The peace of Christ graciously given to the believer. John 14:27; Gen 14Title: The peace of Christ graciously given to the believer. John 14:27; Gen 14.
The indwelling of the Spirit and of Christ, the guarding of the word of God, the loving of God in return, His love towards the virtue within you, the building of the edification complex beside your soul, and the teaching ministry of God the HS all combine to provide prosperity for the individual believer.
This prosperity is represented by the word “peace” in verse 27. It’s not just any peace, but the very peace of Christ.
John 14:27"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
There are two different peace’s spoken of by the Lord, but both are linked to one another.
/Peace I leave with you refers to the fulfillment of His substitutionary death on the cross. This brings reconciliation to all men.\
“My peace” can only be experienced by the believer who abides in Him through PVTD and the F/HS.
/The peace of Christ is given as a gift to believers; however, it is the believer’s responsibility through PVTD and the F/HS to gain the capacity for such prosperity. \
/ “peace” – e)irene[eirene] = tranquillity, benefit, prosperity, or happiness. It is a part of the fruit of the Spirit.\
/Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. \
/Peace, tranquility, prosperity, and happiness are a supernatural result of an affective prayer life, Phil 4:6-7.\
Phil 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
/ Peace, tranquility, prosperity, and happiness are a supernatural result of metabolizing doctrine continually.\
/2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge [epignosis = metabolized doctrine] of God and of Jesus our Lord;\
/[metabolizing doctrine slide]\
In order to understand our next reference it is important to understand the basics of typology.
/The word type may be defined as “a divinely purposed illustration of some truth” (Scofield Reference Bible, p. 4), accordingly a prophetic act, institution, person, thing, or ceremonial.\
What the type illustrates is called the antitype. Christ is the outstanding antitype in all typology.
/For example: Type [the ark of the covenant] Antitype [hypostatic union] [golden candlestick] [Christ as light of the world] [water from the rock] [Christ as the provider of truth]\
/Melchizedek is a type of Christ. He was both a king and a priest – the first royal priest. King of righteousness and King of peace [Salem]. \
Heb 7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
Heb 7:2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
I repeat: /The filling of the Holy Spirit is a covering of shame, a protection from the effects of sin and evil, and the source of prosperity to the believer in time. \
This is shown beautifully in the dealings of Abraham and Melchizedek.
/The baptism of the Spirit enters the believer into union with Christ making him a royal priest forever. \
This is one of the 40 things received at salvation.
The bonafide priesthoods in history are the family priesthood, of which Abraham is one, the Levitical priesthood of the age of Israel, and the royal priesthood, which is the body of Christ.
Melchizedek falls under the category of royal priesthood, but he was not in union with Christ. He was not a Jew. There were no Jews at this time. Abraham is still a Gentile, but a family priest as the patriarch of his family. He would not become the first Jew until his circumcision at age 99. This makes Melchizedek a unique type of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only royal high priest.
/The family priesthood and the Levitical priesthood no longer exist. The royal priesthood now exists through union with Christ who was born of the royal tribe of Judah.\
Since Melchizedek is a king of Salem, or a king of peace, as well as a priest before God, then as a type of Christ, he reveals to us the peace, tranquility, and prosperity that come from PVTD and the filling of the HS (which Melchizedek did not have).
Gen 14:1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
This is Chedorlaomer’s army.
Gen 14:2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
Gen 14:3 All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Gen 14:4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.
/Served – they paid tribute or taxes. In the 13th year they all together decided to no longer pay taxes to Chedorlaomer. \
Gen 14:5And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
Gen 14:6and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
These mentioned in verses 5 and 6 are the giant races of the mountains surrounding the valley of Siddim.
Gen 14:7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
Chedorlaomer was a wise tactician and in verse 7 he secured his flanks before he took on the other kings in the valley.
Gen 14:8And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,
This is one of the first gigantic military enterprises recorded in history. This is no small scale battle.
The valley of Siddim is a very beautiful and rich green valley. It was so full of oil that it bubbled to the surface in thick goopy tar like pits. Later it would become the Dead Sea when Sodom and Gomorah were destroyed by God.
/Chedorlaomer secured all his flanks, but where is Abram? Abram is on one of these flanks but he is protected by God and so amongst all this chaos he and his loved ones enjoy peace. \
This is the reality of the wall of fire. Abram is surrounded by this army but he is not invaded. Melchizedek is also surrounded and he is the king of a city, but he is not bothered either. However, Abram’s nephew Lot does get captured. This shows the discipline that will befall believers who reject the rulership of God and are self-serving.
Gen 13:8 Then Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
Gen 13:9Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me: if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left."
Gen 13:10And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere — this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah — like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
Gen 13:11So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
Gen 13:12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
Gen 13:13Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.
Gen 14:8And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,
Gen 14:9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar — four kings against five.
Gen 14:10Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah are as degenerate as their people and degeneracy makes one stupid. They chose a battlefield in the part of the valley that is filled with tar pits and they cannot maneuver or retreat.
/The believer in apostasy continues to make bad decisions and so increases his weakness rather than his gift of divine strength.\
All things do not work out for good for all believers, but for those who love God.
/Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. \
The winners of the battle, under Chadorlaomer, took the spoil of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and started the trek back to their homeland. They also took Lot and all his possessions. This made Lot a slave along with his family; the owner of nothing.
Gen 14:11Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.
Gen 14:12And they also took Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
One man escapes and brings word to Abram. Abraham, as he will be known soon enough, will have four great victories in this circumstance and the first one is without the sword.
Gen 14:13Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew [no Jew yet – Hebrew means to cross the river (Euphrates)]. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.
In this part of the world at this time, if you settled alongside another you would have to make a treaty with them. Abraham was very wealthy and that meant large herds and flocks. So he made a treaty with these two groups and under the treaty, when one goes to battle, the others will join. And also, it is without doubt that Abraham revealed Jehovah to them and therefore it is possible that they are believers.
The self-absorbed Lot has not made such friends that were willing to go to battle on his behalf, but Abraham has. This showcases the benefits to the grace oriented positive believer.
The fugitive knows Lot and Abraham, so he was one who had the choice to go with Lot to Funsville or to stay with Abraham. Maybe he ridiculed Abraham for living where he did, but he’s not ridiculing now. |