Our Peace

EPHESIANS 2:14-18

BECAUSE THIS BLOG IS A CONTINUATION of last week’s message, “Brought Near by the Blood,” a good place to begin would be to read the verses we studied last week…

NAS Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands– 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT THIS PASSAGE DECLARED THAT through the blood of the Lord Jesus, Jew and Gentile believers in Christ, two historically, culturally, and religiously hostile groups of people were reconciled in one body – the Body of Christ, the Church. The sacrificial death of the Jesus on the Cross made this miraculous reality possible…

“MIRACULOUS” IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION. The Jews despised the Gentiles because they considered themselves better than Gentiles. ‘We have the Law of Moses,’ they said. ‘The Law is right and true; it reflects the character of God. You Gentiles don’t have the Law.’ And in their self- righteous arrogance, they thought they were keeping the Law because they didn’t do some of the outward, external acts the Law prohibited. And so they hated and despised the Gentiles because they thought they were superior. The Gentiles, on the other hand, hated the Jews, for their smugness and hypocrisy. So there was intense hostility between them.” – Steadman…

THE CHURCH IS A MIRACLE…

“THE SINS OF BOTH JEWS AND GENTILES CAN BE FORGIVEN BECAUSE OF His death, and both can be brought near to each other. Divisions are overcome, not by an approaching or a receiving on either side, but by Christ coming and making peace for both.” – Foulkes…

PAUL WROTE THESE RELEVANT WORDS IN COLOSSIANS 1:20…

NAS Colossians 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

NOT ONLY CAN IT BE CORRECTLY SAID THAT CHRIST BRINGS PEACE, it is also true that He is “Our Peace”…

NAS Ephesians 2:14-18 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18  for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

THERE IS AN IMPORTANT EMPHASIS AT THE BEGINNING OF V. 14 THAT we must not overlook. It is particularly emphatic in the Greek text…

“FOR HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE”… The “for” connects v. 14 with our passage from last week, but note especially the “Himself.” This is emphatic: “He Himself,” or it could also be translated “He alone.” In the Greek text the pronoun (αυτος [au-tos]) from which we get the word “Himself” comes first in the sentence. First place in a sentence in Greek indicates special emphasis…

“HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE,” that is, what everything else – whether the law with its ordinances, human merit, law-works of whatever kind, sacrifices, etc. – could not do, He, He alone in His own person, has done, for He is the very embodiment of peace. In His capacity as the Prince of Peace He, by means of His voluntary sacrifice, has brought about peace, reconciliation not only between God and man, but also between Gentile (the “uncircumcision”) and Jew (the “circumcision.”)– Hendriksen/Kistemaker…

YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT THE PROPHET ISAIAH, writing some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, foretold that one of the titles of the coming Messiah would be “The Prince of Peace”…

NAS Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

“TO SAY THAT JESUS IS OUR PEACE SETS FORTH MORE EMPHATICALLY the truth than to say, as Paul does in v. 15, ‘made peace’ or in v. 17 “proclaimed peace.” – Bruce… Paul in v. 14 could not be more emphatic” Jesus Christ Himself is our peace!…

WHILE THE FOCUS OF THE PASSAGE – THIS WEEK, LAST WEEK, AND next week – is rightly on the peace between Jews and Gentiles, when the entire context is considered, as well as the remainder of the book, Paul is actually making a threefold classification: Jew, Gentile (Greeks), and the Christian, the Church of God. “No wonder that Christians in the first century spoke of themselves as a ‘third race’ or ‘new race,’ no longer Jewish, no longer Gentile.” – Bruce…

IN 1 CORINTHIANS 10:32, PAUL SAID JUST THIS…

NAS  1 Corinthians 10:32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God;

THE WORD “PEACE” IS FOUND 359 TIMES IN THE BIBLE (according to BibleWorks)…

I STUDIED THE MEANING OF THE WORD “PEACE” ALL WEEK from a variety of sources and I believe I can say to you with confidence that the biblical definition of peace is very probably the definition you have in your minds right now. In other words, while both the Hebrew and Greek words for peace have numerous shades of meaning and must be evaluated according to their context, our English understanding of peace is very likely accurate…

LISTEN TO THESE DESCRIPTIVE WORDS OF PEACE AND SEE IF THEY DO NOT agree with the images you are now mentally experiencing about peace. First the descriptive words that reflect the O.T. Hebrew concept of peace: soundness, completeness, security, welfare, and absence of conflict. Descriptive words coming mainly from the N.T. Greek concept of peace: harmony, concord, security, safety, and assurance…

HERE’S A DEFINITION OF “PEACE” FROM A POPULAR BIBLE DICTIONARY: Peace: Total well-being, prosperity, and security associated with God’s presence among His people. Linked in the OT with the covenant, the presence of peace, as God’s gift, was conditional upon Israel’s obedience. In prophetic material, true peace is part of the end-time hope of God’s salvation. In the NT, this longed-for peace is understood as having come in Christ and able to be experienced by faith.– Baker Theological Dictionary…

THE HEBREW WORD FOR “PEACE” IS    םוֹלש   (sha-lome)… My Hebrew N.T. says that “He is our םוֹלש (sha-lome). You have doubtless heard of this word and know it to mean peace. That is correct. However, the exact meaning of the word is difficult to state. Aside from peace, it can mean hello and also goodbye; it can mean health, financial prosperity, wholeness, and completeness.

