The Promises of Christmas (Week 4)
The 4th Sunday of Advent
“The Promise of Peace!”
Philippians 4:9, Isaiah 9:6 & Luke 2:8-14 (NAS95)
Let us start with the Christmas story as told by the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2:8-14,
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
This morning, we will be learning together about this promised peace that the heavenly host praising God proclaimed to those first shepherds and then came to us through the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
The angles emphasized in their proclamation: “With whom He is pleased.” God makes the peace with us; we don’t make the peace with Him! Peace is not man-made; it is from God! It is a gift (all of grace!) that we can even have and experience peace with God because peace was sent to us in the person of Jesus Christ! This is why He came on that first Christmas and why He died on the Cross of Calvary.
“For He Himself is our peace.”
Jesus came as the One to fulfill God’s covenant promises to His people. As one scholar stated, “A major feature of the Gospel record is the way it draws the reader’s attention to the fact that Jesus Christ’s earthly life fulfilled a veritable plethora of Old Testament prophecies, some momentous, others seemingly minute.”[1]
One of those “veritable plethora of Old Testament prophecies” is Jesus’ birth found in Micah 5:2-5,
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace.
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Peace is not just a theological construct that speaks to the mystery of your justification by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus has made peace between you and God so that you can, one day in some distant future, rest in peace. Heaven is a glorious truth that gives us hope, but if your only view of God’s peace is being in Heaven one day, then you have an insufficient view of God’s peace.
“‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
Paul built upon Jesus’ teaching of this experiential truth in Philippians 4:6-9,
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
God’s peace guards your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and, listen closely, “the God of peace will be with you”: He establishes His government in you, which is the Kingdom of God. Listen to another one of those “veritable plethora of Old Testament prophecies” of Jesus’ birth, a very familiar one, found in Isaiah 9:6-7:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
You have heard this prophecy every Christmas for years, but did you hear the connection of His government and peace. The Prince of Peace is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and there will be no end to His government or His peace. That’s a promise! It is His zeal that accomplishes this in and through us!
God grows peace in our lives because His peace in us and His government over us are defining characteristics of our new life in Christ as the adopted children of the King; the citizens of Heaven.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Peace is a ruling reality of the government of God in your life and the more you submit to God’s sovereign rule over you, the more of His peace you will experience. Peace is a “fruit” of the indwelling Holy Spirit and we all know that fruit is only produced because the branch is connected to the life-giving source of all fruit. Abiding in the vine is submission to His government—it’s absolute dependence on Him!
Listen to Paul explain this to you in Galatians 5:18-25:
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Fruit is designed to grow, to mature, to ripen and that happens in three ways in the Christian life:
1. Peace grows as you learn to trust (put your faith in) God:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NIV).
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”
2. Peace grows as you learn to love God’s Word:
“Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.”
“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (NIV).
3. Peace grows as you learn to walk in the Spirit:
“And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.”
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
We are to mature in Christ and that means that we are to not only have peace with God, but grow in God’s peace and the peace of God will be with us. Once again, we see that the promises of God come with a praxis—a way of experiencing the fulfillment of promise as a part of our everyday lives.
A leader in our church testified to me about peace: “The peace that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can possibly be identified as the ‘thing’ that sets followers of Christ apart. You often hear conversion stories where the new follower says they met someone who was just ‘different.’ I think it’s this ‘peace that passes understanding’ (Philippians 4:7) that sets us apart and makes us stand out as different from the world.”
Footnotes:
[1] M. S. Mills, The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record (Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries, 1999).