Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all… The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
1 Thessalonians 3:16, 18
This final benediction of Paul is unique in that most often Paul speaks peace over the Church as a part of his introduction to his letters.* This deviation from his normal practice is not completely surprising as the Church in Thessalonica endured so much persecution.* An extra blessing of peace was helpful to be sure!
The peace that Paul blesses the Church with is not limited to an emotional state of tranquillity.* The peace that Christ brings is supernatural and benefits the whole person: body, soul, and spirit.*
Think about what is going on in your life. Could you use a supernatural dose of goodness in your whole self?
Paul reminds the church with his final words that the grace of Jesus is necessary for the life of the Church. The peace that Jesus brings comes only from Him and it cannot be earned.* It was a common belief in the day of Paul that true peace only came from the gods, but Paul is intentional to note that true peace comes solely from Jesus.*
To where do we look for peace? Do we look to leaders? Do we attempt to find peace in today by looking toward a hope of “better days” to come?
True, consuming peace can only come through the gift of Jesus. Rest in that today. You cannot fight for or achieve the peace that He brings. You cannot earn enough money for it, nor can you gather enough power to manufacture it.
True peace belongs to Jesus, and He wants to give it to you today.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to receive His peace. Perhaps today God wants you to give up trying to manufacture this in yourself. Maybe today God wants you to discard the shallow peace of this world.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 276–277). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 338–339, 342–343). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 358–360). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 677–684). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 146–148). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 264–269). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 633–639). Baker Academic.