Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.[1]
God’s people are called to be peaceful people. In this verse Jesus is addressing the 70 disciples he sent out to preach the gospel. Jesus gives them specific instructions on how to go about on that mission. Amid those instructions, he tells them how to properly enter a home. He tells them to declare peace in that home. When the owner of the house is a “son of peace” you will bless that person with your peace. If the owner of the house is not a son of peace your peace will return to you. This special salutation seems to happen every time a man of God enters a home.
Now, it is important that we know exactly what we are declaring when entering somebody else’s home. It is important that we understand the blessing of visiting each other at our homes as God’s people. There is indeed something special when we gather at home in the fellowship of believers.
The word peace here is the Greek word eirḗnē; This word has an extraordinary definition. Let’s look at some of the powerful characteristics of peace:
- Tranquility
- It arise from reconciliation with God and a sense of a divine favor. (Rom. 5:1; 15:13; Phil. 4:7 [cf. Is. 53:5]).
- It means, health, welfare, prosperity, every kind of good. In Luke 1:79, “the way of peace” means the way of happiness; 2:14; 10:6, “son of peace” means son of happiness, The expression “with peace” means with good wishes, benediction, kindness (Acts 15:33; Heb. 11:31). “Peace unto this house” (a.t.) means every good wish for this house; Sept.: Judg. 19:20; 1 Chr. 12:18.
- In the OT the equivalent word shalom (7965) meant wholeness, soundness, health, well–being, prosperity; more particularly, peace as opposed to war. (Judg. 4:17; 1 Sam. 7:14; Eccl. 3:8 [cf. Luke 14:32; Acts 12:20; Rev. 6:4])
- God is a God of peace, not as one who needs peace, but one who dispenses peace. He expects peace of His people, meaning the absence of confusion (Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 7:15; 14:33; Eph. 4:3; Heb. 12:14; Ps. 34:14; 35:20; Zech. 8:16)
- God rewards those who practice this peace. (James 3:18 [cf. Matt. 5:9])
- God punish those who disregard peace. (Rom. 3:17 [cf. Is. 59:8, 9]).
- Peace is a blessing of which God alone is the author. (Job 25:2; Ps. 147:14; Is. 45:7). He, being the author of peace, is the only one who can bestow it upon the righteous (Gen. 15:15, upon Abraham; 2 Kgs. 22:20, upon Josiah; Ps. 37:37, upon the perfect man; 119:165, upon those who love God’s law; Prov. 3:2, upon those who follow divine wisdom [cf. James 3:18; Ps. 4:8; Job 5:23; Is. 32:17])
- Peace is a gift which God desires to impart to all His people. (Jer. 29:11)
- Sin gets on the way of God granting peace. (Sept.: Is. 48:18; Jer. 4:10 [cf. Jer. 4:14]).
- There can be no peace to the wicked. (Sept.: Is. 57:19 [cf. Is. 57:20, 21; 48:22]). Those who hope for it, while continuing in their iniquity, are self–deceived (Sept.: Jer. 6:14; 8:15 [cf. Jer. 8:11; Ezek. 13:10, 16]).[2]
Beloved, I believe that we are missing out on all these characteristics of peace when our homes are closed to the fellowship of the saints. I am convinced that this Christian life is incomplete without us sharing with one another as brothers and sisters in our homes. Acts 2:42 is the modus operandi of the church; it states, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (NIV) We, as believers, are called to practice these devotions:
- Devotion in the apostles’ teachings
- Devotion to fellowship
- Devotion to eating together
- Devotion to prayer together
I am afraid that with the popularity of a building, as the central place of the gathering of the saints, we have lost these devotions. These devotions are not things we do every now and then, this must be our lifestyle. It is impossible to be faithful to these devotions inside this Constantinian way of doing church.
John tells us, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (NIV) The word fellowship is the Greek word, koinōnía; meaning “To share in. Fellowship with participation.”[3] Let me ask you this, do you see participation when you see the normal Sunday gathering of the saints on Sunday morning? In the traditional church all heads are turned to whatever is happening on the stage. Believers can visit a church building for years and never participate; this is contrary to what we are called to do in our fellowship.
How many believers do you know who walk around with no peace? Have you ever wondered why? It is almost certain that they have no fellowship with the saints. They are missing out on all that the peace of God has to offer. Beloved, it is fair to say that folks who do not want to fellowship have something to hide. That is why John challenges us by stating that the greatest evidence that we are walking in the Light is that we have fellowship with one another. To not fellowship with our brothers and sisters is to live in the dark. There is no peace in the dark.
I know that, outside of the countryside of America, this message is against the American culture. But as believers, we belong to the culture of the Bible. As the world gets darker and darker, we must become REAL in our relationship with one another. Without fellowshipping in our homes all we have is a God bless your relationship on Sundays. Covid-19 has shown us how weak our relationships are. Open your home and when you walk in somebody else’s home tell them, peace be to this home; this is one of the most powerful declarations we can ever make as believer… as sons and daughters of peace.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 10:5–6.
[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
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