The Peace of God and the Word of Christ

Let us turn to God's Word again in that portion that we were reading just now in Colossians 3 and I want tonight to direct you to the words that we find in verses 15 and 16. Colossians 3 15 and 16 and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body, and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." I want to take up then this theme as we have it in these two verses where he speaks of the peace of God and the word of Christ Complimentary statements of course, the peace of God and the word of Christ dwelling in the heart. That's the theme that I want to try to address from these verses. It's interesting isn't it because in the opening chapters, first two chapters of this epistle, We have some wonderful doctrine concerning the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, very rich really in its content.

For example, if we turn back to the first chapter of the Word that he writes there at verse 15 concerning the Christ who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist a plain statement concerning the deity of the Christ he is indeed that one who is equal with the Father, he is God. He is very God, a very God begotten not made of one substance with the Father in the language of the ancient creed. But then also he goes over in chapter 2 and there at verses 9 and 10 to speak of the work of Christ as well. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, he says, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. And he is that one who has come to make the great sin atoning sacrifice, As he says there in verse 14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

He came to accomplish then a great work. of redemption and then when we come to the opening part of chapter three he speaks of the blessing of union with this Christ who is now vindicated declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead and he says here at verse one in the chapter if ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God set your affection on things above not on things on the earth for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is our life shall appear then shall you also appear with him in glory It's a wonderful epistle, the Colossian epistle, because it says so much concerning something of the glories of Him who is the only Savior of sinners.

Well, as we turn to these two verses in this third chapter that I've read, verses 15 and 16, first of all I want to say something with regards to the peace that is being spoken of there at verse 15 and at the peace of God he says rule in your hearts and we observe that it is spoken of as the peace of God in other words it's that it belongs to God it's of God, it's from God when we think of God it's not so much that love is one of the attributes God has many attributes he's righteous, he's holy, he's just, he's good, he's gracious, he's merciful we can multiply so many of his attributes and sometimes we speak of his attribute of love but really love is more than an attribute in God, love is God Isn't that what the Apostle John says twice there in that first epistle?

God is love. Love is there in the very doctrine of the Trinity of course. There is a mutual love between the three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost and when the son speaks in Proverbs chapter 8 speaking there is the wisdom of God in the 30th verse he says then I was by him as one brought up with him I was daily his delight rejoicing always before him God is love without reference to anything outside of himself Because there is that relationship in all the mystery of the Godhead. And God is at peace with himself. He's very much at peace with himself as he rests in his love.

Now he is pleased to manifest that love time and again as he unfolds his great purpose of salvation in Isaiah 46 and verse 10. Remember how in that verse the prophet speaks of how God knows the end from the beginning. 10th verse, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Oh God has a purpose and that purpose rests in the great covenant of redemption that covenant of peace or that council of peace between both, between the father and the son, that council wherein the son willingly becomes the servant of the father in order to be the saviour of sinners. And God rests, God rests in that great purpose rooted in himself as the God of love.

And we're reminded aren't we time and again that he does according to his will among all the armies of heaven and all the inhabitants of the world none is able to stay his hand, none is able to say to him what do is there though he is sovereign in his love we're often in this life those who are flustered, perplexed, confused To us we seem to be surrounded by a multitude of problems, many uncertainties, and all seems to us at times to be so dark and yet this God the God of love, the God of peace, is the one who is working out his own purpose.

Think of the children of Israel as they were being taken away into exile during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, he was very much the Lord's messenger at that time of great calamity amongst the kingdom of Judah as they were removed into Babylon as the armies of Nebuchadnezzar came and overran even Jerusalem and destroyed the temple of the Lord and removed the people into exile but what does the prophet say those familiar words really in chapter 29 verse 11 following I know the thoughts that I think toward you saith the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end then shall you call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you and you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your hearts isn't that the very passage, one of the passages that Daniel must have been reading as we are told in the ninth chapter of his book and reading those words he was moved to cry Oh God is that one who in his sovereignty will fulfill all his purpose. Though we might oftentimes think that matters are beyond any redemption, beyond any salvation really. It all seems so utterly helpless. But remember how Paul writing to the church at Philippi, he speaks of that peace of God, the same peace of God that we have here in this 15th verse, let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

