Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Grace to you
Paul always begins the same way — "grace and peace."
Grace is a panacea — a cure for everything.
Problem of sin (Corinthians)? Solution - grace, not the law (1 Cor 15:10; 2 Cor 9:8; 12:9).
Problem of legalism (Galatians)? Solution - grace (Gal 1:6-7; 2:21).
Problem of fighting (Philippines)? Solution - grace and peace, not the law (Phil 1:7; 4:23).
Problem of worshiping and following the law of angels (Colossians)? Solution - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (Col 3:15).
Grace gives us what we don't deserve.
Mercy doesn't give us what we do deserve (hell or annihilation).
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are justified always have peace with God.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1).
The only way we can be sure we have peace with God is through the eyes of faith — it's all because of Calvary. If it depended upon what we did, we could never be sure (Rom 4).
Peace with honor; He didn't sweep our sins under the rug.
Grace comes before peace.
We should give the message of grace and peace to each other.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Bless God? He's already blessed beyond measure. The blesser has to be in a higher position than the blessee (Heb 7:7; cf. Ps 50:12). How can we bless God?
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ (Matt 25:40).
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
God showed on the cross what He thought of sin. God spent His wrath on the Son. He isn't mad anymore. Now we have to answer to the Son, and He isn't mad either — if we have placed our faith in Him.
God was Jesus' judge — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mk 15:34)
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (Jn 20:17)
Jesus hadn't yet ascended into heaven to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, but He could say "my Father" and "my God" because the sacrifice was accepted. And we are accepted in the beloved.
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph 1:5-6).
Paul wrote this epistle from prison. He ignored his circumstances and concentrated on his blessings — "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ... who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing."
He was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:1-3). Is this why he could ignore his circumstances? No. He was caught up to the third heaven 20 years before he wrote Ephesians. The glory and drive begins to fade after awhile. He (and we) had to constantly re-motivate himself through the Word.
Grace to you
Paul always begins the same way — "grace and peace."
Grace is a panacea — a cure for everything.
Problem of sin (Corinthians)? Solution - grace, not the law (1 Cor 15:10; 2 Cor 9:8; 12:9).
Problem of legalism (Galatians)? Solution - grace (Gal 1:6-7; 2:21).
Problem of fighting (Philippines)? Solution - grace and peace, not the law (Phil 1:7; 4:23).
Problem of worshiping and following the law of angels (Colossians)? Solution - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (Col 3:15).
Grace gives us what we don't deserve.
Mercy doesn't give us what we do deserve (hell or annihilation).
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are justified always have peace with God.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1).
The only way we can be sure we have peace with God is through the eyes of faith — it's all because of Calvary. If it depended upon what we did, we could never be sure (Rom 4).
Peace with honor; He didn't sweep our sins under the rug.
Grace comes before peace.
We should give the message of grace and peace to each other.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Bless God? He's already blessed beyond measure. The blesser has to be in a higher position than the blessee (Heb 7:7; cf. Ps 50:12). How can we bless God?
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ (Matt 25:40).
We can bless God by blessing His people (Prov 14:31; 19:17). Be a giver (Rom 15:25-27).
We can bless God by speaking of His work and will before people (Neh 9; Acts 2:4; 20:18-24).
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
God showed on the cross what He thought of sin. God spent His wrath on the Son. He isn't mad anymore. Now we have to answer to the Son, and He isn't mad either — if we have placed our faith in Him.
God was Jesus' judge — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mk 15:34)
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (Jn 20:17)
Jesus hadn't yet ascended into heaven to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, but He could say "my Father" and "my God" because the sacrifice was accepted. And we are accepted in the beloved.
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph 1:5-6).
Paul wrote this epistle from prison. He ignored his circumstances and concentrated on his blessings — "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ ... who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing."
He was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:1-3). Is this why he could ignore his circumstances? No. He was caught up to the third heaven 20 years before he wrote Ephesians. The glory and drive begins to fade after awhile. He (and we) had to constantly re-motivate himself through the Word.
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