“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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Isaiah 9:6 is a wonderful prophecy of Jesus, referring not only to His birth, but also who He would become during His ministry, and finally who He would become when He sits at the right hand of the Father. The last name that Isaiah gives Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Peace is ultimately what we desire and Jesus is the only way that we can have peace. We will now look at three ways that we can have peace because of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
First, because of Jesus, we can have peace with God the Father. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because of Jesus’ death we can be justified by faith and have forgiveness of sin through obedience (Hebrews 5:9). This gives us a relationship with the Father, one which will last as long as we remain faithful to Him (Revelation 2:10). This relationship gives us peace with God because without it, the wrath of God will come to us. Romans 5:9 says, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.” In other words, we will be spared the torment of everlasting destruction. God loves us but will still punish us if we cannot find peace with Him through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Next, because of Jesus, we can have peace with our fellow man. From a national point of view, this is certainly the case. All nations can have peace with one another because Jesus provided a way for all nations to be God’s people. Before Jesus this was not the case. There was a separation between Jew and Gentile. Ephesians 2:13-16 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” There was once a separation or an enmity between Jew and Gentile. The Old Law, which was the enmity, has been abolished by Christ’s death on the cross. This was done to create peace and give both Jew and Gentile a chance for eternal life.
But it is not just in a national sense that we can have peace with our fellow man. We can also have peace between ourselves as individuals. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus commands us to be reconciled with our fellow man and make it a priority! This is possible through forgiveness. Paul said in Ephesians 4:32, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Jesus also said in Luke 17:4, “And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” Because of God’s ultimate example of forgiveness (Romans 5:8), we can follow His example and forgive one another, thereby creating peace.
There is one more way that we can have peace. After we have been forgiven by God and reconciled with our fellow man there is only one thing left, and that is to have peace with ourselves. Jesus Christ has provided a way! Hebrews 9:13-14 says, “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Having forgiveness of sin not only means that we can have peace with God, but also with ourselves. If God has forgiven us, then we can forgive ourselves and move on. Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” What a blessing to know that we can forget, knowing that God has forgotten too!
Jesus Christ is truly the Prince of Peace and has provided a way for us to have peace with God, our fellow man, and ourselves. Peace is eternal because there is a place made for peace where we can rest from our labor by laying all our troubles at God’s feet and living with Him throughout all eternity. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Jonathan Glaesemann
