Grace and Peace to You
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Grace and Peace to You
In many churches where our brothers and sisters worship in a more liturgical style, the minister will greet the congregation with the blessing, “Grace and peace to you.” And the congregation would then reply, “And also with you.” Let’s give that a try this morning.
“Grace and peace to you.”
“And also with you.”
Now while saying those words is not necessarily a part of our worship gatherings on a weekly basis, the Bible has a lot to say about grace and peace. They are used as a greeting in every single letter that the apostle Paul identifies himself as the author. Yet they are so much more than just a greeting. They are a reminder to the recipients of what God has given to them.
Romans 1:1-7 NASB Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, (2) which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3) concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, (4) who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, (5) through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, (6) among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; (7) to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3 NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:2 NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:3 NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 1:2 NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2 NASB Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We could go on and read every salutation that Paul writes either to churches or to individuals; from Romans to Philemon, Paul makes sure to remind them of God’s grace and peace.
It goes without saying that when something is repeated that often in the scriptures we ought to take notice of it. It ought to cause us to think, “Hey, Paul’s really hammering that point. What do I need to learn from that?” Well, to get to the bottom of it, let’s look at what Grace and Peace mean.
The word translated grace in all of these passages is the Greek word charis. Strong’s concordance says that it means: acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy). Others have defined it as, “non-meritorious or unearned favor, an unearned gift, a favor or blessings bestowed as a gift, freely and never as merit for work performed.” I think Charles Swindoll defined it best when he said grace is “that which God does for mankind through His Son, which mankind cannot earn, does not deserve, and will never merit”
Grace, one might say, is the work of God for man and encompasses everything we receive from God. It is the absolute free expression of the love of God.
In this one word Paul is saying, “Joy to you; blessings to you; pleasure to you; God’s love to you and Peace.
The word translated Peace
is the Greek word eirēnē (i-rah'-nay). This
is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew word Shalom. It means more than just the absence of
conflict. It speaks of completeness,
harmony, prosperity, well-being, and as one author put it, “all good
things.” We have all seen, at least on
television, Jewish men greeting each other with the word, “Shalom.” They aren’t saying, “Gee, I hope you aren’t
fighting with anyone today.” They are
rather saying, “May you have all you need to rest in completeness; May all
things be good for you.” It’s a lot
better greeting than, “Hey, how ya doin’?” if you ask me.
In putting these
two words together, Paul is say, “All joy, and blessing, and every free gift of
God, and every good thing to you.” Often
in the Message, Eugene Peterson translated the phrase as, “May all of God’s
blessings be upon you, or Receive everything that God our Father and Jesus our
savior has given to you. I don’t know
about you, but it would make my day to be around people who blessed me with
this kind of intensity and passion. We
all need to know that there are people who praying for us to live in grace and
peace. We need to be the people who are
praying for those around us to be living in grace and peace.
Imagine if we
started interacting with each other with this phrase not only on our lips but
always in our hearts. Imagine if the
next time we began to think or speak negatively about one of our brothers or
sisters we stopped and said, “no, grace and peace to them.” Do you know what a difference that would make
in the Body of Christ?
Or what if when we saw people who were steeped in sin and bound by addictions and living promiscuously our first reaction to them was to say, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s a sad fact that often because of the actions of us Christians, the last thing hurting people bound in sin expect to find in God is grace and peace.
Phillip Yancey in his book, What’s so amazing about Grace?, retells the story of a prostitute
who came to a friend of his in
Now make no mistake, this woman’s actions were wrong. They were sinful and nasty and disgusting, but so were mine; and so were yours. And what does it say about the Christians that she had been in contact with that she never even considered going to the Church for help, because the last thing she expected to find was grace and peace. Somehow, we have come to believe that God needs us to convict people of sin. But if I read John 16:8 correctly then that’s not my job but the Holy Spirit’s.
