INNER PEACE 2 Thessalonians 3:16 CONTINUAL PEACE • it's possible to have peace of mind in every circumstance of life (2 Thess 3:16) • "continually" (of time, lit. 'through every time') and "in every circumstance" (of place, lit. 'in every turn') suggest a continual, uninterrupted mental peace—in good times and in bad • this inner peace is available anytime, anywhere, day in, day out, in every situation of life (with temporary setbacks, of course) • are you at peace with yourself? or are you always angry, fearful, worrying? is a war raging in your mind? FOR ALL • inner peace is available to all Christians (2 Thess 3:16) • "may give" expresses a possibility or obtainable wish (optative mood)—implying some doubt or uncertainty (cf. Rom 15:13) • Paul's desire was for every person in the church to have continual inner peace no matter what difficulties they faced • even though this peace was available to everyone, the apostle knew many believers in the church would never experience it FROM JESUS CHRIST • inner peace comes from the Lord (2 Thess 3:16) • the Lord Jesus Christ continually gives His own perfect peace of mind to Christians • if it is continually given, then peace of mind is always available in all the various circumstances of life—no matter how difficult FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT • inner peace comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) • peace of mind is a fruit of the Spirit and is the natural result of walking in the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:16) FROM THE BIBLE • inner peace comes from a knowledge of God's Word (2 Pet 1:2) • en ('through') is a preposition of means indicating what must be done for inner peace to be multiplied to you—Bible study • inner peace is proportional to how much you know about God and His Son—the more you know, the more peace you'll have • learn all you can about God (attributes, will, desires, commands, promises) and the person and work of Jesus Christ • inner peace is an obtainable wish (optative mood)—it's possible for your peace to multiply from a few minutes to hours a day FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD • inner peace comes from believing God's promises (Rom 15:13) • en ('through') introduces the means or mechanics by which mental peace is acquired—by claiming the promises of the Bible • e.g., "casting all your care upon him" (1 Pet 5:7) provides inner peace because you're no longer worried about your problems FROM PRAYER • inner peace comes from prayer (Phil 4:6–7) • these verses are cause and effect: first you pray (6) and then you receive the peace of God (7) • peace in testing (loss, suffering, tragedy, persecution) is beyond human comprehension—most are angry, afraid, or worried • God's peace stands guard at your heart's door to keep worries out, to keep them from coming in and stealing your peace— of guards who keep people in (ethnarch of Damascus put guards at the city gates to keep Paul from escaping, 2 Cor 11:32–33) or keep people out (Josephus stationed guards along the roads to keep couriers out of Galilee, Josephus, Life 240) • inner peace perpetuates itself by keeping worries out: peace of mind is so wonderful you simply won't let anything spoil it