"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7
Part 1
“And the peace of God.”
We need to be sure we understand that all true peace comes from God. He is the author of peace. To know God is to know peace. Without Him, there is no real, lasting peace.
He is also called the “Lord of peace.”
“Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
And, as we are seeing, the “God of peace” is with the child of God.
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:9).
As Paul told the Philippians,
“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:2).[1]
Believers understand that Jesus must change a life by redeeming it before His peace becomes evident within the person.
“Which passeth all understanding.”
Isn’t it interesting that when believers go through horrendous events, they can still have peace? The lost world cannot understand how this is possible. Very simply, the Lord gives us peace that “passes all understanding.”
“That is, [this is peace] which surpasses all that people had conceived or imagined”[2] (Barnes).
We, believers, have His peace that comforts us in any circumstance. This is possible because we have a Savior who loves us deeply, way beyond our knowledge.
“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
He had proven His love for us when He went to the Cross as our substitute. By His salvation, He has forgiven the debt of our sin! And because of His great love, He has also given us His “peace that passes understanding.”
This is the way that our God works in us, He does things, “exceedingly abundantly” (Ephesians 3:20).
What does “Shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” mean? Tomorrow we will talk about that. Come back then, and let’s talk more.
Quote: Jesus said, “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, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
[1] This greeting with “grace and peace” to believers is seen several times in the NT. 1 Corinthians 1:3; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; Revelation 1:4. And Peter said, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).
[2] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.