Ultimately םוֹלש (sha-lome) is a general idea with an extremely wide circle of associated meanings in almost all its occurrences, it has something of a vague, enigmatic character, all good…

I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD “peace” is all good. “Peace” is not a negative word. It is a beautiful word, a positive word, and a powerful word, especially when it is understood in terms of its relationship to Jesus…

NAS Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

NAS Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

NAS  Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

NAS Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

PAUL’S USUAL GREETINGS IN HIS LETTERS TO THE FIRST-CENTURY CHURCHES in the N.T. often included the word “peace.” Here are just three examples…

NAS 2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NAS Galatians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ,

AND FROM THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS…

NAS  Ephesians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PEACE IS ONE OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, one of the attributes of Christ that is produced in the lives of believers by the Holy Spirit when they are in submission to His control…

NAS Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

PAUL WROTE TO THE PHILIPPIANS IN CHAPTER 4 V. 7…

NAS Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT WORD, I HAVE STUDIED IT CAREFULLY for years…One thing I believe I can say for certain is that in gaining a clear understanding of the idea of the word םוֹלש (the Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew O.T., the translation Jesus and the apostles certainly used) is fundamental; there (with only a few exceptions) it is rendered with the Greek word εῄρήνη (ei-ray-nay)…

εῄρήνη (ei-ray-nay) MEANS a state of concord, peace, harmony 2. a state of well-being, peace

SO, PROBABLY THE UNDERSTANDING OF “PEACE”THAT YOU HAVE IS generally accurate. “Peace” means absence of conflict; it means harmony; total well-being. In general, “peace” means peace J…

NAS Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

AFTER LAST WEEK’S BLOG, I DON’T THINK WE NEED SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON the cultural and religious conflict that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles. Only let me remind you that brining true peace between these two groups spiritually was nothing short of a miracle. Only Christ could have made this happen…

“VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN REGARDING THIS ‘DIVIDING wall,’ which is mentioned only here in the New Testament. Some have thought it refers to the wall in the Jerusalem temple precincts that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Jews. But this view is invalid because Paul makes no reference to the temple in Jerusalem and because this wall was still standing when Paul wrote this epistle. Some think it referred to the curtain in the Jerusalem temple between the holy place and the holy of holies. But that was a curtain, not a wall. Others have suggested it meant the ‘fence’ around the Law mentioned by some Rabbis. But that referred more to the protection of the Law than to the hostility mentioned in this context. The structure of the Greek words suggests that the dividing wall describes not a physical barrier, but the spiritual enmity between Jews and Gentiles, which separated them. Since Christ destroyed this enmity (cf. v. 16), Jewish and Gentile believers should have no hostility.” – O’Brien…

VERSES 15 AND 16 SAY…

NAS Ephesians 2:15-16 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

THE WORD “RECONCILE” IS VERY NEAR TO THE SAME MEANING AS “PEACE.” Reconciliation is essentially the ending of conflict. One of my old seminary professors used to define reconciliation in the Bible as “no longer enemies”…

NAS Romans 5:11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

“THE MEANING IS THAT CHRIST’S ATONING DEATH HAD ACHIEVED its purpose: the proper relation between the Ephesians and their God had been established. By grace those estranged from God, having heard and accepted the gospel, had laid aside their wicked alienation from God and had entered into the fruits of Christ’s perfect atonement. This miracle had been achieved “through the cross,” that very cross which to the Jews was a stumblingblock and to the Gentiles folly (I Cor. 1:23). It was by means of Christ’s death on the cross that the curse had been borne, and, having been borne, had been lifted off the hearts and lives of all believers (Gal. 3:13). The miracle of Calvary, however, was even more thrilling, for, through the strange instrument of the cross, the Sufferer not only reconciled to God both Jews and Gentiles but also slew the deeply-rooted antipathy that had existed for so long a time between the two groups. – Hendriksen/Kistemaker

“THIS IS NO DOUBT AN IDEAL NOT YET FULLY REALIZED IN EXPERIENCE; BUT the insistence of this epistle is that the ideal will one day be seen as a worldwide reality, thanks to the completeness of Christ’s reconciling sacrifice.” – Bruce…

THIS IS ANOTHER OF THE BIBLICAL “ALREADY-NOT-YET” situations. Complete peace and lasting reconciliation, while happening to a certain extent today in the Church, will not become a complete reality until Christ returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom…

NAS Ephesians 2:17-18 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

NOTE THE WORD “ONE.” Many different kinds of people, but only one Spirit…

NAS 1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

THE WORD “PEACE” IS MENTIONED 4 TIMES IN VV. 14-17 OF OUR PASSAGE… “CHRIST NOT ONLY ACCOMPLISHED PEACE, HE ALSO PROCLAIMED PEACE, the good news of the gospel of peace to those who were far away, that is, the Gentiles, and to those who were near, that is, the Jews. In pointing to the preaching ευαγγελιζω [eu-ang-gel-eed-zo]) of peace, Paul most likely was not referring to Jesus Himself but to a time after the cross when Jesus’ apostles preached His accomplished peace to both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus Himself preached mainly to the Jews; He did not personally preach to the Gentiles.” – Garner/TAR…

MOST SCHOLARS AGREE WITH THIS INTERPRETATION, and it is most probably accurate. And yet, as I thought about this, I came to see that in a very real sense Christ did preach peace to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, if not directly, then surely indirectly. Everything he did and said may be seen as preaching peace, peace between God and man, and peace between man and man…

NAS John 14:27 “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, nor let it be fearful.

