#33.

We are Commanded to Live in Peace in Fellowship

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be
like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

The fruit of the Spirit is peace, Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22. We have already seen that
this is not absence of noise, absence of war or suchlike, though it may certainly bring this
about. This is the peace Jesus gives His disciples which is unknown to those in the world:

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I
give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

This peace comes from being cleansed in the blood of Christ so that God is our Father and
not our Foe. It comes then from surrendering to His will in our lives and understanding that
He has planned what is for our good and His glory. It comes from realizing that with God
for us, no-one can pose any serious threat to our blessing and our security in this world or
the world that is to come. When we have this peace in ourselves, we will desire to live in
peace with everyone, but especially with those to whom we are joined in the Body of Christ.

The striking thing we are seeing in these recent verses, though, is that we are not to keep
these fruits to ourselves. They are given so that the whole body of Christ may
be benefited through their expression, and we are commanded to share them freely. If,
then, I am blessed with a great measure of this spiritual peace, I must share it with my
brothers and sisters. I will be a peacemaker in the church and the peace that I manifest will
be a blessing and an encouragement to others who are tempted to anxiety or prone to
conflict.

You have known brothers or sisters over the years who radiate a deep inward peace, and
you loved the opportunities you had to spend time with them. It's not surprising that we
find this so appealing. After all, the peace they have is the peace of Jesus Himself, and to be
in His presence is bliss.

These thoughts ought to encourage us in several ways - first to ensure that our churches
plentifully manifest all the fruits and gifts (but the fruit of peace is in view in this
meditation). Second, if we have this peace in ourselves, we must share it with our brothers
and sisters. Third, it is inconceivable that this can happen if we habitually absent ourselves
from the church and the opportunities it supplies for fellowship in Christ.

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