Musing – How important is the “Bond of Peace”?

 Hebraic Musing – How important is the “Bond of Peace”?

 All of Paul’s letters to the Church start with essentially the same greeting, wishing “grace and peace” of the Lord to all.  While he could have started with any wording, it is noteworthy that his constant and consistent use of “grace” and “peace” was the most important things he could wish for us.  What is the “The Bond of Peace”?

 In Ephesians 4:3 says “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ NIV   What’s meant by “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  Peace is a paramount goal; it is how we should be bonding with other Christians.  But peace isn’t always obtainable when dealing with other people, including other Believers.  Paul saw this was starting to happen with the church at Ephesus.  And today unfortunately, denominations have fractured much of what the early Church cherished and protected.  Paul needed to warn them about it.  It was originally supposed to be always about Jesus, and just Jesus; but departures from this purity were starting to occur with interpretations of His words, opinions taught as truth, and legalism creeping into doctrine. 

And as centuries go by, the enemy’s desire has been to weaken Christ’s Church  with disputes and arguments. (BTW - There is only ONE Church and it’s His)  Scripture and its application to our lives has produced a quagmire of confusing teachings and has broken the “bond of peace” that all Believers were instructed to adhere to in dealing with one another. 

We find denominations that conflict with each other in their doctrines and compete with one another for baptisms, salvations and service attendance numbers. (“Nickles & noses”)  Unbelievers see this and shy away from a “religion” that cannot agree among itself about what it believes.  And who can blame them?!?!

Paul was very specific in how to deal with and solve this problem.  “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19   Paul spends a great amount of time telling us not to let minor differences in our Christian walk get in the way and erode the “bond of peace” that we should be working toward constantly in dealing with others.   BTW – “Peace” appears almost 400 times in Scripture!!! 

Paul points out that it doesn’t matter how a person dresses, or what he eats or drinks or what day he celebrates a holiday as long as Jesus is the center of all of it and the Father is glorified by their practices.  Yet we find denominations squabbling over how much water should be used in baptisms, whether speaking in tongues is good or bad, and rules and regulations in a church body comparable to the legalisms in Judaism in Jesus’ day.

 So, how do we get back to the relationship between Believers that Paul is calling for?  It starts with each one of us and our attitude toward fellow believers whose church has a different sign out front than the one we attend. Again, the answer lies in Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  It doesn’t matter what other Believers do or say in minor matters that Scripture isn’t specific about.  If God wanted something done a certain way on a certain day, He would have said so.  So let them do it.   If it is not specified in Scripture, then it doesn’t matter to God, and therefore should not matter to us.  Letting differences split and divide the “bond of peace” that holds us in the “unity of the Spirit” is contrary to what Christ desires for us to practice.  The Lord loves all of us, no matter what we wear to church, what music we use in a service, or how we baptize.  The only thing that is required and paramount in our walk with Christ is making Him the reason for any and all of what we do.  Just Him.  Always Him.  He is LORD!

The sign in a city near me reads “The Churches of Bella Vista welcome you.” 
I wish that sign could simply say “The Church of Bella Vista welcomes you.”

Points to Ponder

What keeps the churches in a city from worshipping together?

How many churches are in the community? 

♫  In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song;
      this Cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                           November 18, 2025            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by John Drexler’s “The Bond of Peace”