Many of the translations of this verse use “word” or “message” where PEACE is used here. The translations being different allows us to see how God’s message for us is accomplished regardless of our interpretation of the wording. The writing that God allowed us to record in our human language, with his spiritual revelation, is to tell the story of His love for us. We continue to strive to discover the spiritual significance of God’s  Word in the Bible and how to apply it in our lives. This text is a great example of opening our hearts to God’sWord. The Peace of Christ can only come to us from our confession of Faith inJesus Christ and we cannot get to that without knowing God thru His Word –

Romans10:9-10  (NLT) 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

For the “Peace” of Christ to rule in our hearts God’s “Message” thru His “Word” must be a part of our daily lives. We tend to look for more rigid or earned structure to guide us in life than to think of a free gift as being able to guide us. God’s love thru Jesus not only provides the free gift of salvation but that same gift is the day to day guide that lives in our hearts each day.