One Last Thing . . . “Grace”
As you know, the New Testament epistles are first-century letters that were sent to local churches just like ours. And they appear in the form of the typical personal letters that would have been composed at the time. They share common elements, particularly in their structure. Like their secular counterparts, the New Testament letters included the greeting, which would announce an opening blessing upon the readers and the identification of the author and the recipients. Then the main body of the letter would follow. And finally, the author would include any personal greetings or messages leading to the final blessing or benediction.
The Apostle Paul, who wrote thirteen New Testament letters, employed this very structure. Following the letter-writing pattern of the day, Paul concluded his epistles with a benediction. Some examples are below:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:20).
“ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you” (1 Corinthians 16:23)
“ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14)
“ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (Galatians 6:18).
“ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Philippians 4:23).
“ Grace be with you” (Colossians 4:18).
Upon a cursory examination, it would be quite natural for us to conclude that Paul is simply following the convention of his day as he rounded off his letters (see also 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3:18; 1 Tim. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:22; Titus 3:15; Philemon 1:25). These virtually identical benedictions, then, would be like our practice of concluding our letters with the word “Sincerely.” We do it simply because that’s the way it’s done. However, it’ s all but certain that the Apostle was not simply following the letter-writing rules of the day. He was doing much more than that!
Within these concluding lines of his letters, Paul speaks of God’s “ grace” in Christ Jesus. And for him, “ grace” is never just a conventional term that one throws around! Rather, poured into this little word “ grace” is the full content of the Gospel! And this means that as his epistles were brought to their conclusion, the last thing that Paul desired to say, the final truth he wanted to emphasize, and the one blessing that he desired that his readers remember and live by, is God’s “ grace”!
We can imagine a little house church meeting in one of the great first-century cities, say Thessalonica. There, on the Lord’s Day, a small cadre of Christians huddle together around a copy of Paul’s inspired letter written especially for them. It is read aloud, and they listen intently, reflecting deeply upon every word and phrase. And the last thing they hear as they prepare to go back out into the world is the Divinely given word of “ grace”! It is the “ grace” of God that they have come to know and possess in Christ Jesus their Lord!
Now, I’d like for you to consider what this implies, and how it applies to each of us.
First, it would suggest that the abundant grace that we share in our Lord is the last thing we must remember and cling to, not only as we depart Sunday Worship each week, but also as we leave our homes each work-day and head off into the world to serve our Master. We always go out in His grace! We depart both armed and protected by His grace. We leave worship or home and enter our mission station saturated in His grace, secure in His grace, and looking forward to the experience of even more grace the next morning!
Second, it would suggest to us that the grace our Lord is the first thing we must remember and cling to when we are tempted, when we sin, when we find ourselves temporarily defeated, or in the throes of an episode of doubt or fear. Grace not only sends us out among the lost as salt and light, it sustains us as we go, as we follow Christ, as we fight the good fight of faith, and as we resist the world, the flesh, and the devil!
Finally, these blessed words at the end of the epistles powerfully affect our attitude and disposition as we live throughout the course of every new day. We have received God’s grace! We stand in that grace! His grace will never fail us! His grace will keep us saved and safe forever! Our Father will always look down upon us though His eyes of grace! And this incredible realization will radically transform our outlook upon life! We will be freed from worldly entanglements and worries, and moved to praise Him at all times, to count all things as loss in view of His love and mercy, to joyfully embrace His providence as His eternal will is worked out in our lives, and to be filled with gratitude for the gift of salvation that will be ours in full when our Savior returns!
Now it is clear why the Apostle would write this way!
My prayer for each of you, my dearly beloved family in Christ, is that grace will be the controlling theme of your life today, and every day, from sun-up to sun-down!
I love you all, and you are my joy and my crown,
Mike