Tag Archives: Grace and peace

PAUL’S HAPPY LETTER…HELLO – 1a

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“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

ROMANS…PAUL’S GREETING – 2

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“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Loved! Called! Holy people! Grace and peace! How different from the letters of today! 

The messages people send, be they on social media or by personal e-mails, usually dive into the subject without a thought given to the recipient. Whether they be friend or foe, we simply tell it like it is. 

Paul’s letters followed the protocol of letter writing, albeit infused with the flavour and aroma of the gospel. First the credentials of the writer, then the address of the recipient…then a greeting. Our letters, by contrast, simply begin with “Dear so-and-so…” even if our communication might be hostile. The reader must sift through the contents before he/she can identify the author. We sometimes wrote the return address on the envelope…to identify the writer. 

Paul’s greeting set the tone for his readers. They were beloved and called people…not just beginners in the faith but firmly-entrenched sons and daughters of God. Imagine what that might have sounded like as they listened to the reading of the letter. They were beloved, called, and holy. They, these ex-pagan Romans! In God’s eyes, they were all of the above and much more.  

They were already the recipients of God’s grace and peace. He had drawn them into the circle of His forever family.  Now, Paul confers on them more of the grace and peace that they had already received. 

What is this grace and peace?

Grace and peace are like the two bookends that hold a row of books together. 

Grace…the first “bookend”… that is that part of God’s character and attributes that is the motive behind all that He does for us regardless of who we are or what we have done. Grace is like a conduit through which God’s attributes flows…His love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and goodness….all of which are included in the Hebrew word “chesed”, translated “covenant love”. 

“The story of Hannah shows that hen, the Hebrew word for grace, is not only mercy and favour, but it also brings healing, vindication, and strength. While mercy is the removal of punishment or suffering, grace goes beyond. It is a gift that we neither deserve nor can earn. It is something that only God can provide us with since He is the source from which it flows.”

(Source: firmisrael.org. )

If God’s covenant love…His “chesed”, His lovingkindness, His covenant faithfulness…is what He does, grace,  “hen”…is why He does what He does. He provides help, strength, support etc., because of His grace.  Yet, grace not only provides what we need in our troubles…it lifts us up higher than before our trouble. 

So, Paul prays for ongoing grace for his readers…that the grace that has already saved them will flow freely towards them always, which is, of course, the very nature of God. God anyways moves towards the sinner to forgive and raise up the broken, to heal an restore fellowship because of Jesus. 

Peace…the other “bookend”…is the outcome of grace. 

Again, Google AI helps us understand biblical peace. 

“In the Bible, peace is much more than just the absence of conflict. It is a comprehensive state of wholeness, harmony, and well-being. Rooted in the Hebrew concept of shalom and the Greek word eirene, biblical peace involves restored relationships: with God, with others, and within yourself.”

I love this definition of peace…from Pinterest. 

“Peace is the furious serenity that refuses to submit to chaos.”

God’s grace, because of which He has forever dealt with and removed sin and reconciled us to Himself, results in peace, the inward serenity that is anchored to our standing with Him. Our peace is the reassurance from God that we are in right  relationship with Him and that there is nothing that separates us from fellowship with Him. We now have access to all that salvation through Jesus provides for us. 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Grace and peace…what more can Paul’s readers need or desire in this new life they have received? God comes through grace…reconciles and restores to Himself…and fills and keeps in peace all who call on His name for His mercy. 

To be continued

HOT UNDER THE COLLAR

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HOT UNDER THE COLLAR

“Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead – and all the brothers and sisters with me. To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”  Galatians 1:1-5.

Paul had every reason to be hot under the collar! There were men, called Judaizers, on his trail who were so zealous for the Law that they were trying to undo everything he had done to teach the Gentiles the truth and lead them to freedom in Christ.

Paul was a Jew, a died-in-the wool Pharisee who had, in his pre-conversion days, contended so vigorously for the Law that he was willing to kill for his beliefs. His compatriots had killed Jesus and he was determined to kill His followers and stamp out this rival, anti-God religion, so he thought. That was until he met Jesus in a face-to-face encounter that opened his eyes and shook him to the core.

He discovered that what was called “The Way” was no corruption of his faith but the completion of what he had learned and taught with vigour and zeal as a Pharisee. This Jesus, whom he was unwittingly persecuting, was the Messiah he and his fellow Jews had yearned for and yet rejected when He came because He was not the person they expected.

What’s more, he discovered that in this one person, Jesus, God had fulfilled every promise and that He was a sufficient Saviour from everything that the Law demanded but could not provide. Paul knew what it was like to fail, Pharisee though he was, and to suffer the pangs of guilt for breaking God’s Law with no hope of ever satisfying His righteous requirements.

He also knew what it was like to experience the freedom from guilt that the forgiveness of sins had brought him. Peace with God! The peace of God! These were so real to him that he was willing to lay down his life to make this Jesus known. Only in Him could the sinner be reconciled to God. Jesus plus nothing was the revelation he had received and Jesus plus nothing was what he contended for and would to his last breath.

These Judaizers were false teachers who were insisting that, to be acceptable to God, Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses as well as believing in Jesus. Paul was incensed because his beloved Galatians had swallowed this lie and veered off course, not realising the implications of their actions. They had to be informed and quickly before they disqualified themselves from receiving God’s grace.

Even Paul’s introductory statements reveal his concern about what was going on in the Galatian church. No friendly greeting, no commendation or prayer, just the bold declaration of who he was – an apostle of God and of Jesus Christ, in case they had any doubts about his authority. He not only represented the triune God, but also his fellow believers who stood with him in what he taught and what they believed.

Even his benediction – grace and peace – has a ring of sternness about it. Don’t you Galatians understand that the grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ come at a price? It cost the Son His life-blood to rescue you from the corruption in the world and of your own hearts. How can you ever think that you can add to what He did to effect your rescue and restoration to God as His children?

Paul would contend vigorously for one thing – do you want to be slaves or sons? If you go back to the Law, you will be going back to slavery, cancelling out God’s grace and putting you back under the curse of trying to do it yourself. It didn’t work for the Jews and it won’t work for you.

This subtle error rears its head in many ways in the church today. There are those who still contend for the Law in such things as Sabbath worship, health laws, dress codes, even the use of musical instruments in public worship. What about the current teaching about “spiritual warfare” as though it is still the church’s job to fight against principalities and powers before people will believe the gospel?

Again and again we have to ask the question: Did Jesus say or did He not say, “It is finished”? Was His life, death and resurrection enough to satisfy God’s justice? Did He or did He not defeat the devil? We must let the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, answer these questions.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ, He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15.

If the salvation Jesus paid for us with His life is enough to satisfy God’s wrath, purchase forgiveness for us and give us entry into every blessing God has prepared for His people, anything we add immediately disqualifies us from participation in that salvation. 

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.