Pieces of the Peace Puzzle | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Pieces of the Peace Puzzle | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
02/21/23
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There are passages in Scripture that describe the general environment, scenery, various creatures, and some of the past, present, and future activity of Heaven. But much of what God has planned for believers to experience and to participate in, beyond what we have been told in Rev. 21, remains to be among the, “secret things of God (Deut. 29: 29 NASB).”

As in the .case of many spiritual issues, Scripture tells us by all that we NEED to know, but not all that there IS to know.

The absence of such information is not a Biblical deficiency, but rather the means that God uses to require faith (1) in order to close the gaps and fill in the blanks regarding the things that have not been fully explained to us, or that we are not spiritually mature enough to understand (2).

Never-the-less, there are some pieces to this puzzle that God offers to born again believers that can enable them to experience a little piece of Heaven in the here and now, and that they will continue to experience throughout all of eternity.

One such experience is the type of peace that was announced by the angel at the First Advent.

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased (Luke 2: 14 NASB).”

This type of peace is not to be confused with the type of peace that human beings may or may not experience with other human beings.

The Luke 2: 14 type of peace with God is permanent, whereas peace with other human beings is both fragile and conditional (3).

In fact, peace with God sets the stage for enmity with worldly-minded people, and vice versa (4).

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household (Matt. 10: 34, 36).

Matt. 10: 34, 36 is primarily speaking of the inevitable conflict between those who understand and believe in the unadulterated Gospel Message, and those who do not.

But there are other inevitable conflicts in store for partners or people in relationships who are at different levels of spiritual maturity, as well.

Mature believers and worldly-oriented people do NOT share the same priorities or outlook concerning life, death, and eternity. They will NOT be reading from the same page.

The amount of accurate Bible Doctrine, coupled with a desire to apply it, determines the level of one’s spiritual maturity at any given time.

The Luke 2: 14 piece of the aforementioned puzzle requires an understanding of who it is that are “… among men with whom He is pleased (Luke 2: 14 NASB," for it is only they who have secured the type of peace spoken of in Luke 2: 14.

There is only one way to become one of these recipients!

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through (faith in) Me (John 14: 6 NASB parenthesis mine).”

Since the Fall of Man, we all come into this world (5) with a sin nature that is inherently hostile (6) towards God and the things of God.

This hostility is replaced with the Luke 2: 14 peace, if and when, one is born again (7).

The resulting outcome of being born again is the peace of mind that comes from knowing that from that point forward, one has the assurance (8) that he or she has been delivered from the impending wrath of God in store for all unbelievers (9), and that he or she is NOW in possession of eternal life (10), that is required for residency in Heaven.

With the Luke 2: 14 piece of the puzzle now in place, one can not only experience the peace that comes from being born again, but can then attach the Phil. 4: 7 piece of the puzzle to it, and experience the type of peace that surpasses all comprehension, throughout all the forthcoming challenges (11) associated with advancing in one’s post salvation spiritual life, here on Earth.
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(1) Heb. 11: 6 (2) 1Cor. 2: 14 (3) John 14: 27 (4) John 15: 19/James 4: 4 (5) Psalms 51: 7 (6) Rom. 8: 7 (7) John 3: 7 (8) Rom. 8: 1 (9) Rev. 20: 15 (10) John 3: 16 (11) 2Tim. 3: 12

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