Galatians 5.22
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The second fruit of the Spirit is peace. Peace is the Greek word eirene. It is the equivalent of the Hebrew shalom (verb shalal), which means “fulfillment and completeness.” The biblical principle of peace is powerful. However, as with love, God’s definition of peace is very different from the world’s definition of peace. Jesus addressed this in John 14.27 when he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The peace Jesus gives is not the absence of conflict. It is not about “peaceful circumstances.” Rather, it is about a Spirit-empowered inner peace — a condition or heart & mind — that gives us deep calm and exceptional clarity of vision, thus allowing us to see & respond effectively to people and situations. It is about God giving us courage and calm in the midst of whatever circumstances we face. The world simply cannot give this kind of peace. It is only available in relationship to the Creator God.
It is from a foundation of peace that the Lord calls us to live our lives, do our work, love our family, serve our friends, and engage the world. When we do not operate from a foundation of peace — that is, when we are not walking with the Spirit and our heart is troubled and fearful — then we will not be effective for Christ and his kingdom.
God’s peace is about fulfillment. It is the healing of wounds and the restoration of what is broken. By God’s grace, we who were once estranged and separated from God, we who were fragmented and broken, have now been made whole and complete. We have been restored to a right relationship with our Creator. This is a crucial point. Grace precedes and is the foundation for peace, and it is imperative that we understand this. Sin must be dealt with before there can be true peace. Justice and righteousness must be fulfilled before we can have peace with God. Through the grace of Christ’s sacrificial death, God first fulfills the righteous standards of his Law (death for life), and then fulfills his love for us (he imparts Christ’s righteousness to us). That is how God gives us his peace.
The relationship between grace and peace is reflected in Paul’s habit of opening his epistles with the greeting of “grace and peace.” See, for example, Ephesians 1.2: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” See also the opening verses of Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus.
Scripture speaks of two kinds of peace: Positional peace that has to do with our standing before God, and practical peace that has to do with how we apply the reality of that peace to the circumstances and situations we face in life. Positional peace is objective, practical peace is subjective. Our positional peace is expressed clearly in Romans 5.1: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Those who trust Christ are redeemed and declared righteous by faith. Our sins are forgiven, and we have peace with God. That was God’s wonderful purpose in salvation.
Once we are saved and our position with God is secure, life becomes a matter of how we apply that peace to the stuff we deal with every day. Spirit-empowered peace deeply affects how we deal with the circumstances of life, and how we deal with people. Rather than feeling stressed by events or people, peace transforms the way we see and respond. This is why Paul says in Galatians 5 that we must walk in the Spirit, because only then will we experience peace. If we are walking in the Spirit and our mind is in a condition of inner peace, we will not overreact to difficult situations. We will stay calm, focused, alert, and aware. But if we are operating according to our old nature, we will react with fear, anger, frustration, & complaining.
True peace only happens through Christ. Apart from Jesus, there is no lasting peace. Spirit-empowered peace should permeate every part of our life and work. The presence of God’s peace does not exempt us from life’s difficulties and pain, but it does empower us to navigate any circumstance (good or bad) knowing that God is in control and that he will fulfill his purpose in our lives as we trust him and abide in his truth. Spirit-empowered peace gives us strength of heart and mind. It is through the peace of God that we live by vision, not circumstance.
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
