of drugs and alcohol but they are very temporary and ruin the mind, heart and body. It might come in the form of philosophies like evolution, which will infer that there is no creator to answer to for our actions. That is a lie and wars against the very deep instinct of humanity. It might come in the form of psychology but that is only a band-aid fix that leaves the true solution of God out of the picture. It might come in the form of religion that promises things God hasn’t and sounds good for the moment but never truly calms. It might come in the form of politics that leads one to believe their security and welfare is in the hands of man. These are some of the types of false peace the world gives.
Click here for teaching on: Political Peace Salvation Peace Social Peace
