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Roof: Paul's Gospel of Peace

1159 words long.

If asked what their goal in life is, people give many responses. The goal may be defined in terms of career pursued, things accomplished, fame won, wealth acquired, or real estate owned. It may be in finding the best person to marry and honorable children raised. Probe deeper, and you will find that the emotional and relational context of that ideal life is the same. People want to be at peace with themselves, with their friends and family, with the world, and if they are religiously minded, with God.

I am no different. I struggled with anxiety for over thirty years. To get advice, some people watch YouTube videos, or see a psychiatrist, or read books. Me? I write books. The only way to know if you really understand something is to be able to explain it to someone else. Therefore the things I write about are the things I am wrestling with myself. Naturally, I write about peace. I have both found it and continue to search for more, because it is not a feeling that I pursue, it is the perpetual presence of the one who embodies peace.

  • I wrote The Endless Hunt to identify the heavenly treasures that Jesus told us to pursue. Peace made my list.
  • I wrote Job Rises to confront the reality of mourning all the losses and failures that impede our progress towards peace. Recall that Job's life ends in peace.
  • I wrote Peace, like Solomon Never Knew to learn what Solomon could teach me about the path to peace. I found his roadmap, the Growth Pattern.
  • I wrote Plague, Precept, Prophet, Peace to explore the relationship between God's justice and peace. In the process, I discovered that the Psalms are a meditation on the Law. Composing and writing the Psalms was how David and others sought God, sought forgiveness and salvation - and sought peace.

The perplexing thing is that in searching for peace, I spent the least amount of time reading the books that have the most to say about peace: Paul's letters. I plan to remedy that omission soon.

What does this have to do with Lady Wisdom's House? Plenty! The roof of a house must fit the frame below it. In Lady Wisdom's house, the pillars are shaped by two patterns:

  • The Harvest Pattern of Jesus, in which the final phase of the harvest is Peace
  • The Growth Pattern of Solomon, in which the final growth stage in life is Peace

Since the tops of the pillars point to peace, it is fitting that the roof be a roof of peace. It also makes sense that the foundation provide the stability that enables that peace to survive. In the Bible, two writers spoke more of peace than any others: Moses, who laid the foundation, and Paul, who hammered down the shingles on the roof. These two men spoke of peace in very different ways.

  • Moses spoke of the promise of a future peace. Over two thirds of his usages of the word peace were in the phrase "peace offering". They constitute our prayer to God for peace.
  • Paul spoke of the reality of a present peace. "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

So in the words of the Law is the promise of peace but in the death of Jesus Christ is the payment for that peace. Even more, after Christ rose he delivered that peace. How? Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to dwell in our hearts that we may enjoy the fulness of peace:

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

against such things there is no law.

- Galatians 5:22-23

We have that peace and yet we long for more of it. The reality is that the peace we have in Christ takes time to work its way throughout the whole of our character, our habits, our emotions and our actions. As we mature in our faith, we grow closer to the day of perfect peace. How do we grow? How do we reach full maturity? This is the work of sanctification and of discipleship.

This growth has many levels:

  • Materialistic growth in the ways of this world
  • Spiritual growth as individuals born again in Christ
  • Corporate growth as members of Christ's body, the Church

In Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, Solomon teaches us the first level, though he uses them as springboards to reveal the second.

In the Gospels, especially Matthew, Jesus teaches us the second level, but builds the scaffolding for the third. (John's gospel speaks more about life as part of the vine.)

In Paul's letters, especially the first seven (Romans to Colossians), Paul presents a discipleship program to bring us to full maturity in the faith as both individuals and as a church. His letters build healthy individual Christians and strengthen the community of believers as a corporate entity. Each of those seven letters matches one of the seven phases of growth according to the patter of Solomon:

  • Romans is for Eternal Security
  • 1 Corinthians is for training in Spiritual Abilities (the gifts)
  • 2 Corinthians is for achieving Spiritual Stability (via the God of all comfort)
  • Galatians is for Doctrinal Amity (embracing the truth and refraining from lies)
  • Ephesians is for acquiring Spiritual Wealth (pursuing heavenly and not earthly treasures and opportunities)
  • Philippians is for fostering Church Community through sacrificial service
  • Colossians is for demonstrating Loyalty to Christ and acquiring all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

Paul works methodically through the twenty-eight times of Solomon, replacing them with their spiritual analogs. Each letter addresses the next four times, in order. Thus Paul's letters form a structured discipleship training course. Every major topic that a Christian needs to become mature in their faith is touched on in those seven letters. What's more, the twenty-eight spiritual analogs of Solomon's times constitute a set of spiritual milestones. Once you are acquainted with them, you can plot your progress in the faith. If you find yourself stuck, this will direct you to the letter that can get you unstuck. More holistically, you can combine the three levels of Solomon, Jesus and Paul to discover whether your problem is material, spiritual or relational and plan your next move.

The discovery that Paul's letters are tightly organized and structured in this way shall be the focus of my next book, The Course of Discipleship: Paul and the Peace of Christ, which I shall begin writing in 2025, God willing. Until then, this article must remain unfinished. (I consider it foolish to write about something until I understand it!) In the interim, I say a few more things about this aspect of Paul's Letters here:

To be continued in 2025...

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