Originally posted: 7/26/2020
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you, (13:11).
Again, we see Paul’s heart revealed; a reflection of God’s heart of Love for all His children who have been adopted by faith into His Peace through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
…In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, (Ephesians 1:4-6).
And after giving considerable attention to teaching, discipline and correction, Paul brings the Corinthians to the reason for his letter; as God’s adopted children through faith in Christ, we must cooperate with His grace and truth by putting aside anything that gets in the way of being able to experience Him, the God of Love and Peace.
if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth, (Ephesians 4:21-24).
Consider Him, the God of Love and Peace
Perhaps, in what may be the sweetest benediction in all of Scripture, Paul prays a blessing that invites the work of the Triune God to bless His children; a blessing emanating from all that He Is. A blessing that only the One Who Is the God of Love and Peace could possibly bring to fruition.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all, (13:14).
- His Love and Peace in the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ:
- For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6). - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth, (John 1:14).
- For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds, (Titus 2:11-14).
- For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
- His Love and Peace in the Love of God, the Father:
- The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness, (Jeremiah 31:3). - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,” (John 3:16).
- But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, (Romans 5:8).
- The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
- His Love and Peace in the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit:
- Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.
10 Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground, (Psalm 143:8-10). - “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances,” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
- “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you,” (John 14:16-17).
- Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
How do we respond to Him, the God of Love and Peace?
A few closing thoughts on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. This was a church of believers abounding in God’s gifts of grace. But they were also tolerating false teaching and immoral lifestyles. God, in His Love, brought correction in order that they might experience His Peace.
And let’s face it, there’s not a one of us who is not in need of His correction and discipline.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness, (Hebrews 12:11).
When we have been trained by His correcting discipline, we are in the perfect place to encounter Him, the God of Love and Peace.
There will always be much in this life attempting to challenge His Love and threatening to rob us of His Peace. But regardless of our circumstances, as we choose to seek and trust God in His correcting discipline, He will be faithful to enable us to live in the reality of His Love and Peace
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you, (13:11).
- rejoice: As we commit to seek Him in faith, and believe His discipline is accomplishing endurance, character and hope, we will be enabled to walk through the trials with our heads held high, rejoicing in all He accomplishes in us by His Love and His Holy Spirit.
- Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, (Romans 5:3-5).
- be made complete: As we submit to His rule and authority, His perfecting work will be made complete in our lives.
- and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; (Colossians 2:10).
- be comforted: As we acknowledge our sin and mourn our condition before Him, He will be faithful to provide His comfort.
- “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” (Matthew 5:4).
- be like-minded: As we put aside our selfish ambitions, He will grow us to become like-minded in His Love and united in His purpose.
- make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose, (Philippians 2:2).
- live in peace: And as we accept His discipline, He will strengthen us to follow His example as His ambassadors of Peace.
- If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men, (Romans 12:18).
As we yield ourselves to His correction and discipline, we can be assured we will be privileged to know and experience Him, the God of Love and Peace, through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Love of God the Father, and through the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all, (13:14).