Bible Verses About Peacemaking
Introduction
Peacemaking is one of the most distinctively Christian callings in the entire Sermon on the Mount. The Matthew 5:9's blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God does not say blessed are the peacekeepers or blessed are the conflict avoiders: the peacemaker is the active pursuer of the reconciliation where the conflict has disrupted the relationship, not the passive manager of the comfortable distance. The blessed are the peacemakers are the people who have received the peace that Christ made through the cross and who are now participating in that peacemaking work in the specific relationships and communities where they live.
The theological ground of the Christian peacemaking is the specific peacemaking act of the Christ who is himself our peace: the Ephesians 2:14-16's he himself is our peace who has made the two groups one and destroyed the dividing wall of hostility by making peace through his blood shed on the cross is the specific model. The peacemaker is not the person who has developed the sufficient conflict resolution skills but the person who is imaging the Christ who made peace by absorbing the hostility rather than retaliating with it. The making of the peace required the cross: the peacemaking that images the cross is the peacemaking that is willing to bear the cost of the reconciliation rather than waiting for the other party to make the first move.
The practical wisdom of the Matthew 18:15-17 and the Romans 12:18-21 and the Ephesians 4:26-27 establishes the specific practices of the Christian peacemaking: the going to the person directly, the as far as it depends on you living at peace with everyone, the do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and the overcoming of the evil with the good. The peacemaking is the specific practice of the person who has been formed by the peace that the cross made and who is extending that peace into the specific conflicts of the ordinary life.
These verses speak to anyone who is navigating the specific conflict that needs the active peacemaking rather than the passive avoidance, anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the peacemaking as the imaging of the Christ who made peace through the cross, and anyone who needs the practical wisdom of the Scripture for the specific practices of the reconciliation.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Peacemaking
The Greek word eirenopoios describes the peacemaker of Matthew 5:9: the maker of the peace, the active creator of the reconciliation rather than the passive maintainer of the comfortable distance. The Greek word diallasso describes the reconciliation: the specific making of the peace between the parties who are in the conflict. The Greek word katalasso describes the reconciling: the specific act of the changing of the relationship from the hostility to the peace that the Romans 5:10-11 uses for the reconciliation of humanity to God. The Greek word eirene describes the peace itself: the specific wholeness and the harmony of the relationship that has been restored.
Bible Verses About the Calling to Make Peace
Matthew 5:9 — ("Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.")
The blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God is the specific Beatitude of the active pursuit of the peace: the peacemaker is the specific person whose activity reflects the character of the God who made peace through the blood of the cross. The they will be called children of God establishes the specific identity: the peacemaking is the activity that reveals the family resemblance, the imaging of the Father who made peace through the Son. The active peacemaker is the person who is being recognized as bearing the family likeness of the God of the peace.
Romans 12:18 — ("If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.")
The if it is possible and as far as it depends on you establish the honest acknowledgment of the limits: not every peace is achievable because not all the conditions of the peace are within the person's control. But the as far as it depends on you establishes the specific responsibility: the person who has done everything within their own power to make the peace has fulfilled the calling even if the other party has refused the reconciliation. The live at peace with everyone establishes the comprehensive scope: the peacemaking is the comprehensive calling rather than the selective practice with the easy people.
Matthew 5:23-24 — ("Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.")
The first go and be reconciled establishes the specific priority of the reconciliation over the religious performance: the worship that proceeds without the reconciliation of the broken relationship is the worship that the Jesus interrupts. The your brother or sister has something against you establishes the specific responsibility: the person who goes is not the person who has been wronged but the person who has wronged the other. The peacemaking that the Jesus commends is the peacemaking of the person who goes first rather than waiting for the other party to initiate.
Bible Verses About the Ground of the Christian Peacemaking
Ephesians 2:14-16 — ("For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.")
The he himself is our peace who destroyed the dividing wall of hostility is the specific theological ground of the Christian peacemaking: the Christian who makes peace is the person who is participating in and extending the peace that the Christ made by destroying the dividing wall. The creating in himself one new humanity establishes the specific content: the peacemaking is not the tolerance of the differences but the creation of the new community in which the walls have been demolished. The through the cross establishes the means: the peace was made at the cost of the cross, and the peacemaking that images the cross is the peacemaking that bears cost.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 — ("All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.")
The gave us the ministry of reconciliation is the specific statement of the calling: the peacemaking is the specific ministry that the God who reconciled the world to himself through Christ has given to the people who have been reconciled. The not counting people's sins against them establishes the specific character of the reconciliation: the peacemaking that images the divine reconciliation is the peacemaking that does not keep the accounting of the wrongs. The message of reconciliation establishes the comprehensive character: the peacemaking is both the practice of the relationship and the proclamation of the gospel.
Bible Verses About the Practices of Peacemaking
Matthew 18:15 — ("If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.")
The go and point out their fault just between the two of you is the specific instruction for the direct peacemaking: the conflict that is addressed directly between the two parties is the conflict that has the specific possibility of the winning over of the other person. The just between the two of you establishes the specific privacy: the direct address of the person who has wronged you is the specific practice that protects the relationship from the damage of the broader disclosure. The you have won them over establishes the specific goal: the peacemaking is the winning over of the person rather than the winning of the argument.
Ephesians 4:26-27 — ("'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.")
The do not let the sun go down while you are still angry is the specific instruction for the timely peacemaking: the unresolved anger that persists through the night is the unresolved anger that gives the devil the specific foothold. The in your anger do not sin establishes the honest acknowledgment: the anger itself is not the sin, but the anger that is not addressed gives the sin the specific opportunity. The do not give the devil a foothold establishes the stakes: the unresolved conflict is the specific opening for the destructive work of the enemy.
