Grace & Peace

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

If you want to have not just a great year, but a great life, you need grace and peace.  What is grace?  It is often defined as unmerited favor.  Divine grace is God’s relentless and loving pursuit of His enemies, who are unthankful, unworthy, and by our standards, unlovable.  Grace means that despite our filth, God still desires to transform us so that we can share in the divine nature and enjoy divine happiness.  That’s God’s saving grace. 

However, God’s grace extends beyond salvation.  The Father and the Son, the Divine Dynamic Duo, tag team to provide Christians with extra special gifts that we that we can't earn and don’t deserve.  The privilege of serving the Lord although we are broken is grace.  The continual forgiveness of sins is grace.  The empowerment to live abundantly is grace.  The ability to give abundantly is grace.  God’s all sustaining strength being infused into our spirits in our times of weakness, that’s grace.  God’s grace is limited only by His limitless power.  For every need, every hope, every situation, and for everyone, there is grace.
Secondly there is peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  This pronouncement of peace is reflective of the traditional Jewish greeting of peace, shalom.  It was a blessing for well-being. 

​The Father and the Son are responsible for peace.  Our Lord “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20).  Our Lord gave us peace with God the Father. There is therefore a state of untroubled, undisturbed wellbeing for the sinner who places his faith in the Savior, thereby becoming a saint.

In Christ, we have peace with God.  The law has nothing against us, and we can look up into the Father’s face unashamed. This peace that makes us right with God is justifying peace.  Christians also enjoy a sanctifying peace.  The Holy Spirit produces His fruit of peace within us. Peace changes your perspective on life.  So often we view bad things that happen in our lives as the punishment of God.  And while God does discipline His children, much of what God allows to happen in our lives isn’t an act of punishment, it is an act of perfection.  God’s goal is to grow us into mature children of God.   We can have peace because we know that struggles are designed to develop us and not to destroy us.  That kind of peace can only come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is a supernatural manifestation of peace.  Grace and peace will give you a fresh start.  God’s grace is amazing and His peace passes all understanding.