Peace in Abundance

Plentiful Peace

2 Peter 1:1,2

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

eace is the professed desire of both tyrants and pacifists.  No individual is left untouched by the desire for peace.  Yet, when we speak of peace, the most of us have in mind something far different from what God offers in His Word.  We think that peace is best defined as a sense of being undisturbed.  A peaceful landscape is an undisturbed landscape, perhaps left in a pristine or an unaltered condition.  For the most of mankind, peace may be best defined as the absence of unjust or unwarranted demands or perhaps as the state of having no conflict others.  By such criteria, peace is unattainable in contemporary life.  Does the Bible offer such peace?  Does the Word of God not rather offer something far more valuable, far more precious?

            Apparently, peace is an important issue to Christians since virtually all the letters comprising the majority of our New Testament begin with a wish for peace.  Only the three books of 1st John and 3rd John and James fail to include a wish for peace in the introduction.  We should not think this a mere formula or literary device employed by the writers of these letters.  Instead, each wish for peace which was penned pointed to a specific peace unexperienced in the world.  It is my conviction, in agreement with and in the lineage of evangelical and fundamental Christians since the days of the Apostles, that there are no superfluous words in the Bible.  Therefore, the desire for peace which Peter penned must speak to our hearts today.

            There is a distinction between peace as promised by Christ and that which is longed for in this fallen world.  Preparing to leave this world, Jesus said to His disciples: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid [John 14:27].  On the basis of this promise we would conclude that there is a qualitative difference between the peace Christ gives and the peace offered by the world.  Once again, our Lord is recorded as promising His disciples: I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world [John 16:33].  From this verse we would conclude that the peace Christ offers has no relationship to a state of being undisturbed.

            In order to explore more fully this engaging topic of peace in the Christian life join me in study of the introductory sentences of Peter’s second letter.  We know Peter is writing to the saaints since the letter is addressed to those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours [2 Peter 1:1].  The quality of peace which is the heritage of the child of God is what is in view as Peter writes.  Therefore, peace for the individual Christian is the subject of our consideration today.

Grace and Peace are Closely Associated – The first matter of significance I observe is the close association of grace and peace.  Throughout the New Testament this interdependence is observed; peace is never mentioned except that grace is nearby.  These two aspects of Christian life are always in close proximity.

Sometimes mercy is mentioned together with grace and peace, and on one occasion love is mentioned together with these two prized commodities, but they almost always appear in conjunction with one another.  On a few occasions the wish for grace and peace is simply voiced, but more commonly the wish is voiced with acknowledgement that these are from our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

            Grace is the basis for peace and peace always results when grace has been extended.  In order to grasp thoroughly the significance of this interrelationship, it will no doubt prove helpful to remind ourselves of the definition of grace and the meaning of peace.  Dictionaries define grace as unmerited favour.  Such a definition, however, is sterile and decidedly unsatisfying.  To one who has experienced grace, grace is far more exciting, far more stimulating.

Someone has defined grace as:

God’s

Riches

At

Christ’s

Expense.

To speak of grace is to speak of one knowing naught but impoverishment being enriched.  To speak of grace is to speak of the dead being raised to life.  To speak of grace is to speak of God’s surprising intervention to awaken the slumbering soul to light and life.  Grace always entails an element of surprise – sudden, joyous surprise.  How can the blind know the explosion of colours tinting the world about them?  How can the deaf know the profusion of sounds which defines life?  How can the dead know the joys of living?  Grace awakens the senses to God who is life, confers light to darkened souls, and causes the ear to hear the sweet voice of God.  All this is given as result of Christ’s sacrifice.  This is grace.

            Where grace is extended there results the promise of peace – not the peace of being left alone to one’s own selfish devices, but the peace of contentment and satisfaction with one’s relationships and with one’s lot in life.  The peace of God is that quality which fulfils hope and makes the individual complete.  Though there may persist a sense of restlessness, it will be a restlessness which impels the possessor of peace to excel for the glory of God.  Though one’s spirit may long for changes in the world about, that longing will always be for the good of others and to the glory of God.  Peace, then, is a sense of confidence in God’s presence and in His power exercised for His child.

