Grace and Peace

Each of the epistles of the apostle Paul begins with this wonderful phrase or one similarly worded: “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Is this just a nice way of beginning a letter to all his churches? In fact, this is much more than that!

Let’s go back to the time right after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The apostles are responding to the persecution from the leaders in Israel. Acts 4:25-26: “Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ.“ They are actually quoting, almost word for word, from a prophecy in Psalms 2:1-2. Acts 4:27-28 gives us the explanation: “For of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done.”

At the crucifixion, “the heathen” (the Gentiles), “the people” (of Israel), “and the kings of the earth” (Herod and Pontus Pilate), unite together, in effect declaring war against God the Father and God the Son. Psalms 2:3 adds: “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” Together, in a fit of rage against God, they murdered the Son of God, desiring to rid themselves of both.

Jesus, forty days after His resurrection, ascends to heaven as a Royal King in exile. The Father says, “Sit thou at My right hand ‘until I make Thy foes Thy footstool’” (Acts 2:35 & Psalms 110:1-3). Psalms 2:4 goes on to say, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.” The world is so filled with rage that they are delirious, and God laughs at man’s feeble efforts to fight against Him.

The rest of Psalm 2 gives us God’s prophetic counter declaration of war: “Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalms 2:5, 9) God’s response to the crucifixion was the second coming: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” (Revelation 19:11) That is the exact opposite of grace and peace! Prophetically, after the crucifixion God was going to speak in wrath, make His enemies His footstool, establish His kingdom on earth, and “give Thee [His Son] the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.” (Psalms 2:8)

But instead of judgment and war, because of the cross, God in the epistles of the apostle Paul reveals a secret purpose offering “grace and peace” to His enemies through the cross of Jesus Christ! God’s wrath and kingdom awaits a future day! “Grace and peace” is much more than a nice way to say hello. Rather, it is God’s official attitude toward a world that is still at war with Him! Now, almost 2000 years later, any and all can be reconciled to God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and receive eternal life. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10) “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved!”