Chapter 13
THE PEACE OFFERING
Before we begin our study of the Peace Offering let us pray for God's blessing upon this time.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father we ask You to please bless our study of the Peace offering. Please cause us to see and understand that this offering was a foreshadowing to teach us about the peace and fellowship we have with You through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
For this study we will,
1. Briefly review some of the regulations and purposes or reasons for the Old Testament Peace Offering.
2. Find that the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings could never keep the worshipper in good standing or at peace with God.
3. Review one of the many Old Testament prophecies in which God promised He would send the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, to bring peace between us and God the Father.
4. Discover that, as it was for the previous sacrifices, the Peace Offering was also to teach us about the purpose and/or reasons for Jesus Christ to come and bring about peace and fellowship between the born again believer and God the Father.
5. Explore the peace the born again believer now has in Jesus Christ.
With the above introduction in mind, we begin our study with a brief review of,
THE OLD TESTAMENT PEACE OFFERING
In chapters 9 and 10 we saw how the nation of Israel was commanded to sacrifice various animals so that their blood could be used to make amends for their sins. As we read further in the Old Testament Ceremonial Law, we also find there was a sacrifice or offering called the Peace Offering.
To avoid confusion it is noted that in some Bible translations, such as the New International Version (NIV), this offering has been translated to be the Fellowship Offering.
In reading the Old Testament we find there were three reasons or purposes for this offering.
The first and second reason why the peace offering was to be given was,
AS A VOW OR A FREEWILL OFFERING
This is recorded in,
Numbers 15:1-10
[1] And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, [3] and you make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet aroma to the Lord, from the herd or the flock, [4] then he who presents his offering to the Lord shall bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a Hin of oil; [5] and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb. [6] Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a Hin of oil; [7] and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a Hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the Lord. [8] And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a peace offering to the Lord, [9] then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a Hin of oil; [10] and you shall bring as the drink offering half a Hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Let us notice the following verses,
3, 5, 6 and 8 … Any unblemished animal was accepted for this offering.
4-7 … A major element within the Peace Offering was the Grain and Drink Offerings.
The third reason for this offering was to be,
AN EXPRESSION OF THANKFULNESS
This is recorded in,
Leviticus 7:11-15
[11] ‘This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the Lord: [12] If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil. [13] Besides the cakes, as his offering he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. [14] And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. [15] ‘The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning.
Let us notice the following verse,
13 … In addition to the unleavened bread or cakes, leavened bread was also to be offered. However, the leavened bread was not to be offered by fire on the altar (Leviticus 2:12).
In addition to the three reasons for the Peace Offering, this offering was also unique with respect to all the other Old Testament sacrifices and offerings in that,
THE OFFERINGS WERE TO BE SHARED BY ALL THREE PARTICIPANTS
Thus, the Peace Offering was a communal offering to be consumed by God, the Levities, who were in charge of the Temple services and upkeep, and the offerer along with his household. To see this, let us read about the freewill offering as recorded in,
Deuteronomy 12:17-18
"[17] You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. [18] Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose--you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns--and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to."
Let us notice the following verses,
17 … The offerings or gifts were not to be eaten in their home towns.
18(a) … They were to eat their offerings in the presence of God. Specifically, they were to go to Jerusalem to the Temple, that is the house of God, and offer and eat their offerings there.
18(b) … After God’s portion was presented to Him on the altar; the remaining portions of the offering were to be eaten by the Levites and the person, along with his household, who brought the offering. In other words, all three participants of the sacrifice ate together, that is they had fellowship and were at peace with one another.
After reading about all the regulations and purposes of the feasts, sacrifices and offerings within the Ceremonial Law we still find that,
THE NATION OF ISRAEL CONTINUALLY FELL AWAY FROM GOD
As we read the Old Testament, we find that all the Old Testament feasts, offerings and sacrifices became just a ritual and an end to themselves. In other words, the people strictly complied with the external rules and regulations for the offerings and the Temple service. Consequently, in the process of time their hearts fell far away from the Lord. To see this, let us consider what God said to the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah in,
Isaiah 1:10-20
"[10] Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! [11] "The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. [12] When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? [13] Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. [14] Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. [15] When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; [16] wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, [17] learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. [18] "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. [19] If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; [20] but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Let us notice the following verses,
10 … In His anger, God addressed Israel as Sodom and Gomorrah. Remember that the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were so steeped in sin that finally God had to wipe them out. Just think about how infuriated God must have been.
11 … God told Israel that He has had it with all their offerings. He was not pleased with them.
12 … God asked Israel, who asked them to do this? In other words, the people were giving offerings and sacrifices to God as if it was for His benefit. They missed the point. The Ceremonial Law was for the benefit of the people to help remind and teach them about God, His ways and the coming Messiah.
13-14 … God told the people that because of their attitude, they should no longer bring any more offerings or hold any more assemblies. In other words, it had all become ritual and tradition. It no longer had meaning and was not benefiting them. Can you imagine how this must have been received by the people of Israel? To put it into focus, suppose a prophet of God came into our churches of today and said the same thing, that is do not bother getting together to worship and sing praises to God. Your hearts are far from Him, you do not do what He desires and your assembly has only become a meaningless tradition.
