THE
BEATITUDES
LESSON
SEVEN
The
peacemakers.
Memorize Mt
5:9 with proper punctuation.
You will need it for both the section test as well as for the Final Test.
Mt 5:9
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
Introduction: There are three things involved in being a peacemaker:
Mediator, referee, counselor.
A. Definitions: Gk
eirhnopoioi
(ay-ray-naw-poi-oi) plural of
eirhnopoioV
(ay-ray-naw-poi-oss), a peace-maker, one who cultivates peace,
and
concord. In it's plural form in Mt 5:9, peacemakers.
1. Secular: (F&W)
a. peacemaker- One who affects, or seeks to effect, a reconciliation between
unfriendly parties.
b. reconcile- To restore to friendship after estrangement; reunite the alienated
affections of, as of estranged lovers.
c. reconciliation- The act of reconciling, or the state of being reconciled; atonement.
d. atonement
1) Satisfaction, reparation, or expiation made for wrong or injury; something
suffered, done, or given by way of satisfaction.
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2) Theologically, the sacrificial work of Christ. 2. Bible definitions. a. Peacemaker- One who seeks to reconcile man and man or God and man; including, but not restricted to, the Atonement. b. Atonement - the sacrificial work of Christ. 1) Old Testament- in types of Christ. |
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2) New Testament- in fact.
B. The first thing involved in being a peacemaker is acting as a Mediator.
1. Old saying, “It takes two to tango.” Which means "it takes two to dance."
However,
when I was a child I thought it said, “It takes two to tangle.”
Which would mean "It takes
two to
fight." My understanding of that old saying would be the one that
best fits our current portion
of this study.
a. Without enmity there is no need of a mediator.
Gal 3:20 “Now a mediator is not a mediator of one...”
1) Man with
man: There we historically see war after war, constant enmity and strife
beginning
with Cain and Able. And that it is accelerating can be seen by the fact
that there have been
more wars fought since “The War to end all wars,” (as they call the II WW) than
were fought in all of the history of mankind before that war.
a) Jas 3:16 “For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion
and every evil work.”
4:1 “From whence [come] wars and fightings among you? [come
they] not hence, [even] of your lusts that war in your members?”
b) As long as “lust” is in the world, men will be at enmity with other men.
c) Definition of “lust,” sensual desire. Therefore, not only sexual lust is meant,
but lust in general; i.e., any unchecked desire to only please the senses.
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d) There are five senses; therefore, there are five kinds of lust. aa) Sight; lust of the eyes. bb) Hearing; lust of the ears. cc) Taste; lust of the mouth or belly. dd) Touch; lust of the hands or body. ee) Smell; lust of the nose. e) As long as people have eyes, ears, noses, tongues, and bodies, 2) God with man. |
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Ro 5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Col 1:21 “And you, that were sometime alienated and
enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled”
Eph 2:15-16 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,
[even] the law of commandments [contained] in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one
new man, [so] making peace; And that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:”
3)
From the previous 2 points it sounds to me like man is enemies with both God and man and
is desperately in need of a mediator.
b. What, or rather who, is the answer, the ultimate mediator?
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1) The law is not a mediator.
Gal 3:19 “Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added by angels in the hand of a mediator.” Gal 3:23-24 “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The law was meant to force the Jew to stay in line with God's ways and precepts. |
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Schoolmaster in Greek is paidagogoV, pa-hee-da-gaw-gos. From this Greek word we get the English word "pedagogue" which has a slightly different meaning than the Greek word. In English it is used of, "1. a schoolteacher, an educator, 2. One who instructs in a pedantic or dogmatic manner." This is different than the Greek meaning of the word which carries the idea of force.
Matthew
Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (9)
The law was designed for a schoolmaster, to bring men to Christ, Gal 3:24. In the foregoing verse, the apostle acquaints us with the state of the Jews under the Mosaic economy, that before faith came, or before Christ appeared and the doctrine of justification by faith in him was more fully discovered, they were kept under the law, obliged, under severe penalties, to a strict observance of the various precepts of it; and at that time they were shut up, held under the terror and discipline of it, as prisoners in a state of confinement: the design of this was that hereby they might be disposed more readily to embrace the faith which should afterwards be revealed, or be persuaded to accept Christ when he came into the world, and to fall in with that better dispensation he was to introduce, whereby they were to be freed from bondage and servitude, and brought into a state of greater light and liberty. Now, in that state, he tells them, the law was their schoolmaster, to bring them to Christ, that they might be justified by faith.
Robertson's
Word Pictures (9)
(The Greek spelling has
been changed to match the Received Text. Dr. VBK)
Our tutor unto Christ (paidagogoV hmwn ... eiV kriston). See note on I Cor 4:15 for the only other N.T. example of this old and common word for the slave employed in Greek and Roman families of the better class in charge of the boy from about six to sixteen. The paedagogue watched his behaviour at home and attended him when he went away from home as to school. Christ is our Schoolmaster and the law as paedagogue kept watch over us till we came to Christ.
That we might be justified by faith (ina ek pistewV dikaiwqwmen). This is the ultimate purpose of the law as paedagogue.
Now that faith is come (elqoushV de thV pistewV). Genitive absolute, “the faith (the time of the faith spoken of in Gal 3:23) having come.”
Under a tutor (upo paidagwgon). The pedagogue is dismissed. We are in the school of the Master.
| 2)
The mediator is Christ.
Man to man, person to person, and, since nations are made up of
II Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new
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a) The old man cannot rid himself of lust. He must become a, “new creature.”
