Paul ends his second letter to the Thessalonians with a very short benediction. He opens it by calling God “the Lord of peace”. Today, we get peace from many things, such as going overseas and being away from work and responsibilities. Yes, there is peace in that, but this passage speaks of peace in a different way and brings into question: What is true peace?
As we ponder the true meaning of Christmas and read of Paul calling on the Lord of peace, we are reminded of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming King. In Isaiah 9:6-7, this King is given various titles – Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of peace. This is a King who plans for his people in wisdom, who is strong and mighty to save, who is a benevolent protector, and who brings peace that arises from his good governance. As God rules His people well, His kingdom extends, and so does His peace.
Who is your Lord? How many lords do you serve? Paul reminds us that this is the Lord who should be ruling over our lives in every aspect and in every way. Are we worshipping the idols of comfort and achievement? Are these things stealing our allegiance from the one true God?
Unless we understand who our Lord is, we fail to understand what peace really means.
In 2 Thess 3:16, Paul prays that the Lord of peace himself would give them peace at all times in every way. There is a very personal aspect to this, and it is not just a feeling. What did this peace look like for the Thessalonian church?
For a church facing persecution from their own countrymen (1 Thess 2:14-15), being driven out from their own city, and whose lives were at stake, having peace wasn’t going to solve their problems. For them, peace had to be more than just a feeling.
The church also had false teachers among them, such that Paul warned them not to be shaken in mind or alarmed regarding the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their theology and faith were under attack in many ways – by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from Paul and company (2 Thess 2:1-2).
In this world where sin abounds, the Thessalonians then, and us today, need peace that goes beyond essential oils, massages, and holidays in Bali. We need peace that speaks into the tough situations that form the reality of life.
Isaiah 53:5-6 tells us that true peace comes from the Lord himself – at a cost to himself. Christ was crushed in our place because he took on our sins. In so doing, he won us true, lasting peace by fully satisfying God’s wrath. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we, who have rebelled against God, have peace with God.
Before we even begin to talk about the external realities of persecution and false teaching, we have to recognise our own sinful state. Our peace with God is at stake. The true peace that matters is our peace with the holy God who can smite us. But because of Christ who took on our sin, we can be right with God.
We ought to think hard about what true peace means for us today. How does this play out in our day-to-day lives? What does it mean that we now have true peace because of the chastisement that Christ went through?
In Paul’s final words to the Thessalonian church, he talks about how he pens this benediction with his own hand (2 Thess 3:17). Paul usually dictates his letters through a scribe, and here, he is validating everything the scribe has written – he stands by everything written thus far; it is truth. As he closes the letter, he reminds us of the authenticity of the letter we are reading today. It has apostolic authority; it holds weight. How have we been treating these words seriously and treasuring it in our hearts? It is God’s Word to us that equips us to face the realities of life.
As we wrap up the studies on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we must ask ourselves: How do we continue life knowing these truths? Here are a few practical applications: Knowing that God’s revealed truth to us – that we have in our hands – is sufficient for life, we hold fast to it, take every opportunity to point people to it, and help them to know God through it. We have learnt that true peace with God is what we really need, and if we are Christians today, we already have it. We need not look any further, and we have no reason to substitute it for anything else. Being confident of this, we stand firm in our faith and live with the end in mind.