The Embrace of Grace
"Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:1-2 NKJV)
We covered the first part of these two verses yesterday, but the second half of the first verse and the second one we will work with today. The Holy Spirit (through the Apostle Paul) is writing to all the "holy ones," which is what "saints" means, in Philippians along with all their leaders. Then he extends something wonderful their direction.
In the culture of the day, when letters were written, the greeting was the salvation. Today, we put that part of a letter at the end i.e.... who it is from etc. However, in the culture of Paul, all that was at the beginning. So he begins the letter with the "cordially yours."
When he writes "Grace and peace to you," it is far more than a simple "cordially yours." He is sending to them through his heart, the grace and peace of God. So often we read these words and just hurry on in order to get to more of the heart of the letter, yet this is the heart. In his address and approach to them, he places grace and peace as his pathway to their hearts.
Grace is often called unmerited favor, and it is certainly that, but so much more. Grace is the goodness, forgiveness, acceptance, love, and kindness of God flowing towards them. A friend of mine says "grace makes up for whatever I lack before God." I think it is a very good definition. So when Paul includes this, he let them know that his entire attitude toward them is goodness, forgiveness, acceptance, love, kindness and much, much more. Then he adds peace - God's peace - His protection, provision, healing etc...to them as well. So in total love, he writes and appreciates them. (You will notice Paul begins each of his letters similarly). He shares with them the embrace of grace.
What a joy to get a letter and know that the sender holds such emotional clarity toward you! Wouldn't it be wonderful for us to begin to have this attitude toward one another. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see one another in this light, even if we had to deal with "sticky" issues? In Philippians Paul has no "sticky" issues to work with, as this is a marvelous, heart warming thank you to them for their love and support. However, he uses this same greeting in letters where it is very tense in his dealings with the recipents. So that does not make any difference in his heart.
May we allow our Lord's grace to be the embrace we share with others - especially our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
We covered the first part of these two verses yesterday, but the second half of the first verse and the second one we will work with today. The Holy Spirit (through the Apostle Paul) is writing to all the "holy ones," which is what "saints" means, in Philippians along with all their leaders. Then he extends something wonderful their direction.
In the culture of the day, when letters were written, the greeting was the salvation. Today, we put that part of a letter at the end i.e.... who it is from etc. However, in the culture of Paul, all that was at the beginning. So he begins the letter with the "cordially yours."
When he writes "Grace and peace to you," it is far more than a simple "cordially yours." He is sending to them through his heart, the grace and peace of God. So often we read these words and just hurry on in order to get to more of the heart of the letter, yet this is the heart. In his address and approach to them, he places grace and peace as his pathway to their hearts.
Grace is often called unmerited favor, and it is certainly that, but so much more. Grace is the goodness, forgiveness, acceptance, love, and kindness of God flowing towards them. A friend of mine says "grace makes up for whatever I lack before God." I think it is a very good definition. So when Paul includes this, he let them know that his entire attitude toward them is goodness, forgiveness, acceptance, love, kindness and much, much more. Then he adds peace - God's peace - His protection, provision, healing etc...to them as well. So in total love, he writes and appreciates them. (You will notice Paul begins each of his letters similarly). He shares with them the embrace of grace.
What a joy to get a letter and know that the sender holds such emotional clarity toward you! Wouldn't it be wonderful for us to begin to have this attitude toward one another. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see one another in this light, even if we had to deal with "sticky" issues? In Philippians Paul has no "sticky" issues to work with, as this is a marvelous, heart warming thank you to them for their love and support. However, he uses this same greeting in letters where it is very tense in his dealings with the recipents. So that does not make any difference in his heart.
May we allow our Lord's grace to be the embrace we share with others - especially our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
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