15 … God was so upset that He would not even listen to their prayers!
16-18 … God called out to Israel to repent and follow His precepts.
19 … If the people would repent, they will be blessed.
20 … However, if they do not, they will be overrun by the sword.
Reading further in the Old Testament, we find that even though there were short periods of revival and restoration to God, over the long term Israel fell further and further away from God. Finally, in 586BC1, approximately 120 years after the prophecy of Isaiah, God brought King Nebuchadnezzar’s army to destroy Jerusalem, the Temple and take the people captive into Babylon. This is recorded in,
2 Chronicles 36:15-20
"[15] The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. [16] But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. [17] He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. [18] He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. [19] They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. [20] He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power."
Amazingly enough, even after their return to Jerusalem from Babylon, Israel continued to fall away from serving the Lord. To see this, let us read how God, through the prophet Zechariah, kept calling the people of Israel to Him.
Zechariah 1:1-4
"[1] In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: [2] "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. [3] Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty. [4] Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD."
SUMMARY
In reflecting upon the above, one is left with the question of; “Why did Israel keep falling away?” To answer to this question let us consider the following two points.
First, as we study the New Testament we find that mankind’s problem is the fact that we have a fallen nature. Consequently, to truly walk with God and please Him we must live our lives on this earth by faith and trust in Him. To see this let us consider the following passage,
Romans 9:30-32
"[30] What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. [32] Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone.""
In other words, we do not have the capacity or power within our natural self to live in a manner pleasing to God. No, we must live by faith and trust in Him to give us the righteousness that can only come from Him (see Ephesians 2: 1-10). Perhaps to make this a bit clearer let us read what Paul wrote in,
Galatians 2:21
[21] I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Secondly, the whole Old Testament Ceremonial Law did not have power to change an individual. Thus, it could never bring into fruition true peace with God. Its primary purpose was to be a shadow or foretelling of what was to come. In other words, it was pointing to the promised Messiah and the work He was going to do for them and us. To see this, let us prayerfully read from,
Hebrews 10:1-4
"[1] The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. [2] If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins." [3] But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. [4] For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Knowing our fallen nature and inability to completely follow His commands and statutes God, because of His great love for us, throughout the Old Testament times extended to mankind,
THE PROMISE OF PEACE
Consequently, in addition to all the prophecies of impending disaster and doom God, throughout the history of Israel, also foretold of a time when the Messiah or Anointed One will come and bring about peace between Him and His people. To see this we will read one example from the many times God gave this promise.
In the following example notice that one of the Messiah’s Names or attributes is that He is the Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6-7
"[6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
To see that this prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, let us read what an angel said when he announced the birth of Jesus Christ to the shepherds. To do this we go to,
Luke 2:8-14
"[8] And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. [9] An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. [10] But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. [12] This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." [13] Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, [14] "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.""
Let us notice the following verses,
10-11 … An angel announced to the shepherds that he brings to them good news and great joy. He then proceeded to tell them that the promised Messiah had been born.
14 … The angels praised God and announced that peace and goodwill towards men has come. Thus, the angels told them and now us that the time had arrived. The Messiah had been born and through Him God has extended His peace and goodwill to men on whom His favor rests. In other words, the Prince of Peace had come!
Now that we have found that Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of God the Father’s promise to extend His peace to mankind, let us now see how Jesus Christ also fulfilled,
THE FORESHADOWINGS OF THE PEACE OFFERING
First of all, let us remember that in Numbers 15:4-7 we discovered that a major element or component within the Peace Offering was the Grain and Drink Offerings. As we discovered in Chapter 11, these offerings were foreshadows of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He would make on our behalf to bring about atonement for our sins. In other words, through Jesus’ death and resurrection amends have been made between the born again believer in Jesus Christ and God the Father. Thus, as it initially was with Adam and Eve, peace and fellowship with God has, through Jesus Christ, been restored.
With the above foreshadowing in mind let us now see how Jesus Christ also fulfilled the three reasons for why the Peace Offering was to be given. These reasons were: (1) The result of a vow, (2) For a freewill offering, and (3) An expression of thankfulness.
We begin with,
THE RESULT OF A VOW (Leviticus 7:16)
This was a foreshadowing to teach us that Jesus was and is the fulfillment of the promise or vow God made to bring about peace with Him. A summary of this is recorded in,
Acts 13:23
""[23] … God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised."
The second reason for the Peace Offering was simply that the offerer gave it not as a result of a command or penalty for sin, but as
A FREEWILL OFFERING
This was a foreshadowing to teach us that, on our behalf, Jesus freely gave Himself up to bring about peace between us and God the Father. This is recorded in,
John 10:17-18
"[17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.""