            I recall a description of a painting which the artist had entitled “Peace.”  The painting was that of a great cataract whose waters crashed over a precipice to wildly smash the rocks below.  The viewer was gripped by the scene, for the sky was portrayed as a raging storm, with lightning slashing the darkened sky and wind bowing trees perched perilously on the sides of the chasm beside the waterfall.  Upon examination, a small nest could be observed on a branch of one of the trees; and snuggled in that nest was a little bird apparently sitting on her eggs.  What was striking about the bird was that her head was raised to the skies and she appeared to be bursting forth in song.  Serene and confident though the storm raged about her, the little bird sat in her nest and sang the song which the Father gave her.  The artist had entitled the painting appropriately.

            Peace is the quality of contentment in the face of the raging storms of life.  Peace is that sense of confidence that our Father rules over all and overrules all for our good and for His glory.  Peace is the certainty that our God is too good to ever needlessly hurt His child and too wise to ever make a mistake.  Peace is best described as that sense of presence which defines the one who knows that whatever may happen in a given situation, he rests assured that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose [Romans 8:28].  Peace is described by the response of the individual who says with confidence: those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified [Romans 8:29,30].  Such a one may indeed exult: If God is for us, who can be against us?  [Romans 8:31].

Grace and Peace are Offered in Abundance – God never gives just a little.  God always gives in abundance.  Consequently, when He offers grace and peace, it is in abundance.  His grace, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap [cf. Luke 6:38].  Recall the glorious old hymn of Haldor Lillenas:

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,

Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;

Higher than the mountain,

Sparkling like a fountain,

All sufficient grace for even me;

Broader than the scope of my transgressions,

Greater far than all my sin and shame;

O magnify the precious name of Jesus,

Praise His name!

Again, you may recall the glorious hymn penned by Julia Johnston:

Marvellous grace our loving Lord,

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured –

There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Marvellous, infinite, matchless grace,

Freely bestowed on all who believe!

You that are longing to see His face,

Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin!

The hymn writers are right!  God’s grace is greater than all our sin!  The grace of Jesus is matchless and all sufficient for even me!  Indeed, praise His Name!

            One cannot receive more grace.  If we have Christ, we have all His grace.  If we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we have received full grace, for grace is not a commodity which can be parcelled out.  When the Saviour calls, we are obligated to respond, and responding, we receive full grace.  This grace we have received is beyond comprehension, though each believer has experienced it.  No believer is richer than another in possessing this grace, for all alike are richly endowed with God’s grace.

            If God’s grace is given in abundance, you may be assured that His peace is sufficient to meet every condition you may encounter.  Writing the dearly loved congregation of saints in the city of Philippi, Paul speaks of that peace, identifying it as the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and continuing to say that this same peace will serve to guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [Philippians 4:7].  No believer need ever live in confusion and fear, for the peace of God is richly given to His own dearly loved people.  If we live in fear and if we live in confusion and if we live in tension and terror, it is because we, like Peter attempting to walk on the boisterous waves, have taken our eyes off the Saviour and begun to doubt [Matthew 14:22-31].

Grace and Peace are Obtained Through Knowledge of Our God and Saviour Jesus – The third truth addressed in this text is that the precious promise, the heritage of each believer, grace and peace, is given through knowledge of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.  There is perhaps a danger that some may imagine that Peter speaks of knowing about Jesus instead of speaking of knowing Jesus.  One may know about a person, but that is far different from knowing the person.  Peter, of course, is saying that in knowing Christ the Lord we receive grace and peace.

Let me focus attention on this issue for a brief moment.  I know about Billy Graham, but I do not know Billy Graham.  I can tell you stories about Billy Graham – we were members of the same congregation and I was recommended to him as one of his evangelists.  His Southwest director of ministries was a friend to me, a supporter early in my ministry in Canada.  I know about Chuck Swindoll, but I do not know Chuck Swindoll.  My former pastor was a classmate of Chuck Swindoll and I know more about him than I might otherwise know by simply listening to the radio or reading his books.  If I speak about Billy Graham or if I speak about Chuck Swindoll, I am speaking from hearsay, and I may know no more than you about these gifted men.