THE “YOU” IN THE UPPER ROOM DISCOURSE IS DEFINITELY THE DISCIPLES BUT the disciples preached that peace to unbelievers. In His final hours on earth, Jesus sent His disciples into the world with peace…

NAS John 20:21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT PEACE. He was the Prince of Peace; He brought peace; He is peace… And He is “our peace”…

“FOR THROUGH HIM WE HAVE ACCESS IN ONE SPIRIT TO THE FATHER.” We have access simply and profoundly because of the Cross, the death of Christ on the Cross on our behalf. “Because of the peace accomplished by that incomparable sacrifice, we have continual access” (the verb is present tense, suggesting continuous action – TAR). – Steadman…

JUST AS JESUS IS OUR PEACE, HE IS ALSO OUR ACCESS TO THE GOD OF PEACE, making peace our personal possession eternally. No matter the situation, no matter the time of day or how many of how few times we’ve taken advantage of this blessed access, it is ours forever…

ONE WRITER I READ THIS WEEK SAID OF THIS STATEMENT OF ACCESS, “This is probably the greatest statement in the book of Ephesians.” – Steadman…

“IN THE O.T., THE JEWS HAD ACCESS TO GOD BY MEANS OF THE TEMPLE, but now in a new transcending way both Jews and Gentiles have equal access to God. This access represents the freedom of approach. It breathes the idea of being familiar – this is a personal relationship and in personal relationships there is freedom of approach and intimate familiarity.” – Steadman…

THE GREEK WORD FOR “ACCESS” (προσαγωγή [pros-a-go-gay]) MEANS A WAY of approach What exactly this approach is, scholars disagree. I am going to give you my studied opinion, but I don’t think it is possible to tell with certainty just what Paul had in mind…

I THINK, CERTAINLY, ACCESS HAS TO DO DIRECTLY WITH PRAYER…

“AND YET IT MUST ALSO BE SAID THAT THIS ACCESS IS MORE THAN PRAYER. It is first of all the condition of the soul that rests in the Lord, surrendering itself fully to him, trusting that He will, in answer to prayer, may fulfill our every need. Prayer, being the natural result of this state of heart and mind, is an essential element in access. And since Jew and Gentile, on equal terms, through the Son, have access in one Spirit to the Father, the world-embracing extent of Christ’s church is once more emphasized.” – O’Brien…

UNBELIEVABLE WORDS… I believe you’ll agree we do well to gratefully ponder them at length…

NAS  Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace…

“WITHIN HIS FAMILY THE FATHER MAKES NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN those children who are Jewish by birth and those who are Gentile. To us the abolition of the barrier separating Jews and Gentiles may not be so revolutionary as it was for Paul and his associates; but there are other divisions within the human family which are equally relevant for us today in the sight of God.” –Bruce…

AS MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY OF GOD WE ARE TO DO AS OUR FATHER DOES…

NAS  John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

“IN SUMMARY, VERSES 14-18 EMPHASIZE THAT IN HIS DEATH CHRIST destroyed all that separated Jews and Gentiles in order to reconcile them to God and to unite them into one people in His Body the Church. Through Christ, we have peace with God, we are united with all of God’s people, and we express these realities by living in peace with one another.” – Garner…

AFTER STUDYING THE WORD “PEACE” FOR YEARS in both Hebrew and Greek, I would like to close this blog by focusing on two points that I believe summarize everything we’ve studied and emphasize the awesome power of this message. First, I would emphasize that peace is more than just the descriptive terms that we have reviewed. It is more than just the absence of conflict. I believe that the peace of Ephesians 2:14-18 also means permanent acceptance of the other. Let me say that again: permanent acceptance…

THE SECOND POINT I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH IS PERMANENT relationship. The accurate definition of biblical peace must ultimately include and make prominent the permanence of the peace we have in Christ. We can shake hands with someone; we can as a nation sign peace treaties with other nations, but we would never claim these examples of peace to be permanent. But with Christ, “our Peace” is permanent…

PERMANENT ACCEPTANCE AND PERMANENT RELATIONSHIP, all because of Jesus…

“HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE.” Blessed be His name!…

AND BECAUSE “HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE,” we should be peacemakers…

NAS  Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

THIS GREAT BEATITUDE TAKES ON A HIGHER DIMENSION WHEN we understand Paul’s message from Ephesians 2 about peace…

“HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE.” Blessed be His name!…

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm