A Scriptural-Spiritual Lens for Resolve in 2022 - Part Eight

Introduction

What is one of the greatest hindrances for a church in accomplishing the will of God? It is division and dissension among them. The church must resolve to avoid division and dissension with all the grace of God.

Colossians 3:12–17 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The church should dwell in harmony

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts

The large umbrella for the sermon tonight is the truth that is found in the command by the Apostle to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”. Through this imperative, we learn that God requires peace within the body of Christ, especially peace within local bodies of Christ. Here are a few ideas about what peace is, peace is agreement between persons or harmony. It is the opposite of conflict, war, division, dissension and strife. It also refers to an inner disposition of rest or freedom from anxiety. We will give more details about what this means later.

We see here that the peace of Christ is to rule in our hearts.

Rule - strictly be judge or umpire in public games; hence preside, direct, control

Therefore, the peace of Christ is to umpire the direction of our hearts. It should be the guide or governor of the intentions of our hearts.

Hearts – represents the inner man, who you really are, viewed as the innermost self, the source and seat of functions of soul and spirit in the emotional life, the volitional life, the rational life

There are three justifications for letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts

The church’s context demands harmony

Remember, the church at Colosse has been attacked by a group that sought to divide the body. A group that acted superior to others because of their so called knowledge and spirituality. Therefore, the true believers needed to bind together in love and peace. The church is also surrounded and attacked by parties that seek to divide. As a result, churches are rendered ineffective and paralyzed.

Illustration: Headline #1 - Kyiv under curfew as it braces for Russian forces Kyiv, which was a bustling, relaxed city three days ago, has now transformed to a war-time city as it braces for Russian forces.

Kyiv's mayor has imposed a 39-hour curfew beginning Saturday night, banning everyone except critical infrastructure workers from the streets. Ukrainian authorities say the curfew is to allow the city to hunt down Russian sabotage groups, get defenses organized and prevent friendly-fire incidents.

Headline #2 - BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Two people are dead and two others were taken to the hospital after a drive-by shooting near the Mall of Louisiana, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department. The shooting happened on Bluebonnet Boulevard at Picardy Avenue a little before 1:45 p.m.

The names of the two people killed have not yet been released. According to investigators, the two victims that were taken to the hospital suffered moderate injuries.

BRPD added this was a “highly-planned” and “targeted” shooting. According to Sgt. L’Jean McKneely with BRPD, the shooter pulled next to the victims’ car, opened fire, and then got into a separate getaway vehicle. It is unknown how many suspects are involved.

Chief Murphy Paul said the shooting could be connected to other shootings in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Headline #3 - Family speaks out after woman fatally hit by 2 vehicles - The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said they found Angela Flamer, 50, unresponsive in a roadway on the night of Friday, Feb. 11. Shortly after Marshall police arrived on the scene, they arrested 78-year-old Thomas Earl Jackson on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

Officials believe Jackson was driving the second vehicle that hit Flamer. Her daughter is begging for the first driver to come forward.

“There’s still someone out there, you know, that hasn’t came forward about my mother’s death and I just need peace. I need justice and I need to know who that first person was because I deserve the truth. She deserves for me to know the truth,” said Jacqueline Verge.

One week after she lost her grandfather, Verge tragically lost her mother.

“Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was worth willing to work on and they took that from me. They took that from me,” she said.

Marshall police are still trying to find the first vehicle and the driver. Verge and her father, James Verge, say they are praying for more answers on Flamer’s death.

“I just want peace. I want to be able to sleep at night,” Verge said.

John 14:27 ESV

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.

If the church is to be a realm of refuge, it must be characterized by peace and harmony.

The church’s reconciliation demands harmony

Peace of Christ - I believe that the peace of Christ that is spoken of here has two aspects. Paul desires that the inward disposition of the heart by guided by the peace that Christ gives. Therefore, the peace of Christ that is known in the heart is peace that is based upon or grounded in the peace of Christ that was earned on the cross, which is sometimes called “peace with God”.

Therefore, without peace with God, there is no peace of God inwardly. Why is peace with God necessary?

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

John 3:36 ESV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

We are born in a state of enmity against God and because of our enmity toward him, he is angry with us. Our sin and idol worship provokes the jealousy of the thrice holy God. His anger burns against us because of our high-handed rebellion to his throne and Lordship. Our sin offends his holiness and our sin is repelled by his holiness. Therefore, there is a two-fold enmity to be dealt with if we are to have a right relationship with God.

Colossians 1:21–22 ESV

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Mediator of the new covenant, reconciliation between God and man becomes a reality.

Romans 5:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

How does all this allow us to obey the command to let the peace of Christ rule our hearts?

Philippians 4:7 ESV

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The objective peace with God that was earned by Jesus Christ is applied to our inner man by the Holy Spirit. In this, we know the peace of God. Therefore, Paul calls us to let the result of the objective work of Christ to rule our hearts in the midst of the body.

The church’s nature demands harmony

To which indeed you were called in one body

The nature of the church is described frequently as a body, specifically the body of Christ.

The comparison of the body of Christ to the human body is significant in that it gives us great insight as to the importance of the harmonious functioning of the individual parts for the good of the whole.

Ephesians 2:14–22 ESV

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Illustration: A system is a collection of parts that interact together for a common purpose. But a system is not just any old collection of parts. The parts are related in such a way that each depends on the others to do whatever job there is to be done. No single part can do the job alone, and any malfunction or delay is likely to affect the whole system.

A body system is a set of body parts that do a particular task. The human body itself is an example of a complex system—many sets of interacting parts that work to keep the human machine running. On any single day, we can estimate that your heart beats 103,689 times, your blood travels 168,000,000 miles, your digestive system processes 7.8 pounds of waste, and your lungs take in 438 cubic feet of air. These are only a few of the many functions the human body performs. And while the least little mishap could cause a glitch in the system, amazingly, day in and day out over most of our lifetime, our bodies operate almost flawlessly.

Called - figuratively; (a) of God’s invitation to salvation or summons to discipleship call

Something important about the language here is that the word that is translated “called” is an aorist passive indicative. What does that mean? Well, it means this. The calling took place in the past for the Colossians. In addition, it means that they did not call themselves. They were called by another namely God. Lastly, it is a statement of fact.

Practical Exhortation

Illustration from John Chrysostom: Suppose a man to have been unjustly insulted, two thoughts are born of the insult, the one urging him to vengeance, and the other to patience, and these wrestle with one another. If the peace of God stands as umpire, it bestows the prize on that which calls to endurance, and puts the other to shame.

What is ruling your heart?