A Greeting or Words of Power?

Almost all of the Pauline Epistles start with some variation of the greeting found in Ephesians 1:2

Ephesians 1:2
Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is so easy to read over these as simply a greeting.  “Paul is being nice again.  Keep going; let’s get to the good stuff.”  Be honest, haven’t you thought this way at least once while reading over the epistles?  Of course you have, and if you are like most people, you do this on a regular basis.   But is it simply a greeting?   Stop and think about it for a second.  Of course, Paul is saying this in greeting, but what is this greeting really saying?

“Grace,” favor and good will to you.  It is a statement of God’s will.  Paul is starting out by reminding those he is writing to that God favors them.  God is not looking for a reason to punish you, or tear you down as so many think He does.  Paul says God favors you.  When He looks at you he wants to bless you and take care of you.  God and our Lord Jesus Christ want you to know that they want to show grace to you.   If you broke the law, you would certainly want the judge to show favor towards you.  If you had a rich father or uncle, you would want them to show favor or grace towards you.  Paul reminds us that God, the creator of the heavens and the earth; who set in motion the cosmos and laws that govern it, favors you. It isn’t just some person without power who wants to grace you.  It is God Himself together with His firstborn son our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Peace,” quietness and rest to you.  Once again it is a statement of God’s will towards you.  Where does this peace, this quietness and rest come from?  From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the source of our peace.   Let me ask you something.  If you were about to take a trip to a country with a totally different culture than yours, you didn’t speak or read the language and making a wrong gesture or saying the wrong thing could not only offend someone but get you arrested would you be nervous about going?  Of course you would.  You might be excited as well, but you would also be nervous.  Now suppose you had a close friend who you trusted and knew you could rely on going on the trip with you.  He knew the culture and the language of the place you were going.  You would be less nervous, wouldn’t you?  You know that your friend would help you through those situations that would be difficult.  He would advise you on what to do and what not to do. The result of this is that you would be more at peace about your trip.   This is what we have from God, the assurance that His favor is towards us and we can rely on him for help and aid.  Knowing this gives us peace, quietness, and rest in the fact that no matter what comes up, He will be there to help us through it.

So, is Paul’s greeting simply that?  No, it is much more.  These are words of power that we can take and apply to our walk.  Grace and peace are nothing to be dismissed.  They are a promise from God; we have but to take them.