We are so thankful to be right at the very heart of the Christian life in our study of the Word of God, that’s Galatians chapter 5, so let me invite you back to Galatians 5 before we come to the Lord’s Table. We’re in a section of Scripture titled “Walking by the Spirit,” and I want to read the text to you, Galatians chapter 5, starting at verse 16. You’ll notice it begins and ends with a command to walk by the Spirit.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,” – or drugs – “enmities,” – or hatred – “strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

So we’re talking about what it is to walk by the Spirit. We’ve noticed that that is a command. It’s a command in verse 16; it’s a command repeated in verse 25. We also noted that there is a conflict involved in trying to obey this command. In verse 17, our still unredeemed human flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. That’s why living the Christian life is a battle, a warfare. We talked about that. We are in a war; it’s the flesh warring against the Holy Spirit who is in us. And then following the mention of the conflict in verses 17 and 18 comes a contrast between the deeds of the flesh, verses 19 to 21, and the fruit of the Spirit, verses 22 and 23.

So we’re looking at the fruit of the Spirit. Paul is making a case here for the fact that you don’t want to go back and try to live life before God by keeping the law in your own flesh, because all the flesh ever produces is a long list of iniquities that we read. To live a godly life requires not that you muster up your human strength to make sure you dot the moral I’s and cross the moral T’s in life. But if you’re going honor God and satisfy God at the level of His requirement, the only way possible that you can live a life that satisfies Him is to walk by the Spirit. It has to be empowered by the divine Holy Spirit. Nothing you do in your flesh pleases God.

So the point here is this: Paul is saying to the Galatians and others, “Don’t go back and try to live by religious rituals and rules and laws and ceremonies and observances, walk by the Spirit.” All your best efforts in the flesh only produce sin. It is the Spirit alone who produces righteous fruit and righteous fruit in particular listed in verses 22 and 23. So this is a call to walk by the Spirit. “Walk” means to take life one step at a time in the direction that the Spirit of God has ordained as revealed in the Word of God; and He promises to empower that kind of obedience.

Now, I want to begin for us this morning after that little brief review by reminding you of some terms that are used to describe believers in Jesus Christ. Perhaps the one that is most common is “Christian.” In fact, we say we are Christians and we believe in Christianity. We use Christian as a noun, we use Christian as an adjective to describe a myriad of things that are suggested or laid out or observed or commanded from Scripture. We have Christian responsibilities, Christian duties, Christian laws, Christians commandments, Christian attitudes.

“Christian” is a key word to identify us. It was a word that basically was first used by pagans who mockingly said about followers of Christ, “They are Christians.” It’s a diminutive for Christ, “They’re little Christs.” They thought it was a way to deride people; but actually it was a pretty noble compliment to say that they were little Christs.

And the New Testament uses that a lot. We are called Christians, and that is because we are Christlike. We are following Christ, we are endeavoring to bear His image, to reveal His character, so we are Christians.

Another very common word for us in the New Testament is the word “disciple.” Most commonly used in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the book of Acts; and there it is used about two hundred and fifty times. It also describes us, and the word translated “disciples” is mathētēs in the Greek. It means “learner,” “student.” We are students of Jesus Christ; we sit as His feet, we learn from Him. He is our Lord and Master. He is our Teacher, our Instructor. So we are called disciples, learners.

Also frequently in the New Testament we are called “brothers,” and a couple of times even “sisters,” which is to say that’s the word adelphos or adelphē. It’s to say that we’re in the family. We’re not just little Christs, we’re not just learners, students of Christ, we are family members. We have been introduced into the family of God, We’ve been born into the family of God by the new birth, and we’ve been adopted into the family of God by the choice of God Himself, to make us sons and heirs.

And there’s another term that we should be familiar with in understanding what it is to be a follower of Christ; we’re called “slaves,” slaves. The word is doulos. It appears about a hundred and twenty-five times in the New Testament; and sadly when it is used to refer to believers it is often translated “servant.” But it’s not the word for “servant.”

There are a number of words for servant. It is the word for “slave.” We are slaves. Kurios is the word “Lord.” Its companion word is doulos. He is Kurios, Lord; we are doulos, slaves. That is to say we give willing, loving, faithful obedience to the one who owns us, who bought us, who provides for us, who protects us. He is our Lord; we are happily His slaves.

