Peace

Explore Peace

What do we see as peace today?

Peace and quiet

No wars or fighting

In the OT. Shalōm, the most prominent OT term for “peace,” held a wide range of connotations (wholeness, health, security, well-being, and salvation) and could apply to an equally wide range of contexts: the state of the individual (Ps 37:37; Prv 3:2; Is 32:17), the relationship of man to man (Gn 34:21; Jos 9:15) or nation to nation (e.g., absence of conflict—Dt 2:26; Jos 10:21; 1 Kgs 5:12; Ps 122:6, 7), and the relationship of God and man (Ps 85:8; Jer 16:5).

The presence of shalōm in any of these contexts was not considered ultimately as the outcome of human endeavor, but as a gift or blessing of God (Lv 26:6; 1 Kgs 2:33; Jb 25:2; Pss 29:11; 85:8; Is 45:7). It is not surprising, therefore, to find “peace” tied closely to the OT notion of covenant. Shalōm was the desired state of harmony and communion between the two covenant partners (God and man—Nm 6:26; cf. Is 54:10), its presence signifying God’s blessing in the covenant relationship (Mal 2:5; cf. Nm 25:12), and its absence signifying the breakdown of that relationship due to Israel’s disobedience and unrighteousness (Jer 16:5, 10–13; cf. Ps 85:9–11; Is 32:17).

In the NT. The Greek term for “peace” used predominantly in the NT is irēnē, a word expanded from its classical Greek connotation of “rest” to include the various connotations of shalōm discussed above. As with shalōm, irēnē could be used as a greeting or farewell (as in “peace be with you”—Lk 10:5; Gal 6:16; Jas 2:16; cf. Jn 20:19), or could signify the cessation of conflict (national—Lk 14:32; Acts 12:20; or interpersonal—Rom 14:19; Eph 4:3), or the presence of domestic tranquility (cf. 1 Cor 7:15).

The nature of this gift of peace brought by Jesus may be easier to explain by stating what it is not. It is not an end to tension, an absence of warfare, domestic tranquility, nor anything like the worldly estimation of peace (Lk 12:51–53; Jn 14:27; 16:32, 33).

The nature of this gift of peace brought by Jesus may be easier to explain by stating what it is not. It is not an end to tension, an absence of warfare, domestic tranquility, nor anything like the worldly estimation of peace (Lk 12:51–53; Jn 14:27; 16:32, 33). Its presence may, on the contrary, actually disturb existing relations, being a dividing “sword” in familial relations (Mt 10:34–37). Jesus’ gift of peace is, in reality, the character and mood of the new covenant of his blood which reconciles God to man (Rom 5:1; Col 1:20) and forms the basis of subsequent reconciliation between men under Christ (Eph 2:14–22).

This peculiarly Christian understanding of “peace” (the Jewish hope of God’s future peace believed to be a present reality through Christ) altered the content of the common greeting, “go in peace,” as it was taken up in the Christian community. In Paul’s common “grace and peace” greeting (1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2, etc.; cf. also 1 Pt 1:2; 2 Jn 3; Jude 2; Rv 1:4), it is no longer a mere “wish” for peace which Paul extends to his readers, but is a reminder of the messianic gifts available in the present time through Christ to the man of faith. In accord with this, Jesus is described as “peace” itself (Eph 2:14), while God, too, because of his act of reconciliation through Christ is known as a “God of peace” (Phil 4:9; Col 3:15).

This gift of peace or reconciliation with God, made available through Christ, places an ethical demand on the Christian; it calls for the exercises of “peace” (as reconciliation between persons) within the church. Peace, as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), is to be the goal of the Christian’s dealings with others (Rom 12:18; 14:19; Heb 12:14, etc.), that which marks one’s identity as a “child of God” (Mt 5:9).

Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. 1988. “Peace.” In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2:1635. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.