The Peace of God, the God of Peace

Text: Philippians 4:4-9

 

Dr Alex Tang

 

Text

PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)

 

Sermon statement

A life of peace (shalom) and joy is possible because of the fruit of the Holy Spirit which gives peace (shalom) and joy, Jesus Christ who became our peace (shalom) on the cross and our God who is a God of peace (shalom)

 

Introduction

Paul wrote his epistle to the Philippians probably around 60-62 A.D. during the time of his imprisonment in Rome. Philippi is a strategic city in Greece. Originally built by Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. It later became famous because of the battle found there between Cassius and Brutus (murderers of Julius Caesar) and later between Octavian (later emperor Augustus) and Mark Anthony. Octavian won and made Philippi a Roman city. Paul came to Philippi during 49 A.D. (Acts 16:11-40) and founded a church. From the names mentioned, it probably made up of Gentiles converts. The Philippians church faced external opposition from the Romans who insist that Caesar is Lord, kyrios, and internal disunity inside the church.

 

(1) The Peace (shalom) of God (4:4-7)

PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

A. What do we want- joy, gentleness, no anxiety?

 

(a) Rejoice in the Lord

 a. Happiness and joy

b. Joy in the Lord

c. Joy is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit

Gal. 5:22

GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

(b) Gentleness

a. Translated as nobility.

b. Not hostility c.

For the community

 

(c) anxiety

a. do not be anxious

Matt. 6:25-27

MT 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

b. Careful, careless, carefree

 

B. What shall we do?

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

 

a. prayer

b. petition

c. thanksgiving present requests to God.

 

 C. What do we get?

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

 a. peace of God

b. transcend all understanding

c. guard your hearts and minds

d. on Christ Jesus

 

D. Summary

Joy

Gentleness ------> present requests to God---------> the peace of God

Anxiety

 

(2) The God of peace (shalom) (4:8-9)

PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

Note that the peace (shalom) of God guards our minds in Christ Jesus (4:7).

 

A. What shall we focus on?

a. What is True

i. Studying the Word of God

John 17:17 17

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 

Psalm 119:151

PS 119:151 Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true.

 

b. What is Noble

i. Semnos (honourable)- to revere, to worship

ii. lifestyle of Christians

 

c. What is Right

i. Dikaios (right) - righteous

 

d. What is Pure

i. Hagnos (pure)- holy, morally clean, undefiled

ii. Free from sin (1 Timothy 5;22)

 

e. What is Lovely

i. Prosphiles (lovely) – sweet, generous, patient

 

f. What is Admirable/good repute

i. Euphemos (good repute)-highly thought of, well regarded.

 

g. Summary: excellent or praiseworthy

 

B. What shall we do?

a. Learning from Paul-learned, received, heard, seen

b. Put into action

i. Repetition or continuous action

ii. Illustration: violin maker

 

C. What shall we receive?

a. The God of peace (shalom)

 

D. Summary

 

True

Noble

Right

Pure ----------> think and put into practice ---------> the God of peace

Lovely

Admirable

 (Excellent)

(Praiseworthy)

 

(3) The life of peace (shalom) and joy

 

What is peace? Peace is translated as Hebrew šālôm, which occurs 250 times in the Old Testament with eirēnē is found 91 times, 24 of which are in the Gospels in the New Testament. Peace is to limited a word to translate for shalom. The usage of šālôm includes

• wholeness,

• completeness,

• well-being,

• prosperity,

• health,

• contentment

• salvation.

 

In the New Testament, we find that Jesus Christ is shalom (eirēnē):

• Christ himself is eirēnē (Eph.2:14-18), EPH 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

• he is the mediator of eirēnē, bringing reconciliation (Col.1:20), 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

• sense of wholeness both for men and the world (Gal.6:15) 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation God is interested in a whole person, a whole people of his own, a whole earth and a whole creation which is implied in the concept of shalom.

 

A Christian life is a life of wholeness and completeness, a life of peace (shalom) and joy.

• Wholeness and completeness with the God of peace (shalom).

• Not a fragmented life

• Not a controlling life

• A life of submission to God’s shalom.

 

A life of peace (shalom) and joy is possible because of the fruit of the Holy Spirit which gives peace (shalom) and joy, Jesus Christ who became our peace (shalom) on the cross and our God who is a God of peace (shalom). Therefore,

 

PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)

 

 

Soli deo gloria

 

 

|posted 15 July 2008|