Wednesday, September 08, 2010
The Peace ! Philippians 4:7
I was reading Philippians 4: 7 recently and I started to wonder. We often pray for this "peace" for people. I guess praying that the peace of God would be available is not such a bad thing, but here is the question . Is there a prerequisite to said "peace"? If you start reading in Verse 1 you see that Paul gives the admonission to "stand-firm in the Lord" Verse 2 instructs to "live in harmony" , verse 4 gives the imperative to " Rejoice in the Lord" , and finally we are told to unanxiously and in everything "present our requests to God". So here is my thought, is the peace that is promised in verse 7 based on the aformentioned items, in other words it seems that this " peace" is available to those who are in pursuing relationship with the Lord? Maybe we do not stop praying for God's peace, but perhaps we realize that true peace is available to those who are intentionally "rejoicing IN the Lord"
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2 comments:
THANKS GREG--GREAT FOOD 4 THOUGHT!! AND IM HUNGRY!!!!!GARY ARONSON NICKNAME--"BULLSEYE" IN JESUS PS HAVE A SERMON ON ABRAHAMIC COVENANT????
Yes, there is a requisite to securing the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.
I like your thought (that the promised peace of God results from standing firm in the Lord, living in harmony, rejoicing in Christ and presenting our requests to God), but I don’t believe that the text/discourse specifically says that or establishes those particular relationships. On the other hand, the general thought that God’s peace stands as a garrison or guard over the hearts and minds of those who are IN Christ (i.e.“…whose names are also in the book of life…”) is certainly true.
Because our true citizenship is in heaven and we await a Savior from there, we are to stand firm IN the Lord against sin and the onslaught of Satan’s deception and the darkness of this world system. This idea is reiterated elsewhere in this book (1:27) and in James 5:8, where the admonition to is to be patient and stand firm knowing that the Lord’s coming is near. Again in Philippians we are reminded that “…the Lord is near; don’t be anxious about anything”. Here Paul also talks about setting our minds on the “right” things and our hearts on the doing of those things (which Paul boldly says he exemplifies in his own life). Finally, Paul admonishes us in Ephesians, after we have put on the Lord’s complete armor, to resist and oppose in the time of evil, and having done everything to accomplish this, to stand firm.
Yes, you are absolutely correct that the peace of God is available to those who are intentionally rejoicing IN the Lord. But more than that, the peace of God is the gift given by our commander, who calls us to stand firm as we “resist and oppose” in these evil days preceding His return, assuring us that “…the God of peace will be with you”.
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