Chapter 3

GOD’S PEACE TO YOU

(Galatians 1: 3-5)

Before we begin our study let us pray,

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

          We come before You in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We ask that You would please anoint this time with You and Your Word. Please Father, grant us the ability to better understand and appreciate the peace that You have extended to us through Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We thank You for hearing and listening to our prayer.

Amen

 

INTRODUCTION

We begin our study by reading the Scriptures from,

 

Galatians 1:3-5

"[3] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

 

In our previous study we received some insight into the Grace that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ has extended to us. Let us now expand upon the Peace that God extends to us.

 

Question:    What kind of peace is God talking about? Is this peace the kind that is with the world or with the world's system?

 

          No! In fact the Bible teaches us that we should expect the exact opposite. Let us recall what Jesus said about the relationship born again believers would have with respect to the world and its system. It is recorded for us in,

 

John 15:18-21

""[18] If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. [19] If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. [20] Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. [21] They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me."

In other words Jesus is teaching us to look to Him and what they did to Him. Specifically, Jesus is telling us that as He was persecuted and reviled, we, as His servants, can expect the same.

          In order to comfort and encourage us, Jesus also tells us that when we are persecuted we are blessed and should rejoice. To see this let us read from,

 

Matthew 5:10-12

"[10] Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [11] "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

 

Question:    Why would Jesus say these things if He came to give us peace? What kind of peace is He talking about?

 

Actually, there are two kinds of peace that Jesus gives us:

a.   Peace With God

b.   Peace Of God

 

For us to better understand these types of peace we will,

 

1. Read about the fall of mankind and its associated consequences.

 

2. Briefly refresh our memory about the free gift of salvation we now have in Jesus Christ.

 

3. Review the peace we, the born again believers in Jesus Christ, now have with Almighty God.

 

4. Review the peace we, the born again believers in Jesus Christ, can have from Almighty God.

 

With this introduction and outline in mind let us begin our study by reading about,

 

THE FALL OF MANKIND

To better understand the peace that God extends to us we must first understand that without faith and belief in Jesus Christ and what He did for us, we are under God’s condemnation, which means God's wrath.

 

Question:      Why? Why without faith and belief in Jesus Christ are we under condemnation?

 

          As we study the Bible we find that because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, all of their offspring, including you and me, have inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Thus, in our natural state, we are inherently hostile and disobedient to God. To expand upon this truth we will read what occurred in the Garden of Eden. With this in mind we begin by reading about,

 

THE CREATION OF MAN

          The portion of God’s creation of mankind of interest for this study is recorded in,

 

Genesis 1:27-2:1

"[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28] God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." [29] Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. [30] And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. [31] God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day."

 

GOD’S COMMAND

          After God completed His work He placed man in the garden to till it and care for it. In addition, God gave the man a command to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

Genesis 2:15-17

"[15] The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.""

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          17(a) … What is interesting to note is that God did not say Adam could not eat from the tree of life (Genesis 2:9), which means to live forever. The command was to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Also note that Adam had the freedom to obey or disobey.

         

          17(b) … Notice that the consequence of eating from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil would be death.

 

THE TEMPTATION

          Satan in the form of a serpent enticed Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

Genesis 3:1-5

"[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" [2] The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" [4] "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. [5] "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.""

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          1 … Satan asked Eve if she really understood God's command. How many times have we heard this same question, "Does God's Word really say that?"

 

          2-3 … Eve told Satan exactly what God said. It is the same with us. As we study His Word we pretty much know what God does or does not want us to do.

 

          4 … Satan suggested to Eve that God would not really do such a terrible thing. How many times have we heard this type of argument? Sometimes it comes in the form of; "You know that God is loving and caring, surely He would not send people to the Lake of Fire."

 

          5 … In addition to questioning the consequence, Satan also suggested to Eve that the reason God did not want her to eat the fruit is that if she did she would then be like God, knowing good and evil. The implication being, that she could make her own decisions and judgements and not be dependent upon God. How many times have we been tempted to rely upon our own feelings or knowledge or wisdom to make various decisions rather than seek out God's council?

