Blessed are the Peacemakers

For They Will Be Called Children of God

Eugène Burnand’s Sermon on the Mount windows at Herzogenbuchsee Reformed church. 1910, Public Domain photo.

What Is the Bible’s Definition of Peace?

“The ‘peacemaker’ is someone who is reconciled to God, knows God is for peace, and seeks reconciliation instead of strife and war.” -Scot McKnight

The next beatitude is “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV). The Greek word used for peace in Matthew 5:9 is Eirene, which is where we get the name Irene and the word irenic (working towards peace and reconciliation). The Greek goddess of peace was named Eirene, and the Roman counterpart was Pax, which is where we get words like pacifist, pacifier, and pact.

The most important thing to remember about Biblical peace is that it refers to something much more robust than the absence of conflict. Two former friends might not be in open conflict with one another, but if they have jealousy, anger, or spite simmering beneath the surface, we wouldn’t say they are at peace. If anything, what they have is a false peace that is masking their unspoken bitterness.

Eirene (peace) has two broad meanings in the New Testament.

1. First, it refers to the state of concord and harmony between individuals, groups of people, or entire nations. This is the word you’d use when a relationship is going well and everyone seems to be on good terms.

2. Second, it refers to a state of holistic well-being and wholeness. This corresponds very well to the Hebrew word Shalom. I think of this as living the way God intended before sin corrupted our world and our relationships with others. Dwelling in peace would mean experiencing good health, having enough material possessions to be happy, living in community with others who love and care for you, being free of injustice and oppression, etc. Jesus referred to this as “life to the full.”

One thing to keep in mind is that it’s possible to have the first kind of peace (absence of conflict with others) without really experiencing the second kind — the “life to the full” kind of peace. The first is the absence of something negative (war, violence, or conflict), but the second is the abundant presence of something positive.

The Overlap Between Peace, Salvation, and the Good News of the Gospel

Peace is one of the core characteristics of the Messianic Kingdom. God promises that the Messiah would be the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), that this servant would suffer and die to bring us peace (Isaiah 53:5), and that the peace the Messiah brings would never end (Isaiah 9:7). God even calls his covenant with his chosen people a “covenant of peace” (Isaiah 54:10).

Because peace is so central to the Kingdom of God, it is often used interchangeably with other words and phrases that stand at the center of God’s Kingdom, like salvation and good news.

Here are a few examples of “Peace” being used in this way:

• Isaiah 52:7, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

• Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”

• Ephesians 2:17, “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”

In Isaiah 52:7, the prophet runs two ideas in parallel. He pairs “brings good news” with “bring good tiding,” and “proclaim peace” with “proclaim salvation.” We are meant to see peace and salvation as roughly synonyms in Isaiah 52:7.

In Acts 10:36, which is part of the story of the first time a Gentile became a Christian (Cornelius), the good news is described as a message of peace.

Ephesians 2:17 similarly describes the message being preached as a message of peace.

Peace, especially when it is used in this salvation or good news context, can refer to the holistic salvation of the whole person. They find peace with God because their sins are forgiven, which allows them to be reconciled to God, and because of their new intimacy with God and the presence of the Spirit in their lives, they’re able to live “life to the full” and experience the Hebrew concept of Shalom—life the way God intended.

Henrik Olrik, “Sermon on the Mount.” 19th century, Public Domain.

Living as a Peacemaker

To be a peacemaker, then, is to do your part to make sure as many people as possible are living at peace with God (through confession and forgiveness) and peace with others (through reconciliation and the pursuit of Shalom).

Sometimes we might be called to step into a tense situation and help two people reconcile with one another. Other times, we might have the opportunity to help someone find peace with God by teaching them how to give their life to Christ. But perhaps the most likely situation is that you will be called upon to address the spiritual condition of your own heart, and get rid of the anger, spite, jealously, and bitterness that might be preventing you from maintaining peaceful relationships with others.

Here are several of the passages in the Bible that call us to pursue peace and be peacemakers:

• Psalm 34:14, “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

• Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

• Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

• See also Romans 14:19; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:3; Colossians 3:15; and James 3:18.

Here are three principle that we should take to heart from these passages:

1. Make every effort to live at peace with others, while acknowledging that we cannot force someone else to be at peace with us (i.e. “As far as it depends on you…” in Romans 12:18).

2. Actively pursue peace. It requires an active commitment and an intentional decision to pursue it. You don’t have to seek things that are already in your possession, which implies (in my mind) that practicing peace might not come naturally to us, but it is possible if we are willing to seek it out.

3. Balance peace with holiness, as Hebrews 12:14 calls us to do. We can’t compromise our faith, our convictions, or our moral standards (holiness) in order to live at peace with others. Similarly, we can’t adopt a holier-than-thou attitude that creates bitterness and division in our relationships. There is a way of being holy and living at peace with others, and this is the ideal to strive for.

Children of God

Jesus says that peacemakers will be called children of God. For better or worse, children take after their parents. When Jesus says that peacemakers will be called children of God, he’s saying that these peacemakers are imitating God’s character in an important way.

There’s a few other places in the Bible that describe what it means to be a child of God, or the kinds of attributes that God’s children will demonstrate:

• Mark 10:14—The kingdom belongs to the little children

• John 1:12—Those who believe in the name of Jesus are the children of God.

• Romans 8:14—Those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God.

• Galatians 3:26 — Because of Jesus, we are children of God through faith.

• Ephesians 1:5 — We are adopted as God’s children through Jesus.

• 1 John 3:1— Our status as God’s children is evidence of God’s great love for us.

• 1 John 3:10 — Refusing to do what is right, refusing to love your brothers and sisters… these are signs that you are not a child of God.

• 1 John 5:2 — Those who love God and carry out his commands are the children of God.

When you read these passages together, the picture that emerges looks something like this: children of God believe in the name of Jesus, love God, pursue peace, are led by the Spirit, and strive to do what is right. They have been adopted into God’s spiritual family despite their past sin, and this is all a testament to the abundant love that God has lavished on them.

Application

• Understand that peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is the presence of God’s blessing.

• Remove anything in your own heart that is threatening peace in your own relationships.

• Step in and reconcile people who are in conflict whenever you are able.

• Pray for opportunities to help people find peace with God through a relationship with Jesus.

Today I will be praying that all of us will learn to live as instruments of God’s peace. Perhaps you will find value in praying the following prayer, which is sometimes attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.”