A World Without Peace
There are few things in this world that people want more than peace. Yet humanity seems unable to attain it in any lasting way. Even as I write this article, news is breaking about yet another long-simmering conflict that has erupted into open war. The great peacemaking institutions of our time are powerless to deliver on their promise of true and lasting peace. They censure and sanction. They pass resolutions and mediate negotiations. They intervene politically and, at times, militarily. But ultimately, they fail to secure lasting global peace.
Why is it that men cry, “Peace, peace,” but there is no peace? It’s because today, just as in Jeremiah’s day, society treats the wounds of this world as though they were only superficial (Jer 6:14). They see only the outward symptoms of conflict and unrest. They refuse to acknowledge that the problem runs far deeper – all the way down into man’s soul. The reason we have no peace in this world, or in our hearts, is because of sin. The hostility that exists between nations (and neighbors!) is only a symptom of the real problem: our rebellion against God. Until we are at peace with Him, we will never know true peace with one another.
Thankfully, our God is “the God of peace.” Scripture calls Him that five times. He longs for all mankind to be brought into a harmonious relationship with Himself and with one another. That’s why He designed a plan to accomplish this through His Son, “the Prince of Peace,” and through His Spirit, the very source of peace (Gal 5:22). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are united in their desire for us to know true peace.
A World Full of Walls
But this world hasn’t known real peace since the garden of Eden. The countless walls that men have built throughout history stand as silent witnesses to that fact. Even today, they continue to build and maintain walls as buffers between hostile nations and neighbors. Those walls create the illusion of harmony because everything seems calm on either side. But all they really do is keep the hostile parties apart. If both sides were truly at peace, then there would be no need for walls. The same thing is true spiritually. When we experience God’s peace, the walls are taken away.
From the moment of our birth, we were at enmity with God because of sin. Yet while we were still enemies, He reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son (Rom 5:10). In Ephesians 2 we see how Christ brings us into that peace by removing the two great walls that stand between God and man (2:1-10), and between Jew and Gentile (2:11-18).
Peace With God (Eph 2:1-10)
The first barrier that He removed was our sin, which separated us from God. Before we were saved, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, living under Satan’s control and subject to God’s righteous wrath (vv1-3). But God was rich in mercy and love towards us, despite our condition (vv4-5). He sent His Son to bear the penalty for our sins, removing the obstacle that stood between us and Him. Then, having taken away that barrier that kept us apart, He brought us into His holy presence, raising us up to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (v6). Truly, it is by grace that we are saved.
Peace With Each Other (Eph 2:11-18)
But there was a second great barrier that the cross removed: the enmity between Jews and Gentiles. “In the flesh,” there was a great divide between the two. And we, as Gentiles, were especially far off from God (vv11-12). But now, “in Christ Jesus,” we have all been brought near, both to God and to each other (v13). The ancient enmity has been abolished (vv15-16). Christ has “slain the enmity” by His own death on the cross! In so doing, He opened a way of reconciliation for all.
The peace that Christ accomplished at Calvary is the very peace that He now proclaims to all mankind through the gospel (v17). “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Rom 10:12).1 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). The cross of Christ neutralizes the cultural, social and ethnic hostilities that divide humanity. This doesn’t mean that those external differences vanish or become irrelevant, but rather that the cross transforms how we see them. They are no longer sources of division, pride or hostility. Instead, they are living, colorful proofs of the gospel’s power to save everyone who believes (Rom 1:16).
This truth is beautifully portrayed in Revelation 7:9-10. There John sees a vast multitude of saints from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne. Clothed in white, they glorify God and the Lamb. Their different ethnic and cultural backgrounds are apparent, but their voices blend together in one harmonious shout of praise to God. This is the same thing that God wants the world to see reflected in the Church today.
The Result of This Peace (Eph 2:19-22)
So what is the result of this two-fold peace that Christ accomplished at the cross? It is the Church, which Paul describes as a new and holy temple in the Lord (v21). In New Testament times, Herod’s temple stood in Jerusalem with both these barriers still in place. First, there was a veil that separated God from man, barring entry into the Most Holy Place. Second, there was a dividing wall that separated Jews from Gentiles. Only Jews could enter the inner courtyard. Signs warned Gentiles to stay outside in the Court of the Gentiles, under pain of death.
But, praise God, in His new dwelling place – the Church – those barriers have been removed. Through Christ, we all have access by one Spirit to the Father (v18). There are no strangers or foreigners among us; we are all fellow-citizens and members of God’s household (v19). The old divisions no longer define us. We are united in Him and with each other, “fitted together” and “built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (vv21-22 NKJV). Now that’s true peace!
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
