Grace and Peace
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3)
Grace and peace. Charis and eirene. Two Greek words that have a lot of impact in the New Testament. Two words that, at face value, seem pretty simple and easily understood. Yet, we’re going to see when we really dig into them, there is significant spiritual depth to each and, when spoken together, they become a powerful blessing that we’ll want to pray over our sons and daughters daily.
The greeting and prayer of grace and peace were so important that the Apostle Paul began most of his letters with this blessing (note all of the references above!) What is it that Paul wanted to draw his readers’ attention to before anything else? What is it he wanted them to understand?
First the word grace, or “Charis” in the Greek, is a word that both ‘is’ and ‘does’. It has ‘presence’ and ‘performance’ It represents more than what a five letter word might imply. The word ‘grace’ means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech” 1
Think about that for a moment. The presence of grace in our life is what affords us joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm and loveliness. Without grace we would be fairly miserable, no? Friends, if we just stopped here and prayed this over our sons and daughters we would have a powerful day of prayer. But there’s more!
Grace performs powerfully in us because it is what God employs to draw us to salvation and to transform our life to become like Jesus. Grace is “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, grace turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.” 1
Grace. It’s a lot to unpack, isn’t it? So much richness right there and surely something we should ponder daily. Now it makes a bit more sense as to why Paul would begin each letter with blessings of Grace and Peace to all of the believers. But grace always comes first. Why? Because without God’s grace, one can never know and understand God’s peace.
And what is peace? The Greek word is ‘eirene’ and it means “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot.” 2
Another ‘wow’ moment, eh? When we’ve experienced God’s powerful grace in salvation and edification, why would we fear? What is there to fear? God has sovereignty over it all and we are His child! We can rest secure, knowing that we have eternal security in Christ, we have a promised inheritance and the gift of the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives, guide our steps and guard our hearts. Sin will have no power over us and death is swallowed in victory. We are chosen and dearly loved, kept by the Father.
Grace and peace. More than just two words. More than 10 simple letters. Grace and peace are powerful messages of salvation, hope and assurance. Today, let’s pray boldly that our sons and daughters would know God’s grace and peace in abundant ways.
“Father, may Your great grace bring a convicting recognition of the magnitude of our sin and of the even greater power of Your mercy toward us. May it drive us to deep repentance and a full restoration of fellowship with You, Lord, and with others. May Your grace be ever before us, reminding us of Your rich forgiveness and of Your calling on our lives (Eph. 1:4-6) May Your ever-present grace fill us and assure us that we are Your own, bought with a price and redeemed for a purpose, planned long before You ever breathed life into us (Eph 2:10). Let your grace in our lives be evident to others and draw them, too, to so great a salvation (2 Cor. 4:15, Eph. 1:7).”
“Lord, as we rest in and are consumed by Your grace, fill us with Your peace- an assured confidence that our life and eternity are hidden and secure in Jesus (Col. 3:3). You are my salvation and stronghold- I have nothing to fear (Ps. 27:1) Help me to always present my requests to You, thankful that I can call upon You for anything, and assured that the peace You give is abundant and perfectly measured and able to surpass anything in this world or in any realm beyond.”
“Father, without Your grace, we would not know Your peace. I pray that (name) would know and embrace both Your grace and peace. Help (name) to walk faithfully because they are sanctified and called to be holy (1 Cor. 1:2). Keep (name) strong to the end so they will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8). In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”
Take some time this week to meditate on the truths of grace and peace. Don’t just make it a short visit, but plan an extended stay. Pray on the richness of these words and all they represent for the believer and the hope we have. Make this week a week of prayer for grace and peace in the lives of those you love.
Pray without ceasing.
G5485 - charis - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5485/niv/mgnt/0-1/
G1515 - eirēnē - Strong's Greek Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1515/niv/mgnt/0-1/