On the other hand, I know about W. A. Criswell and I know W. A. Criswell; I served in the First Baptist Church for some time during the late seventies.  I know about Charles Stanley and I know Charles Stanley, having met him and had opportunity to speak with him at some length during my time in Dallas.  Should I speak about W. A. Criswell or about Charles Stanley, I have some insight which you probably would not possess, having known these men personally.

Just so, one may know about Christ without knowing Christ, and the evidence will be seen in life.  Some theologians know about Christ, having studied the Bible extensively, and yet they do not know Christ.  On more than one occasion I have met theologians who know about Christ, but who do not know Christ.  They are able to dissect the Word with great precision, but they do not know the Author of the Word.  Consequently, they are strangers to Jesus.

Jesus speaks of such people when he tells how it will be at the judgement.  You will find His words recorded in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?”  Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!”

If I know Christ the Lord, I will reflect that knowledge in the way in which I live out my life.  If I only know about Christ the Lord, I deceive myself and cannot long maintain the façade.  This is the thrust of Jesus’ arresting words recorded in Luke 13:24-30.  Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.  Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, “Sir, open the door for us.”

But he will answer, “I don’t know you or where you come from.”

Then you will say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.”

But he will reply, “I don’t know you or where you come from.  Away from me, all you evildoers!”

There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.  People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.  Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.

Implications of this Knowledge – If we will do more than merely acquire information, we must seek how we may apply the knowledge acquired.  Accordingly, I recommend for your consideration several thoughts to make the message of more immediate value.  Review in your mind what we saw in the brief prayer Peter penned for all who read the opening sentences.  Grace and peace are interdependent – they are complementary.  Again, grace and peace are offered in abundance.  God gives an infinite supply of these desirable possessions.  Lastly, grace and peace are offered and acquired only through knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Consider especially the implications of this information respecting peace in the Christian life.

A saying which is sometimes seen on display signs and in the bulletins of a number of churches is Know Christ, know peace!  No Christ, no peace!  This is an effective way of saying that true peace is found only in Christ.  Have you ever noticed the emphasis upon God’s offer of peace?  Consider a few of the instances in which this precious and rare commodity is offered to whoever is willing to receive it.  Before His passion, Jesus promised His disciples His unique and lasting peace.  He said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid [John 14:27].  According to this promise the peace Christ gives is unique, unlike anything offered in the world.

Paul wrote frequently concerning the peace promised Christians.  To the Romans he wrote: Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand [Romans 5:1,2].  Later in that same letter he warned readers that: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so [Romans 8:6,7].

In the Ephesian encyclical Paul wrote of Christ and the peace which He confers: He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.  His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit [Ephesians 2:14-18].

It is because we gained access to grace through faith that we have peace with God, and this is through our Lord Jesus Christ.  The mind controlled by the Spirit of God is life and peace.  When my soul is tormented and when my mind is tossed to and fro, it is evidence that I am not submitted to the Spirit of God and that I have ceased depending in faith upon God and thus I have disrupted fellowship with Him; I will think I have lost access to God, though He is ever with me.  Peace, confidence and poise in the face of opposition and testing, is the evidence that one knows Christ and is under His rule.

Nor should we think this is a concept confined to the pages of the New Testament.  Through Isaiah, God promised peace to those willing to submit to His discipline, though in the same passage he warned there could be no peace to the wicked since their minds were tossed and restless.  Listen to this passage in which Isaiah presents the mind of God and instruction to a froward people.

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!

Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”

For this is what the high and lofty One says—

He who lives forever, whose name is holy:

“I live in a high and holy place,

but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

I will not accuse forever,

nor will I always be angry,

for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—

the breath of man that I have created.

I was enraged by his sinful greed;

I punished him, and hid my face in anger,

yet he kept on in his wilful ways.

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will guide him and restore comfort to him,

creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel.

Peace, peace, to those far and near,”

says the LORD.  “And I will heal them.”

