Peace With All Men, and Sanctification

Peace With All Men, and Sanctification

“Pursue peace with all men, and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord . . . .”

“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Pet. 1:4.

“For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” 1 Cor. 3:3.

We see that it is human to live in discord with one another, and Paul calls it being carnal. Sanctification is to put this human trait into death, so that we can partake of divine nature. Then a person will conduct himself in a godly manner and not in a human manner. 2 Pet. 1:3 (German tr.). The result will be unity—fellowship in the Spirit.

The apostle has put these two things together: peace with all men and sanctification. Why has he put precisely these two things together? Simply because they belong together. If a person believes he is spiritual but at the same time lives in discord with his fellow men, he has deceived himself. In this manner the Corinthians had deceived themselves because of their spiritual gifts. 1 Cor. 4:8. There wasn’t one wise man among them, despite the fact that they had all knowledge. 1 Cor. 1:5, 6:5.

Jesus came to destroy the sons of tumult. Num. 24:17. “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” Jas. 4:1. Here we see how these sons of tumult arise. It was for this reason that God condemned sin in Jesus’ flesh. Rom. 8:3. There these sons of tumult were put to death. This death of Jesus shall now work in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus also may be revealed in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:10-11. Then we become spiritual, and that puts an end to all discord.

This matter of being one and loving one another sincerely, from the heart is a difficult area. Families, as well as the whole world, are suffering from strife and discord, and the apostle emphasizes this particular area when he exhorts to sanctification. Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12. Then this matter of having peace with all men is a unique area where we can find our human nature, which we can then put to death by the Spirit. Rom. 8:13.

We also see that discord is usually caused by earthly things: envy and disputes, taking someone to a secular court, and receiving gifts in order to consume them on one’s own lusts. All this is the result of the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and demonic. This gives the apostle reason to exhort as follows: “Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Gal. 5:26.

The person who wants to pursue sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord, is hereby specifically instructed in how he can partake of sanctification, become spiritual, and have a godly conduct. Without this salvation everything is just religious drivel. Nevertheless, through Jesus’ death over our tumultuous nature we will receive the wisdom that is from above. Jas. 3:13-17.