September 27, 2025 - 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 - "The LORD of Peace"

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

"Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

Peace comes not from what we do, either from our works, our resolutions, or our worthiness. It comes from the LORD of Peace Himself. Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). As His elect children, He bore our sins, put away our guilt, and established peace with God by His blood. He is the only reason why God is not angry with His people. The warfare is accomplished, and iniquity is pardoned (Isaiah 40:2).

This Peace is not something we work up, not something dependent on the will of the flesh, but the sovereign work of God through His Son. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:25). He is the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world, and slain at God's appointed time, that His elect might have Peace with God. The Spirit’s work is taking Christ’s blood and cleansing the conscience of believers (Hebrews 10:22). At the cross: Christ shed His blood once for all for the justification of His people. In heaven: That blood was presented (sprinkled) before God as the evidence of Christ’s shed blood unto death as the satisfaction of those sinners that the Father chose and gave to His Son to save by His shed blood. In the believer's experience: The Holy Spirit sprinkles that blood on the heart, cleansing the conscience and sealing peace with God.

Romans 5:1 declares: “Therefore being justified, by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Therefore being justified” Paul is concluding in chapters 3–4, how that justification is not by works of the law but by faith in Christ Jesus. To be justified means to be declared righteous before God, not based on anything in us, but solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ, which occurred at the cross. This is not a future hope but a present possession — “being justified” (a completed act with abiding results).

“by faith” Faith is not the cause of justification but the fruit of Christ's finished work at the cross. Faith rests in what Another has accomplished — His obedience and blood are the justification; faith is the revelation of His finished work on the cross.

“we have peace with God” Once enemies, under wrath (Romans 1:18; 5:10), now reconciled. This is not merely a subjective feeling of peace, but an objective reality: the war between God’s justice and the sin of His elect is ended.

The Gospel is called the Gospel of Peace because it proclaims what Christ has done. He Himself is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14). At the cross, He broke down the middle wall of partition, making both Jew and Gentile one, reconciling His people unto God in one body. That reconciliation is not temporary or conditional, but eternal. The Peace He gives is Perfect Peace forever! Yet in this world, there will be tribulation. There is trouble in the church. There are conflicts, disagreements, weakness of faith, and even false professors who trouble God’s people. But the LORD uses even this. Trouble in the church is not strange—it is to be expected as long as sinners are gathered together. In this, we are reminded of our own depravity. Like Isaiah, we cry, “Woe is me, for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5). Like the publican, we pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

And into this world of strife, the LORD of Peace speaks comfort. The Peace that Christ gives is not like the peace of the world, fleeting and fragile, but a Peace through His shed blood unto death. It is a Peace that does not depend on our circumstances but on His finished work. Even when the believer feels his sin, even when he feels unworthy, the Spirit testifies of the blood that has already satisfied divine justice.

“The LORD be with you all.” What a comfort! The LORD Himself is with His people. By His Spirit He is our Comforter, our Preserver, our Counselor. He strengthens us in weakness, He guides us into Truth, that points us always to Christ and His cross. He does not leave His people alone. The Old Testament saints had Peace in the Promise of His coming, looking forward to the Christ Who was to come. Since the cross, we have peace in the fulfillment of the Promise, resting in Christ Who has come, Who has suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). It is the same Peace, the same Salvation, the same Savior. This peace is sovereignly given. Paul does not say, “May you earn peace,” but “The Lord of peace himself give you peace.” It is His gift, His doing, His grace. He gives it freely, and He gives it always.

So we who are the objects of God's saving grace in Christ rest in Him. Our Peace is Christ Himself, crucified, risen, and reigning. Our Peace is His blood shed, His righteousness imputed, His intercession unceasing. Our Peace is knowing that He Who began the work will finish it. Our Peace is that the LORD Himself is with us all.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:18). Amen.