Chapter 4 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 1 |
Quest for Peace By Roxy J Nolin Chapter 2 The Fruit of Peace |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, (gladness), peace..." Galatians 5:22 Our first question may be "What is the fruit of the Spirit?" What is its purpose and how does it affect me and what does it have to do with finding peace?" The fruit of the Spirit is the characteristics or attributes of God working within us-to the outside. The fruit of the Spirit is a part of God that we manifest-fruit we bear in this temporal life. At the new birth God Himself-through Christ, imparted His spirit to us. Our human spirit, which was once dead to Christ, at that moment of acceptance, was re-created in Christ. Instantly God's character was engrafted into us, making us new creations in His likeness establishing in us the fruit of His Spirit which now works within. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, the fruit of the Spirit is "the unity of the character of God reproduced in us." The question is when was it reproduced in us? At the new birth! Jesus said in John 14:27a "Peace I leave with you my [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you." Who was He giving His peace to? He gave His peace to those who believed in Him! How? Through and by the Spirit! A New Being Friend, the instant we were saved, we were put into right standing with God. Our human spirit was literally recreated-made alive unto God. In other words, we were instantly declared and seen as righteous and could come into God's presence without guilt, condemnation or feeling inferior. Simply, by the blood of the Lamb we were made pure in His sight, creating peace with God, in turn creating peace in our new being-the Spirit of Christ. Now as a born again child of God we have a new inner nature. God's attributes, His character, His anointing and Spirit have made their habitation within. We are the temples of God! We are now God possessed-filled with His power and ability. We have become a well of salvation. All knowledge of His ways and His thoughts has been imparted to our re-created Spirit. Our inner man knows God and is of God-a new being in His likeness. Struggling For Peace The fruit of His Spirit, which is His character personality and attributes, have now become ours. Yet, even though we have this marvelous salvation, the life and peace of God within, we can still struggle with peace in this temporal life-outward. Why? Because we struggle with our attitudes, our personality, and the environment of this world. There are times our emotions seem like yo-yo's-the mountain and valley experiences. We deal with fears and anxieties. We feel saved one day and not the next. There are times when we've felt the joy of our salvation, and times of an incredible war within our members. Simply peace doesn't always seem to exist! We may say, "But wasn't I born again according to God's Word? Was I not made holy and acceptable in His sight? Do I not have the peace of God Jesus promised?" So then what's my problem! Paul said in Romans 7:18-19, "For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do, are what I am [ever] doing." Paul is simply saying, "I am warring against myself. I know what is right, yet I struggle to do so." What's the problem? Well, it is the same problem we all have! Our soul-the mind, will and intellect, did not change. In other words, our soul did not get re-created. Our spirit did! Working Out Our Salvation Child of God, we are a three-part being, spirit, soul and body. Although our human spirit was re-created in Him, justified, made whole, has peace and became the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In our soul we have to work out our salvation daily. We may ask, what is the working out of our salvation daily? Simply, it is getting our soul to line up with or come into harmony and peace with our re-created spirit. When this begins to happen, it produces understanding-revelation knowledge. In turn, our soul-mind, will and intellect will begin to change, enabling us to submit and come into peace with God's peace, which is already within us at the new birth. This causes outward change! Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." Friend, the mind is the battleground between the flesh and the spirit. As our mind is renewed through the Word, we will then move to the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Simply, the renewed mind-by the Word will bring us to a place of living out of our God given peace for our temporal life. The Word for Change The Word of God is critical to the saving of the soul. And it is the Word of God that will enable us to discern what is from our spirit or soul or carnal mind. Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and morrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thought and purposes of the heart." The key to this whole verse is that it is our heart that God looks at. In the same way, peace is in the heart by the new birth. The heart of the believer must understand it before it can be manifested outwardly. If not, it is not peace but a false sense of security. That is why the knowledge of God's Word is so vital to the understanding and working of peace. Simply, the Word is what divides what is soul and what is spirit. Yet the Word is also what reunites the soul and spirit to understanding God and the working of peace! For example, when we were a sinner, our human spirit lined up with our soul. Both were going the same direction, and that was towards darkness. One day in our life someone presented to us the Word of God and we made Jesus our Savior. At that moment the Word came in and split our spirit from our soul. Our spirit then followed after God but our soul was following after darkness. This of course set the battlefield for the internal warfare in our lives. We may ask, "When does the war stop? How do I get the victory? How do I understand peace so it can manifest in my life?" The only way possible is by reuniting our soul to our re-created spirit. Simply getting our mind, will and intellect to agree with God. This is done by renewing our mind through the anointed Word of God, which brings revelation understanding, then the experience of peace! Please understand we need to be whom we are within, that is living out the re-created person in Christ. Remember this, if Satan can get control of our mind, then our spirit will be powerless. If he can get us going contrary to the Word, he will run us into destruction and steal our peace of mind even though we possess the peace within-Jesus. Keep Our Mind on Him Isaiah 26:3 says, "God will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him." This can also mean, " whose mind stops at God." Friend, this means a complete and unconditional dependency on God-concentrated, occupied, leaning totally on Him. And the best way to do this is to keep our mind on the Word of God! And the understanding of God's Word is vital to our growth and progress in the working of peace in our soul! The fruit of the Spirit concerning peace is an area we all need to have our minds renewed. Simply because of misunderstandings, many have not understood the Spirit of peace, in turn never find the meaning of true peace from the perspective of salvation. Many believers are trying to find something that God has already placed within but don't know how to get it working on the outside-temporal life. All we need to do is renew our mind to who we are in Christ. And then by God's grace we can apply this to our earthly life. As we begin to see that we already possess God's character of peace, and that peace has already been giving to us through Christ, we can then stop striving to achieve peace by self-works and let God's true peace have her perfect way, meaning rest spiritual and physical. |
Copyright Roxy J Nolin 2002 |
About the Author Roxy J Nolin has been a Pastor-Teacher since 1985. He has a gift to minister God's Word with vibrant and uncompromising effects. He has ministered across US, Canada and Asia. As well as pastoral and pioneering several churches, he was Director and overseer of a Denomination in Canada. He has a Business Management and Marketing background, a Degree in Biblical Studies and has authored several books. He and his wife Jan have four children, one grandson and reside in the City of Calgary Alberta Canada. |
The Book Quest for Peace |
Word of Grace Media Ministries |
