The Fruit of Peace

“But the fruit of the Spirit is…peace”—Galatians 5:22

Anyone who has ever watched a beauty contest has heard the stereotypical and inevitable response to the question, “What do you want in the world?” The answer almost always is “world peace.” But what is “peace”? Some see it as an absence of conflict. But according to Scripture, peace is so much more.

In the Old Testament, the word peace is shalom and conveys the idea of “wholeness,” “to be complete,” “perfect,” and “full.” For an Old Testament Jew, peace was all encompassing, a state of being, which served as an umbrella to all of life. In the New Testament, our understanding of peace was magnified.

First of all, there was hostility between God and us. We were God’s enemies, objects of God’s wrath, and followers of Satan (Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:2-3). The only way we could have peace with God is through Christ. Christ Himself satisfied the wrath of God by becoming our substitute as Paul wrote,

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.”—Ephesians 2:14-17

It was through the cross that peace was made available and it was by our faith in Christ’s death on the cross that we become recipients of that peace, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”—Romans 5:1.

We not only have peace with God, but we can have the peace of God which Christ made available to us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”—John 14:27. Christ made the peace He had with God available to us. And He wanted His peace to cover us as we faced tribulations of every kind in the world, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world"—John 16:33.

After His ascension, Christ sent His Spirit to dwell in His followers—bringing about the righteous life of Christ within us. We have peace with God and we can have peace with others. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have disagreements, arguments, and the like. It does mean, however, that our response to times of disagreement, both externally and internally, will be in a manner indicative of a relationship with Jesus Christ. We don’t have to fret or fear. We don’t have to let anxiety over unsettled disagreements unsettle us, but we can tap into the life of Christ by taking in His Word and going to Him in prayer. This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace”—Romans 8:6.

When we set our minds on the things of God, we are able to respond in a peaceful manner indicative of Christ. The difficulty that most of us have is that we all too quickly get agitated because we want vengeance, self-justification, and vindication. We must be ready to respond in a manner similar to Christ—bearing wrong, injustice, misunderstanding, and intolerance.

Do you have the mind of Christ? Is the Spirit of Christ’s peace evident in you? Can the peace of Christ be seen in you with your family? Your friends? Your co-workers? Your church? Ask God to help you be at peace so that His glory might rest in you in such a way that others are drawn to Him. Amen.