Verse 20. Now the God of peace. God who is the Author, or the Source of peace. See Barnes "1 Th 5:23".

The word peace in the New Testament is used to denote every kind of blessing or happiness. It is opposed to all that would disturb or trouble the mind, and may refer, therefore, to reconciliation with God; to a quiet conscience; to the evidence of pardoned sin; to health and prosperity; and to the hope of heaven. See Barnes "Joh 14:27".

That brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. See Barnes "Ac 2:32"

See Barnes "1 Co 15:15".

It is only by the fact of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus that we have peace, for it is only by him that we have the prospect of an admission into heaven.

That great shepherd of the sheep. See Barnes "Joh 10:1,14".

The idea here is, that it is through the tender care of that great Shepherd that true happiness is bestowed on the people of God.

Through the blood of the everlasting covenant. The blood shed to ratify the everlasting covenant that God makes with his people. See Barnes "Heb 9:14, Heb 9:15-23. This phrase, in the original, is not connected, as it is in our translation, with his being raised from the dead; nor should it be so rendered, for what can be the sense of "raising Christ from the dead by the blood of the covenant?" In the Greek it is, "The God of peace, who brought again from the dead the shepherd of the sheep, great by the blood of the everlasting covenant, our Lord Jesus," etc. The meaning is, that he was made or constituted the great Shepherd of the sheep -- the great Lord and Ruler of his people, by that blood. That which makes him so eminently distinguished; that by which he was made superior to all others who ever ruled over the people of God, was the fact that he offered the blood by which the eternal covenant was ratified. It is called everlasting or eternal, because

(1.) it was formed in the councils of eternity, or has been an eternal plan in the Divine Mind; and

(2.) because it is to continue for ever. Through such a covenant God can bestow permanent and solid "peace" on his people, for it lays the foundation of the assurance of eternal happiness.

{d} "God of peace" 1 Th 5:23 {e} "that brought" 1 Pe 1:21 {+} "again" "brought back" {f} "shepherd" Eze 34:23 {g} "sheep" Zec 9:11 {2} "everlasting covenant" "testament"