And in Philippians 4.7, the apostle speaks of that peace as the peace of God which passeth understanding. The peace of God which passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Oh, there is peace then. This is what the Apostle would encourage the church at Colossae in.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you are called in one body and be you thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. But having said something with regards first to the peace that he's spoken of in verse 15, I want in the second place to say something with regards to the heart. It's to rule, he says, in your hearts. in your hearts how strange is this what is man's hearts by nature well the heart is deceitful says Jeremiah we just read those words in chapter 29 didn't we ministering there to those going into captivity but previously in chapter 17 and verse 9 we have that statement the heart is deceitful above all things desperately wicked Who can know it?

I, the Lord, search the hearts. I try the reins to give to every man according to the fruits of his doing." And from the very beginning God saw what man was, after the great transgression of our first parents, after the fall that we read of in the third chapter of Genesis. Remember just a few chapters further on, chapter 6 and verse 5.

God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every imagination of the thought of his heart was evil continually we call that to Hebraism really every imagination of the thought of his heart evil continually or the wickedness of the hearts of men and so when the Lord Jesus Christ comes now He is that one who tells us plainly that it is from the heart, from the heart of man that all manner of wickedness proceeds from within, out of the heart of man.

That's the language of the Lord Jesus. And of course, in a sense, it's in the Lord Jesus Christ, really, that we see the greatest of all the manifestations of the love of God. when we think of the person of the Lord Jesus. This man shall be the peace, says Micah, when the Assyrian comes into the land. Who is the man that he's speaking of? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God in Christ that is to us the great revelation of the love of God when we think of that name that's given to him in Isaiah 9 and verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He's the Mighty God. He's the Prince of Peace. He's that one in whom we see where peace is to be found. He is the He's the days man who can stand between heaven and earth. He's that one who has come to reconcile the sinner to himself.

And it's not only when we think of Christ in the wonder of his person as the God man, but also all that great work, that great work that he has accomplished. We refer to what he says in the second chapter, but he also of course makes mention of the work of Christ here in chapter 1. Verse 19, He pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and have He made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable in his sight, and unreprovable in his sight. Oh, we see such a revealing of God, the God of love, the God of peace, in all that the Lord Jesus Christ does.

And where is this brought home? It's brought home into the hearts of those who are so troubled. Christ is the Savior of sinners. Sinners are high in His esteem. and sinners highly value Him. They feel their need of Him. And all that love, that peace, should come into their wicked hearts, as I was saying. God knows the hearts of men. He tries the hearts of men.

And Isaiah again speaks of those, the wicked. Like the troubled sea, it says, when he cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, there is no peace. saith my God to the wicked no peace to the wicked those who are sunk in it all but when the Lord awakens his people and they feel what they are as sinners are they not then brought to cry out in the language of Joseph Hart in the hymn 310 can ever God can ever God dwell here does God really come and dwell in the hearts of his people and yet this is what we have here in these verses the peace of God ruling in your hearts the word of Christ dwelling richly in you in all wisdom this is the work of God and this is where God does his great work he does it in the hearts of sinners but what do we see here not only the peace of God rooted in the love of God and that peace coming into the the wicked heart of the sinner but we also read of that call, that call of God's grace to which also you are called it says you are called in one body and be ye thankful all this call is not the the general call of the gospel. Surely this is that efficacious grace of God, this is effectual calling. This is that call that accomplishes something in the soul of the sinner. The sinner is called to peace by the God of peace. Christ is the prince of peace. The Holy Spirit himself of course is the fruit of peace.

But think of the Lord Jesus Christ in His offices and the legacy that He leaves His people. How He speaks of it there in the 14th chapter of John, My peace I leave with you, O peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you, that not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Again He addresses the hearts of His people. He is that one who is the Prince of Peace. We thought in particular of Christ in his person, Christ in his work. But think also of that great covenant of redemption.

