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W.H. Griffith Thomas
William Henry Griffith Thomas (1861–1924). Born on January 2, 1861, in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, W.H. Griffith Thomas was an Anglican clergyman, scholar, and author influential in evangelical theology. Orphaned young, he worked as a clerk before studying at King’s College London and Christ Church, Oxford, earning a BA in 1895 and a DD in 1906. Ordained in 1885, he served as a curate in London and vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, gaining renown for expository preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention, he emphasized holiness and biblical authority. In 1905, he became principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, training clergy, and in 1910, he moved to Canada to teach at Wycliffe College, Toronto. Co-founding Dallas Theological Seminary in 1919, he shaped its dispensationalist ethos. His books, like The Principles of Theology and The Catholic Faith, clarified Anglican doctrine. Married to Alice Monk, he had one daughter and died on June 2, 1924, in Philadelphia. Thomas said, “The Bible is not merely a book to be read, but a voice to be obeyed.”
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W.H. Griffith Thomas preaches on the importance of letting the peace of God rule in our hearts, emphasizing that this peace assures us of acceptance with God and provides protection. The peace of Christ is meant to be the arbiter in our lives, settling conflicts of thoughts and feelings, and revealing God's will. This divine peace is especially powerful in the unity of the body of Christ, the Church, where believers are called to experience and maintain peace.
The Peace of God in Our Hearts
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts..." (Col. 3:15). What does the peace of Christ do? Primarily it gives assurance of acceptance with God (cf. Rom. 5:1), and the protection of God (cf. Phil. 4:7, Gr., "shall garrison," a paradoxical use of a warlike term). But here Christ's peace is to be received into the heart as the arbiter deciding the course and ruling the life (Gr., "umpire"). A similar idea and practically the same Greek word is found in 2:18, as we have seen, where the apostle is warning his readers not to let anyone judicially deprive them of their reward as though they were unworthy. This word, translated here "rule," suggests that which settles differences, especially where there is any conflict of thoughts and feelings. Under such circumstances "the peace of Christ" is to decide; and if it be asked how peace is able to do this perhaps the explanation is that just as peace with God is the result of our acceptance of Christ as Savior (Rom. 5:1), so the experience of peace in the soul, in union with Christ and through the presence of the Holy Spirit, will at once settle every difficulty, resolve every conflict, and show us what is the will of God. In this case there is a special reason for such divine peace--the essential unity of the body of Christ, the Church, and to this peace, we are told, every believer has been called. When we are one with Christ, in whom God "called us with an holy calling" (2 Tim. 1:9), and also one with Christians, "called in one body," as Paul says here, there is no question as to the great power of divine peace in our lives. We read of "government and peace" (Isa. 9:7), of "righteousness and peace" (Ps. 85:10; cf. Isa. 32:17), and of "grace...and peace" (Titus 1:4). Until these prevail universally, however, "the God of peace himself" (1 Thess. 5:23, ASV) will be with us, keeping us meanwhile "in perfect peace" (Isa. 26:3).
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William Henry Griffith Thomas (1861–1924). Born on January 2, 1861, in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, W.H. Griffith Thomas was an Anglican clergyman, scholar, and author influential in evangelical theology. Orphaned young, he worked as a clerk before studying at King’s College London and Christ Church, Oxford, earning a BA in 1895 and a DD in 1906. Ordained in 1885, he served as a curate in London and vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, gaining renown for expository preaching. A key figure in the Keswick Convention, he emphasized holiness and biblical authority. In 1905, he became principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, training clergy, and in 1910, he moved to Canada to teach at Wycliffe College, Toronto. Co-founding Dallas Theological Seminary in 1919, he shaped its dispensationalist ethos. His books, like The Principles of Theology and The Catholic Faith, clarified Anglican doctrine. Married to Alice Monk, he had one daughter and died on June 2, 1924, in Philadelphia. Thomas said, “The Bible is not merely a book to be read, but a voice to be obeyed.”