United by the Peace of Christ

Photographed by Thomas Winger

WINNIPEG – In sanctuaries across LCC we hear many languages: English, French, German, Hindi, Nuer, just to name a few. That diversity of languages is a blessing, but it can also be a barrier that divides and brings conflict. In his Sunday morning Bible study, Rev. Dr. James A. Kellerman, professor at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, discussed the morning’s Epistle reading, Ephesians 2:13-22, highlighting how Christ creates true peace, how the Church proclaims it, and how we live in that peace.

Christ creates peace not through worldly means, like the fleeting truces between warring nations Instead, Christ establishes an enduring peace, ceasing a greater battle, by defeating sin on the cross.

Christ doesn’t just bring peace to us; He is our peace. In the incarnation, Christ brings God and Man together. The peace of Christ becomes tangible by the incarnation. But it wasn’t enough for Christ to simply exist: “That flesh had to be put into motion and to do the hard work,” said Dr. Kellerman.

He explained that a literal wall separated Jews and Gentiles at the temple in Jerusalem. Before the coming of Christ, Gentiles for generations worshipped idols and were “far off,” “strangers,” and “aliens.” Christ died for the sins of the world, gathering Jews and Gentiles together in Him, the true temple. He demolished the dividing wall of hostility; no nation is to be separated from Him.

Dr. Kellerman also stressed how Christ annulled the Law rather than abolishing it. Just as annulling a marriage does not remove the institution of marriage, the annulment of the Law does not fully abolish the Law. Christ did not remove the Law, but because of His work on the cross, “its curse no longer stands against us.”

Ephesians 2:17 teaches us to proclaim this peace. In the same way that Christ sent Paul to the Gentile world, He calls pastors and missionaries to not only speak of peace but to “bring peace Himself, for He is found in their words.” As baptised Christians we carry that peace wherever we go.

Finally, Ephesians 2:18-22 teaches us to live in this enduring peace. The church was, and still is, the place where “we do not just belong to a city, but to a family. We are God’s beloved children, and everyone who believes in Christ is our brother or sister.” Dr. Kellerman urged everyone to base our lives upon all of Scripture, regarding the writings of the apostles and prophets as our foundation. “If the church is to flourish, it must take shape as Christ gives the direction.”

We can take heart in the peace that surpasses all understanding. “It is a peace founded not on an idea but on [Christ] being God in human flesh.” It’s a peace that humans cannot manufacture, despite our efforts to negotiate and compromise. As Christians, we are truly united through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This is how Christ joins people together through our connection to Him. He reconciles us to God the Father, and one another. Christ won perfect peace for us, not on the battlefield, but on the cross.

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