When we talk about who we are, we are little Christs. We are learners, or disciples, or students of Christ. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God, having been born into the family and adopted into the family. We are slaves of our Lord and Master, and a joyous and willing slavery it is.

But here’s the one I want to focus on. There’s another word, and it is the word that is used most frequently to describe believers in the Epistles and the book of Revelation. So from the time you hit Romans to the end of Revelation, most frequently we are called saints, saints. The word is hagios, “holy.” We are holy ones; and it’s used over two hundred times. We are saints. We are holy ones.

Sad to say, that word has been co-opted in the past by the Roman Catholic Church who decided that being a saint was some kind of rare achievement and had to be basically voted on by people with religious power who could declare that you are a saint. And the criteria is that you have done miracles, you have done verifiable miracles. And only if you have done verifiable miracles and lived a life of magnanimity and great note can you be given the title “saint.” This has co-opted what is just a simple, plain designation for every believer.

I know it’s hard to think of yourself that way, and I know you don’t go around saying, “Just refer to me as Saint Bill or Saint Alice.” I have resisted the temptation to sign my name Saint John. But the fact is it’s true; we are saints. You are a saint, you are a holy one. It’s a little too much to admit that you are one for the simple reality that you don’t act like one all the time, correct? So you’re a little loathed to fully embrace the title.

I don’t even like being called reverend, let alone saint. We would almost think that if somebody ever did call us saint it was a mockery. “Oh, you think you’re a saint?” No, I actually am. “Well, I’ve been in a lot of cathedrals, I haven’t seen your stained glass window.”

But this expression is used to describe us, and it is continuously used to describe us. You come into the Epistles and you’re now in the life of the church all the way to the end in the book of Revelation and we are designated as saints. This is a great act of divine mercy, is it not, a great act of divine love and grace to call us saints, because we are, because we are. I want you to understand this as such a common reference, so let me just show you a few Scriptures that will help you to see it.

Paul wrote Romans, so let’s start where the Epistles begin, and in chapter 1, verse 1, “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” – he goes on; and then in verse 7- “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called saints. You have been sainted. You have been sainted. You have been canonized. You’re all saints.” These are young believers in Rome, and they are all designated as saints. This is a title that belongs to us all.

In the eighth chapter of Romans, speaking of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, “The Spirit intercedes for with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” The Holy Spirit is praying for us, and in His prayers identifying us as saints, as saints. God is not hesitant to call us saints; the Holy Spirit is not hesitant to pray for us as saints.

Now let me show you just how common this is. In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul begins, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus.” In Philippians chapter 1, “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” Colossians chapter 1, again it’s the same designation: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ who are at Colossae.”

Second Thessalonians chapter 1, “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians.” And down in verse it refers to the return of Christ “when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day.” First Timothy 5, talks about widows, verse 10: “A widow is to be cared for by the church if she have washed the saints’ feet.”

Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1, the writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, holy brothers,” – hagios, saint – “holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling.” This is the effectual call of God that has identified believers as saints. And you’re familiar with 1 Peter 2:9, which says about us, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,” – a holy ethnicity – “a people for God’s own possession. This is just a few of the times when we are identified as saints. But I want to take you to 1 Corinthians, because I think this makes the point in a very powerful way.

Now remember, 1 Corinthians, the letter that Paul wrote, was written to assault all kinds of sins in Corinth. It’s a long letter. It’s a long letter because a lot was wrong, a lot was wrong. But in spite of all the terrible things that were going on in Corinth – division, discord, disunity, fighting, strife, pride, bitterness, sins of all kinds, lawsuits, immorality, everything that’s listed here, corrupting the Lord’s Table, being selfish. Still, all of that is addressed in this letter.

But notice, Paul’s identification of the Corinthians chapter 1, verse 1: “Paul, called an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sainted in Christ Jesus, saints by calling.” You are saints by calling. It is not your behavior that earned you the right to be a saint. It’s not because somebody voted on you. You are called to be a holy one, and it is a true call, an effectual call. You are saints in spite of your weaknesses, you are saints.

In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 17, “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” Wow. “You are the temple of God, and the temple of God is holy,” same word. You are holy; you are saints.