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

which cannot rest,

whose waves cast up mire and mud.

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked”

[Isaiah 57:14-21].

Jeremiah also recognised the universal, futile search for peace when he addressed his people:

“From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

when there is no peace.

Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when I punish them,”

 says the LORD

[Jeremiah 6:13-15 – cf. Jeremiah 8:11,12].

If we will have peace, it will be through Christ, or we shall never have peace.

Again, peace is neither subject to nor the result of external situations; it is, instead, the result of our internal relationship to Jesus the Lord.  An old song in the southern genre asks the question:

How many times have you heard someone say,

If I had his money, I’d do things my way.

But little they know that it’s so hard to find,

One rich man in seven with a satisfied mind.

You see, we think if only our wants are met we will be satisfied; but the wise man accurately observed long ago:

Death and Destruction

are never satisfied,

and neither are the eyes of man

[Proverbs 27:20].

When God warned against coveting [Exodus 20:17], He was warning that satisfaction is not dependent upon that which is possessed.  Peace – satisfaction and contentment – is independent of what one has or doesn’t have.  There must be an internal transformation for peace to reign.  Satisfaction is not dependent upon external conditions.  What I possess is temporary, a stewardship entrusted to me that I might glorify God; therefore, I must hold the things of this life loosely.  Recall Paul’s words: godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that [1 Timothy 6:6-8].

If I never saw what my neighbour possessed, I would be content.  It is because I do see, because I do desire what I do not have, that I am dissatisfied.  John warned that everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.  Then he reminded believers: the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever [1 John 2:16,17].  We would do well to adopt the prayer of Agur son of Jekeh as our own:

Two things I ask of you, O LORD;

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonour the name of my God

[Proverbs 30:7-9].

This plea is iterated in the model prayer which Jesus taught His disciples to pray.  Give us this day our daily bread [see Matthew 6:11] speaks eloquently of our need to be at peace with ourselves, accepting both who we are and what God has entrusted to us.  Peace is result of the internal transformation which brings us into conformity with the will of God.  Peace is the normal result of walking with Him who called all things into being and knows the name and number of the stars [Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26], of knowing Him in whom all things hold together [Colossians 1:17], of relying on Him in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Colossians 2:3].  He calls me by name [John 10:3]; He knows all I do [Psalm 139:1-24]; and He is ever with me [Matthew 28:20].

As we walk with God, as we serve the Lord Christ, we walk in peace though the world around us gives way.  The Psalmist, in Psalm 46:1,2 wrote these comforting words:

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

In this same context, consider the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 118:5-7:

In my anguish I cried to the LORD,

and he answered by setting me free.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

The LORD is with me; he is my helper.

I will look in triumph on my enemies.

Peace is not quantifiable.  You cannot quantify, you cannot measure peace.  Though the Bible may employ the comparative in speaking God’s peace, it does so for the purpose of emphasis.  Either we possess God’s peace, or we do not.  When Peter prays: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, it is not the degree of peace which is in view, but the awareness of the peace which is the Christian’s present possession which is in view.

Are you walking with Christ?  Do you enjoy His peace each moment of the day?  If you are living a life which is disturbed and a life which is distressed, may I encourage you to seize that grace and peace which is your heritage as a child of the Lord of Peace.  May I encourage you to surrender to His reign that you might know His infinite peace.

I must ask, are you at peace with God?  Do you have the peace Christ offers?  Are you confident in Him, in His grace and in His goodness?  Can you surrender the moment into His hands, knowing that He cares for you?  Our family has lived through some severe pressures during the past couple of years.  At one point, as you know, our eldest daughter was threatened with death as result of a tumour, another daughter was in peril because of war raging near her, and our son was incarcerated and in constant danger.  Pressures such as these can break a person; yet my wife and I were able to praise God knowing that He was in control despite every indication to the contrary.  I thought often of the saying that we live by faith and not by sight [2 Corinthians 5:7].

I ask you to remember some of the words which precede that verse.  Paul writes: we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal [2 Corinthians 4:7-18].  This is peace!  This is our heritage.  Amen.