(Read Ro 8:7-16)
b) If you want to act as a mediator between enemies; then use Christ.
3) God to man- Christ is the answer.
I Tim 2:5 “For [there is] one God, and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
Eph 2:15-16 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”
2. Summary.
a. Man is at enmity with both God and other men.
b. For mediation in both these situations, God with man, and man with man,
Christ is the answer.
| C.
The second thing involved in being a peacemaker is acting as a
Referee.
1. Definition: Someone who is in general control of a game. a. He judges that the rules are being followed and calls any infractions. b. He separates antagonists in case of infractions. c. He does not set the rules, he merely enforces them. 2. Man to man. a. If they’re both saved. Referee according to God’s Law. |
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c. If both are lost. Referee according to God’s Law.
d. God sets the rules, our job as peacemaking mediator is to judge whether they are
being followed, regardless of who we are dealing with.
3. God to man.
What if we are to be a peacemaker between God and man.
a. Christians are to judge if the one being refereed is following the rules set by God
for mediation between themselves and him.
b. If they have not been saved God’s way (which is the only way) then we are
to let them know they need to be.
II Cor 5:20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's
stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
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4. God to Christians. What if we are called to be a peacemaking referee between God and Christians. a. Not all Christians are following God’s
rules and if they are not, then they need
Ro 8:7 “Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Jas 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” Eph 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them].”
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b. Reprove and rebuke are simply different forms of the same Greek word.
Rebuke is just a sharper reproof; and, many times, it is a public one.
Titus 1:13 “This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply,
that they may be sound in the faith;”
2:15 “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all
authority. Let no man despise thee.”
I Tim 5:19 “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before
two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before
all, that others also may fear.”
c. We are to do so in love.
Eph 4:2 “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering,
forbearing one another in love;”
Gal 6:1-2 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are
spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest
thou also be tempted. Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the
law of Christ.”
d. It is obvious that a Christian sometimes needs a peacemaker that can referee
between themselves
and God to affect a reconciliation.
D. The third thing involved in being a peacemaker is acting as a Counselor.
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As a peacemaker, we also have to be a counselor. 1. Proverbs has much to say about counsel and counselors. Pr 11:14 “Where no counsel [is], the people fall: but 12:15 “The way of a fool [is] right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel [is] wise.” |
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12:20 “Deceit [is] in the heart of them that imagine
evil: but to the counsellors of peace [is] joy.”
2. Paul knew what kind of counsel to give.
Acts 20:26-27 “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I [am]
pure from the blood of all [men]. For I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
3. It is never to be council from our own wisdom, but from the wisdom of God.
I Cor 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”
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Jas 3:14-18 “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but [is] earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” |
E. Putting it into practice- acting as a Peacemaker.
1. Sometimes we act as a mediator.
a. To the lost, we have to be a mediator, or to be more precise, we act as the
messenger that delivers the message of Christ, the true mediator.
Without Christ there is no hope of truly mediating between antagonists,
God and man, or man and man.
b. To the saved, we have to act as a mediator between them and God, when they are
disobedient to Him; and, we may also have to act as a mediator between two
Christians that are mad at each other.
c. In all of these: God to lost, God to saved, saved to saved, and saved to lost,
Christ and/or His Word, is the answer.
2. Sometimes we have to act as a referee.
a. As a referee we make sure that the rules
of Salvation set down by God are followed
by the lost to make peace between them and God.
b. And we also must make sure that the rules set down by God are followed by the
saved.
3. Sometimes we have to act as a counselor.
a. We make sure that we give only the counsel of God.
b. Help them to understand that they must follow God’s rules and help them to
develop the habit of doing so.
c. We must do all of this in love.
4. Peacemakers.
a. Christ: He was the greatest peacemaker of all time. Between God and man, and
between man and man.
1. He was our example, and He was called the,
Jn 3:16 “... only begotten Son...”
2. He was the first of many.
Ro 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be]
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren.”
b. Us: By following His example, we will be called the children of God.
Mt 5:9
“Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”
Make sure you have memorized Mt 5:9 with proper punctuation.
You will be
required to quote it from memory for the Scripture
Memorization practice Test and for the Lesson One Test.
You will not include the quotation marks nor the scripture
reference, Matthew 5:9, in your answer.
You will also be asked if you meditated on the precept taught in this Beatitude.
| 1. You are required to click HERE to go to the practice index page to practice your scripture memorization before proceeding to the Lesson test. On the practice index page, scroll down to the practice test for this Lesson and click on it. No practice test scores are added to your file. If you do not pass the practice quiz, then to take it again just close the test and you will return to the practice index page and you can choose the test to take it again. When you are finished with your practice, close the practice page to return to this page. |
| 2. You can not proceed to the Lesson Test without first having a 100% score on the Scripture Memorization test. Take it as many times for practice as is necessary to achieve the required score of 100%. Each practice test will automatically come to the college. If you wish to take the practice test more times to make sure you have the scripture memorized, please feel free to do so. The first practice test with a score of 100% will be placed in your test file only for verification purposes and it is a prerequisite before you can take the Lesson Test and have the Lesson score credited to your file. |
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3. Did you
meditate on this beatitude as you were instructed to do? |
LESSON SEVEN TEST
Lesson test is
"open book" except for the verse memorization question
which must be answered from memory alone as a closed book question.
You cannot proceed to the next Lesson until the day after you have
passed this Lesson Test and found all of the correct answers
in the textbook to all questions missed on this test
even though you received a passing score.