Page Two: “God Made Peace Through The Cross” 10/28/2012
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God is so amazingly wonderful that He would design and build the entire universe; something which all man can do is to stand back and observe in awe. And then He does something for which we will be forever grateful and that can hardly be comprehended. He entered into the human race by way of a virgin’s womb. And then He acts in the most humble way possible. He gives His life on a Roman Cross as the payment and penalty for the sins of mankind.
All that so that He made peace available to us. Look again at the Word of God. (19) “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (20) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” As you’ve read and re-read your Bible, you’ve no doubt noticed the many ways in which the LORD describes Himself. One of the titles He uses to describe Himself is this one; “The God of Peace.” For example, Paul writes this in the words of the Epistle to the Romans. Romans 15:33 “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” And in writing to the Philippians, Paul wrote this. Philippians 4:9 “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” And he wrote this to the Church at Thessalonica. I Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And in his second letter to the Thessalonians, he wrote this. II Thessalonians 3:16 “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.” And just one more; he wrote this in our Book of Hebrews. |
Hebrews 13:20 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(21) Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” I’ve titled today’s sermon “God Made Peace through the Cross” Shall we pray? Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” There’s a lot in the Bible about peace. But often, both the world and the Church miss out on this blessed gift. I’m quite sure, from what we know of the LORD from Scripture that there is a continual and prevailing peace in Heaven. And today, from the Book of Colossians I want you to spend some time considering with me the one thing that God used to accomplish peace. Look with me at it in Colossians 1:20. Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Now, when I read a passage of Scripture like verse twenty, I sometimes go into grammar mode. By that I mean I want to see what the entire context is telling me. Please go back with me to Colossians 1:19. Colossians 1:19 “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;…” Now, as you know, translating from one language to another is very difficult. And you also know that it is quite difficult to translate the Bible perfectly from one language into another. |