Grace & Peace

Grace and Peace from the Epistles: Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians

When we write letters, we typically begin with "Dear."

Sometimes we change the "Dear" to "My Dearest"
or something else more personal.
When we send greetings,
our goal is to use the most loving,
edifying terms that we can.
And the greeting sets the tone for the message that follows, right?

The Church Epistles are God's letters to us. They tell us about God our Father, about what we are and what we have right now in Christ Jesus, and about our hope. At the beginning of His letters God calls us "beloved" and "saints" and "sanctified" and "faithful." And every one of the Epistles opens with "grace" and "peace" from God and from Jesus Christ. Let's take a closer look at a few:

ROMANS 1:7 "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

I CORINTHIANS 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."

EPHESIANS 1:1,2 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ."

WHAT'S GRACE? God's grace is God's favor toward us. It's absolutely NOT because of any works of ours. It's not something we've earned. It's just because God wants to give.

WHAT'S PEACE? It's rest and tranquility. It's the opposite of war and conflict. It's the absolute quiet calmness that we have when conflict is gone. The peace we have from God is free from all anxiety and care.

Do you know I Peter 5:7? It's "Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you." That can be our response to recognizing that God has sent us GRACE and PEACE. We can give to God anything that is troubling us because God's will is that we have peace and that we know that the things we receive from him are by grace and not by works. If we hold on to cares, we're not holding on to His promises.

It's best to think of ourselves the way God's Word describes us. As you continue reading through the epistles, you'll find yourself described from God's point of view. That's the picture of yourself you should carry around with you. That's the picture we should carry of each other.

And let's have the messages we carry also share God's grace and peace.

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