Grace + Peace - The Path to Unity

The "grace and peace" salutations in Paul’s letters are plentiful:

• (Rom. 1:7)  To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (1Cor. 1:3 ) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (2 Cor. 1:2)   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (Gal. 1:3)  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
• (Eph. 1:2)  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (Phil. 1:2)  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (Col. 1:2)  To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
• (1Thes. 1:1)  Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.
• (2 This. 1:2)   Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• (Titus 1:4 ) To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
• (Philem. 3) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Grace" or "grace to you" sounded like the standard Greek greeting, but, for Paul, it was jam-packed with theological meaning. And, on the other hand, "peace" was a Jewish blessing filled with weighty, theological significance -- "shalom."

Paul knew that many in these early church congregations were torn by factional strife. But he didn't say, "Grace to you Gentiles, and shalom to you Jews." No, grace was not just for Greeks, and peace was not just for Jews. God's desire was for the whole community to receive his grace and experience his shalom—not merely the absence of conflict, but the fullness of well being, harmony, wholeness, and life.

So Paul said, "Grace and peace to you." Paul addressed Gentile and Jewish believers together, as members of one body. He wrote in continuity with their cultural and ethnic backgrounds, yet pointed to a new, countercultural reality. He combined a Greek greeting and a Hebrew greeting to create a distinctively Christian greeting.

And it wasn't just the Apostle Paul…

• (1Pet. 1:2) ....who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
• (2Pet. 1:2)  Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
• (Rev. 1:4)  John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne...

Today our society continues to be divided by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, national orientation, and, oh yes, politics. And within the church, we sadly mimic our culture. We are split over theological matters - Dispensationalism and Covenantalism, Calvinism and Arminianism, Complementarianism and Egalitarianism, Evangelicalism and mainliners.

Yet Paul would argue that our common identity transcends our differences. He would plead with us to treat one another charitably, to extend patience and grace, and to strive to make peace with one another. Indeed, our church congregations should be some of the few places in our society where conservatives and liberals (and everything and everyone in between) can break bread together and celebrate a common Savior and a common cause.