Questions and Answers | The God of Peace
The writer to the Hebrews describes God as "the God of peace" (Heb. 13:20). Would you explain what this means?
In the Bible, the word “peace” does not refer to the absence of war or the absence of conflict or hostility. It means much more than a lack of political or social conflict. Peace, as presented in Scripture, means comprehensive well-being and wholeness of God’s people, as we live in covenant relationship with the Lord. God’s peace transcends anything that individuals, cultures, or civilization could hope to achieve even under the best of human circumstances (Phil. 4:7).
God’s peace is the redemptive wholeness and well-being created by the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of people in relationship with Christ. This peace leads to harmonized relationships with God and one another. Our God is the source of peace. Peace is not something we can find in this world; peace breaks into this world from God Himself. There can be no peace apart from God.
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.