And yet, Christians are and should be peaceful because our God is a God of peace and unity. The rare “commodities” of peace and unity can only be found in Him, and they form the essence of His Being. We often say that if there is another person, there is trouble. The more people there are, the more trouble. But God is a triune God, with three distinct Persons yet one in essence. The exact opposite is true. In the triunity of God there is unity and all three Persons are peace-loving, so that Jesus can even pray for Christians “...that they may be one as we (the trinity) are one.” (John 17:22b)

In Creation. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) God spoke His creative decree and the Spirit of God, hovering over the waters, executed the decree. Later, in the New Testament revelation, John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.” The word obviously referred to Jesus Christ, and John reveals that the world was made through Christ.

In Incarnation. Jesus was the word made flesh, or the incarnate God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit according to the plan of God the Father.

In Baptism. In the Gospel records of the baptism of Jesus we see the reality that Jesus was the one baptized, but the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended and lighted upon Him (Matt. 3:16), and the Father spoke the words: “This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased.” (v. 17)

In Ministry. John the Baptist testified, saying: “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.” (John 3:34) Likewise in Luke 4:14, 18ff, we see Jesus teaching with authority and performing miracles, healing the sick and casting out evil spirits, deeds that only God can do, because Jesus was filled with the fullness of the Spirit.

In Crucifixion. In actual redemption, “Christ, through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God.” (Heb. 9:14) God was satisfied with the payment of the wages of sin, who was Christ himself, and the payment was made through the Holy Spirit. Today, when we say we “accept” Christ, we are really saying that we accept Him to be the payment of our debt, and that payment was made through the Holy Spirit during Christ’s crucifixion and death.

In Resurrection. I Peter 1:21 says, “God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” Jesus resurrected from the dead, but he was raised by God and glorified him, so the believers’ faith and hope are in God. Another witness from Paul says, “the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of him (God) who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” (Rom. 8:11)

In Christian Baptism. Those who accept Christ as Savior must also be baptized “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19)

In Sanctification. Yet Christian are continually in the process of being sanctified. As Peter describes it, “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 1:2) Thus, we can be blessed “by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

From the way the three Persons worked together, we can see how unified and peace-loving they are. There is no distinction of rank or job. No one says, “You be the one to do it. I don’t like to. Why should it be me?” No one insists on getting the credit by saying: “I was the one who did it! I told you so.” You’ll never hear the words “Why follow him? Follow me instead” from any one of the three Persons. They are always of one accord and always work together, so that they were able to accomplish the great work of salvation. Every time a person is saved, all the angels are amazed at God’s marvelous deed! Shouldn’t we, as followers of God, also be united and peace-loving like God? Paul said that when we accepted Christ, we became members of God’s family. We have one God, one Father, were baptized in the Spirit and became a member of the one body of Christ. (Eph. 4:3) No wonder Paul says we already have that unity and our task is to make every effort to maintain this unity.

How can we maintain this God-given and God-inspired unity? Through the bond of peace. “Where God is, there is peace.” God is the source of peace; Jesus is the mediator of peace, and the Holy Spirit is the giver of peace.

Peace Characterizes God. Romans 15:33 and I Corinthians 14:33 make clear that our God is a God of peace. According to Romans 16:20, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan,” the enemy of peace. If peace characterizes God, we should also be characterized by peace.

Peace Characterizes the Mind Controlled by the Spirit. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:6 further remarks that “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” The Holy Spirit will guide us to live according to God’s will. When we obey, we will have peace.

Peace Characterizes God’s Kingdom. Someone might say: “Wait until I go to heaven or when Christ returns, then I will be perfect.” This may be true, but the kingdom of God has come and we are living in it. This kingdom is a kingdom of peace. As Romans 14:17-18 puts it, “...the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because everyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.”

Peace Characterizes Christians who are Filled with the Spirit. One of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22, is peace. We often consider people who are able to perform miracles, or speak in tongues, or who display the power of the Holy Spirit as being filled with the Holy Spirit. But in actuality, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Hence, peace (or any of the other aspects) characterizes the Christian who is filled with the Spirit, not spectacular feats or physical display of power.

Peace Characterizes Heavenly Wisdom. Have you ever noticed that people who take advantage of other people may get rich but are always missing peace in their hearts? On the other hand, those who obey God have inner peace that the world can not give and nobody can take away. James describes heavenly wisdom as “first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” Further, he says: “Peace makers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” (James 4:17-18)

I’m sure all of us desire peace. How we hope we could go back to those days when we can go out without fear or looking constantly behind or around us. People used to say: “What do you want me to bring home to you?” But now, we just say, “Just come home safely.” If our parents/siblings come home late, we get restless wondering, “How come he/she is not home yet?” Today, if you want to take a tour, you need to think twice about the place you choose, whether it’s safe and you can tour securely. And yet, this is but external peace. How about internal peace? The God of peace gives us peace. But for what purpose?

That we might have peace in life. If we do God’s will in our life, there will be peace. (Phil. 4:9) People often do things based on what they want or like or think they need. As we live our lives as Christians, do we constantly stop and think: “Is this God’s will?” before we do something? What we want or like may not be what we need. What we think we need may not necessarily be our real need. However, what is God’s will is definitely what we need or ought to do. But if what we want or like or think we need is also according to God’s will, then we can and ought to do it, and we will also experience the peace of God.

That we might have peace with one another. Peter exhorts that we must seek peace and pursue it (I Pet. 3:11b). Paul also says we must pursue peace (II Tim. 2:22) with a pure heart. In order to seek peace and pursue it, we sometimes have to let go of our rights. Instead of looking at the negative side of things, we should try looking for the positive and feel good doing so. This is not easy because it is not in our nature. Yet if we are able to learn doing this, a big deal will become a small deal, and the small deal will become no deal in the end. This cannot be learned overnight, but has to be constantly pursued and practiced. This is when we become peace-loving like God.

That we might live in peace with all men. Romans 12:18 exhorts, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Again, in Hebrew 12:14, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men...” All men includes lovable and unlovable men, those you like and dislike. Paul knew this was not easy, that’s why he adds, “if it is possible...” but the writer of Hebrews is more emphatic, saying “make every effort...” This we must do as far as it depends on us. For not all men love peace and seek it, but all Christians should reflect the peace-loving character of our triune God.

Since the God that we worship is a God of peace and unity, and He has given us unity and peace, then let us “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”