It's interesting though in the prophecy of Zachariah in the 6th chapter it's spoken of as the council of peace. from all eternity, the eternal counsels we say of the Trinity but of course God's counsel is one, God's purpose is one and the great purpose of God is his own glory but that glory to be demonstrated in the salvation of sinners as I said it's ultimately in the coming of Christ and the work of Christ that we have the full revelation No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared it."

All that peace Christ enjoys, He enjoys it in Himself because He has accomplished all that work that was given to Him in the Covenant. He has obeyed every precept and every commandment. that he undertook when he became the Lord's servant he obeyed in every part and he rests in that and this is the legacy of course that he bestows upon his people they are complete in him the language that we have there in the 10th verse of chapter 2 they are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power we have the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in that 16th verse as I say it's a parallel clause to what we have at the beginning of verse 15 there we have the peace of God ruling in the heart here we have the word of Christ dwelling richly in believers and that word richly That's the idea of plentifully, abundantly. The Word of God in its totality, every part of it, all the promises. But not only the promises, all the precepts. They're all in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And look at the exhortations that we have the Apostle giving in the words previous to our text. Verse 12 it says, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

And above all these things put on charity or love, it's agape of course, the highest form of love. the bond of perfectness and then he goes on the peace of God ruling in the heart the word of Christ dwelling richly in the soul all that word of the Lord Jesus Christ because all the scripture bears its testimony to him now he speaks to the Jews there in John 5 search for scriptures in them you think that you have eternal life he says but these are they that testify of me and it's not only the the word of Christ on the page of holy scripture but how the Lord is pleased to come to his people of course by and through the ministry of that very word he comes in the preaching doesn't he because preaching is God's own ordinance we have that remarkable passage back in Ephesians 4 and verses 20 and 21, here is the Apostle addressing the Ephesians, a church that had been established there in Asia Minor established of course by and through the preaching of the Apostle himself the Lord Jesus had never been there he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and during the course of his own ministry he tells his disciples that's where they are to minister but after Christ has completed the great work of redemption of course it's then that the gospel is to go out to the Gentiles and so Paul writing here in Ephesians 4 and verses 20 and 21 he says to the Ephesians you have not so learned Christ if so be ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus.

How did they ever hear the voice of the Lord Jesus? They heard it in the preached gospel. That's how faith comes, by hearing. And Christ has said concerning all His sheep, they know not the voice of strangers, but they know His voice. They know My voice, they follow Me, I give to them eternal life, they shall never perish. It's the Spirit of Christ, isn't it, that comes in the preaching. By that blessed ministry of the Spirit, the preaching is made efficacious in the souls of sinners.

Remember what the Lord says to his own disciples after his death and his resurrection from the dead, there in John 20. and verses 21, 22, and 23. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. Whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Of course, that has nothing at all to do with the Romish doctrine of the confession of sin, confession to a priest. As if a priest has the authority to forgive sins. the Lord is speaking of the ministry of these men as they preach the gospel of peace by that blessed anointing of the Spirit sinners will be converted unto Christ as John says again in his first epistle that general epistle written to believers in general you have an unction from the Holy One and you know all things and not that any man teach you anything, it's a spirit who comes by and through the ministry, the preaching of the Word of God and these are the things that are being spoken of then here in this 15th verse in particular and I want us, if the Lord will, to go on next Thursday and look at that following verse, that 16th verse and to consider more particularly what he's saying with regards to the Word of Christ and the teaching and admonishing one another in our psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

We're here to observe how he speaks of that love of God manifested in the great message of the gospel propitiation. That's what Christ accomplished by his sacrifice, satisfied the wrath of God brings peace, the sinner is now reconciled to God, there's peace dwelling in the believer's heart, that heart which by nature is the very sink of iniquity. And all this, the gracious, effectual work of God, calling the people out of the world, calling them unto himself, even into the body of his church. Let the peace of God rule in your heart, he says, to which also you are called in one body, and be ye thankful.

Oh the Lord, be pleased then to bless this word to us tonight. Let us, before we come to pray, sing our second praise. It's the hymn 609, the tune, Holy Warfare, 471. Lord, we fain would walk in love, but alas, how slow we move. Pride, that haughty monster, pride, often makes us start aside. 609, and the tune 471.

The Peace of God and the Word of Christ

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