Ephesians 4:1-3 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The third fruit produced in true believers by the Holy Spirit is peace. First of all, He produces peace with God where once there was utter enmity. No longer are we counted as law-breakers who provoke God's anger. Thanks to the work of Christ, we are adopted into God's family, given all the privileges of that status and we rest in His unchanging and unending love towards us. As a result of the cleansing from sin that we receive through the shed blood of Christ, the Spirit produces an inner peace in the believer - a peace of conscience in which we no longer are troubled by a sense of condemnation and impending judgment. Though this is a subjective peace, it is nonetheless real and does contribute to our assurance that we are truly saved in Christ.
However, there is a third form of peace which the Spirit produces in Christians, and that is manifested within the church. As we are conformed to Christ's image, there is a reduction in the sins that often lead to divisions in this world - pride, envy, jealousy, lust, greed, avarice and suchlike. We begin to behave as those who would rather be wronged than to be the cause of divisions and strife among the children of God. We understand that He has called us to peace and we need to live in peace with one another as far as it depends on us. We hate to see division and schism in the church and we pray that it may not happen. We intervene as peacemakers and therefore show ourselves to be in the blessed condition of being the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). This peace is a strong, common bond forged by the Spirit between believers in Christ, which Paul reminds us we are to be diligent to preserve.
The Gospel of Christ is in large measure the Gospel of peace: peace with God and peace with one another, where once there was conflict, bitterness and malice. Again, though, we can only express this peace of Christ, this fruit of the Spirit, if we join together for true fellowship. Although I am at peace with a brother and sister who live on the other side of the world, I never experience that peace, and I can never promote that peace as fully as I might, unless I meet with them face to face to build them up in peace and to be built up in peace by them.
We are called to peace, but not the uneasy peace that sometimes exists between people who decide never to meet in case conflict might result. We must meet, we must manifest this peace, we must show the world what a precious gift we have been given in Christ - peace which the world cannot know and cannot give.
Let's spend the coming week pondering this, and making the most of every opportunity that we have to promote peace in the church through fellowship!
