“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will…” Hebrews 13:20
When the Holy Spirit revealed to the Apostle Paul the truths and meaning of the Gospel, He brought him to see that one objective in doing so was so that the sinner who turns to Christ and away from sin, in order to be born by the Spirit, may know the reality of what the Bible calls: “Peace with God.” This is a grand subject, for by Paul’s declaration of it as mentioned in his letter to the Romans, it is possible for any individual who comes to Christ for forgiveness of sins, and receiving the Holy Spirit, to know the reality of something so vast and so complete, that only by having a new body one day, like that of the resurrected Christ, will allow him to grasp the wonder, glory, and eternal, unchanging significance of peace with his Creator and Redeemer. When the Bible speaks of this peace between God and man, it speaks of more than a blessed eternal calm. It speaks of an absence of conflict, and at the same time, because of the shared nature of Christ in the heart by the Spirit, there is all the power of God revealed in conformity with Himself, in His beauty, goodness, and love. His peace, which is communicated to the soul by the Spirit, is that expression of delight that God gives in the freely flowing, unobstructed life of Christ. His peace is the profound confirmation by God of His joyful approval of the one who belongs to Him by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. It is at the same time the powerful assurance of God’s immeasurable blessing in Christ, to be known in part on this earth as it is in heaven. One day faith will become sight, when we shall see Christ as He is, and be like Him. On this earth the God of peace has placed every believer in Christ, everyone born of the Spirit of God, into living union with Christ, in order to know this peace of God which cannot be understood fully, nor entirely explained. And yet, it can be known, experienced, and lived by virtue of Christ dwelling in the heart by faith.
Why then does the writer of the book of Hebrews, probably the Apostle Paul, conclude his book by speaking of the “God of peace,” being the One who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, specifically declaring that the Lord Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep, and that salvation is through the blood of the everlasting covenant? The Holy Spirit by these gracious words is laying the eternal foundation for faith, so that every believer in Christ, on the basis of Christ being their great and eternal Shepherd and because of His shed blood, that of the everlasting covenant, can rest in the assurance and confirmation that forever, there is not only the peace of God, but there is the peace WITH God, to be tasted of on this earth, but fully known and experienced in heaven.
How then are we to KNOW this peace of the God of peace, whose very testimony in the life is a fruit of the Spirit’s presence and working? In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the believers in Phillippi, he writes: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Why? It is because Christ is always, at every moment, the highest, and most wonderful reason, subject, and object for everlasting joy. Paul goes on to say, “The Lord is at hand.” The believer is to live in the reality of His constant presence. It is then that Paul calls the believer to be “…anxious for nothing,” but to pray instead with thanksgiving. Paul is revealing God’s conditions for knowing the “God of peace,” and His peace “…which surpasses all understanding.” (4:7)
Dear Father, Grant us Your peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.