“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Have you noticed how much our protocols have changed over the last few years? I learned at school how to write a formal and an informal letter. There were rules and a structure to the way we addressed people…not only in our letters but also in our interaction with people…family, friends, strangers…in everyday life. Nowadays, for example, in American culture, I have noticed, that the most common way to greet is to say “Hey!”

Electronic messages have upgraded “snail mail”, often replacing the formal greeting “Dear So-and-so,” with “Hi!” I must confess…I prefer the more formal and polite way to start a letter, even if today, we use the shortened version. 

As with all Paul’s letters except for one, his letter to the Galatian church, Paul begins with a greeting and a prayer, which was the accepted way to write a letter in his day, it seems. 

Of course, as a believer in Jesus,  Paul’s greeting would have been God-centred. He was a messenger for the Lord, representing Him to the Roman world. So, Jesus was the core and focus of his entire existence.

What better way, then, to say “Hello” than to confer on Paul’s readers the highest, greatest, and richest of all God that could do for them, as a greeting and a prayer. 

Paul starts his missive by greeting his readers with the title that put them in the standing of who they really were in God’s sight…God’s holy people, and focusing on the one from whom all blessing and favour flow, putting his recipients into the mainstream of who God is… grace and peace. 

What is grace?

Let’s look at the summary of the meaning of grace that AI provides in Google. 

“In the Bible, grace means unmerited favor. It is God giving us His love, forgiveness, and blessings freely, even though humanity does not earn or deserve them. 

The Original Languages

To fully understand the meaning, we look at the original Bible languages:

• Old Testament (Hebrew – Chen): Often translated as “favor” or “grace”. It denotes a gift of kindness given to someone who has no right to demand it. 
• New Testament (Greek – Charis): Refers to kindness, goodwill, and unearned favor. It is where we get the idea of grace as a completely free gift from God. 

Key Aspects of Grace

• Salvation: The Bible teaches that salvation is a gift. You cannot earn it through good deeds; it is entirely a result of God’s grace.
• Empowerment: Grace is not just a free pass; it is also a transforming power. Biblical grace gives believers the strength to overcome sin and live a life that honors God.
• The Person of Grace: In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is viewed as the ultimate embodiment and source of God’s grace. 

“Grace” is the atmosphere…the conduit…the pipeline… the motive…attitude…characteristic…God’s “bent”… from whom and through which He works, and provides the strength to be and to do for those who trust in Him. 

The word “grace” is sometimes accompanied by the word “freely” in Scripture. “Freely” means “without a cause”…for no reason at all except that gracious is who God is. 

His grace is the reason for, starts the process, and provides the means through which we receive all the blessings of His salvation. 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‭

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us…”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Through grace, God gives us the power to overcome all the issues that trouble us on our journey through life. Paul found out…

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Grace takes over and provides God’s strength in place of our weakness, whatever the situation. 

Just Imagine…Paul’s prayer for his readers answered…every moment of every day…God’s people experiencing ever-increasing wholeness…all the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection restoring what sin has broken…flowing increasingly because of God’s grace…His undeserved favour…just because that’s who He is…

…and Peter echoes Paul’s prayer with a promise…

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued