The Art of Seeking, Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Handout
In review, children of God seek the heavenly in the power of the Holy Spirit by putting off vices (their old identity) and putting on (their new identity) the five virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness , and patience , covered in love.
In this passage we will learn how seeking the heavenly together is by the rule of Christ’s peace in our hearts, individually and corporately.
This peace is established through dwelling in the word of Christ, teaching and admonishing the word of Christ practically in the form of a variety of music sung with hearts of grace-filled gratitude to God.
This prepares us to live for Jesus, with his peace in everything, and by his power have attitudes of gratitude.
Colossians 3:15 .
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Paul commands us to let the peace of Christ rule in hearts.
How does the peace of Christ rule in the very core of our being?
To answer this we are going to first define what is meant by “the peace of Christ”, and then we will need to define what is meant by “let... rule”.
The Greek word βραβεύω (brabeuō) translated as “let… rule” means that we allow Christ to be the umpire of our lives. His peace calls the shots. We need to choose to view all of life through the lens of the cross and resurrection, which is how the Trinity has chosen to work out redemption.
Johnathon Lookadoo defines peace as “the wholeness that comes as a result of alignment with God’s creative and redemptive purposes” (Lookadoo, Jonathon. “Peace.” Edited by Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, and Rebekah Hurst. Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Bible Reference Series. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014.). Jesus’ death and resurrection is what has brought this peace about.
Jesus gives his peace in the person of the Holy Spirit John 14:26-27.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
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 hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The word “peace” has a range of application in Scripture - from personal wholeness and well-being or harmony, to relational wholeness and well-being or harmony.
In the application of Christ’s peace, we live in the “already-not-yet” tension of the work of Christ. Come! Lord Jesus, come!
Personal peace comes from being rooted and grounded in the work of Christ in our hearts. This peace is achieved when we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, see ourselves and our circumstance through God’s work of redemption, and thus find harmony and wholeness in what God is doing through the various trials we are facing. This is letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.
This peace is often elusive because it is difficult to release perceived control and specific desired outcomes. When we are unable to do this, we find ourselves not at peace, but with troubled and distressed hearts.
Relational peace becomes even more a work of the Spirit because we are not just dealing with our own hearts, we are dealing with other parties.
Relational harmony and wholeness fall into three broad categories.
The first category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with creation.
The second category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with humanity's diverse relationships.
The third category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with God.
The first category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with creation. This peace is made possible through the work of Christ, which is redeeming the mandate given to humanity in Genesis 1:28 .
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This peace is definitely in tension with the effects of the curse of sin in creation, which is what Paul references in Romans 8:18-23.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
We, therefore, steward creation in light of the cross and resurrection, finding the peace of Christ in the work he is doing in creation and in the future redemption of creation and our very bodies.
The second category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with humanity's diverse relationships. There are many passages in Scripture that address this peace. Romans 12:18 and Hebrews 12:14 summarize them.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
These diverse relationships can be divided into many categories. For the sake of brevity, we will focus on the three categories of family, church, and civil. Christ’s peace is to govern all these relationships.
The peace of Christ is to govern the family. The family is the foundation upon which we learn to engage in wholistic relationships with others and with God.
We need to view our familial relationships through the lens of Christ’s work. We do this in the power of the Holy Spirit by choosing to have Christ define and shape how we interact as families. We will be learning more about these interaction after the Christmas season, when we cover Colossians 3:18-21.
The peace of Christ is to govern the church. This is the area of Christ’s peace Paul is emphasizing in Colossians 3:15. He states clearly that we were called to peace in one body. “Body” is a reference to the church.
We need to view our church relationships through the lens of Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection. When we view our relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters any other way, we are not allowing the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts.
When we choose, by the power of the Spirit, to have the peace of Christ govern, we build relationships in the church that foster the well-being of all.
The peace of Christ is to govern civil engagement. Civil engagement includes our friends, our neighbors, our jobs, our village, our county, our state, our nation. We are to view all these relationships through the work of Christ, allowing him to call the shots on how we engage these relationships. We will learn more about the peace of Christ ruling in these relationships after Christmas, when we cover Colossians 3:22-4:1.
The third category is the peace of Christ ruling in our relationship with God. Amen, we have peace with God through Jesus. We are no longer his enemies, but have been adopted as sons and daughters of God (Romans 5:1, 10).
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
We need to view our relationship with God through the lens of Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection, thus allowing the peace of Christ to govern our relationship with God. When we do this, we find wholeness that can only come from God.
Sadly, we often fall into the trap of allowing our emotions to govern our relationship with God, thus receiving not wholeness, but troubled and fearful hearts. If this is happening in our relationship with God, it is a sure bet that it is happening in all our other relationships as well.
God has presented us with a choice of who will rule our relationships.
Will we, by the power of the Spirit, have the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, or will we, by the power of the flesh, have our fallen selves rule in our hearts?
Today let’s commit to seeking the heavenly together by committing to the rule of Christ’s peace in our hearts - individually and corporately, all in an attitude of gratitude for God’s work in our lives.