Paul wrote in Philippians 1:2;
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul feels that the ordinary Greek salutation χαίρειν or the Eastern εἰρήνη σοι is too meager for Christian intercourse. But closely connected with χαίρειν is his own great watchword χάρις, a word which, perhaps, above all others, shows the powerful remolding of terms by Christian thought and feeling. χάρις for Paul is the central revelation of the fatherly heart of God in the redemption which Christ has accomplished for unworthy sinners. And its direct result is εἰρήνη, the harmony and health of that life which is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
Grace be unto you. See, on the whole verse, the notes in this Series on Ephesians 1:2, where the wording is identical.—“Grace,” as a Scriptural term, demands careful study. In its true idea, kindness is always present, with the special thought of entire and marked absence of obligation in the exercise of it. It is essentially unmerited and free, Romans 11:6. In its normal application, the word denotes the action of Divine kindness either in the judicial acceptance of the believer “not according to his works,” for Christ’s sake, Romans 3:24, or in the gift and continuance of new life and power to the believer, 1 Corinthians 15:10.
Grace is the favor of God, free and sovereign, which rests on the faithful Christian, and brings the gift of peace; which is, first, reconciliation with God and, secondly, the childlike confidence and trustful hope which result from faith in Christ’s atonement. From God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father is the first Author of our salvation; God the Son, the Word made flesh, brought the message of peace from heaven, and reconciled us to God.
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