Over in chapter 6 we know that they were suing each other rather than resolving things with the elders. So in chapter 6, verse 1, “Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Do you not know the saints will judge the world?” This is a high calling. This is a heavenly calling. You have been called to holiness. You have been sanctified. You have been sainted. You have been canonized – to borrow liturgical term.

“You are saints. Why can’t you settle your petty differences without the world’s involvement.” This is how we are consistently identified, and how the Corinthians consistently are identified. They are, in spite of their sin, saints.

Chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians, verse 14, says, “The unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife’ the unbelieving wife, sanctified through her believing husband; otherwise you’re children are unclean; now they are holy. There can be real holiness in a family, real holiness in a family. Over in verse 34 of that same chapter, “The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit.”

In the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, verse 33: “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” Here, he’s talking about the misuse of gifts, particularly speaking in tongues; and he reminds them that they are saints, “all the churches of the saints.” This church maybe should be Grace Community of Saints, Grace Community of Saints. That’s who we are, and it’s important that we understand that. That identifies us in the noblest way, as those who have been transformed and given a new heart.

Chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians, Paul says, “Concerning the collection for the saints.” There were some poor believers back in Jerusalem who didn’t have the financial resources they needed, so Paul was taking offerings that he might deliver them to the saints. And at the end of that chapter, near the end in verse 15, 1 Corinthians 16:15, “Now I urge you, brethren, you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia,” – the first people to be saved in the province of Achaia – “and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints.” That is who we are. We are saints. We are holy ones, because the Spirit of holiness dwells in us. We are the temple of God, the temple of God is holy, which temple we are.

Where am I going with all that? There’s one conclusion, it is this: salvation leads to sanctification. If you’re saved you’re a saint. If you’re saved you are a saint. Hebrews 10:10 says, “We have been sainted. We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” When you came to faith in Christ, you were made a saint.

Listen to Acts 26:18 as Paul reiterates his testimony. He says that God sent him to open the eyes of the Gentiles that they might turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sainted” – sanctified, made holy – “by faith in Me. By faith in Me makes you holy.” You are a saint. I am a saint.

Sanctification is the work of God begun at salvation. He not only forgave your sins, He recreated you. You were born again, you have a new nature; old things have passed away and everything is new. And once God started that He cannot stop it. He will perform what He began, Philippians 1:6. He will bring it to the conclusion, to glorification.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit, then – listen carefully – to illuminate the Scripture and empower the believer to obedience. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. You’re a saint, and as you study the Word of God, the Spirit illuminates the Word of God, and then empowers the application of the Word of God in patterns of obedience.

Now the rate at which your sainthood progresses – and, frankly, we all would admit that some of us have a halo that’s severely tilted. It may have fallen down onto our shoulder somewhere. We know we’re not working with perfection; but be reminded that it is God who identifies you as a saint, which is at the foundation level the reason you ought to act like it, because this is who you are. But the rate at which your sainthood progresses is connected to the rate at which you’re exposed to the Word of God, the illuminating work of the Spirit, and walk in the path of obedience times when you fulfill the desires of the flesh, your progress is halted.

Spiritual maturity is a slow process, spirituality is a moment’s experience. You can come to Christ and be a believer for twenty-four hours, and you can be spiritual or you can be in the flesh. You can be doing something fleshly or something obedient. In that moment you are either walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. Maturity is the end result of the dominant experience of walking in the Spirit. That’s what produces maturity. So when you see a mature believer who manifests Christlikeness and the fruit of the Spirit, you know that He has been, or she has been, filled with the Spirit, walking by the Spirit over a long time to have reached real maturity. So the work of sanctification began when you were saved; you became a saint. Now you need to live out your sainthood.

Now let me just compare for a moment being filled with the Spirit and walking by the Spirit. Look at Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 talks about being filled with the Spirit here. It’s just a good companion to our text in Galatians. And verse 18 of Ephesians 5 says, “Do not get drunk with wine, that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”

“If you’re going to be under the control of something let it not be wine” – that was what was done to induce supposedly communion with the deities in false temples – “but rather you be filled with the Spirit, not filled with alcohol so that you’re drunk, but filled with the Spirit.” And this is what will happen: you will worship. First of all, you’ll worship: “You’ll speak to one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, sing, make melody in your heart to the Lord.” You’ll be full of love, you’ll be full of joy, and it’ll express itself in worship.

