Live in Peace

J.J. Stark

March 2016

Week 9

IGNITE Class 10

Inductive Bible Study (IBS)

Live in Peace

“Finally, brethren, farewell.  Become complete.  Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” – 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJV)

In writing 2 Corinthians 13:11, the apostle Paul is coming to the end of closing out his second letter to the church he had planted in Corinth.  Here he concisely summarizes what he had been discussing in earlier in both the book and chapter 13 as a whole.  Throughout it Paul continually encourages the church to live with total devotion to Christ, and shows how there is completeness, good comfort, one mind/unity, and a life of peace through that daily surrendering.  He talks directly about becoming complete in verses 7-9, saying, “⁷Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. ⁸For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. ⁹For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.”  Verse 8 made me stop and re-read it, as I had never really thought about truth in that aspect.  You might say it is very “true!”  By having the mindset of doing everything for the truth, Christ’s glory and majesty will then show in everything I do, and in turn I will be made complete because of the peace He bestows.  Along with that comes comfort; I can also have comfort in what the Lord has done for me, as said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  I can live in peace with this promise, no matter what chaos and turmoil may surround me.  With this peace from the Almighty, I don’t have to worry about tomorrow, and in a sense I don’t have to worry about what others think about me.  By loving as Christ loves, I can then function with those around me with the one mind that Paul commands.

Application:  Today I will find three verses, one – being complete, two – finding comfort in the Lord, and three – living in peace and write them in my journal.