Thursday, January 29, 2026

“Internal Peace” (2 Peter 3:14a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/29/2026 10:09 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  “Internal Peace”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  2 Peter 3:14a

            Message of the verse: “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace,”

            This is a rather short section in John MacArthur’s commentary on 2 Peter but looking at it in his commentary there are many verses to look up to help us better understand this section.

            “As those who look for these things—the day of God, the new heavens and earth, the eternal state, and the glorious everlasting kingdom—faithful believers are motivated to live in a way that reflects their eternal perspective.  This requires them to be diligent (Ps. 34:14; 2 Cor. 13:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; James 3:18) so that when Christ returns they will be found by Him in peace.”

(Ps. 34:14; 2 Cor. 13:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; James 3:18)

“14  Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

“11 ¶  Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

“22 ¶  So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

“18  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in of them peace by those who make peace.”

“The phrase to be found is a sobering reminder that no one will be able to hide from Christ when He returns.  He will overlook nothing, but ‘will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts’ (1 Cor. 4:5; cf. 2 Cor 5:9-10)”

(2 Cor 5:9-10)

“9  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

            Peace (Eirene) could refer to a saving relationship with God and becoming at peace with Him (cf. Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14).”

(cf. Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14)

“1 ¶  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“14 ¶  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”

“But the apostle addressed his readers as beloved, indicating that they were already Christians (cf. Rom. 1:7; 12:19; 1 Cor. 4:14; 15:58; Eph. 5:1; Col. 3:12; 2 Thess. 2:13; James 2:5; 1 John 3:2; Jude 1).”

(cf. Rom. 1:7; 12:19; 1 Cor. 4:14; 15:58; Eph. 5:1; Col. 3:12; 2 Thess. 2:13; James 2:5; 1 John 3:2; Jude 1)

“7  To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“19  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

“14 ¶  I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.”

“58 ¶  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

“1 ¶  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

“12 ¶  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,”

“13 ¶  But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

“5  Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”

“2  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

“1 ¶  Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,  To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:”

Peace could also apply to unsaved but professing people in the church.  Perhaps Peter was exhorting them to be diligent to pursue true salvation’s peace, so that when Christ appears, He will find them genuinely saved.  But that is probably just a secondary understanding of the expression, as is the idea of being at peace with other believer.

            “In this context, peace primarily refers to the true peace of mind that accompanies a confident faith in the Lord.  It is an echo of Paul’s admonition to the Philippians:  ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanks giving 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’ (Phil. 4:6-7; cf. John 16:33; Rom. 14:17; 15:13; Col. 3:15; 1 Peter 5:14).”

(cf. John 16:33; Rom. 14:17; 15:13; Col. 3:15; 1 Peter 5:14)

“33  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’”

17  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

“13 ¶  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

“15  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

“14  Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”

“Peter is speaking about the kind of peace that banishes both earthly worries and cosmic fears—a peace that comes from knowing for certain that one’s sins are forgiven.  No matter how terrible things become as human history moves toward final destruction, believers who live in hope have the settled peace sustained by what the Lord has planned for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9).”

(1 Cor. 2:9)

9  But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

1/29/2026 10:43 PM

 

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