And then in verse 20, “You will be giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” You can tell a person who’s Spirit-filled. They are full of worship and they are full of thanks.

And verse 21, they are marked by humility: “They are subject to one another out of respect for Christ.” Christ is their model. “He thought it not something to hold onto or be equal with God, but laid aside His glory, took on the form of a servant, the form of a man, went all the way down to death on the cross. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to think.”

So a Spirit-filled person is full of worship, full of gratitude, and marked by humility. And then he is, or she is, obedient. “Spirit-filled wives submit to their husbands,” verse 22. “Spirit-filled husbands love their wives,” verse 25. “Spirit-filled children” – chapter 6, verse 1 – “obey their parents. They honor their father and mother. Spirit-filled fathers” – or parents, verse 4 – “don’t provoke their children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Spirit-filled slaves are obedient to those who are their masters. Spirit-filled masters give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven and watching.”

So when a saint is filled with the Spirit, it manifests itself in worship, gratitude, humility; and all relationships become what they should be. Spirit-filled people have marriages that honor God, families that honor God, and even external relationships that honor God. Being filled with the Spirit simply means being under the Spirit’s control.

Now go back to Galatians chapter 5 and let’s take a look at the fruit of the Spirit again. The fruit of the Spirit is the proof of true Christianity. Did you hear that? The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence that you’re a true Christian. If all that is manifest in your life is what’s in verses 19 to 21, the end of verse 21 says, “You will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The proof of true Christianity is habitual manifest sainthood that shows up in these virtues in verses 22 and 23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And I told you that’s not some kind of linear list of things that are somewhat isolated, or a list from what you choose. It’s a bouquet. If you’re walking by the Spirit you get all of it. If you’re filled with the Spirit it all happens. If you’re filled with the Spirit you will worship, you will be thankful, you will be humble, all your relationships will fall into order.

The same is true here. This comes as a bouquet; you get them all when you walk by the Spirit. And we talked about love and we talked about joy, so let’s come to the third one, which is peace, and we’ll focus on that this morning.

Peace is tranquility in the soul. Peace is tranquility in the soul. It is the experience of the Spirit-filled, or Spirit-walking, Christian. God is frequently identified as the God of peace, the God of peace, meaning that He in Himself is perfect peace, that there is no anxiety in God, there is no fear in God, there is no dread in God, there is no worry in God, there is no doubt in God; there is perfect calm. He is in complete control, and He is the source of dispensing this calm. The Epistles offer the familiar salutation, “Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” To have peace, I mean the real thing, you can only get it from God.

Now let’s talk objectively and subjectively. When we talk about peace objectively we’re saying that objective peace refers to the Christian’s relationship to God. That is to say we were His enemies, He was our enemy. We were under judgment, we were under wrath; but we have been reconciled to God. Now we have peace with God, peace with God. The preposition is the important word: peace with God. We’re no longer at war with God, nor He with us. We have peace with God; that’s objective, that’s historic, that’s factual.

Subjectively, now that we have peace with God we experience peace in all the storms and trials of life. Peace with God brings the peace of God. Now that I have made peace with God, God is my Father, God is my protector; Christ is my Lord; the Spirit of God is my instructor, and my assurance, and my security for the future. God will keep all of His promises. I am His child forever. Since there is peace with God I now have the peace of God flooding my soul.

Peace with God, Romans 5 said, came by Christ reconciling to God all of us through His death. So now we have peace with God. Out of that comes the peace of God subjectively. That is why in Ephesians 6:15, the gospel’s called the gospel of peace. It makes peace with God, it brings the peace of God.

The peace of God is bound up in some of the brief benedictions of the New Testament. Here’s one in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all peace.” Here’s another one, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.” That’s 2 Thessalonians 3:16. “May the God of peace Himself grant you peace in every circumstance.”

It’s the tranquility of soul. Joy is kind of the exuberance of the soul over all the Lord has done for us, the exuberance that is released when we know everything that we ever need or ever will need is ours. Peace is another way to explain a different kind of emotion. It’s that calm confidence that eliminates all fear, doubt, worry, anxiety. Jesus said to the disciples in John 14:1, “Let not your heart be” – what? – “troubled. You have nothing to fear. I’m going to prepare a place for you, to come and take you to where I am.”