John 16:8 NASB "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
That’s not a knock on the whole church world. There are lots of believers who are the most gracious, and accepting, and loving people you could ever meet; but shouldn’t that be said of all of us? Shouldn’t God’s people be known for having, “Grace and Peace” on their lips and in their hearts?
After all, aren’t we the Body of Christ? Isn’t that what Jesus was known for when he walked upon this earth in his fleshly body. Why do you think it wasn’t strange for a blind man to just call out for him loudly as he walked down the street? It was because Jesus had a reputation for offering Grace and Peace.
Why would a woman with a promiscuous past feel comfortable enough around Jesus to interrupt his dinner to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair? She knew Jesus would offer her Grace and Peace. She would have never followed one of the Pharisees in and touched him, because he would have been much too religious and pompous. She would have received only condemnation and guilt when what she needed was Grace and Peace.
When the adulterous woman who was caught in the act was brought to Jesus, even though she was clearly in the wrong, Jesus offered her not condemnation but Grace and Peace.
When all of the religious leaders avoided the tax collectors, Jesus offered them Grace and Peace.
Why would a thief on a cross beside Jesus place his faith in someone who is being put to death? Could it be because he had seen Jesus offer Grace and Peace even to those who were murdering him?
These are just a few of the ways that we see Jesus speak Grace and Peace to those who came into contact with. Now listen to what the Apostle John says about Him.
John 1:14-17 NASB And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (15) John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" (16) For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. (17) For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
John 14:27 NASB "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
John 16:33 NASB "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
So if Grace and Peace was the ministry of Jesus, what should be our ministry as his Body on earth? Grace and Peace!
But the last thing that I want you to notice is the source of Grace and Peace that Paul always refers to in his salutations. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is not saying to them, “Hey let me give you joy and wholeness.” He’s reminding them of what God the Father has already provided for them through our Lord Jesus. He’s saying to them, “I’m enjoying the Grace and Peace that God’s provided, and I want you to always be aware of it.” But I believe that he’ also saying, “Hey look, the Spirit of Jesus is inside of me. The proof is this Grace and Peace.”
Keep in mind, Paul’s not writing these letters while he’s on some retreat looking out over pristine beaches and drinking frozen drinks with little umbrellas in them. He’s writing the majority of them from some form of imprisonment. Paul experienced imprisonment from being under house arrest to being chained to a dungeon wall or to a Roman soldier. Paul makes it clear in many of his writings that he’s under no false illusions. He fully expects to be put to death for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, in all of this he’s able to say, “Grace and Peace.” What that tells me is that Paul understood that God’s grace and peace had nothing to do with his outward circumstances, but rather that God had given him a new life…a new identity…Paul had spent the first part of his life trying to work hard for God. He wanted to do enough to be called a good servant. He needed to show how important he was to God’s work. Now Paul understands that God’s made him more than a servant…He’s made Paul his son. He’s done this not because of anything that Paul had done. When God saves Paul, he’s on his way to persecute Christians. God has redeemed Paul by His grace alone. That’s why Paul can be awaiting death in a dungeon and encourage people with God’s grace and Peace.
So the question is before you today is this, If God has provided for you Grace and Peace, and if He’s already made you a new creation with a new spirit of Grace and Peace, are you choosing to walk in it? Are you experiencing the grace and peace that’s available to you? Are you so caught up in all of the things going on around you that you’ve forgotten about it? Do you need someone to speak Grace and Peace to you today?
Have you had Grace and Peace on your lip and in your heart when it comes to interacting with others? Have you allowed yourself to be condemning or judgmental? Have you decided that the Holy Ghost needs your help in convicting others of sin? Would you like to lay that down today and be a person who speaks grace and peace?
Do the people who live with you receive affirmations of grace and peace from you? Or is your home so filled with chaos that no one can even feel joy and wholeness in their own home? Speak grace and peace to them today.
How about the people you work with? Are you always complaining? Putting down the boss or the way things are run? How would it change your work environment if you started speaking grace and peace there?
As we dismiss today, I want us to bless each other once more.
Grace and peace to you.
And also to you.
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