Month: September 2026

Theorizing about perfect peace, understanding what it looks like and what it’s based on, is certainly worthwhile; we ought to be clear about a goal before we pursue it. But attaining a settled confidence in God, where He actually enables us to endure hardship without becoming unsettled and anxious (Php 4:6-7), is not as easy as it might sound.

God promises He will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is stayed on Him, because we trust in Him. (Is 26:3) Perfect peace is what God does in us in when we stay our mind on God. What does this look like?

Staying the mind is evidently a type of deliberate, faith-based grounding (Ep 2:16-19), characterized by deep roots (Mt 13:21), an abiding, a manner of living based on who we are, not an option or preference we resort to from time to time.

And this mindset is certainly not passive, lazy or irresponsible, just expecting God to do everything for us while we sit back and relax. (Lk 22:36) In practical terms, it seems to involve preparing for hardship through disciplined, rigorous training (2Ti 2:3), so we know how to respond in a crisis (Ge 14:14); it implies diligence in developing skills and capabilities necessary to manage conflict (Ps 144:1, Pr 27:12), and knowing what we bring to the table when we’re tested. (Ro 23:3)

Evidently, since we cannot control the results of our actions, this mindset also requires letting go of the outcome of a potential conflict (Es 4:16), knowing that if we’re engaging in God and with God (He 13:5-6), pursuing His purpose (Ro 12:2), then He is working all things together for good. (Ro 8:28)

Clearly, achieving perfect peace is uninteresting apart from a real test, without being challenged and pushed out of our comfort zone. When everything‘s going our way it’s easy to be calm and peaceful. It’s when we’re threatened that we find out whether we really have peace or not.

And when trials do come, expecting all will go conveniently without due diligence is presumption that will very likely not end well. (Pr 22:3, 27:12) Wisdom is where we must begin. (Pr 4:7)

Staying our mind upon God then seems to involve a persistent training of our mind to focus on the evidence we have of God’s faithfulness, as we abide in the will of God, while also disciplining ourselves and being grounded within ourselves such that we know ourselves and are at peace with ourselves, so we know what we are capable of based on our training, and grounding ourselves in God so that we know how to trust Him for the outcome when we’ve done all we can do. (Ep 6:13)

Perfect peace then looks like inward stability in the midst of turmoil, carrying ourselves with confidence and composure when we are threatened. It is produced by God in us when we stay our minds in Him, when we are grounded in ourselves and we are grounding ourselves in God by faith. (Co 2:6)

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The idea that God’s temple and sacrificial system are now obsolete is generally accepted as fact: Christians take it for granted that Christ fulfilled the types and shadows of what we now call Ceremonial Law when He died and rose again. Any interest in observing these laws today is considered barbaric, an insult to the finished work of Christ. As far as we know, not a single Christian theologian in all recorded history believed otherwise.

This is in spite of the fact that Christ Himself says in no uncertain terms that not even the smallest detail of the Tanakh (the Old Testament), including the Levitical priesthood and the temple administration, will become obsolete or irrelevant so long as Heaven and Earth stand, not until every single prophetic word and symbol has been fulfilled. (Mt 5:17-19) In explicitly calling out this kind of error from the very start of His ministry, it is difficult to imagine how He might have presented this more clearly, openly or emphatically.

How exactly is it that the work of Christ makes the sacrificial system obsolete? Animal sacrifices never did take away sin (He 10:4); rather, they serve as a shadow of good things to come. (He 10:1, Co 2:16-17)

Why wouldn’t an elaborate and vivid illustration of the atoning work of Christ continue to help us understand and appreciate what Christ has done for us long after He accomplishes His work? (1Co 5:7-8) As it pointed forward to what Christ would do (Jn 1:29), why wouldn’t it also point backwards to what He has already done and help us to continually appreciate it? (1Co 15:23)

If we can see how an active sacrificial system might be helpful, it should be easier to see scripture describing a functional priesthood, recognized by God after the Cross. The verb tenses used are in the present tense (He 8:4-5), indicating the Levitical priesthood remains potentially functional today in God’s ecomony. (He 10:11)

We might presume this is merely an academic discussion since the temple system is presently dormant, as prophesied late in the apostolic era (He 8:13); even if we wanted to offer a sacrifice, there isn’t a legitimate way to do so. However, the mindset behind the reasoning is what is significant: do we recognize the import of Christs’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, and the beauty in what God has designed? Or are we quick to wave our hands and relegate the temple system to the history books?

When the 3^rd temple is built and the holy offerings and sacrifices resume (2Th 2:3-4), this dimension of God’s law won’t be as easy to dismiss. God will be identifying Himself with this temple (Re 11:1-2), and so should we.

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