Experiencing Peace
Notes
Transcript
When we hear the word peace, we usually think of a feeling—calmness, quiet moments, a sense that everything is okay. But Scripture speaks of peace in a much deeper way. Peace isn’t merely something we feel; it’s a reality we live in. It’s a condition of our relationship with God and a state of being that shapes everything else. And as we turn to Colossians 1, Paul lifts our eyes to the One whose coming makes that kind of peace possible—the Christ who entered our world so we could enter into His peace.
The second theme of Christmas is peace. Isaiah calls the Messiah the Prince of Peace. But how has Christ brought peace? That is what we will talk about today. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has made peace between us and God.
Let’s turn together to Colossians. Paul is writing to the church in Colossae, a place he has never visited. He has only heard of their faith from others. In this letter, he writes some of the most profound statements about who Christ is, what he has done, and what that means for us.
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
This is like the thesis statement of this passage. This is what Christ has done. He has transferred us from one kingdom to another, and we have been redeemed, that is having received forgiveness of our sins. The rest of this passage gets into specifics of who Christ is, what he has done, and what that means for us.
Spoiler alert: our focus for today is on the words “having made peace” in verse 20, and we will get there. This passage gives us three keys to experiencing the peace Christ brings.
Peace is experienced when Christ is first in everything.
Peace is experienced when Christ is first in everything.
Verses 15-18 explain that Christ is the true source of everything. We understand that the child born in a manger is God clothed in humanity. He is Immanuel, God with us. Look at what Paul says:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
The word all appears seven times in this passage. It means 100 percent. It means that when Jesus is called the creator of everything in verse 16, it matches what John said John 1:3.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jesus is God in the flesh. Not a subordinate of God, or a lesser god, but God himself. Jesus is the image of the invisible God because he is God. You and I are made in his image, but we are not him. Christ is his image because he is him. Because Jesus is God, he is worth everything!
In verse 18, all this is so that Jesus will have first place in everything. Do you see that? Some of your translations use a big, fancy word called preeminence. That’s what the word means. It means to take first place, first priority. If you want peace in your life, it will only be experienced when Jesus takes first place in every aspect of your life. Christ must be at the center of who you are, and everything that you do.
Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment. Jesus responded by saying,
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
The word all is very important. It is such a small word, yet critical to our lives. We are to love the Lord with everything we have. But how? The good news is Jesus is literally our example! Take a look at what Peter said:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
Jesus said numerous times that he was about his father’s business, that because the Father was working, he was working, and that he only did what the Father wanted him to do. Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet without sin as Hebrews 4:15 tells us.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed,
saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
He is our example. Placing Jesus as first in everything is a death to self Where are you holding back from the Lord? What door is he knocking on that you won’t open? His coming was to invade your life and transform it from the inside out.
Peace is experienced through reconciliation.
Peace is experienced through reconciliation.
We just talked about who Jesus is. When we truly recognize Christ’s value, he will become first place in everything. But his identity is only half the story. He has also reconciled us to God.
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
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.
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—
There in verse 20 is where we see the focus of today. He has made peace through the blood of his cross. We have gone from being alienated to reconciled. We were far from God, but have now drawn near to God.
The question is often asked, “If you could have lunch with one person, who would it be?” For the sake of our experiment, we will keep it to living people. So, if you could have lunch with one person who is living right now, who would it be, and why?”
Jesus tells a parable that answers this question, though in a roundabout manner. Jesus tells a parable about a king who puts on a banquet. The invitations went out, he got the RSVPs, and now it’s time for his servants to go out and call the guests to come...except nobody is coming. The servants report back to the king, “none of the guests are coming.” He orders them to go out to the highways and invite more guests. You and I are among those among the highways. These people were not close to the king, but the king extended the invitation.
Because we could never have gained an audience with the king on our own, the king stepped out of heaven, became a man, offered himself as a sacrifice, and reconciled us to God.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
You have peace with God because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.
Peace is experienced through abiding.
Peace is experienced through abiding.
We stopped in verse 22, but verse 22 is not a complete sentence. There is a clause there. Let’s look at verse 23.
if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
You will experience peace with God when you continue in the faith. The word continue in Greek is translated as remain, to persist, stay on, to persist. Another word for it is abide. The key to peace is abiding, or remaining in Christ. It doesn’t mean that you just keep showing up to church as if attendance is the metric for your ticket into heaven. If you want everlasting peace, even when the world is on fire, you remain firmly attached to Christ.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, he and his disciples were gathered in the upper room observing a Passover meal, what we know as the Last Supper. He was giving some final words of encouragement before his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion would go down. Listen to what he says.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
To abide means to remain attached. In this case, he uses a vine and branches as the example for abiding. Did you know a watermelon will not ripen once it is cut off from the vine? We all want the sweetest Watermelon. But the watermelon will not get any sweeter the moment it is removed from the vine. If you cut it off prematurely, you will get a watery, but not sweet melon.
We can debate as to whether one can truly lose their salvation, but that’s not what we are talking about here. If you want a lasting inner peace regardless of what happens in the world, clinging to Christ and cultivating that first place relationship is absolutely critical. If you stop following, you may still be his, but you will not have peace.
Experiencing the peace that passes all understanding is not one of these things; it’s all of them. The door to my house has one key to get in. The door to peace with God has several locks and you need all the keys. The good news is Jesus holds all the keys and freely gives them to anyone who will come to him and remain with him.
Maybe you have peace with God. You are experiencing the fruits of an abiding relationship. You know you have been reconciled to God. You are placing Christ first in everything, but you still don’t feel that peace that I’m talking about. When I have been there, I have come to realize that the person I need to find peace with is me. God has forgiven me, but I find it difficult to forgive myself. Have you been there? Is that what’s holding you back from experiencing peace? You don’t have peace with yourself? Maybe today is the day you forgive yourself for the things God has already forgiven you for.
Maybe it’s not you, but someone else. There is someone else you need to extend forgiveness to so you can finally be at peace. I urge you to do what is necessary to call, write, email, or text whoever just popped into your mind. Because I am at peace with God, I want to be at peace with everyone else. Who do you need to make peace with?
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Go be peacemakers because he has already made peace with you.
