Does Colossians 3:15 Grant God’s Peace in Decision-Making?
“It’s OK, Pastor Jim, I have peace about the decision.” I’ve heard that more times than I want to
count. I’d like to respond by saying, “I don’t have peace about your peace.” Joyce Meyer isn’t the only Bible teacher
that teaches this, but she’s a prominent one.
She writes, “Colossians 3:15 clearly tells us how. It says, And
let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire
continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions
that arise in your minds....If you follow God's leadership, you will have
peace, joy, righteousness, and you'll bear good fruit. What you won't
be is confused and frustrated.”[1] My issue isn’t how to make decisions. The best teaching on that I’ve ever
encountered is HERE. My issue isn’t Joyce Meyer (although she does
come with some serious baggage). The point is, “Does Colossians 3:15 teach us
that peace is an indicator that we are in God’s will?”
Paul's Letter to the Colossians
Like
many of Paul’s epistles, he was offering a defense for the Gospel, refuting
false teachers who wanted to bring the Christians under legalism. In this magisterial
work, Paul shows the
superiority of Christ over all human philosophies and traditions. Paul then
encouraged the Colossian Christians on the basis of the true Gospel to live
their lives in keeping with those Gospel truths. “God has already accepted them by virtue of
their union with Christ in His death and resurrection. While there is a
perfection, or maturity, that still stands before them as a goal (1:22, 23,
28), they are already “complete in Him,” the perfect One (2:10).”[2]
The key verse is “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted
and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6–7, ESV)
Having established the doctrinal foundation including a glorious
expression of the superiority of Christ, the Apostle focuses on practical
living issues in the Christian life (3:5–4:6). They include:
A. Dealing with the sins of the past (3:5–11)
B. Putting on the virtues of Christ (3:12–17)
C. Living in the Christian household (3:18–4:1)
D. Persistence in prayer (4:2–4)
E. Good behavior toward those outside the community (4:5–6)[3]
Immediate Context: Colossians 3:12–17 (ESV)
The immediate context of verse 15 starts at verse 12:
12 Put on
then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,
humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a
complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you,
so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16
Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17
And whatever you do, in word
or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him. “
Prior to this paragraph, in verse 11, Paul teaches us that the Church
is one. Issues of ethnicity, social
status, etc. have no part in the Body of Christ. He then appeals for unity and
a lifestyle characterized by forgiveness, humility and gentleness. It is at this point that the Apostle writes, “And let the peace of Christ rule in
your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
(Colossians 3:15,
ESV). Notice the amplifying phrase “indeed
you were called in ONE body.”
[Emphasis mine].
The Greek word translated
peace (εἰρήνη [pronounced i·ray·nay] can be
translated in a subjective sense (a warm, abiding, comforting sense) or in an
objective sense (there is peace between those two warring nations). As to how it is translated depends on the
context. The context here is clearly
division, conflict and discord the Church.
To eliminate that, Paul, says, “Let peace rule.” The Greek word for rule depicts the role of
an umpire. The umpire’s rule is don’t disturb the peace!
Summary
Expositors have often noted the similarity between Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians and Colossian letter. In the former
letter we note in Ephesians
4:1–3 (ESV),
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.
Application
The KJV Study Bible comments: “That Paul's intent is that when
believers are at odds with each other, whatever course of action best maintains
peace and fosters harmony is the course to be taken.”[6] Or as James wrote, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and
sincere.” (James
3:17, ESV).
Oh, and on decision-making? Some of the toughest decisions I have made; and those that were clearly right, brought me no peace. I understand that because I know that my flesh fights with the Spirit. Maintaining a peace with God often creates a war in my heart.
[1] https://www.joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=following_peace_to_make_the_right_decisions
[2] Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., &
Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study
Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James
Version (Col 1:1). Nashville: T. Nelson.
[4] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2416).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] (Hughes, R. K.: Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy
of Christ. Preaching the Word. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books) quoted in http://www.preceptaustin.org/colossians_315-16.htm
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