Total well-being, prosperity, and security associated with God’s presence among his people. In the Old Testament, peace is linked with the covenant (a special agreement between God and the Israelites). The presence of peace was conditional. Israel’s needed to obey in order to experience peace. In the prophetic writings, true peace is part of the end-time hope of God’s salvation. In the New Testament, this longed-for peace is understood as having come in Christ and can be experienced by the believers.
In the Old Testament
The main Old Testament word for "peace" comes from the Hebrew word shalom. This word meant many things:
wholeness
health
security
well-being
It could apply to an equally wide range of contexts:
the state of the individual (Psalms 37:37; Proverbs 3:2; Isaiah 32:17)
the relationship of person to person (Genesis 34:21; Jos 9:15)
nation to nation (for example, absence of conflict—Deuteronomy 2:26; Joshua 10:21; 1 Kings 5:12; Psalms 122:6–7)
the relationship of God and people (Psalms 85:8; Jeremiah 16:5).
The presence of shalom in any of these contexts was not considered the outcome of human effort. Instead, it was a gift or blessing of God (Leviticus 26:6; 1 Kings 2:33; Job 25:2; Psalms 29:11; 85:8; Isaiah 45:7). It is not surprising, therefore, to find "peace" tied closely to the Old Testament notion of covenant.
Shalom was the desired state of harmony and communion between the two covenant partners—God and his people (Numbers 6:26; compare Isaiah 54:10). Peace signified God’s blessing in the covenant relationship (Malachi 2:5; compare Numbers 25:12). An absence of peace signified the breakdown of that relationship due to Israel’s disobedience and unrighteousness (Jeremiah 16:5, 10–13; compare Psalms 85:9–11; Isaiah 32:17).
Peace in the Prophetic Writings
Shalom becomes a very important word in the prophetic writings. "False" prophets overlooked the conditions for well-being within the covenant relationship. God was loyal to Israel (Psalms 89). They thought this would guarantee political peace forever (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:15; Ezekiel 13:10, 16; Micah 3:5). In the context of this popular but false security, the prophets who lived before the exile to Babylon proclaimed the coming judgment as a loss of shalom. This loss was attributed to Israel’s persistent disobedience and unrighteousness (Isaiah 48:18; Jeremiah 14:13–16; 16:5, 10–13; 28; Micah 3:4, 9–12).
The prophets did point beyond the crises to a time when shalom would return, characterized by:
prosperity and well-being (Isaiah 45:7; Ezekiel 34:25–26)
absence of conflict (Isaiah 2:2–4; 32:15–20; Ezekiel 34:28–31)
right relations (Isaiah 11:1–5; Micah 4:1–4; Zechariah 8:9–13)
restoration of harmony in nature (Isaiah 11:6–9; Ezekiel 47:1–12)
Often this expectation of peace in the Old Testament was associated with a messianic figure (God's chosen leader). Isaiah 9:6 identifies the future Messiah (God's chosen leader) as the "Prince of Peace." Moreover, his reign would be one of "peace" not only for Israel but throughout the whole earth (Zechariah 9:9–10). The Old Testament ends with this hope of peace still unrealized in its full sense.
In the New Testament
The Greek term for "peace" used predominantly in the New Testament is eirene. This word expanded from its classical Greek connotation of "rest" to include connotations of the Hebrew concept of shalom. Like shalom, eirene could be used as a greeting or farewell. The phrase "peace be with you" appears in Luke 10:5, Galatians 6:16, and James 2:16 (compare John 20:19). Eirene could also mean an ending of conflict, both between nations (Luke 14:32; Acts 12:20) or between people (Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3). It could also mean peace at home (compare 1 Corinthians 7:15).
Jesus Brings God's Peace
Jesus includes the Old Testament hope for the peace of God in his ministry. In the "benedictus" (song of praise) of Zechariah, the coming of Jesus as the Messiah is expected to "guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:67–79). The angels' message to the shepherds proclaims Jesus as the bringer of God’s peace to people (2:14). In other words, as the Messiah, Jesus would bring about God's peaceful rule. The Gospel of John shows that Jesus understood his role this way too. This long-expected peace of God is Jesus’s farewell gift to the disciples (John 14:27). Peace is given to them when he breathes his Spirit into them (20:19–22).
The nature of this gift of peace brought by Jesus may be easier to explain by stating what it is not. It is not an end to tension or the absence of warfare. It is not domestic tranquility nor anything like the worldly estimation of peace (Luke 12:51–53; John 14:27; 16:32–33). The presence of peace may counter our expectations by disturbing existing relations. Matthew says peace may sometimes be a dividing "sword" in familial relations (Matthew 10:34–37). Jesus’s gift of peace is, in reality, the character and mood of the new covenant of his blood. This covenant reconciles God to people (Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20). It also forms a foundation of reconciliation between divergent people (Ephesians 2:14–22).
How Did the Early Church Understand Peace?
The early church understood "peace" to be the final, end-time salvation of God given already through Jesus Christ (compare Phil 4:7–9). This understanding of "peace" altered the content of the common greeting "go in peace" within the Christian community. Paul commonly wrote a "grace and peace" greeting in his letters (1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2, etc.; compare also 1 Peter 1:2; 2 John 1:3; Jude 1:2; Revelation 1:4). This expression is not just a wish for peace that Paul extends to his readers. It is a reminder of the messianic gifts available in the present time through Christ to the man of faith. In accord with this, Jesus is described as "peace" itself (Ephesians 2:14). God, too, because of his act of reconciliation through Christ, is known as a "God of peace" (Philippians 4:9; Colossians 3:15).
This gift of peace or reconciliation with God made available through Christ, places an ethical demand on the Christian. The gift calls for the exercises of "peace" (as reconciliation between persons) within the church. Peace, as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), is to be the goal of the Christian’s dealings with others (Romans 12:18; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14).