Lesson 3 Prince Of Peace

     Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) tells us, "For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder.  And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace."
     Jesus wasn't just our sin offering, but as a sin offering He was also our peace offering.  We sometimes see Jesus as bearing our sins, but not as all the rest of what He paid for by His blood.  When He made the statement in John 14:27 (Amplified)  "Peace I leave with you; My (own) peace I now give and bequeath to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid, (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled."
     John, no doubt remembering what Jesus said, said this in 1John 3:20-21 (Amplified), "Whenever our hearts in (tormenting) self accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us (for we are in God's hands) for He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts) and He knows (perceives and understands) everything (nothing is hidden from Him)."  Verse 21 says, "And, behold; if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us (if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us) we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God."
     When we receive the peace that Jesus gave us (His Own peace), we no longer live in the guilt and condemnation of who we were or what we were.  Even our mistakes are covered by the Blood of our peace offering, Jesus.  Mostly, though, we still walk in our own shortcomings and mistakes which keep us from having peace with our Father.  Jesus became not just our peace offering, but our peace.  In Him, we have complete peace with God and access to Him at anytime. 
     The world hasn't received this peace and feel separated from God because they feel that God is angry at them all the time for some reason or another.  It was God Who sent Jesus as our peace offering because His anger was poured out on Jesus.
     In Isaiah 54:9-10 (Amplified) we read, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."  Verse 10 goes on, "For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you."
     In Verse 13 of this same chapter, it says (speaking of Jesus), "And all your (spiritual) children shall be disciples (taught by the Lord and obedient to His will) and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of Your children."
     You might say, "Yes, it's only for those who are obedient to God's will."  To that I would answer that if you've received Jesus, then you have become obedient to His will. 
     Isaiah 53:10-11 (Amplified) says, "Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick.  When You and He made His life an offering for sin (and He has risen from the dead, in time to come) He shall see His (spiritual) offspring, He shall prolong His days, and the will and pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."  Verse 11 says, "He shall see (the fruit) of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; by His knowledge of Himself (which He possesses and imparts to others) shall My (uncomprimisingly) righteous One, My servant, justify many and make many righteous (upright and in right standing with God) for He shall bear their iniquities and their guilt (with the consequences) says the Lord."
     So, you see that Jesus is the will of God for all who will believe and receive.  When you have accepted Jesus as your complete sacrifice for all things, you are now in the will of God.  As we learn more about Jesus, we walk more and more in the knowledge of His will.
     The peace that Jesus gave to us was to proclaim God's peace covenant to all the earth.  God isn't mad at you nor will He be.  Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was the gift of God to mankind.  When we understand this, we will have boldness to walk in the light of His resurrection in fellowship with our Father.  There's no need to be afraid of God (even if we do miss it at times).  Our peace offering has been accepted by God and our peace should stay secure in our hearts.