In our zeal to get to the wonders awaiting us in reading through a book of the New Testament, we often dash through the opening remarks of greeting. Yet there is a wealth of insight available to us if we would just pause and reflect on the words.
In Philippians 1:2 the Apostle Paul wrote: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
GRACE TO YOU – In every man made religion, “grace” stands ready to meet you at the top of the mountain. Once you ascend the mountain of God, His grace is waiting to meet you and to confer on you the blessings and rewards your efforts have deserved. How different this is from the Biblical picture where our problem is revealed to be a lot worse than we thought, and the solution, more dramatic and amazing than our minds could have ever conceived.
The Biblical picture is this. Man is not well, nor is He sick; He is actually dead towards God. He needs much more than a miracle healing and far more than a moral or religious pep talk. He needs life. He needs resurrection. Writing to the Christians at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul explains their former condition and what God did to remedy it:
Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Only in the Gospel does Grace come to you. It does not wait for you – it comes to you. It does not wait for you to improve your situation (it would be an eternal wait if so) – Grace takes the initiative. It comes. Grace conquers. Grace, amazing grace! As I announce on the header of this blog above, “Grace at the start, Grace at the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.”
Grace – undeserved and unmerited favor.
All of us are idolaters at heart. As John Calvin made clear, the heart is an idol factory.
“If you love anything better than God you are idolaters: if there is anything you would not give up for God it is your idol: if there is anything that you seek with greater fervor than you seek the glory of God, that is your idol, and conversion means a turning from every idol.” – C. H. Spurgeon
We deserve eternal banishment and punishment from God for our sins. Mercy then is not getting punished when we deserve it. Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace goes way beyond that and bestows on the rebel sinner all the benefits of God freely – all of which are totally undeserved. In the Gospel we receive both mercy and grace.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ must be defended in every generation. It is always the center of attack by the forces of evil.” – R.C. Sproul
“If the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost. For there is no middle ground between Christian righteousness and works-righteousness. There is no alternative to Christian righteousness but works-righteousness; if you do not build your confidence on the work of Christ, you must build your confidence on your own work. On this truth and only on this truth the church is built and has its being.” — Tim Keller, Galatians for You
PEACE FROM GOD – The New Testament speaks of three different types of Peace in relation to God.
1. Peace from God (as mentioned here)
2. Peace with God (Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.)
3. The Peace of God (Phil 4: 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.)
Ask yourself: Which of these three is your most important need today?
The spirit of anti-Christ denies the Father – Son relationship.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
Islam declares God has no Son. Jehovah Witnesses deny the eternal nature of the Son. All cults do the same.
God has appointed one authorized means of approach to Him and that is in and through and by His Son. (John 14:6) Jesus is the door.
1 John 5: 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
John 5: 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
The Father and the Son – co-equal, co-eternal. John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.