Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
All of us who Love the Lord and desire to worshipfully serve Him need to pay special attention to Colossians 3:12-17, most especially in our present day in which it seems that chaos, confusion, and fear are ruling the day. The “elect of God” (Colossians 3:12; Ephesians 2:4) are not suggested, but commanded to “Put on … holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” (Colossians 3:12-14). The Lord even sent His Disciples out, Commanding them to go “forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:” telling them to “be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). The “elect of God”, means that our God has chosen His people and He gives them Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8); whereby we lovingly know Him and because of our Lord’s Sacrifice on our behalf, we have a holy and peaceful relationship with Him and a peaceful soul within ourselves and peaceful love for each other. To “let the peace of God rule in” our “hearts” is to, by the strength He gives us (Philippians 4:13), subdue our carnal nature, and “Follow peace with all men, and holiness” (Hebrews 12:14), even if some men are not peaceable. There are certainly times when exceedingly wicked people do evil things and we must, in earnest prayer, employ the wisdom and strength that our Lord gives us to defend ourselves; it is clear that our Lord makes allowances for those who are forced to defend themselves and He directs the civil authorities to deal strongly with those who do wicked things (Exodus 21:12-14). But, we must not allow these wicked people and their evil deeds to take control of us. It is not that we have any control over God, but that our God gives us power over our human nature; therefore, we have this conflict within us, in which our carnal nature does battle with our spiritual nature (Romans 7:20). And, because our God-given strength is greater than the strength of our carnal nature (I John 4:4), we can “let the peace of God rule in” our “hearts”! Even our response to evil must be ruled by “the peace of God”. Therefore, let us pray for “peace”, work for “peace”, meditate upon “peace”, focus our minds upon “peace”; knowing that we are strengthened in “peace” by reading the Word of God, participating in the Lord’s Church, and showing loving “peace” to one another!