![]() "In his will is our peace." ( Ephesians 1) When we are doing something which we know we ought not to do or are evading something that we know we ought to do, there is always a haunting dispeace at the back of our minds but if we are doing something very difficult, even something we do not want to do, so long as we know that it is the right thing there is a certain contentment in our hearts. The explanation is that there is only one source of peace in all the world, and that is doing the will of God. ![]() A man might live in ease and luxury and on the fat of the land, he might have the finest of houses and the biggest of bank accounts, and yet not have peace on the other hand, a man might be starving in prison, or dying at the stake, or living a life from which all comfort had fled, and be at perfect peace. Christian peace is something quite independent of outward circumstances. Shalom means everything which makes for a man's highest good. (3) Note on Ephesians 1 - "In the Bible peace is never a purely negative word it never describes simply the absence of trouble. It is that sense of the love and care of God, which, even if his body is tortured, can keep a man's heart serene." ( Galatians 1) (2) Note on Galatians 1 - Peace is "everything which will make his mind pure, his will resolute and his heart glad. It is interesting to note that Chara (Grace) and Eirene (Peace ~ "Irene") both became very common Christian names in the Church." ( Galatians 5 ) Usually in the New Testament eirene stands for the Hebrew Shalom and means not just freedom from trouble but everything that makes for a man’s highest good. Villages had an official who was called the superintendent of the village’s eirene, the keeper of the public peace. It was used of the serenity which a county enjoyed under the just and beneficent government of a good emperor and it was used of the good order of a town or village. (1) Note on Galatians 5 - "Peace in contemporary colloquial Greek.had two interesting usages. ![]() William Barclay has the following notes on eirene in his comments on several Bible books (there is some repetition) . Peace implies health, well-being, and prosperity. Peace is a condition of freedom from disturbance, whether outwardly, as of a nation from war or enemies or inwardly, as in the current context, within the soul. In eschatology, peace is prophesied to be an essential characteristic of the Messianic kingdom (Acts 10:36). The ultimate peace is the state of reconciliation with God, effected by placing one's faith in the gospel. Peace was used as a greeting or farewell corresponding to the Hebrew word shalom - "peace to you".Įirene can convey the sense of an inner rest, well being and harmony. Peace as a state of concord and harmony is the opposite of war. It follows that peace is the opposite of division or dissension. Peace ( 1515)( eirene from verb eiro = to join or bind together that which has been separated) literally pictures the binding or joining together again of that which had been separated or divided and thus setting at one again, a meaning convey by the common expression of one “having it all together”.
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