Fruit of the Spirit - Peace

I want to make sure we are all on the same page this morning as we continue exploring the different aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit. We talked week 1 about how we are fused together with Christ. He is the vine from which we draw life. As a result of our relationship with Jesus, we have been given the Holy Spirit, and because of His indwelling power, we have been given certain gifts. One of those gifts is what we call the Fruit of the Spirit. This is a singular fruit that contains many different traits. We can think of it as a diamond with many different facets. 

This morning we are going to look at the ability that we have to experience peace. Peace. The Global Peace Index 2023 report uses 23 different indicators across 3 different categories to determine a rating for each country across the world. They look at Ongoing International and Domestic Conflict, Societal Safety and Security and Militarization. The 2023 report revealed that for the 9th consecutive year, global peacefulness deteriorated. The scale by which they measure each country is from 1-5. The lower the number, the more peaceful a country is. The most peaceful country in the world is Iceland. Can you guess where America is? Out of 163 countries reported, the United States ranks 131st. Haiti is ranked higher than the US, and we are only 3 spots higher than Palestine. 

But it’s not just external global peace that has become a major concern. There is a desire in all of us to find true and fulfilling inner peace. Whole religions are based around this pursuit. Thousands of books written to help people navigate worry and stress and anxiety. Mindfulness, yoga, retreats, meditation…so many different strategies for a world that will be left searching without a life-changing relationship with Jesus. 

Peace as defined in the Bible is the Greek word “eirene.” In one sense, this word paints the picture of “binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or divided.” It can also “convey the sense of an inner rest, well being and harmony.” The beauty of this truth is that we have the ability to experience this through the Holy Spirit even in the midst of adversity in our lives. 

There are 3 different aspects of peace that we find in Scripture. Before we get to the peace that we have because of the Holy Spirit, we must talk about the peace that is offered to us through Jesus.

Eternal Peace

We have to begin with the bad news, and that bad news is out of Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all enter this world as sinners. One of the implications of this is found in Romans 5:10 where Paul tells us that we were enemies of God. If we have an enemy, either we fight with them, which with God is a battle we will never win, or we come to the table with that person and try to come to an agreement of peace. 

For us, we have nothing to offer to achieve peace with God. We have nothing to bring to the table. We have no negotiating power. Good news for us is that God comes to the table with a covenant of peace that has already been signed with blood. 

Turn over to Romans 5. Read Romans 5:6-11, then verse 1.

Christ died so that we might be reconciled to the Father. Jesus shed His blood to initiate a New Covenant, a new promise, that belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus would save us from the wrath of God and into an eternal relationship with Him. Therefore, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) came to Jerusalem, the City of Peace, preaching the Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15). 

Ephesians 2:13-16 says “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 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, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

So we have been reconciled, brought back into relationship with God through Jesus, and that peace that comes through the New Covenant is an eternal peace. Jesus Himself said that “no one can snatch believers out of His hands. No one can snatch believers out of the Father’s hands.” Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 that we are “sealed for redemption.” Peace with the Father is a sure and eternal peace. 

Before we can experience Holy Spirit peace, we must first experience peace with the Father through Jesus. Without this peace we are unable to experience the inner peace that is gifted to us as we talk about the Fruit of the Spirit. Let’s talk about that peace. 

Internal Peace

Back to our biblical definition of peace, “a sense of an inner rest, well being and harmony.” I found another definition that I thought was so good, for you social media influencers, use this one, “peace is the heart at rest in God.” Doesn’t that sound so awesome? A heart at rest in God. 

I want to look at 2 different passages as we try to understand more fully what this means for us. 

John 16:33

One thing we notice here is that Jesus is not telling the disciples that they will not have trouble. In fact He says the opposite. You WILL have tribulation. You will face trouble, you will suffer, but in those moments of trouble, take heart, I have already overcome! So we have a contrast here. The world is full of trouble and struggle and pain and tribulation, but in Jesus there is peace. In this life the waves will crash around you, it will feel as though we are going to drown, oh but we remember the power of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. 

All 4 gospel accounts have this story. Jesus slept while experienced fishermen battled the storm that was raging. The waves were crashing into the boat. They woke Jesus up and He rebuked the storm, He spoke an immediate calm over the wind and sea. “Be still,” and the water became like glass. You think if Jesus can speak calm into His creation, He might be able to speak calm into your life as well? “In the world you will have trouble, but in Jesus you will have peace.” 

How does this play out for us practically? What does it look like to experience this Holy Spirit peace? What is it that most often gets in the way of feeling at peace? Anxiousness. Anxiousness is the adversary of peace. 

Philippians 4:6-7 (Start with the line before verse 6)

The Lord is present, do not be anxious about anything. Easier said than done for our weak and fallen minds, but it’s a good thing that Paul gives us the remedy for anxiousness! “Don’t be anxious, BUT…” Instead of being anxious, try this. Bring that which is making you feel anxious to the Lord. Place the situation at His feet. Cry out to the Lord in the valleys, in the darkness, in the days that bring dark clouds into your life. 

And then I found this next word so helpful as I continue to address the anxiety in my own life. Paul says to pray, with thanksgiving. So, I bring that which makes me anxious to the Lord, I release that by thanking God for who He is and what He has done in my life. What’s going to happen when we do this? The truth about who God is will overwhelm that which is making us anxious. We will begin to fix our eyes on Jesus and all else will fade. 

And then the promise. Don’t be anxious, instead pray to the Lord with thankfulness. And the peace of God, a peace that defies logic, that is beyond our understanding, a peace that can only come from the Father, will guard your hearts and minds. What a beautiful truth that is so needed in our anxious world. I am so thankful that in the midst of trouble, in the midst of struggle, right in the middle of my anxiety I have been promised peace, my heart at rest in the Lord. 

There’s one more aspect to peace that I want to make sure we talk about this morning, and that is external peace. 

External Peace

We have peace with God because of Jesus. We have the ability to feel a sense of peace in troubling times. We also have the responsibility to be at peace with one another. 

Hebrews 12:14 - “Strive for peace with everyone…” Pursue, press hard after peace with everyone. It doesn’t come naturally, it comes with discipline and intentionality. 

Paul in Romans gives us a bit of a clarifying statement. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Paul lets us know that peace may not be achieved in certain situations. Our responsibility is to do what we can to open the door to peace. Jesus has a teaching on this, those who pursue peace are called blessed. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” What is evidence of our being children of God? By pursuing and trying to be an advocate of peace. 

Application

I love digging into these different characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit. There’s so much more behind them than where our minds tend to naturally take us. When we talk about love, and joy, and peace. To hear from Jesus and other apostles that real calm, unexplained rest in moments of trouble is ours through the Holy Spirit, I mean I just praise God for that. As someone who has very anxious moments, but has the ability to step out of that moment and rest in the promises of God, it’s an incredible truth. 

And I hope you hear the same for yourself this morning. I hope you hear the possibility in the midst of distress. Let’s not call it a possibility, let’s call it a promise. You have been promised the Holy Spirit and through His presence in your life you have been given peace that passes human understanding. In other words, peace that can be found nowhere else in this world. It’s not a tangible peace that I can grab on to. When we experience it, it doesn’t make sense! Why would I feel peace when my world seems to be crumbling? Why would I feel peace when I get that diagnosis? Why would I feel peace when I lose my job? It doesn’t make sense. But isn’t it in these moments that we most desperately need to feel, to be overwhelmed by supernatural peace?