The Peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your memory center. Phil 4:7

Grace Bible Church

Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The TREE OF LIFE is a weekly teaching summary.

The Tree of Life for week ending 07/29/01.

The Peace of God Which Surpasses all comprehension shall guard your memory center.  PHI 4:7

We are now on verse 7 in our study of Phi chapter 4, where we have begun to note the hidden prosperity which comes from supergrace and ultra-supergrace.

The corrected translation of PHI 4:7 says "In fact, that spiritual peace or prosperity from the source of the God, and then we haven't covered the next phrase yet which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

There is a part of the spiritual life that goes beyond our understanding.  It is something we experience as we go forward in no man's land.  It is the experience of resurrection life in time.

In PHI 4:7 the word "peace" is the Greek word "eirene"  referring to a special benefit to the believer who continues in the advanced spiritual life and goes on to ultra-supergrace and begins to experience resurrection life in time.  This is a hidden peace because it surpasses all comprehension.  This hidden peace includes sharing the happiness of God especially under pressure, as in ACT 5:41 "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing [+H] that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for {His} name.
This hidden peace which comes from God includes fantastic capacity for life, love, happiness and blessing, PHI 4:12.  It also includes total appreciation of the Character and the Essence of God, plus an understanding of God's priorities and following them.  Here, God's priorities become your priorities, God's plan of grace becomes your plan of grace.  Therefore you can say what the apostle Paul said in PHI 1:21 "For me, living is Christ, likewise dying is profit."
This hidden Peace and Prosperity that comes from God includes the dynamics of Divine viewpoint mental attitude, as well as the ability to face any suffering, pressure or disaster in life.  With this peace you accept 2TI 3:12 "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
What is not understood is endured with that spiritual peace from the source of the God.  You trust in verses like PRO 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding."
And in JOB 13:15 "Though He slay me, I will trust in Him."
This hidden peace also refers to the intensification of blessings by the continual opposition, pressure, and persecution from the satanic forces of evil especially in no man's land.  The more pressure, the more opportunity to experience the hidden peace and prosperity that comes from God. 

That Greek word eirene is translated peace but it also means tranquility, health and prosperity.  It connotes two types of prosperity, inner peace with God and overt prosperity and blessing.  This is the type of eirene or peace and prosperity that our Lord promised His disciples in JOH 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

This is a special peace that the world cannot give, not as the things of the world which men commonly pursue such as pleasure, fame, and wealth but end up with worry, anxiety, and emptiness.  This peace that our Lord gives is not as the systems of philosophy and false religion give.  Our Lord's peace meets all the desires of the soul, silences the fears of guilty and condemned conscience, and will abide forever no matter what we face.  How desirable this inner peace is in a world filled with anxiety and worry and yet how few believers who have it available would rather seek the peace which the world gives instead.
In Christ, is a Friend who will never leave you and a peace that shall always accompany you if you desire so.  He said in JOH 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."
No external circumstances can take this peace from a believer, not even the greatest trials or tribulations.  When The Lord Jesus Christ was about to leave the world He made His will. His soul and spirit, He committed to God the Father.  His body he left to Joseph of Arimathea.
His clothes fell into the soldiers at the cross.  His mother He left to the care of John.
But what could He leave to His disciples?  Silver and gold He had none as Peter stated in ACT 3:6.  What He left them and us was infinitely better, His peace.  It is a peace with God and with one another.  A tranquility of mind that arises from a sense of our justification before God.  It is the peace He purchased for us and preached to us.  Our Lord was saying to His disciples and followers, you will be exposed to trouble, and you will have need of peace and so, to you I give my peace.  A peace that the world cannot understand so don't get discouraged and frustrated when you try to explain it to them and they have no idea what you're talking about.
The peace He gives to us is of such a nature that the prosperity of the world cannot give it, nor can the evil of the world take it away, in fact it surpasses all comprehension.  The gifts He gives to us are not such as this world gives, those worldly gifts concern only the body and time.  Our Lord's gifts satisfy the soul for eternity while the world gives lying vanities, and that which will cheat us.  Our Lord gives substantial blessings, which will never fail us: the world gives but it also takes away.
JOH 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me [abiding in Him] you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
Life's greatest wealth is inner peace.  
In JOH 14:27, Our Lord did not say He would leave money or a peaceful life  but He said "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled."
Without justification it is impossible to have real peace, conscience forbids it.  Sin is a mountain between a man and God, and must be taken away.  The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart and must be removed.  Unpardoned sin will murder peace and the true Christian knows his peace arises from a consciousness of sins being forgiven and guilt being put away.  We can have peace with God, because we are justified, ROM 5:1 "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

