Colossians 3:15 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body; and be thankful.

Paul continues his exhortation with another strong third person imperative. The Colossians need to make the decision to let the piece of Christ rule in their hearts. Christ is the source of peace with God (Romans 5:1). Peace with God leads to peace in other areas of our lives. There is much brokenness in our world today. People try to heal this brokenness by satisfying desires that were created to be satisfied with Jesus Christ. When Christ is Lord of all in our lives, peace will be a byproduct. As one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), peace comes as we allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into the likeness of Christ. This comes through the daily walk of obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This must be a current experience, otherwise, the ways of the world (the humanism about which Paul writes in this letter) will take away our peace and replace it with worry.

Paul implies by using a third person imperative command that the Colossians have a choice in having peace. They can do this by letting this peace of Christ have rule (brabeuetō) or influence in their hearts. The heart represents the essential part of our existence where we make our decisions and the entity of our conscience that guides how we live. Basically, it is our essential person deep within, our thinking or mind. It represents the key place of intersection between us and God. This is the place where Christ must reign supreme. When he is Lord and on the throne of our hearts, his peace can then fill us and be our resource through troubled times.

Paul directs the attention of the Colossians to this peace and tells them that this is the source of unity in the church. When Christ is sovereign and his love and peace are present, the church will be united into one body. Paul already used the image of the church as the “body of Christ” in 1:18, which was apparently one of his favorite illustrations (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:4, 15-16; 5:23). The calling of the church is to be united in Christ. This will strengthen each member and prepare the church for its mission to the world. Peace is the source of this unity. The end result will be thankfulness. Many things lead to this thankfulness, but just having this deep sense of peace and the unity that it brings should be enough to prompt any believer to bow before God in thankfulness and praise.

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