Galatians 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul’s greeting in each of his epistles is “grace and peace to you” or a similar variation of it.
Peter (1 Peter 1:2) and John (2 John 1:3) follow suit in their epistles.
What’s the big deal and why is that sequence maintained each time?
Here are six reasons as we come to “remember the Lord and show forth His death.”
1. GREETING BOTH TO THE GENTILES & TO THE JEWS
“Grace and peace”—combining the standard Greek greeting,
charis (grace), with the standard Hebrew greeting, shalom (peace).
ADDED: Grace always brings benefits and one of these benefits is reflected in the word “peace”
It is a reminder from Galatians 3:28 and Ephesians 2:14 that there is neither bias nor barrier in Christ.
2. GOOD TO HEAR IN DISTRESSING TIMES SUCH AS OURS
It is a good word in a world where there is neither grace nor peace. It is a time the world needs both.
Grace and Peace remind us that things are “not falling apart” but “falling in place”.
3. YES, THE SEQUENCE MATTERS
It is not peace and grace for there would be no peace without grace.
The multitude of heavenly hosts shouted praise at the birth of Jesus — “Peace on earth and goodwill towards men” because grace had come.
John insists God has made the first move, again — “For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).
Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesian church, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).
This grace is rich enough to provide us peace with God (Ephesians 2:10), the peace that we so desperately need. Grace doesn’t stop there but as Paul goes on to explain, we now have peace with each other (Ephesians 2:11-22).
4. CHRIST, THE ONLY ONE WITH WHOM GRACE COMES BEFORE PEACE
Be it our boss, our government, or any other faith form, we are required to first have peace before we can even think of obtaining grace. We are required to appease them, labor for them, or build on peace with the hope of receiving grace.
The Bible tells a different story about God’s grace. We read in Romans 5:10, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”
ADDED
They were living in a Roman Empire which was all about the Pax Romana (Latin for “Roman Peace”). Rome promised that Roman dominance was the greatest, most peace-giving rule. Paul then not only was insinuating that “peace from the Lord Jesus Christ” was true shalom, but the true Lord Jesus’s peace was a greater and truer “peace” than any Caesar’s Pax Romana.
5. NOW THAT WE HAVE PEACE – WE CAN HAVE COMMUNION
Col 1:19-20. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,…(ESV) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,..” (KJV)
Grace and peace because it is from God who came down as a man in Jesus and by the death of Jesus on our part we have peace.
This peace leads us to sweet communion with Him and with His people. This has come to us at a great price and being part of it is a great privilege.
Communion is more than eating the bread and drinking the cup together.
It is ‘community’. It is life together. It is more than your attendance at church. It is family. Anything less than that we can be held liable for partaking of it unworthily.
6. A REMINDER THAT THERE IS A GREATER COMMUNION TO COME
A time when we will be with Him – the lover of our soul. The Prince of Peace. The One who became our peace offering to provide peace with God (Romans 5:1) and allows peace of God (Philippians 4:7) to rule in our hearts (Colossians 3:15).
It fills our hearts with anticipation, comfort, and an eager expectation that partaking in these symbols has eternal consequences and meaning.
Grace and Peace it is and we will have it no other way. Amen
ADDED:
THE ULTIMATE GOAL
Paul in Ephesians 1:6 tells us that the whole forming of the world and work of salvation is ultimately to “the praise of the glory of his grace.” This means that all of history and salvation exists so that we may praise God, so that we may glorify God, but even more specifically so that we may glorify God for his grace. That is the ultimate goal of the universe. And it makes sense to us, doesn’t it? What’s the most beautiful, appealing reality in the world?
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PAUL
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 1:7 ESV]
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 1:3 ESV]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [2 Corinthians 1:2 ESV]
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [Galatians 1:3 ESV]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Ephesians 1:2 ESV]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Philippians 1:2 ESV]
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. [Colossians 1:2 ESV]
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. [1 Thessalonians 1:1 ESV]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [2 Thessalonians 1:2 ESV]
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. [1 Timothy 1:2 ESV]
2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. [2 Timothy 1:2 ESV]
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. [Titus 1:4 ESV]
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Philemon 1:3 ESV]
PETER
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. [1 Peter 1:2 ESV]
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. [2 Peter 1:2 ESV]
JOHN
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. [2 John 1:3 ESV]
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, [Revelation 1:4 ESV]