Grace and Peace

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2, ESV).

This is actually an astonishing statement. What if Paul had put his own name here instead of the name of Jesus? Unthinkable. By linking the names of the Father and the Son together like this, he is presenting the Lord Jesus Christ as equal with the Father. This is nothing less than an expression of Christ’s deity. 

This is a short verse, but it contains two of the most wonderful words in the Bible: grace and peace. 

Grace is undeserved favour. This beautiful word covers everything that God has for us. Grace means kindness, love and favour that we have no right to receive. It is not based on what we do or what we have done. Not even what we hope to do. It is based entirely on what God has done for us, in Christ. God is good to us because he loves us. It has nothing to do with feelings, either. Grace is bestowed on us whether we feel it, or not. In fact, it may be that when we feel it least, we need it most. Or putting it another way, the complete precedes the incomplete. God’s perfect grace far exceeds our imperfect state. 

Peace is the absence of hostility. When two people are at peace, they are not fighting. So when the Bible says we have peace with God (Romans 5:1), this is what it means. We are no longer at loggerheads with him. All cause for anger and wrath has been removed. When Jesus was crucified for us, he bore the brunt of the penalty and curse of sin. He removed all the hostility that once existed between us and God. He made us one. Peace was restored. 

It is easy to read this passage as referring to a feeling of peace or tranquility—of the absence of personal turmoil. But peace is more than a feeling. Naturally, knowing that we are at peace usually means we feel at peace. But even if it doesn’t, nothing changes. We have been reconciled with God through what Jesus has done, not what we have done. We are at peace with God. Wow!

So what?

1. Make a list of five acts of God’s grace that you have experienced this week. 

2. Name five indicators in your life that that there is no longer conflict between you and God and that you are at peace with him. 

3. If you had trouble answering the previous two questions, what do you think you might do about it?

4. Memorise Ephesians 1:2.