Peace Of God

Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

1 Peter 1:3-5 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Conclusions:

• Being anxious is self-centered, counterproductive worry, not legitimate cares for the spread of the gospel
• Anxiety and prayer are two great opposing forces in Christian experience
• Thanksgiving is the antidote to worry (along with prayer and petition)
• The peace of God is not merely a psychological state of mind, but an inner tranquility based on peace with God—the peaceful state of those whose sins are forgiven
• The opposite of anxiety, the peace of God is the tranquility that comes when the believer commits all his cares to God in prayer and worries about them no more
• The full dimensions of God’s love and care are beyond human comprehension
• Guard your hearts and your minds is a military concept depicting a sentry standing guard
• God’s protective custody of those who are in Christ Jesus extends to the core of their beings and to their deepest intentions
• Peace is a common Hebrew greeting, which Jesus uses in John 14:27 in an unusual way
• Peace speaks, in effect, of the salvation that Christ’s redemptive work will achieve for His disciples—total well-being and inner rest of spirit, in fellowship with God
• All true peace is His gift, which the repetition emphasizes
• In its greetings of peace the world can only express a longing or wish
• But Jesus peace is real and present
• Peace with God is not merely a subjective feeling but primarily an objective status, a new relationship with God: Once we were His enemies, but now we are His friends
• There are two sides to the perseverance of the Christian
• The Christian is shielded (1) by God’s power and (2) by his own faith
• The Bible speaks of salvation as (1) past—when a person first believes, (2) present—the continuing process of salvation, or sanctification, and (3) future—when Christ returns and salvation, or sanctification, is completed through glorification

Application:

• Are you anxious?
• Have you committed all your cares to God in prayer?
• Is your heart troubled?
• Are you His friend?
• Are you shielded by God's power and your faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible