Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 3 Study # 1
April 17, 2016
Humble, Texas

• I. The Lord of The Peace Himself.
  • A. The issue is again emphasized by the addition of "Himself".
    • 1. The Lord of the Peace.
      • a. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 uses the phrase, "...The God of the peace Himself sanctify you...".
      • b. Colossians 3:15 says the Peace of the Christ is to rule in our hearts (Authorized Version says the Peace of the God...).
      • c. Philippians 4:6-7 promises "the peace of the God" to those who "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [their] requests be made known unto the God". Verse nine goes further by saying that those who "do" what they have learned, received, heard, and seen will have the God of the Peace "with" them. In other words, without "faith" of sufficient strength to motivate behavior, there is no pleasing Him, yet with such "faith", we have Him in attendance with us.
      • d. Romans 15:33 gives the benedictory, "Now the God of the Peace with you." And 16:20 piles on with "Now the God of the Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly...".
    • 2. At Issue: The Peace.
      • a. Peace is at once both the absence of hostilities (Matthew 10:34) and the presence of the unity of both values (Mark 5:34 where "peace" is the absence of fear and trembling as John declared: Love [values] casts out all fear) and beliefs (Luke 8:48).
      • b. Luke 11:21 uses the phrase, "...his goods are in peace" to describe the "security" that exists for the "goods" of a strong man. This strongly implies that "peace" includes a significant sense of "security" as the outcome of the absence of hostilities. This exactly fits the theological concept of the soul's need for security achieved through beneficent relationships...relationships of "peace".
      • c. John 14:27 clearly ties an untroubled and fearless heart to the concept of "peace" and 16:33 just as clearly contrasts "peace" with "tribulation".
      • d. 1 Corinthians 14:33 contrasts "peace" with "confusion". 2 Corinthians 13:11 speaks of The God of The Love and The Peace... .
  • B. What do we say about those of us who have no "peace"? Clearly there is no "faith" where there is no "peace". Thus, there has to be the insecurity of values/beliefs conflicts.
• II. Through All, In/By Every...
  • A. The use of the preposition "through" with the genitive many times indicates intermediate agency (Robertson) so that the follow-up preposition "in/by" would most likely not be another "agency" issue, but, rather, a "locational" issue: "in every way". The problem is that the term "means" (Authorized Version) is a word that Paul used in 2:3 to indicate "means". Philippians 1:18 additionally uses the same term and the same grammatical construction to indicate "by every method".
  • B. It may well be, then, that what Paul is saying is that "through every circumstance" and "by every means" the Lord of the Peace has the gift of peace available to His people.
• III. The Lord Be/Is With You.
  • A. The static reality.
    • 1. Since "The Lord" committed Himself to "never leave, nor ever forsake" His own, "He is with you".
    • 2. This is the crucial issue in any case: if the Lord is "with" us, we have no occasion for a faithless response to any circumstance.
  • B. The experiential reality.
    • 1. Paul's words to the Philippians clearly indicate a lack of the experience of "peace" in the lives of believers on some occasions.
    • 2. Thus, "May the Lord of the Peace Be With You" is a particularly poignant wish.
• IV. Then, the Other Wish: May The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ Be With You.