Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself…”
Ephesians 2:14 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”
Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”
So far, we see three aspects of peace. Since the word itself refers to “a joining together,” our first joining points us to the reconciliation purchased for the human race to Christ. We had lost our connection with God through the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden, however, this reunion with Christ, accomplished through the blood of His cross, also gives us peace with the Father. We now have access to the Father through our having been joined to Christ. The third peace has joined us together, Jew and Gentile. Again by virtue of our union with Christ, we essentially have union with all fellow humanity, and especially those who have believed to experience this peace made through Christ.
So, Paul exhorts us to:
“Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3
How do we do this?
First, from Ephesians 4:1-2, we walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. This kind of walking implies confidence — an appropriate life which corresponds to our calling. Note that this calling was the summons initiated by another, God himself.
We are to operate in “tapeinosphrosune,” a Greek word implying:
- having a humble opinion of one’s self
- a deep sense of one’s (moral) littleness
- modesty, humility, lowliness of mind
The same word, used in the book of Philippians chapter 2, can be construed as “grace thinking.” or in other words, others are esteemed and offered what we have been given undeservedly, see Philippians 2:3
Next, our operation of life implies “meekness, ” “prautes” Vincent explains, “As toward God, therefore, meekness accepts His dealings without murmur or resistance as absolutely good and wise. As toward man, it accepts opposition, insult, and provocation, as God’s permitted ministers of a chastening demanded by the infirmity and corruption of sin; while, under this sense of his own sinfulness, the meek bears patiently “the contradiction of sinners against himself,” forgiving and restoring the erring in a spirit of meekness, considering himself, lest he also be tempted (see Galatians 6:1-5)”
“makrothumia” — longsuffering is our next word, which contains its own meaning in the word. A fruit of the Spirit, we endure others for a long time.
Then we are to “forbear,” one another. Thayer gives us:
- 1) to hold up
- 2) to hold one’s self erect and firm
- 3) to sustain, to bear, to endure
Make the effort to “keep the eye upon” the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace — by the blood of the cross.
“The unity between men of different tempers, which flows from the presence of the Spirit, who is Himself ‘one,” JFB
Peace is the uniting principle. “love the bond of perfectness.” Colossians 3:14,
In closing, let’s look at the book of Isaiah, chapter 26, verse 3.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. “
As we endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace we think in 3 aspects.
1st in consideration is our unity with Christ. This unity is the foundation for all other unities. In the keeping of this unity, we have experiential unity with the Father, access in prayer and fellowship. Also in keeping our unity with Christ, by faith, we make peace with our fellow men.
“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. “
Alford notices, “Walking in the light as He is in the light, is no mere imitation of God, but an identity in the essential element of our daily walk with the essential element of God’s eternal being.”
In the light we extend true fellowship to others. If others walk in the Light, we, together, have true communion, (fellowship). We live where the blood of cleansing enables continual peace and fellowship.
we have unity. Love ya
