Luke 2:14

Glory to God. The plan of salvation originated with God, and it is fitting that both angels and men should ascribe glory and praise to Him. In this song of the angels “glory” is poetically balanced with “peace,” “God” with “men,” and “highest” with “earth.” The plan of salvation reconciles God and men, so bringing peace to men and glory to God. Peace can come only when God’s will is “done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Peace, good will toward men. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 146) the reading “peace among men of good will,” that is, men who are well-disposed toward God and their fellow men (see on Micah 6:8; Matt. 22:36-40). According to the manuscripts on which the KJV is based, the reference is to the expressed “good will” of God toward men; according to the others it is to the effective “good will” of God operating in men.

Christ is the “good will” of God incarnate. He is the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6), the One who proclaimed, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). As the result of His coming it is our privilege to “have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). “He is our peace” (Eph. 2:14). It is the “peace of God,” which keeps our “hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).