“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

(Matthew 5:9)

While there are occasional debates amongst Christian sects as to what “sons of God” refers, it is most naturally understood as a reference to Christians in contrast to those who are “sons of the devil” or “sons of man.” Thus, Paul will write that those who are sons of God are such through faith (Galatians 3:26) and that the mark of the sons of God is that they are led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). While sometimes people cite passages like Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 as examples of the term referring to angelic beings, that is a conclusion that must be inferred while passages like Deuteronomy 32:8 most clearly apply the term to believers. This is also a very natural way to read Genesis 6:2,4 as the text is setting out the decline of mankind with believers (sons of God) intermarrying with unbelievers (daughters of man). There is no need to import fantastical readings of hybrid human-angelic creatures as some do.

Thus, preserving the natural reading of the text being a reference to Christians as sons and daughters of God, the question that we are left with is the attribute by which such people will be known. Jesus says that they will be “peacemakers.” The Greek word that Jesus uses here is εἰρηνοποιός (eirenopoios). It refers to those who work to reconcile parties that are in opposition to one another. In English, we use the word, “irenic” or peaceful, to describe one of the attributes of a Christian, but this term takes the meaning a step further. Someone who is irenic may simply be seen as having a peaceful disposition, something akin to being gentle. Yet, a peace-maker is one who actively works to bring about peace in contexts where there is conflict. Given (at least in my experience) that people often do not wish to reconcile with one another, this is often a markedly difficult task. 

Obviously, the greatest example of peace-making that we have in history is that of Jesus, who reconciled us to His Father through the shedding of His blood (Colossians 1:20). While it was certainly God’s desire to reconcile a people to Himself (Titus 2:14), but we were in full-blown rebellion against our God because of our sin (Romans 5:8) and, following the example that God sets for us in Christ, we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16). This indeed is a teaching with which each and every Christian must wrestle. We grow comfortable in our salvation and often become inwardly focused. We focus on our own needs and often ignore the needs of others. To that, each and every one of us must ask the question, given that God has given us so much (while we were yet rebelling against Him), how can we close our hearts toward another?

Yet, if we stop interpreting this verse with the individual, we miss the corporate thrust of Jesus’ teaching. Notice that “sons” is plural (as is peacemakers). In other words, we may be engaged in peacemaking in our own Christian walk, but it is also the role of the corporate church to do the same. It is a powerful testimony when a single Christian is the source of reconciliation between people, but imagine the effect of reconciliation if it is also the work of the church! Sadly, churches tend to focus on their membership alone and forget the community that exists all around them. Can you imagine the effectiveness of the church if it (as a corporate body) ceased looking inward and began looking outward? Can you imagine what it would look like if the church’s focus were to genuninely engaged in the work of peacemaking in its community? Imagine if they actively engaged in evangelism as God’s tool to reconcile the Elect to Himself and in discipleship that equipped people to become peacemakers in life.

Today, churches often function much like corporations, competing with one another for a larger share of the community. Infighting abounds within individual congregations because each person has their “pet” project or ministry, and it abounds between churches of varied denominations and histories. What about any of that would attract a person from outside of the church community? Why would someone want to willfully “belong” to a body that bickers and nitpicks at everything? Companies create networks from which they can draw clients. Churches do outreach and point people to someone greater: Christ. 

Note too that peacemaking is not “the art of the deal” nor is it “the art of compromise.” In the worldly environment, typically one person wins and one person loses. In compromises, both parties lose. Such is not peacemaking. Compromise is simply the notion that two groups have learned to live together without killing each other. Peace is resolving the conflict and living together in harmony. Peace requires a willingness of both parties to be in fellowship with one another. It’s how the body works. The body must think and behave like a body, recognizing the unity and necessity of each part (even the seemingly inconsequential parts). Again, peace is not a compromise. Peacemaking does not require us to ignore what we know to be true. Peacemaking requires us to submit our pride and arrogance to the Word of God and live in obedience to that Word.

It might be argued that such peacemaking is unattainable on earth. And, indeed, it will never be perfect until our Lord returns and remakes the heavens and the earth, casting all who are not sons of God into eternal Hell. Nevertheless, shall we not strive toward the ideal that our Lord sets before us, however imperfectly we do so? Indeed, there have been times when the church has sought to do just this and when the church has done so, it has transformed the culture around it. In the Roman Empire, church pastors and Elders often served as magistrates as the Roman legal system had an immeasurable backlog of cases (not to mention, it was also horribly corrupt!). At times in history, the church has become the center of education, especially for the poor. Sunday School programs were originally formed not just to catechize children, but also to provide them with an education as they were often working during the week. Entire written languages and legal codes were drafted by Christian missionaries who were seeking to share the Gospel and to transform pagan societies into moral governments. In my own work with the homeless, I have seen entire churches “adopt” a man who wanted to get off the streets, help him to find work and a place to live, as well as to incorporate him into the life of the congregation. Lives are often transformed one at a time, but when Congregations focus on transforming the culture as a body, things change. They become peacemakers, and in that peacemaking work, it becomes clear that they are indeed children of God.