Useful Bible Studies > Colossians Commentary > chapter 3

The peace of Christ

Colossians 3:15

The Christians in Colosse came from many different nations and situations in life (3:11). A few of them were rich (4:1); many of them were very poor (3:22). They included both men and women, young and old people. However, God had joined them all together in his church; in other words, they all now belong to God’s people. All God’s people everywhere are called the ‘church’, or the ‘body of Christ’ in Ephesians 5:23-32. In a healthy body, of course, all the different parts must work together (1 Corinthians 12:14-27).

So, in the church, all the different Christians must work together. They must not act selfishly (3:5) and they must not try to hurt each other (3:8). Instead, they must care for each other in an attitude of love (3:12-14).

That is possible because of the peace that Christ gives to his people. Here, ‘peace’ means a right relationship with God, which brings about right relationships between his people. Once, they were God’s enemies because of their evil deeds, and that made them enemies of each other (Romans 1:28-31). Now, because of Christ’s death (Ephesians 2:13), God has forgiven them, so they can forgive each other too (3:13). They are so grateful to God for his kindness to them – so now, they can show kindness to each other, too.

This attitude of peace causes God’s people to be content in the difficult circumstances of their lives (Philippians 4:7; Philippians 4:11-13). A person with a right relationship with God does not have to fight selfishly for what he needs. Instead, that person trusts God to provide for him (Matthew 6:25-33).

Next part: The word of Christ (Colossians 3:16)

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© 2019, Keith Simons.