Blessed Are the Peace Doers…
Matt. 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, those who recognize that men cannot create peace but can only be peace, for they shall be called sons of God.
Peacemaker is a compound word and the two halves seem almost at odds one another. How does one “make peace?” It cannot be forced, and agreements or treaties usually do little more than affirm the peace that already exists, or postpone hostilities until one side believes it has the greater strength. People pleasing, or always yielding indiscriminately to another’s demands, does not bring true peace, either.
Webster’s Dictionary has multiple definitions for peace. Peace is “freedom from war…agreement to end war…law and order…freedom from disagreement,” and fifth, “an undisturbed state of mind; serenity....” At last we find the nature of peace, a rarer understanding because of its difficulty.
Peace is a relationship between two sides, between two different entities. This peace that we now experience is between our physical and our spiritual natures.
Newtonian science has given us clear guidelines for understanding what our physical senses perceive, and we have honored this science by giving it almost exclusive precedence over the more elusive spiritual reality. Not until the recognition of quantum physics have we been given an opportunity to understand what our spiritual senses perceive. Intuitive knowledge cannot be proven. There will be more on this later.
Strong’s Concordance shows the compound words of peacemaker (1518) as (1515) – peace, rest; and (4160) – to make or do. Perhaps “peace-doer” would give a better understanding of peacemaker here. “Peace doer” may not be good English grammar, but being at peace is an excellent spiritual state.
By practicing peace within, by exhibiting the peace that comes from reconciliation of our physical and spiritual natures, we are peace. Peace is harmony of the mind and the heart.
Christ said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).
Christ demonstrated inner peace. He was in harmony with God, and this harmony ruled his physical nature, as well. Throughout the Gospels He has been peace. Even His anger expressed toward the legalistic religious system of His day was a righteous indignation for the purpose of the restoration of truth and, with truth, peace.
Paraphrasing C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, there is a fundamental truth here: If you seek peace, you will get neither truth nor peace; if you seek truth, you will get truth, and peace will come in the end.
Paul affirms, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
There is a peace that comes from fullness: we do not lack for anything. Perhaps this is the reason that Psalm 23 has such an appeal to us: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” I shall not lack for anything. What a wonderful assurance!
The most amazing aspect of the soon return of the Christian to the world is that this peace within will not be matched by peace among those with whom we will come into contact. In a world where artificial peace, the cessation of hostilities, is bought with money or force, the peace of God is foreign and is rejected.
Satan taught mankind to rebel against God, against the Law of God. In rejecting God’s command, we rejected His character. No longer in unity with God, we could not be in unity with His Creation. All Creation was fractured by this act. Rebellion, “I will ascend,” was the message of Genesis 3. And we have been in rebellion ever since. We have sought our own identity, our own character, our own law. Failing in each respect, we have been unable to find peace. And here is peace: submission to truth.
Recall at the beginning of the Beatitudes, mankind was at war with God, his fellow men, and himself. If he thought himself at peace with any or all of these, a ceasefire condition might be a more accurate description of the uneasy peace.
Through the experience of the Beatitudes, the vain attempt to control what is beyond his own power has been abandoned. Surrender of this imagined power has restored order. God is in heaven and in His rightful place as Lord. “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
For those of us who have not made the journey of the Beatitudes, the peace at this point is difficult to imagine. Paul exhorts us onward to peace, reminding us of those who “by faith” moved toward God and His purpose (Hebr. 11).
Psalm 27:4
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
Matthew says the peacemakers, or peace-doers, shall be called the sons of God. The apostle John says of Christ, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). From this we know that the children of God are those who are at peace.
God says through Jeremiah, “…I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people” (Jer. 31:33). When we bear the character of God, the law that is His rule, we will be like the prodigal son who has returned to his father. Penitent, we are restored.
Paul has his characteristic way of expressing this truth: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:14-15).
At this stage, as we step back into the world, the forces of fear and control are absent. The undisturbed state of mind – one not invested in outcome but in being a follower of Christ – is peace. Faith in the will of God supplants faith in man’s will. Not my will but His be done.
The reward for those who are peace doers, those who are at peace inside themselves and with those outside, is that they shall be called sons and daughters of God.