Again, like love and joy, peace is unrelated to circumstances. We just said that, 2 Thessalonians: “May the God of peace grant you peace in every circumstance.” It is a peaceful heart based on trust in God’s promises, God’s power, and God’s purpose. This is how we should live our lives, with perfect calm and peace.

That doesn’t mean that you should be comfortable when you sin; we’re not talking about that. What the Word of God is telling us is if you’re walking in the Spirit you’re not walking in the flesh, you’re walking in the Spirit no matter what comes your way; you will experience peace, perfect peace.

So we talked about the nature of it, let’s talk about the example. We did that with the other two. Who’s our example of peace? I love this little story. Go back to Mark chapter 4. Our Lord is with His disciples out on the Sea of Galilee, and a storm comes, Mark 4:35, “The evening comes. He said to them, ‘Let’s go to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind,” – very, very strong storm – “the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion,” in the back of this ship, being tossed in a fierce gale; and He’s asleep. That’s peace in the midst of a storm.

“They woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we’re perishing?’” It reached the point where it was over, the boat was going down. He is in perfect calm. “He got up, rebuked the wind, said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and became perfectly calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey Him?’” They were afraid of the storm outside their boat, they were even more afraid of the God who was in their boat. They saw Him control the storm.

Jesus was sound asleep in perfect tranquility in the midst of a storm that threaten to drown everyone. That’s the kind of confidence He had in the purposes of His Father. He knew that the Father had a plan and would fulfill that plan. He knew when to move, when to act, when to exercise His power; and He did it. Confidence in God that eliminates fear.

Turn to Philippians chapter 4; this is an important portion of Scripture as we talk about peace. Philippians chapter 4, verse 9, introduces us again to the God of peace. “The God of peace will be with you, verse 9. “The God of peace will be with you. Because of that” – go back to verse 7 – “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The God of peace is with you, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension. There’s no human explanation for it, there’s no psychological explanation for it; it takes over guarding your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is the very peace that comes from God. It is the peace that belongs to God and was manifest in Christ.

So we see the nature of it, that calm, settled confidence in God’s promise. We see the example; it’s Christ, who Himself being God, manifests the peace of God. But beyond that, as we saw in the others, there’s a command to pursue peace, a command to pursue peace. Go back; Philippians 4, verse 5, the end of the verse: “The Lord is near. The Lord is near.” Verse 6: “Be anxious for nothing.” Did you get that? “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t be anxious anytime about anything, but rather than be anxious, walk in the Spirit by praying with thanksgiving. Give your request to God, and your soul will be flooded with the peace of God that will guard your heart and your mind. That is a command not to be anxious, but to pray, pray in trust believing God’s provision of peace.

Colossians 3 we read earlier, verse 15: “Let the peace f Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called.” Did you know you were called to peace? You were called to live anxiety-free. You were called to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

First Thessalonians chapter 5 – just a couple more – 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, end of verse 13: “Live in peace with one another.” James 3, verse 17 and 18, talks about, “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” And then this: “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Are you a peacemaker? Are you the source of peace? Is your own heart at peace all the time in any situation? And are you the one who brings peace? Are you a peacemaker? That is how we should be identified. And if you’re walking in the Spirit, if you’re filled with the Spirit, you will not cause trouble, you will not cause anxiety; you will bring peace. Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Of all people in the world we are to be the peacemakers, not the troublemakers. An awful lot of people who name the name of Christ who do nothing but stir up trouble everywhere.

Second Peter 3:14, “Beloved, since you look for these things,” – the coming of Christ – “be diligent to be found by Him” – I love this – “to be found by Him” – when He comes – “in peace, in peace, spotless and blameless.” If Christ were to come right now would you be found in peace with your spouse, with your family, with your friends, people you work with? You need to be the peacemaker. People who walk in the Spirit show the bouquet of love, joy, peace, and more.

Finally, we ask, “What’s the source?” Well, we already know that because it’s the fruit of the Spirit. The source, the power is the Holy Spirit. But again, John 14:27 needs to be added to that. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. My peace I give you.”

How does that peace come to me? Verse 26: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” The God of peace sent His Son; His Son gave us His peace; it is distributed to us by the Holy Spirit.

All these things come from the Spirit of God. “The kingdom of God” – Romans 14:17 – “is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Your life, if you’re walking in the Spirit, is manifestly full of love, full of joy, full of peace, in every circumstance.