The Peacemakers (1)
Matthew chapter 5 verse 9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In other words, those who break peace are not blessed, and they cannot be called sons of God. Sons here include women, too. Please keep in mind that when the Bible says ‘son’ or ‘sons’, it includes women, too. All of you here are sons and daughters of God.
- For the peacemakers shall be called sons of God
The Lord says the peacemakers will be called sons of God. Then, if your peace is broken in your life, or if you do not have peace because of things that cause you to get angry and have quarrels, does that mean you are not children of God? If it were so, it is a big problem because those who are not children of God cannot enter the heavenly kingdom.
But John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” Galatians 3:26 also says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” As said, those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and have received the Holy Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. So, the ‘sons’ in today’s scripture has a deeper spiritual meaning than just God’s children who are just saved.
You who have accepted Jesus as your Savior have become God’s children, but the ‘sons’ in the Beatitudes’ verse 9 has a little different meaning. If you gain the qualifications to be called one of these sons here in verse 9, you will receive power from above, be loved by God, and receive answers to whatever you ask in prayer. The enemy devil will fear you and leave you. You will receive great authority and many blessings.
Jesus Himself, the Son of God, became the atoning sacrifice between God and mankind who had become sinners. He established peace between God and all mankind. Adam and all his descendants became sinners because Adam committed a sin, and that sin established a wall of sin between God and us.
As Colossians 1:21 says, “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,” we were enemies of God. Jesus was crucified to tear down the wall of sin between God and us, who had become enemies toward God. Jesus was crucified to bring peace. Colossians 1:20 says, “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say whether things on earth or things in heaven.” It is said, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” So, our Lord shed His blood on the cross to redeem us from our sins. He shed His blood by being whipped, wearing the crown of thorns, being nailed through His hands and feet, and being pierced by a spear.
As said, Jesus became the peace offering by the shedding of His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and He made the peace between God and us. Because Jesus took the duty of the peacemaker, He was perfectly recognized as God’s son. When we become peacemakers in all aspects like Jesus, the Son of God, who is the peacemaker, we can also be recognized as God’s sons.
Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” Those who accept the first Son of God, the Lord, who is the peacemaker, and resemble Him will also become God’s children, His sons and daughters. But not all the children of God who are saved are the same children. Even in this world, when there are many sons in a family, they are not at the same positions. For example, in case of princes, the situation of the crown prince and other princes are very different.
Also, princes of the queen and the princes of concubines, of court ladies, or of maids are all different. In the Korean Chosun Dynasty, the crown prince stayed in the palace and enjoyed complete authority and honor, but other princes had to leave the palace and live as a retainer after they grew up and got married. Also, generally speaking, when parents have many children, there is the favored child.
There is always a child who is nicer, more obedient, and who resemble the parents very much. In the same way, among the children who are saved, there are those who are right in God’s heart and those who are not. Some children resemble the Lord, quickly cast off evil in their heart, and obey the word of God.
However, others say they believe, but they do not cast off sins even after a long period of time. They keep on disobeying and disappointing God. According to how much we resemble the heart of Jesus, God will love us in different degrees.
The reason why God has been cultivating men despite such pain and anguish is because He wants to gain true children who resemble Jesus. Our Lord perfectly resembles the Father. So, God wants those souls who are saved, His children, to resemble His son, Jesus.
The ‘sons of God’ in the Beatitudes refers to those sons who resemble Jesus, the Son of God, and are right in God’s heart. Only those who bear true resemblance to the Lord, who sacrificed Himself and strictly obeyed God until He was crucified, can be called ‘sons of God’, only then they can be called ‘the peacemakers’.
When we become peacemakers like this, we can also enjoy the spiritual authority and power that Jesus enjoyed as the Son of God. Like it was the case of Jesus the Son, we can also receive answers to whatever we pray. We can also manifest God’s power like Jesus did. Just as the evil spirits trembled before Jesus, they will also tremble before the sons of God. In the authority of our words, they will obey us.
- How to become a peacemaker
Now then, can you call yourselves peacemakers? In your meetings, are you the one who breaks the peace or are you the peacemaker? You should bring peace even in places where there is no peace. If you believe in God and learn the truth, you will not break peace with evil intention. But as long as you have your own righteousness, you sometimes cause discomfort to other people without knowing it.
Please check yourself. Do others try to fit to your desires and comfort you, or you are trying to fit with others and comfort them? Did you cause difficulty to others by asking of them what you desire for your personal benefit? Did you keep going your way because you thought your opinion was right, although you knew that other people were getting hurt? Did you insist that others had to follow you since you were older and more senior in authority? Do you say, “Well, I am the senior and the boss why should I have to follow those who are subordinate to me?”