 

THE SIN … DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMAND

          We find that Eve bought Satan's argument and ate the forbidden fruit. In addition, she gave some to Adam and he also ate it.

 

Genesis 3:6-7

"[6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          6 … Unfortunately Eve bought Satan’s argument. She saw the fruit as good, pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom. Also notice that instead of obeying God, Adam listened to Eve and ate the forbidden fruit.

 

          7 … Both Adam and Eve are no longer innocent. Consequently, they realized they were naked.

 

THE CONSEQUENCE

          Because Adam and Eve sinned, God invoked the following set of five consequences.

 

The first consequence was given,

 

TO THE SERPENT

 

Genesis 3:13-15

"[13] Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." [14] So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. [15] And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.""

 

Let us notice the following verse,

          15 … This is the first prophecy in the Bible that points to the coming of Jesus Christ. Specifically, a man will be born of a woman. This man will be at odds or in opposition between Satan and the woman. This man will also be at odds between Satan’s offspring and the woman’s offspring, who are you and me. More specifically, to illustrate the superiority of this man, the Lord God said that he will crush the head of Satan and Satan would only be able to strike against the man’s feet.

 

The second consequence was pronounced,

 

TO THE WOMAN

 

Genesis 3:16

"[16] To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.""

 

The third consequence fell,

 

TO THE MAN

 

Genesis 3:17-19

"[17] To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. [18] It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. [19] By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.""

 

The fourth consequence was for,

 

BOTH THE MAN AND WOMAN

 

Genesis 3:22-24

"[22] And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." [23] So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. [24] After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."

 

          In reflecting upon the above we come to realize that even today all the consequences that resulted from the sin of Adam and Eve are still part of our human experience.

          As bad as all this is we find that there was an even more serious consequence that was handed down,

 

TO YOU AND ME

          As we read the Scripture we come to realize that we, you and me, have inherited Adam's nature. To see this let us read from,

 

Genesis 5:3

"[3] When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth."

 

          In other words, the offspring of Adam inherited his nature and are born in his image. Being a descendent of Adam, we too are born in his image and nature. Since Adam sinned, we find the following to be true in all of us.

 

Romans 3:23

"[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

 

          What a sorry state we find ourselves, that is we have inherited or been born with a nature to sin. And, if we are truthful with ourselves we must confess that we do a good job at it, that is to sin.

 

Question:      What is the penalty or consequence for sin?

 

          The answer to this question goes back to the Law of Atonement. Specifically, the answer is death (Romans 6:23). However, it is more serious than physical death. The Bible teaches us that death resulting from sin is actually eternal punishment. To see this we go to,

 

Revelation 21:8

"[8] But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.""

 

          Perhaps put another way, in our natural state we find ourselves under God's wrath.

 

However, there is good news!

 

          We have been saved! As we saw in our last study because of God's Grace and Mercy He saved us from our sins. To refresh our memories let us review,

 

OUR SALVATION

          As we read the New Testament and as we covered in Chapter 2, one of the major blessings of our salvation was and is,

 

THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS

To see this we begin by reading the following Scripture,

 

Romans 5:15-17

"[15] But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! [16] Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. [17] For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."

 

Question:    What does this mean?

 

To find out let us now read from,

 

Romans 5:18-19

"[18] Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. [19] For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

 

Question:    What did Jesus do to make us righteous and live?

 

          It was through His death and resurrection that we have been forgiven. Hence, we are no longer under the penalty of death for our sins. To see this we go to,

 

Colossians 2:13-14

"[13] When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."

 

          However, this is just one half of the message. Remember, because of Adam's nature within us we are still by nature disobedient. Consequently, as we saw in chapter 2, God also gave us the Holy Spirit to give us power over our sinful nature. Thus the true believers in Jesus Christ are,

 

A NEW CREATION

          To see this let us begin by reading a conversation Jesus once had with a member of the Jewish ruling council named Nicodemus.