So eirene or peace becomes the state of the soul of the person who has a relationship with the love and the integrity of God.  A constant and unchangeable peace can be yours, no matter what the circumstances. 
The Lord Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace, ISA 9:6.  He is not called the Prince of Hope, though that would be appropriate, nor the Prince of Love, though that would also fit him.  He is not called the Prince of Faith, though that would not be out of place, but He is called the Prince of Peace.
In PHI 4:7 notice the phrase which gives more insight into this peace, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension," surpasses is the Greek verb huperchousa and  means to surpass or to rise above, to be superior in rank, authority, power.  The phrase all comprehension is panta and the noun nous, which is a technical word for the left lobe of the soul or the mind, the intellectual faculty or human thought.  This great spiritual peace and prosperity that comes from God in the adult spiritual life rises above and beyond human thinking.  The human mind is incapable of comprehending certain aspects of the advance spiritual life.
So in PHI 4:7, why "do we" and why "should we" have peace with God?
It is because of justification, which means that God recognizes that He has given us His perfect righteousness.  If you sin, you haven't changed your status with God, you are still justified and still have perfect righteousness, and therefore we have eternal salvation, we are justified forever.  When you understand this divine viewpoint and the fact that you are accepted with God forever, you will stop struggling and begin to enjoy peace with God. 
Look at ISA 32:17 "And the work of righteousness will be peace," notice that the work or fruit or production of righteousness will be peace or completeness, soundness, prosperity, peace, tranquility, contentment, we will have real inner peace because of our acceptance with God.

In ISA 32:17 "And the service (or the work and labor) of divine righteousness, quietness and confidence forever."
Understanding imputed righteousness will serve you with quietness and confidence forever!
ISA 32:18 "Then My people (when they realize this righteousness is in them) will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;"
The peaceful habitation speaks of a dwelling place, a place of abiding with the Lord.
The imputation of divine righteousness and peace dwell together, PSA 85:10.  This peace refers to the tranquil state of the soul being assured of salvation and fearing nothing from God and being content with the relationship that exists.  If you have the ultimate manifestation of this peace in you life it begins with the fact that you will have peace with God which is a relationship with the love and the integrity of God.  If you have the ultimate manifestation of this peace in you life you will be at peace with others, and that is one of it's meanings, to be at peace with others, as inACT 7:26, ROM 12:18.

This peace or eirene also refers to materialistic security and prosperity as it is used in passages such as LUK 19:42,HEB 7:2.  This means that you are very much alive and you treasure every moment of life, whether in adversity or prosperity.  You have zest for life and an enjoyment of every moment of life, regardless of what it brings.  Although the emphasis is on spiritual prosperity, God does provide the mature believer with temporal prosperity as well, PRO 8:18, PSA 23:5-6.
However, the basic concept of eirene or peace refers to a state of peace within or tranquility of soul.  Having this inner peace cannot be bought in life, something that very few individuals enjoy!
The next phrase in PHI 4:7 is "shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  This means that the peace of God will give you mental stability!  Mental stability is a key issue in the spiritual life, for spirituality is a mental attitude produced by the filling of the Holy Spirit inside the Pre- Designed Plan of God, and the application of Bible doctrine which has been learned and metabolized.
Mental stability is the ability to think doctrine and divine viewpoint under pressure, which is also courage.  This is the ability to make correct and accurate application of metabolized doctrine in time of testing.  It is insulation against Christian psychosis, neurosis, and psychopathic tendencies and it is the spiritual ability to pass thought testing as a category of momentum testing. 

In PRO 19:8  "He who gets wisdom (metabolized Doctrine) loves his own soul (spiritual self-esteem) he who keeps or cherishes understanding will find good (prosperity)." 
The peace of God which surpasses all comprehension protects us and guards us from going AWOL in the Christian way of life.  Pressures and adversities cause many believers to run away from the plan of God.  Our Lord said about the unstable emotional believer in MAT 13:21 "yet he has no {firm} root in himself, but is {only} temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away."
This verb in PHI 4:7, phroureo, means to protect by a military guard, either in order to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight.
It comes to mean to mount guard or to garrison or to patrol.  The peace of God guards or garrisons our Frame of Reference, the conceptual structure to which doctrines, principles, and categories of Scripture are related.  It is the entrance or entryway or antechamber of the heart as the first place where metabolized doctrine goes.  This is because knowledge is built upon knowledge; truth is built on truth.  In the frame of reference, information can come in and be processed out to the other parts of the soul by means of the intake and output valves of the spiitual heart.  The frame of reference retains metabolized doctrine under the principle that doctrine is built upon doctrine. 
We must learn from the simple things first to understand the complex things.
Knowledge is built upon knowledge; truth is built on truth.

The frame of reference also retains previously learned metabolized doctrines and becomes the entrance for new ones.  The frame of reference is the location or area of retention of epignosis or metabolized doctrine.  It is the location of all concepts related to the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, which explains the Pre-Designed Plan of God, God's will, plan, and purpose for your life.  Here also is the location of the ten problem solving devices for the Church Age.

