The fruit of the Spirit is
peace
(Gal. 5:22)
As soon as we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). That means that the hostility between ourselves and God has ceased since Christ has effectively dealt with the cause of that hostilityour sins.
We also have peace of conscience knowing that the work is finished, Christ has paid the penalty of our sins, and God has forgotten them.
But then the Holy Spirit also wants us to enjoy the peace of God in our hearts. This is the serenity and tranquility that come from knowing that our times are in the hands of God and that nothing can happen to us apart from His permissive will.
So we can remain calm when we have a tire blowout on the busy freeway. We dont have to lose our composure when heavy traffic causes us to miss the plane. Peace means remaining cool in a car crash. Or when grease ignites on the kitchen range.
This fruit of the Spirit enables a Peter to sleep soundly in jail, a Stephen to pray for his murderous assailants, a Paul to comfort others in a shipwreck.
When a plane flies into clear air turbulence, and is thrown around like a feather in the gale, when the wing tips flex thirteen feet, when most of the passengers are screaming as the plane lurches, falls, rises and dips, peace enables a believer to bow his head, commit his soul to God, and praise God for whatever may be the outcome.
Or to change the illustration, the Spirit of God can give peace to us when we sit in the doctors office and hear him say, Im sorry to tell you but its malignant. He can enable us to reply, Im ready to go, Doctor. Im saved by the grace of God, and for me it will be absent from the body, at home with the Lord.
And so in the words of Bickerstiths lovely hymn, we can have Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin
by thronging duties pressed
with sorrows surging round
with loved ones far a way
our future all unknown because Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.
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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
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