The third reason for the Peace Offering was that it was to be,
AN EXPRESSION OF THANKFULNESS (Leviticus 7:11-15)
This was a foreshadowing to teach us that Jesus was thankful or joyful to come and save us from our sins and extend to us His peace. To see this we begin by noting that Jesus tells us that He loves us so much that He laid His life down for us.
John 15:13
"[13] Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
In reflecting upon these things one comes to realize that Jesus' offering of His body on the cross was also an expression of thankfulness. In other words, He was thankful and joyful to be able to save you and me from the fires of eternal damnation and bring us into a peaceful relationship with God the Father. To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 12:2
[2] looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
As we read earlier, in addition to the three reasons for the offering, this offering was unique with respect to the other Old Testament offerings in that,
IT WAS A COMMUNIAL OFFERING
To refresh our memories let us remember that after God’s portion was given on the altar, the remainder of the offerings were to be eaten by the Levites and the person, along with his household, who brought the offering. In other words all three participants of the offering ate together, that is they had fellowship and were at peace with one another (Deuteronomy 12:17-18).
By noting that embedded within the Peace Offering was the Grain and Drink Offerings and how the Peace Offering was to be eaten we come to realize this offering was also a foreshadowing of the Lord's Supper. In other words, it was also a foreshadowing of the fellowship and peace we have with God and with one another when we partake of the bread and wine (representing Christ's body and blood) during the Lord's Supper.
Let us now close our study by reviewing,
THE PEACE WE HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST
To do this we begin by noting that when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His upcoming ordeal, one of the things He told them was that in Him they will have peace. To read what He said we go to,
John 16:33
""[33] I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.""
Notice that Jesus explained that the peace they, you and I will have in Him is not from this world. To expand upon this a bit let us read one of the things Jesus said relative to the cost of being a disciple of His. It is given in,
Luke 12:51-53
"[51] Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. [52] From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. [53] They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.""
In other words, Jesus is telling us that even though those who are born again desire to be at peace with all people, this will not happen. We must remember that those who are born again have been transferred into the Kingdom of God and desire to please Him; whereas those who are not yet born again still belong to the kingdom of the evil one and follow his ways (Ephesians 2:1-10).
Thus, one is left with the question of, “What kind of peace do we have in Jesus Christ?” As it turns out, in Jesus Christ we have the following two kinds of peace: (1) With God and (2) Of God.
The first type of peace we have in Jesus is,
PEACE WITH GOD
To see this, let us first review the essence of the Gospel, as recorded in,
Colossians 2:9-15
"[9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, [10] and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. [11] In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, [12] having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. [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. [15] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."
Let us notice the following verses,
9 … In other words, Jesus Christ is the second person of the Godhead and is fully God who came to earth in a physical human body.
10(a) … In Jesus we too have been given the divine nature, that is the born again believer is a temple of God the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16).
10(b) … Jesus is the head over every power and authority.
11 … In other words, our old self was crucified with Christ (see Galatians 2:20).
12 … In baptism, by faith, we buried our old self and rose to new life in the resurrected Christ.
13 … Because Jesus Christ made atonement for our sins, God forgave us and made us spiritually alive. Specifically, He paid the debts we could not pay.
14 … Jesus fulfilled, for us, all the requirements of the Ceremonial Law.
With this in mind, let us now read from,
Romans 5:1
"[1] Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"
In other words, through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us we are forgiven and have been justified, which means held in right standing before God. Therefore, we are now at peace with God, our Maker.
Another way to see and understand this is by reading,
Colossians 1:15-23
"[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. [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."
Not only do we have peace with God, but we also we have,
PEACE FROM GOD
Our first hint to this type of peace, which is different than peace with God, comes to us from reading the salutations or greetings of the epistles written by the Apostle Paul. As we read the following three samples of these greetings please notice the phrase; “Grace and peace to you from God …”
Romans 1:7
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:2
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
In reflecting upon the above Scriptures, one is left with the question of, “Are these just nice polite standard greetings of that day? (Or) Is there more to it?” To find out, let us read what Jesus once said about the peace we have in Him in,
John 14:27
"[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Notice what our Lord Jesus Christ said:
(1) Peace I leave with you.
(2) Peace I give to you.
(3) Be not troubled or afraid.
What did Jesus mean? To find out, let us first go to the sermon on the mountain and read how Jesus encourages us to place our complete and total trust in Him and not to allow material things to rule and control us.
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."
To insure we do not misinterpret the above instruction we must remember that one of the consequences from the fall of Adam and Eve is that we must still work for our sustenance. To see this let us read from,
Genesis 3:17-19a
[17] Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
[18] Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
[19] In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread …
To summarize the point or message for this portion of our study, let us read the following passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi,
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 along with the good.
6 … Do not worry about anything but with thanksgiving and prayer we are to present our concerns and requests to God. In doing this we must have faith and trust that He not only heard us but will also answer in a way that is for our eternal benefit.
7 … If we do the above actions then, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
CLOSING
Let us close our study by reading the following excerpt from the closing Paul sent to the church in Thessalonica. It is recorded in,
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
[23] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
AMEN!