This hidden peace which comes from God guards and protects the metabolized doctrine in your frame of reference which is the basis for the construction of the edification complex or the soul structure of the soul.
The frame of reference also constructs an instant reaction force or a red-alert system from metabolized doctrine, so that you can tell what is true and what is false in the communication of the Word.
The frame of reference constructs an instant reaction force or a red-alert system from metabolized doctrine, so that you can tell what is true and what is false in the communication of the Word.  Many believers have been delivered from many false doctrinal areas because, from their frame of reference, they had certain instincts and knew something was wrong with false ideas.

PSA 119:16 says, "I shall delight in Thy statutes; I shall not forget Thy word."
That means that right next to the frame of reference is your memory center, another part of the heart that the peace of God will guard.
While the frame of reference is the place of retention of Bible doctrine, the memory center is the place for recall of Bible doctrine.  The memory center circulates Bible doctrine into the various parts of the right lobe producing recall or information like a computer.  We associate things in your frame of reference and then remember them from the function of the memory center.  After lots of repetition, the memory center stores doctrine.  This is a very important function of the heart that is especially needed in times of trials and pressures and adversities. 

Memory is a vital function of the mentality of the soul because it is related to one's capacity for life, happiness and absorption of Bible doctrine, for example, there are principles of memory such as the communion table.  This is when we recall through the ministry of the Holy Spirit those doctrines pertaining specifically to the uniqueness of Christ and His work on the cross. 1CO 11:24-25 "do this in remembrance of Me is the concept."

PHI 4:7 "In fact, that spiritual peace and prosperity from the source of the God, which surpasses or rises above and beyond all comprehension, shall garrison your hearts."
This means that the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard or garrison the negative thoughts that are projected toward the believer in the advance spiritual life.  We have no idea about the spiritual attacks that are made against us in the unseen world.

An illustration of these attacks is found in Luk 22:31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded {permission} to sift you like wheat;"  It is not the word you but all of you, all of you disciples in context.
But then in LUK 22:32 "but I have prayed for you,"
When the transaction between God and Satan was completed, every disciple was given over to Satan for sifting purposes. 
The adult spiritual believer ought to be well skilled and an expert in God's wisdom so that he is not ignorant of Satan and his devices, 2CO 2:11 in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.  There is a spiritual war made against the soul of the believer and it is something that none us can afford to be ignorant of.  Nothing is more necessary for the mature believer than to understand the wisdom and power from God especially when we are faced with internal adversaries.  We need to understand that not only does the kingdom of darkness try to put things in our mind but in reality their best work is done by keeping things out, namely doctrinal viewpoint.

Our adversary the devil is compared to a serpent because he is sly and deceitful.  The devil is a subtle enemy and the mature believer is his main target and without doctrine resident in the soul and obedience to that doctrine all of us are in danger of the craftiness and deceitfulness of the devil.
You cannot apply doctrine unless you remember it.  Under pressure and adversity, the memory is a vital part of the heart.  This is why Satan and the kingdom of darkness would love to destroy your memory center.

In PSA 119:16  "I shall delight in Thy statutes [doctrinal principles]; I shall not forget Your word."
This was the writer's only hope in time of adversity and pressure, his memory center was filled with doctrine.  The word "delight" is the Hebrew eshta'asha meaning to stroke, to be smeared over, to sport, to dandle, to caress, to make intimate love.
The writer uses this word because he is in a horrible dreadful situation, yet the doctrine in his memory center is carrying him through this difficult time.  Thank God, that as we are going forward in the advance of the adult spiritual life that the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension is guarding our heart and therefore our memory center.  Throughout this Psalm what kept this young man going was remembering and recalling the doctrine that he learned.
In PSA 119:93 notice the importance of the memory center in times of pressure, "I will never forget Your categorical doctrines, For by them Thou hast revived me."
God's precepts were spirit and life unto him.

Doctrine in the memory center will neutralize a terrible situation and this is vital in times of pressure and suffering.  It is a very important function of the heart that is especially needed in times of trials and pressures and adversities. 
Memory is the mental capacity of retaining unconscious traces of conscious impressions and of recalling those traces to consciousness with perception.
At times something will trigger our memory and we recall things or an event or a person or a situation which floods into our conscious mind.  When that happens, it's important to understand the healing process of the word of God.
If our memory center is filled with guilt, we need to remember passages such as ISA 43:25  "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins."
Or ISA 44:22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
There is no reason for our memory center to recall things or an event or a person or a situation that takes away our inner joy and peace with God.
Satan, the accuser of the brethren accuses them before our God day and night, REV 12:10.  When's the last time Satan mentioned your name at the throne before our God?

We don't know, but we do know 1JO 2:1 "if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [defense attorney] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;"

We know that HEB 7:25says that Jesus Christ is seated at he right hand of the Father and He always lives to make intercession for us.

We know that in ROM 8:26 "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"

Knowing and believing all of these principles, we can rest assure  "that the peace from the source of the God, which surpasses all comprehension is garrisoning and patrolling our heart."