Next article
Matt. 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, those who recognize that men cannot create peace but can only be peace, for they shall be called sons of God.
Peacemaker is a compound word and the two halves seem almost at odds one another. How does one “make peace?” It cannot be forced, and agreements or treaties usually do little more than affirm the peace that already exists, or postpone hostilities until one side believes it has the greater strength. People pleasing, or always yielding indiscriminately to another’s demands, does not bring true peace, either.
Webster’s Dictionary has multiple definitions for peace. Peace is “freedom from war…agreement to end war…law and order…freedom from disagreement,” and fifth, “an undisturbed state of mind; serenity....” At last we find the nature of peace, a rarer understanding because of its difficulty.
Peace is a relationship between two sides, between two different entities. This peace that we now experience is between our physical and our spiritual natures.
Newtonian science has given us clear guidelines for understanding what our physical senses perceive, and we have honored this science by giving it almost exclusive precedence over the more elusive spiritual reality. Not until the recognition of quantum physics have we been given an opportunity to understand what our spiritual senses perceive. Intuitive knowledge cannot be proven. There will be more on this later.
Strong’s Concordance shows the compound words of peacemaker (1518) as (1515) – peace, rest; and (4160) – to make or do. Perhaps “peace-doer” would give a better understanding of peacemaker here. “Peace doer” may not be good English grammar, but being at peace is an excellent spiritual state.
By practicing peace within, by exhibiting the peace that comes from reconciliation of our physical and spiritual natures, we are peace. Peace is harmony of the mind and the heart.
Christ said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).
Christ demonstrated inner peace. He was in harmony with God, and this harmony ruled his physical nature, as well. Throughout the Gospels He has been peace. Even His anger expressed toward the legalistic religious system of His day was a righteous indignation for the purpose of the restoration of truth and, with truth, peace.
Paraphrasing C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, there is a fundamental truth here: If you seek peace, you will get neither truth nor peace; if you seek truth, you will get truth, and peace will come in the end.
Paul affirms, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
There is a peace that comes from fullness: we do not lack for anything. Perhaps this is the reason that Psalm 23 has such an appeal to us: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” I shall not lack for anything. What a wonderful assurance!
The most amazing aspect of the soon return of the Christian to the world is that this peace within will not be matched by peace among those with whom we will come into contact. In a world where artificial peace, the cessation of hostilities, is bought with money or force, the peace of God is foreign and is rejected.
Satan taught mankind to rebel against God, against the Law of God. In rejecting God’s command, we rejected His character. No longer in unity with God, we could not be in unity with His Creation. All Creation was fractured by this act. Rebellion, “I will ascend,” was the message of Genesis 3. And we have been in rebellion ever since. We have sought our own identity, our own character, our own law. Failing in each respect, we have been unable to find peace. And here is peace: submission to truth.
Recall at the beginning of the Beatitudes, mankind was at war with God, his fellow men, and himself. If he thought himself at peace with any or all of these, a ceasefire condition might be a more accurate description of the uneasy peace.
Through the experience of the Beatitudes, the vain attempt to control what is beyond his own power has been abandoned. Surrender of this imagined power has restored order. God is in heaven and in His rightful place as Lord. “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
For those of us who have not made the journey of the Beatitudes, the peace at this point is difficult to imagine. Paul exhorts us onward to peace, reminding us of those who “by faith” moved toward God and His purpose (Hebr. 11).
Psalm 27:4
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
Matthew says the peacemakers, or peace-doers, shall be called the sons of God. The apostle John says of Christ, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). From this we know that the children of God are those who are at peace.
God says through Jeremiah, “…I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people” (Jer. 31:33). When we bear the character of God, the law that is His rule, we will be like the prodigal son who has returned to his father. Penitent, we are restored.
Paul has his characteristic way of expressing this truth: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:14-15).
At this stage, as we step back into the world, the forces of fear and control are absent. The undisturbed state of mind – one not invested in outcome but in being a follower of Christ – is peace. Faith in the will of God supplants faith in man’s will. Not my will but His be done.
The reward for those who are peace doers, those who are at peace inside themselves and with those outside, is that they shall be called sons and daughters of God.
Next article