Colossians 3:13 — ("Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.")
The forgive as the Lord forgave you is the specific standard for the forgiveness that makes the peacemaking possible: the Lord's forgiveness is the specific measure of the forgiveness that the peacemaker extends to the person who has wronged them. The bear with each other establishes the ongoing character: the peacemaking is not only the resolution of the specific conflict but the ongoing bearing with the person in the ordinary difficulty of the relationship. The if any of you has a grievance establishes the comprehensive scope: the forgiveness is the practice for any grievance rather than only the grievances that are easy to forgive.
Bible Verses About Overcoming Evil with Good
Romans 12:19-21 — ("Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.")
The overcome evil with good is the specific statement of the peacemaking that images the Christ who made peace by absorbing the hostility: the response to the evil is the specific act of the good that does not match the evil but overcomes it. The do not take revenge but leave room for God's wrath establishes the specific releasing of the justice: the peacemaker is the person who releases the accounting to the God who will repay rather than the person who keeps the accounting and executes the retaliation. The feed the enemy establishes the specific act: the peacemaking is the specific act of the provision for the person who is the enemy.
Matthew 5:44 — ("But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.")
The love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you is the most demanding statement of the peacemaking: the love and the prayer for the enemy are the specific acts of the person who is imaging the Father who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good. The love establishes the comprehensive character: the peacemaking that Jesus commends is not the management of the natural affection toward the enemy but the specific act of the will that chooses the good of the enemy regardless of the feeling. The pray for those who persecute you establishes the specific practice: the prayer for the persecutor is the specific act of the peacemaking toward the person whose hostility has not yet been addressed.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Peacemaking is most honestly prayed from the honest naming of the specific relationship where the peace needs to be made and the specific asking for the courage and the grace to make the first move.
Matthew 5:9 — ("Blessed are the peacemakers.") Response: "Let me be the peacemaker rather than the peacekeeper. Let me go rather than wait. Let me bear the cost of the first move rather than keeping the comfortable distance of the unresolved conflict. Let the going be the imaging of the Christ who made peace at the cost of the cross."
Ephesians 4:26 — ("Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.") Response: "I am naming the specific anger and the specific person. I am choosing not to let it go to sleep unaddressed. Give me the courage to go directly. Give me the grace to address the specific fault between the two of us rather than to the wider audience. Let the winning over of the person be the goal rather than the winning of the argument."
Romans 12:21 — ("Overcome evil with good.") Response: "Let the good be the specific response to the specific evil. Not the retaliation that matches the evil or the comfortable distance that avoids it but the specific good that overcomes it. Let me feed rather than retaliate. Let the releasing of the accounting to you be the specific act that frees me to extend the good."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about peacemaking? The Bible presents peacemaking as the active pursuit of the reconciliation that images the Christ who made peace through the cross. Matthew 5:9's blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God establishes the Beatitude. Ephesians 2:14-16's he himself is our peace who destroyed the dividing wall of hostility establishes the theological ground. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19's the ministry of reconciliation establishes the specific calling. Matthew 18:15's go and point out the fault just between the two of you establishes the specific practice. Romans 12:21's overcome evil with good establishes the specific direction. And Colossians 3:13's forgive as the Lord forgave you establishes the specific standard.
What is the difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper? The peacemaker of Matthew 5:9 is the active pursuer of the reconciliation where the conflict has disrupted the relationship: the maker is the creator of the new reality rather than the maintainer of the comfortable distance. The peacekeeper is the person who avoids the conflict in order to preserve the surface calm rather than addressing the underlying disruption that the surface calm is concealing. The Matthew 5:23-24's leave your gift and first go and be reconciled establishes the specific priority: the peacemaker goes to the person who has the grievance rather than maintaining the surface of the religious performance while the disrupted relationship goes unaddressed.
How does the Bible say to handle conflict? The Matthew 18:15's go and point out the fault just between the two of you establishes the specific first practice: the direct address of the person who has wronged you is the specific practice that gives the conflict the best possibility of the resolution. The Ephesians 4:26's do not let the sun go down while you are still angry establishes the timely character. The Colossians 3:13's forgive as the Lord forgave you establishes the standard. And the Romans 12:18's as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone establishes the comprehensive responsibility: the person is responsible for their own contribution to the peace rather than the outcome that depends on the response of the other party.
What does the Bible say about forgiving enemies? The Matthew 5:44's love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you establishes the comprehensive statement: the love and the prayer for the enemy are the specific acts of the peacemaking toward the person whose hostility has not yet been addressed. The Romans 12:19-21's do not take revenge but overcome evil with good establishes the specific practice: the releasing of the accounting to God and the feeding of the enemy are the specific acts of the peacemaking that images the Christ who made peace by absorbing the hostility. And the Colossians 3:13's forgive as the Lord forgave you establishes the standard: the Lord's forgiveness of the person who was the enemy is the specific measure of the forgiveness that the peacemaker extends.
Why does the Bible call peacemakers children of God? The Matthew 5:9's they will be called children of God establishes the specific reason: the peacemaking is the activity that reveals the family resemblance of the God who made peace through the Son. The 2 Corinthians 5:18-19's all this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation establishes the specific connection: the peacemaking is the participation in the reconciling work of the God who is the source of the peace. The Ephesians 2:14-16's he himself is our peace who destroyed the dividing wall establishes the model: the peacemaker who destroys the dividing walls is imaging the Christ who destroyed the dividing wall of hostility by making peace through his blood.
