Welcome again to part 6 of our study on seeing pictures of Jesus – different aspects of Him and His finished work for us – in the Beatitudes.
Now we are nearing the end, and we have been purposefully taking this slowly and with great care, because specifically the Beatitudes are very often mis-used as a legalistic barrier, a veil that keeps us from seeing or fully-embracing our new identity in Christ Jesus; and He never intended the Beatitudes (or any of His teaching) to be used in that fashion. That’s part of what the Pharisees were doing with the Old Covenant Law, and Jesus always corrected them strongly for it.
So today we continue looking at pictures of Jesus in the Beatitudes, as we pick-up where we last left off in part 5.
Let’s get started with Matthew 5:9:
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Now right-away we can see something interesting here… That these “peacemakers” are not only blessed but they will be called the children of God. And this is very interesting, because we know that there is only one true way to obtain the title of “child of God” and it does not come through our works, efforts, striving, or even our meager attempts at peacemaking.
Just as with all of the other blessings in the Beatitudes which we have studied up to this point (mercy, seeing God, inheriting the kingdom, etc.), they can only be received through the Finished work of Christ; being reborn as a New Creation in Him. (Ephesians 1:3)
And now we are getting to the culmination of the Beatitudes as a whole, and to the main point of them. Are you a child of God? Can you rightly claim that title? And what does it even mean?
Before we can examine the second-half of the verse, let’s first take a look at the first half: what does it mean to be a peacemaker? The obvious answer is, someone who makes (or creates) peace. And there are some people who believe that this means that true Christians must be pacifists. Is this what a peacemaker is from a scriptural standpoint?
The actual Greek word that Jesus uses here for peacemaker is εἰρηνοποιός, a word used only one single time in the entirety of scripture. And it does actually translate to “one who creates peace”… but what kind of peace is actually being referred to here, and how does it come? These are the questions that must be answered in order for us to truly understand what it means to be a peacemaker.
As we studied many times in the past, the divine peace of Christ is something quite different than the world’s definition of peace. Whereas the word defines peace is “a time of non-disturbance” or “a period without war”, the divine peace of Christ is something much more than that!
The divine peace of Christ includes health, healing, provision, wholeness, completeness, and rest for your soul and spirit, as well as your physical body. This was defined in Leviticus 26:3-9; and though the Old Covenant was conditional upon the perfect obedience of man, today in the New Covenant of Christ everything is given to us freely on the basis of Jesus’ perfect obedience, His perfect eternal sacrifice and our belief on Him (Romans 8:32, 2nd Corinthians 1:20)
So then, how exactly does someone become a peacemaker, in the biblical sense of the word, with the divine peace of Christ? Well, the first requirement is for us to have divine peace!
Divine peace is not something that you are born with. Nor is it something that you can conjure up within yourself. The scripture makes clear in Isaiah 48:22, that There is no peace to the wicked. And the word wicked there is the Hebrew רָשָׁע, meaning “guilty of sin”. Our natural fallen nature and identity, is that of a sinner (Romans 3:9-18), the last two verses of which say:
“And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now this is the state that each of us are born into, and isn’t it interesting that these two phrases are placed together like this? Within the judgment is also placed the cure… do you want to know the way of peace? Jesus is the way. Do you want the path of peace in front of your eyes, it comes through reverence of God. But again, how do we get there from here? Let’s continue…
Where most people get tripped-up is by trying to climb their way out of the muck and mire, and do it on their own, by trying to live a divinely peaceful life through their own strength and effort – and this is why understanding the truth about the sinful identity which we are all originally born into is so important. Because we have no power within ourselves to solve the root problem. We cannot change our own identity through self-effort, self-sacrifice or force of will. As Jesus said so succinctly, we must be born again. (John 3:3,7) We must be reborn as new creations, where our identity is no longer one of sin, but one of righteousness – the divine righteousness of Jesus Christ to be precise; and it happens through receiving of His sacrifice for us. Consider Isaiah 53:6:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Understanding this truth is the central core of the Gospel. All of us were corrupted, and gone astray; but the second-half of the verse tells us the solution… The LORD laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all.
This is where your new identity comes from; the fact that Jesus was the complete and perfect sacrifice in your place, and today not only has your debt been paid, but your complete old identity is dead and gone, and that your new identity is one of divine righteousness, absolute holiness, favor and peace with God!
Take notice of that last one in particular, because here is where all of these pieces fit together with the topic of our study today. Consider Romans 5:1-2, which says:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
You see, the divine peace which we have, does not come through our sacrifices, efforts, payments or trials, but it comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. He paid for it on our behalf – we receive it as a free gift of His Grace.
Notice also that it is Grace which we stand in, it is not ourselves, nor our goodness, nor or our intellect, but His Grace alone and we rejoice in the hope (confidence) of the glory of God.
Furthermore we know that Jesus gave us His divine peace in John 14:27:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
This is a permanent supply of divine peace directly from Jesus Christ (it’s His peace). This is that divine peace which includes all of the benefits, for our spirit, soul and body. That peace which includes all of His wholeness and completeness which we read about earlier in this study. This peace is now yours, not because you earned it, but because Jesus has given it to you. And because you didn’t merit it, this also means that you cannot demerit it, either!
So now we know what divine peace is, and how we receive it. The final question that we must answer is how does someone become a peacemaker? How does one create divine peace? Well, you might be surprised, but it is produced naturally in you by the Spirit of God, as part of your new nature and identity in Christ:
Galatians 5:22-23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Do you see how all of this is wrapped-up in Jesus, and our new identity in Him?
Today, because of His sacrifice, not only do we have Peace with God, and we have a permanent supply of His divine peace as well. And now we see how to become makers of peace through His Spirit producing the fruit of peace in our life. This is fruit that can be observed by and shared with those around us.
And as you share the Gospel (good news) of the truth of Jesus, and His blessings with others – completely effortlessly – you will be a peacemaker for those around you.
And with all sincerity, I say to you, in full agreement with our Lord Jesus Christ,
Be blessed,