 

John 3:1-7

"[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." [3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." [4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" [5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.""

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          1 … Nicodemus, being a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, was a very learned man in the Jewish faith and a much respected teacher of the Scriptures.

 

          3 … Jesus avoided Nicodemus' observation and immediately addressed the issue of eternal life. Specifically, to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again.

 

          4 … Nicodemus did not understand.

 

          6 … Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Holy Spirit gives birth to the spirit. In other words, in the normal course of things we are flesh descended from Adam. However, it is God the Holy Spirit Who gives birth to the spirit. Namely, it is God the Holy Spirit Who comes to live within us to help us conquer our sinful nature. This is the new birth or what is meant by "being born again." Once this occurs we have become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

Consequently, with the Holy Spirit living and dwelling within the born again believer they can now live a new life that is pleasing to God. This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus in verse 7 above that you should not be surprised you must be born again.

 

SUMMARY

          Thus, we found that through Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection God, in His Grace and Mercy, has extended to each and every one of us the gift of eternal life. Therefore, when a person prays with faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, that person will be forgiven and become born again by the Holy Spirit.

 

Romans 10:13

"[13] for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.""

 

Once a person is born again/new creation they now have,

 

PEACE WITH GOD

To see this let us read from,

 

Colossians 1:19-23

"[19] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. [21] Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. [22] But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- [23] if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          20 … Through the atonement Jesus made for us for the forgiveness of sins; we now have peace with God.

 

          21 … In our natural state we were alienated from God.

 

          22(a) … Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have been reconciled, that is we are at peace with God.

 

          22(b) … He did this to present us holy in His sight and free from accusation.

 

          23 … Notice the condition for receiving the above spiritual blessings. Specifically, we must remain steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

          It is noted that this peace described in Colossians, which the born again believer now has with God, is an external one, that is they are no longer under God's wrath.

In addition, we find that the Bible teaches us that the born again believer can also receive the peace that comes from God. This is a peace that is internal or one that will be within us. To see this let us explore in a bit more depth,

 

THE PEACE FROM GOD

To learn about the peace of God let us read how Jesus encourages us to submit to His Lordship and trust in Him for all our needs.

 

Matthew 6:24-34

""[24] No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. [25] "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? [26] Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [27] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? [28] "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. [29] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [30] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. [33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [34] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

 

          We must be careful to not misunderstand what our Lord is teaching us and conclude that we are not to work and be diligent in it. Let us not forget the instruction in the letter to the Ephesians about the work habits that should characterize the children of God. To make this instruction more applicable to our society, when we read it, let us substitute the term employer for master and employee for slave. 

 

Ephesians 6:5-9

"[5] Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. [6] Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. [7] Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, [8] because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. [9] And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          5 … We are to obey our employers as we would obey Christ. Does this mean that if our employer tells us to do something contrary to God's Word we should do it? No! But it does mean that if we are asked to do something that does not compromise our Lord's teaching or commands, then we should obey the request.

 

          6 … We should not be man pleasers. We should serve our employers as we would serve Jesus Christ.

 

          8 … We will be rewarded for whatever good we do.

 

          9 … Employers should treat their employees as they would like to be treated.

 

Question:    How do I do this? How do I work wholeheartedly and yet place all my trust in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

 

The answer to this question lies within the following Scripture,

 

Philippians 4:4-7

"[4] Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [5] Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. [6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          4 … We are to rejoice and be thankful in the Lord always. This includes bad times as well as in the good times.

 

          6 … Do not worry about anything. We are to perform the task that is laid before us. In addition, with thanksgiving and prayer we are to present our concerns and requests to God. In doing this we must believe and trust that God heard us and will also answer in a way that is for our eternal benefit.

 

          7 … Then the Peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

 

CLOSING

With all these wonderful blessings in mind let us close our study by offering to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ praise and thanksgiving by reading the following Psalm.

 

Psalm 98:1-3

[1] Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

    For He has done marvelous things;

    His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

 

[2] The Lord has made known His salvation;

     His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

 

[3] He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Amen and Amen