Philippians 4:7

Philippians 4:7

The Peace of God.

Let us consider the two ideas suggested by the statement that this peace is the peace of God, and that it passeth all understanding; that is, we propose looking at its nature and its greatness, its Divine source, and its incomprehensible character.

I. The nature of this peace is such that it is denominated the "peace of God." For this we assign the following reasons: (1) Because it is that for which God made man at first; it is the realisation of His original idea of the happiness of humanity. (2) To this general statement you might add that religious blessedness, as now experienced by humanity, is denominated the peace of God because it is the result of His merciful interposition for man as well as the realisation of His original ideas respecting him. (3) The blessedness of the spiritual life in man is denominated the peace of God because, in addition to its including restoration to the happiness for which God originally designed him and the possession of that which God supernaturally provided for by the Gospel, it is that which is immediately produced by God's Spirit, and is thus in some degree of the nature of a direct Divine donation. (4) It might be said perhaps, in the last place, that religious peace is the peace of God because it is sustained, nourished, and enlarged by those acts and exercises, private and public, which bring the soul into contact with God.

II. The second thing is the statement in the text that this peace of God "passeth all understanding." (1) The peace of God in the soul of man, or the felt blessedness of the religious life, passes the understanding of the men of the world. (2) The peace of God, as a felt, conscious, and experienced blessedness, passes the understanding of the Christian himself. (3) The peace of God, looked at in connection with the facts and agencies from which it springs, is a thing which passes the understanding even of angelic intelligence. In the mystery of God, of the Father and of Christ, there are "treasures of wisdom" laid up which no created intelligence will ever comprehend, and which eternity will not exhaust. But this mystery is precisely that out of which flows to man the power of God; the stream partakes of the nature of its source, and hence the Divine gift of the incomprehensible God itself surpasses "all understanding."

T. Binney, King's Weighhouse Chapel Sermons,p. 106.

The Warrior Peace.

The great mosque of Constantinople was once a Christian church, dedicated to the Holy Wisdom. Over its western portal may still be read, graven on a brazen plate, the words, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." For four hundred years noisy crowds have fought, and sorrowed, and fretted beneath the dim inscription in an unknown tongue; and no eye has looked at it, nor any heart responded. My text is Christ's offer of peace. The world offers excitement; Christ promises repose.

I. Mark, first, this peace of God. What are its elements? (1) It must be peace with God; (2) it is peace within ourselves.

II. Notice what my text tells us that the peace of God does: it takes upon itself warlike functions, and garrisons the heart and mind. The peace of God, which is peace militant, is unbroken amidst the conflicts. The wise old Greeks chose for the goddess of Athens the goddess of Wisdom, and whilst they consecrated to her the olive branch, which is the symbol of peace, they set her image on the Parthenon, helmed and spear-bearing, to defend the peace which she brought to earth. So this heavenly virgin, whom the Apostle personifies here, is the "winged sentry, all skilful in the wars," who enters into our hearts, and fights for us to keep us in unbroken peace.

III. Notice how we get the peace of God. (1) Trust is peace; (2) submission is peace; (3) communion is peace. You will get no quiet until you live with God; until He is at your side you will always be moved.

A. Maclaren, The Unchanging Christ,p. 115.

References: Philippians 4:7. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. iv., No. 180; vol. xxiv., No. 1597; J. H. Thorn, Laws of Life after the Mind of Christ,2nd series, p. 1; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. v., p. 31; Homiletic Quarterly,vol. ii., p. 280; T. Arnold, Sermons,vol. v., p. 238; H. W. Beecher, Sermons,3rd series, p. 446; H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit,No. 3753.