CHURCH PEACE

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)

Jesus promised that in him we would have peace even while troubles continue in the world. First of all, let us understand three key things here, namely; peace, peace in Christ and trouble in the world. 

Peace 

The Greek word for peace is eirēnē [pronounced i-ray'-nay]. By this word we see different kinds of peace and different levels of peace, viz, inner peace and outer peace; personal peace, interpersonal peace, national peace and global peace. 

Inner peace

Inner peace is the peace individuals feel within themselves.

Outer/environmental/ecological peace

Outer peace is the peace we feel within our environment. The quietness, tranquility and serenity we feel within our physical surrounding make for peace. When the environment is devoid of all forms of pollution, and there is harmony in the ecosystem, it amounts to ecological peace. 

Personal peace

Personal peace is the same as inner peace. This refers to a state of quietness and tranquility within an individual. It is that state marked by calmness despite the debilitating issues otherwise known as the storms of life; positive reaction to negative actions directed toward you and a feeling of undisturbedness. Inner peace drives hope, inner peace spurs victory and inner peace sustains joy. 

Interpersonal peace

This refers to a state of harmony and friendly relationship between two or more persons. 

National peace

This refers to a state of quietness, tranquility and harmony within the social systems in a state. This does not only mean the absence of war, but also, the presence of optimal environment for human potential to develop. When there are constraints on human potential due to economic and political structures in a country, peace is disrupted. 

Global peace

In simple terms, global peace means the absence of war between or among nations, and the elimination of economic and political structures that provoke violent reaction between or among nations of the world. The world needs peace for international business. 

Peace in Christ

In-Christ speaks of the new environment of the new creation. The New Testament teaches that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Christ is the new environment of the new creation, that is, the Christian. This new environment is a peaceful environment. In Christ, you breathe in peace. 

Christ is your peace

Christ is not only an environment of peace within which you live, he is also a spring of peace within you. He is the spring of our inner peace. We need not look for peace from without us. Peace is already within us and we have to showcase peace in our world. If Christ lives in you, peace resides in you. You feel peace within even though there are troubles without. You breathe in peace to breathe out peace. 

Trouble in the world

Jesus did not promise peace in the world. The world refers to the social system, that is, societies, nation-states and the international community. We may team together to create and sustain peace within our social systems, but there is no guarantee that violence will permanently cease in this world. 

Positive peace

Peace is not merely the absence of violence, but also, the presence of optimal environment for human potential to develop. This gives rise to two types of peace, namely, negative peace and positive peace. Negative peace, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is the absence of violence or fear of violence, and positive peace is the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. Johan Galtung, the father of Peace and Conflict Studies, believes that for positive peace to prevail, there must be social justice and equality, in other words, optimal environment for human potential to develop. According to him, positive peace is the elimination of constraints on human potential due to economic and political structures. While we do not want conflict and violence within the church, we must create an environment where every Christian has liberty to do what they feel will glorify God and make them fulfilled.

Violence

Violence refers to humanly inflicted harm. We must not look at violence as only physical or direct, but also, structural. Physical or direct violence means harm inflicted on the physical body or threat to human life. Structural violence on the contrary, means decisions, policies and enactments that put constraints on others, thus, hindering them from developing their potential. They may be economic, political or spiritual structures. These structures, while constraining one, promote the other, thus, creating injustice, inequality and discrimination. This brings about misunderstanding, creates problems and results in conflict and violence, thus, distorting peace within the church. 

Offence

Offence is inevitable in society. Jesus said that offences are bound to happen. Offence is simply any attitude, behaviour or communication that creates misunderstanding between two or more persons. Offences in the church cause individual Christians to lose their inner peace and members of the church to lose their interpersonal peace. Offences also cause friction between two or more spiritual leaders, or two or more local churches. Offences disrupt peace and unity in the body of Christ. Most of the violence perpetrated in the body of Christ is not physical or direct, but mental and emotional, with words that cut deeper than sword. Murder is not only by sword and machete, but also, by word of mouth. So then, beware of your manner of communication. 

Attitudes, institutions and structures for peace within the church

The following are institutions and structures that will help build and sustain peace within the church:

Liberty

Liberty in the house of God refers to the freedom to do what one thinks will glorify God and make him or her fulfilled. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Cor 3:17). The word for liberty here means freedom to do as one pleases. Additionally, through Christ, every Christian has received authority to be and to live as, a child of God (Joh 1:12). The word authority, from the Greek exousia, means power of choice or liberty to do as one pleases, in the sense of having permission to do what one foresees as glorifying God and making him or her fulfilled as God's child. 

Exousia gives us the understanding of spiritual empowerment. After training them, Jesus empowered his disciples spiritually to heal the sick and to deliver them from demonic oppressions (Mat 10:1). Church leaders must give their disciples liberty to become who they foresee themselves to be in relation to their calling and divine purposes. 

Diversity

God himself has woven diversity into the social system as well as the church. We are different in many ways and we have ability to do different things in different ways. The divine abilities that God gives to us are different, have different functions and achieve different results in different ways. We must not see our differences as threat, but rather, as complement to one another. Christians and church leaders must not make enemies of each other due to the differences in our giftings and functions within the body of Christ. 

Tolerance

Tolerance refers to respect for diversity and acceptance of human differences. That you are a Roman Catholic does not mean I must be a Roman Catholic. That you are a Protestant does not mean I must be a Protestant. And that you are a Pentecostal/Charismatic does not mean I must be a Pentecostal/Charismatic. We must be able to respect each other's liberty to be as he or she pleases, and still be able to love each other and live in peace. 

Inclusion

In Christ Jesus, everybody is important and useful to God. You do not have to marginalise any individual or group from service to the church based on class, tribe or race. Every member of the church deserves opportunity to serve the church with their gifts. 

Equal opportunity 

Church leaders must learn to create opportunities for members to serve the church with their gifts and to develop their potential. Church members deserve equal opportunity to flourish. Leadership that creates optimal environment for human potential to flourish is praiseworthy.

Personal responsibility 

Church leaders must understand and teach that every Christian is responsible for their eternal outcomes. We shall all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, individually but not collectively, to answer for the things we did while on earth, and receive rewards or lose rewards for the things we did. Teaching Christians to take personal responsibility for their eternal outcomes will curtail authoritarian abuses in the church, creating peace. 

Peace mentality

Peace mentality is the mentality to give peace rather than to want peace. Christians and church leaders must be ready to give peace and not always want peace. You must possess this mentality both in the home and in the church. 

In conclusion, peace is a necessary ingredient for prosperity. The Hebrew word for peace, "shalom" also means prosperity. Violence erodes prosperity and the potential to succeed. Most of the violence perpetrated in the body of Christ is not physical or direct, but mental and emotional, with words that cut deeper than sword. For this reason, to ensure peace within individuals, within the local church and within the body of Christ, we must watch over our attitude, behaviour and communication. Our attitude, behaviour and communication must show that we give peace rather than want peace. 

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