No Jesus, no peace; Know Jesus, know peace

Posted on by Pam Larson

Coty Pinckney on Ephesians 2:11-22

In addition to each of us being dead in our trespasses and sins, we Gentiles are not part of God’s chosen people. How could these great blessings outlined in Chapter 1 apply to us?

Paul answers that question in these verses,(Eph. 2:11-22) telling us to remember one thing, and to know two things. The rest of our time together this morning will be structured around these three themes:

  • Remember what you were! (verses 11 and 12)
  • Know what Christ did to change this! (verses 13-18)
  • Know what you are now! (verses 19-22)

know_jesus…..The central message of this text is that peace is a person: Jesus Christ. In Him, we have peace with God and peace with other believers; without Him, there is no peace. All roads to peace begin with Him.

Once we begin there, once we begin with the idea that we deserve nothing, that whatever good gift we have is ours only by God’s grace, then we can see that there is no room for self-righteousness or group-righteousness. There is no room for personal grudges, or group grudges. We can leave the desire for justice for past wrongs to God, knowing that as a just God He will, in the end, right all wrongs. Then we can rest in the fact that all Christians are saved only by Jesus’ blood: Jew or Gentile, Chinese or American, rich or poor, male or female, PhD or high school dropout — every one must come to Jesus, saying, “I am a sinner; I deserve eternal punishment in hell; I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross pays the penalty for my sin; in your grace, Lord, will you save even me?” And since we all come to God the same way, we can approach each other in humility and love — regardless of the external differences among us.

To read the rest of the sermon, click here:

2 thoughts on “No Jesus, no peace; Know Jesus, know peace”

  1. What of Matthew 10:34 were Jesus says “Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace but a sword.” ???

  2. Brian,
    Thanks for your thoughtful reply. It shows that you are considering the “whole” of the Bible and not just pieces. Because I believe ALL the Bible is true and is God’s Word to us, I join you in wondering what Jesus meant. I believe we need to look at the various meanings of the word,”peace.” When Jesus walked on earth, folks enthusiastically followed him thinking that He would be their earthly King, their political savior so to speak. Many were disappointed when He did not “take over” and restore “peace.” Instead, as you mentioned in Matthew 10, Jesus says that He will have quite the opposite effect- people would continue to fight, and even fights between families would happen as a result of some following Him and others not.(Matthew 10:21-22 says Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ) The “peace” Jesus gives is more ultimate- it is a peace with God, ultimate reconciliation with our Creator. The world can’t understand this peace. ( And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7) In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
    Perhaps the title of the post should have been, “Know Jesus…Know REAL, LASTING, out-of-this-world peace”
    Blessings to you as you continue to search the Scriptures and know God!
    Pam

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