But men of spirit will not say such a thing. If you are men of spirit and hear this kind of statement, you will immediately receive the work of the Holy Spirit. How will you receive it? The Holy Spirit will remind you of the case of Abraham and his nephew Lot. Then, you have the answer. When you meditate on these things by the Holy Spirit, you will be able to check whether you are a peacemaker or not.
Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” Live in peace with those whom you like, those whom you hate, those who give you hard time, and with everybody. “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” You will not see the Lord without these qualities. This verse does not mean that if you have not bene sanctified nor have peace with everybody, you will not be saved. It really means that those of you who have not accomplished sancification nor have lived at peace with anyone will not see the Lord even if you are saved.
If you enter into paradise, or the 1st and the 2nd kingdom of heaven being at the 1st, 2nd, or the 3rd level of faith, you will not see the Lord. You will not be able to see the Lord even if He comes there. To see the Father God and the Lord, you have to go into New Jerusalem or at least the 3rd kingdom of heaven. In paradise, or the 1st and 2nd kingdom of heaven, you cannot see the Lord. Even if He comes to you, you cannot lift up your head to see Him. You feel too sorry to look at Him directly.
Even in the 7-year Wedding Banquet, you cannot even be embraced by Him. So, you have to go into at least the 4th level of faith to enter the 3rd kingdom of heaven.
Anyway, you must go into New Jerusalem! Then, you will be able to see the Father, the Lord, and other prophets, and be hugged by them, talk to them and so on, to be so happy! So, what will you do? It is not difficult to follow peace with everybody and have holiness. If you can do this, it means you are a sanctified person having no evil, so you will go to at least the 3rd kingdom of heaven. It is not difficult to be faithful in all God’s house either. If others have discomfort and if there are noises and quarrels, you should know that you have something that is not right in the sight of God.
1) First of all, to become a peacemaker, you should have peace with God and also with yourself
- The peace with God
‘To have peace with God’ is not causing walls of sin between God and you. The sinless Jesus was crucified to tear down the wall of sin between us and God. But if you still live in sins saying that you believe in God, you still have the wall of sin and you do not have peace with God. So, the first condition to be a peacemaker is to live by the Word of God and not commit sins. We must have peace with God.
- The peace with yourself
Next, the peace with yourself can be established when you always follow the desires of the Holy Spirit by casting off evil in your heart. If you do not cast off evil from your heart, all kinds of evil and sins will be agitated in different situations, so you cannot have peace in your heart. Suppose you violate the word of truth by disobeying God or breaking the order. The Holy Spirit will lament. The peace with God will break. The peace with the Holy Spirit in you will also break, so you cannot have peace due to pain and hardship. You will lose peace of your mind and your thanks. Those with weak faith will have weaker faith and they will lose peace.
So, Satan will capture them. If you struggle against yourself in this way, it is difficult to have peace with others also. Therefore, you can have peace with yourself when you finish your struggle against sins and follow the truth completely under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You can have peace with others after you have peace with yourself.
2) Secondly, to become a peacemaker, we should accomplish goodness of heart.
Matthew 12:19-20 says, “He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory.” Our Lord is so good and gentle that nobody was able to hear his voice in the streets. If we have just a few of people, it can be very noisy. Some people talk so loudly that others can hear him from a distance of 10 or 20 meters. But because our Lord is so gentle, nobody could hear His voice in the streets. He also walked very quietly.
“A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory.” As said, goodness is not to quarrel, boast, lift oneself up, or to show off. The one with goodness will love and embrace even an evil person and those with weak faith, because he wants others to be well off.
The one with goodness will watch the hearts of many people in the things he does, and softly embrace people’s hearts. So, people will find comfort and rest in him. Sometimes, there are workers of God with great passion and love for God, but they feel sorry for themselves because they break peace where they may be. They know the truth, so they do not want to break the peace, but they do not really understand why there are always disturbances around them.
This kind of person passionately does his job when he thinks it is good for the kingdom of God, and in him doing so, many others feel uncomfortable with him or oppose him for various reasons. He thinks although some people feel uncomfortable, they should bear it because that particular work is good for God’s kingdom, and if he were in their position, he would have put up with the situation.
So, even if there is a different opinion or some people who oppose, he keeps on doing his work that he thinks is good for God’s kingdom. But what would our Lord, who does not break a battered reed or put out a smoldering wick, think of this? He would recognize this person’s zeal for the kingdom of God, but He would be heartbroken along with those souls who are offended and hurt because of him.
For example, let us say the first son brought home a good gift out of his love for his father, but harshly scolded his younger brothers for not giving their father a gift. This kind of thing may happen in a big family function or occasion. Then, the father would rather have his sons to be at peace than for the others to bring gifts. Our God the Father wants us to know His heart and resemble it rather than doing great works in His name. It is more proper in God’s heart to have peace with others and consideration for their weak faith, as long as it is within the limit of truth. It is the same in your family, workplace, or business. As long as it is not untruth, it is more proper in God’s heart to have peace with others considering their weak faith.