Key Word: Peace (1) The Prince of Peace

The Bible describes God, among many other descriptions, as the ‘God of peace.’ Paul wrote of the ‘God of peace’ who would be with the believers (Romans 15:33) and the ‘Lord of peace’ who would grant peace to believers in whatever circumstances they might find themselves in (2 Thessalonians 3:16). The God of peace gives peace to His people. He will bless us with His peace (Psalm 29:11). The presence of God gives peace (Numbers 6:26). God has promised not to remove His covenant of peace (Isaiah 54:10). His Kingdom is peace (Romans 14:17). Jesus is the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6) who came to give peace on earth (Luke 2:14). Without peace, life on earth is miserable.

Peace is so very important in life and often desperately needed. So, what is it about God and peace? Isn’t religion the case of much strife and even war? Please note this at the outset: God and religion are not the same thing. God is the supernatural Being people believe in; religion is what people make of that belief and how they express it. This distinction is important. Often people reject religion because of the negative image of it they have, but here we seek to explain things more accurately to hopefully shed light on an often misunderstood or distorted image of religion in general and the God of the Bible more specifically. Consider the following.

The Need for Peace

In a world of much strife and confusion, peace is so desperately needed. Be it the war in Ukraine, the dramatic food emergencies in Yemen, Ethiopia or South Sudan or elsewhere, be it tensions in the Middle East or refugees fleeing Islamic terror groups in the Sahel, or suffering elsewhere in the world, peace is so desperately needed. But not only physical conflicts and suffering is an urgency that requires peace, also various insecurities of life require peace. We need peace of mind and peace of heart. But where can we find such peace? Jesus, the Prince of peace, invites us to come to Him and peace and find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28–30).

The Prince of Peace

The Good News in the Bible is that Jesus Christ is the ‘Prince of peace.’ This description comes from one of the many prophecies about the Messiah from Isaiah (Isaiah 9:6), a Hebrew prophet who lived over 700 years before the birth of the Child that was born unto us (Luke 2:7, 11). Christ the Prince of peace came to give His life to redeem humans lost in sin, suffering and confusion in order to give us peace—peace with God and peace among humans, ‘peace on earth’ (Luke 2:14). Jesus brought us peace with God through His sacrifice on the cross and we can access grace and peace through faith in Christ.

‘Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction [access] by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.’ Romans 5:1–2

Prior to these words, Paul had been explaining how God established salvation for humanity through Christ. Although people are lost in sin and are guilty before God, and therefore live under judgment, Christ carried our sins so we can be made right with God. He carried the judgment we deserved and we, therefore, can be justified and find peace with God. There is reconciliation with God in Christ, the Prince of peace (2 Corinthians 5:18–21).

God is both Judge and Saviour. But He judged not the guilty ones (sinners), but the sinless One (the Saviour). ‘The chastisement for our peace was upon Him’ (Isaiah 53:5)—the Saviour, the ‘Suffering Servant’ Isaiah described, is the ‘Man of sorrows,’ who ‘has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows’ (vv 3–4). Jesus ‘Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree [cross], that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed’ (1 Peter 2:24). Christ suffered for our sins, ‘the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God’! (3:18) There is reconciliation between God and sinful humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Prince of peace, who gives us His peace by making us righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:18–21).

‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ John 14:27

Jesus is the Prince of peace who wants to give us His divine peace. It’s not a human, earthly peace, but a divine, heavenly peace. The words He has spoke are to give us peace, knowing that He has overcome evil in the world—in Him we can have peace (John 16:33). Jesus promised His disciples His divine peace and then died on the cross to carry our sins ‘for our peace’ (Isaiah 53:5) so we can have ‘peace with God’ (Romans 5:1–2). Christ the ‘Suffering Servant’ is the Prince of peace who took the sins of the world on Himself so that we can have peace—peace with God and peace in our hearts, minds and souls. The Prince of peace is the Messiah of peace who brought the Gospel of peace.

The Gospel of Peace

Paul refers to the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Prince of peace, as ‘the gospel of peace’ (Ephesians 6:15). This comes from another prophecy of Isaiah, describing the beauty of those who bring ‘good tidings’ and proclaim ‘peace’ and ‘salvation’ (Isaiah 52:7). Gospel means ‘good news’ or ‘good tidings.’ God was in Christ in order to reconcile the world to Himself through the sacrifice of Christ who carried our sins on the cross so that we can become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:18–21). God offers peace to humanity in Christ, the Prince of peace. Christ the Saviour ‘is our peace,’ because He broke down dividing walls of hostile peoples in order to establish peace through the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 2:11–21). People can learn to live in peace after reconciliation with the God of peace because through the Prince of peace they receive divine peace.

People live in sin and are, therefore, under condemnation—the problem. But God gave His only begotten Son to carry that which separates us from God, reconcile us with God and give us eternal life—the solution! God didn’t send His Son to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:16–17). Those who choose to continue to live in the darkness of sin, choose their own fate; God’s invitation is salvation and life in the light of His will (vv 18–21). The life God offers is a life above the destructive power of sin and death. It is a life according to the Spirit of life, a way of life that offers true life and divine peace (Romans 8:1–8). Jesus offers eternal life and a life of peace with God, which will bring peace of heart, mind and soul. This divine peace is for you.

Peace for you!

God offers us peace in Christ—for you today. You can receive the Prince of peace in your heart through faith in Him—this is salvation and it is a gift! It is redemption and acceptance. Believe in the Messiah of the Gospel of peace to receive peace with God through the forgiveness of sins for which the Prince of peace died. You can have peace with God and within yourself today. Like this you can be a son or daughter of peace and bring peace to a hurting world. Peace will bring healing.

May the God of peace with you!