The book of Ephesians is mainly about the good news of Jesus Christ, and one of the applications of that is peace. In one of it’s first verses, Paul writes, “Grace to you and peace . . .” (1:2). You get the sense that the Holy Spirit, while inspiring Paul to write this, is trying to get grace and peace to you. It might be a relief just to know that God wants you to have and be at peace. But one thing we probably all have in common is that we want peace, and often peace eludes us – we want to be at peace, but we can’t always find it.
When we think about peace, we usually think about the absence of something: trouble, strife, illness, fear or even just noise and deadlines. That is our typical definition of peace. It is a tranquility achieved by all those things being escaped and pushed away. What we see, though, is that the Bible puts forth a dimension of peace that we don’t often consider. The Biblical idea of peace is “wholeness,” and in Ephesians, what it means is “wholeness in relationship with God and God’s people.”
Created for Relationship With God and People
God is in Himself a relationship. God is relationship. So when we were created in His image, we were created for relationship.
He created us for relationship with Himself. The Lord’s wish is that He would be our God and we would be His people. We were created for closeness with God, to depend on Him like children depend on their father, to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to worship Him.
We were also created for relationship with people. At the end of every day of creation in Genesis, God said it was good. But when He created Adam and he was alone, God said “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). And so He created Eve. You were created for a relationship with God and with people. You were created to live in open, loving, humble relationship with others.
The Human Condition
Sin came along and fractured all these relationships, however. We are now broken relationally. And until we are made whole in relationship to God and God’s people, we will not be at peace – not the Biblical idea of peace. There is no peace apart from this. Later on, Paul captures the problem (Ephesians 2:12).
This is the human condition that we are all born into: separated from Christ. Our sin creates a canyon between us and a holy God. The tragic thing is that many of us just settle for a life of complete disconnect from our Creator and from each other. And to soothe the fact that we’re not at peace, we cope and medicate and distract. But there is no peace to be found there – only momentary distraction.
Yet as Paul moves forward into verse 13, he puts forth the solution:
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
The blood of Christ removes the separating sins of all who will trust in Him. It brings those who are sinful and shattered from their relationships with God and people back to what they were designed to be. Only through Jesus Christ can we be brought near to others and to God. Through Him, we “have access in one Spirit to the Father” (v. 18). That is peace.
Peace With Jesus
This is what our relational wholeness looks like:
- citizens of God’s kingdom (v. 19);
- members of the household of God (v. 19);
- placed into a new structure with Jesus as the cornerstone (v. 20-22).
As we look for peace, we must come to the Biblical conclusion that there is only one way to peace, and His name is Jesus Christ. Without Him there is no peace. There are distractions, temporary comforts, ways to cope; but there is not the peace of being made whole in relationship to God and His people. Without Jesus, the best we can hope for are these things – but with Him, nothing can take the peace away.
So we have to make the decision if we want peace the way God defines it: wholeness with relationship to Him and His people. Will we acknowledge our sin which separates, will we ask Him for forgiveness and freedom from sin, will we receive reconciliation, and will we live accordingly in close relationship with God and God’s people?
“Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.” (Ephesians 6:23-24)
Discussion Starters
- Read and discuss Ephesians 2:12-22 together.
- How do you usually define peace?
- How does the Bible define peace?
- Due to sin, what is our condition with relationship to God and others?
- How do we often respond to this?
- Where can we find the only lasting solution?
- What does true peace look like?
- What will accepting the peace of Jesus Christ mean for our lives?
