“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ“
Grace to you
Paul gives his customary greeting of “grace” and “peace” here. Grace always precedes peace in these greetings. That is because God’s provisions always precede the impact of peace on our lives.
Grace is God’s provision for us because of the death of Christ for our sins. God is the source of all our provisions. We do not earn nor deserve His gifts. We do not deserve anything from God. All we deserve is hell. Nothing undermines self-effort more than the grace of God.
The Bible personifies Jesus as “grace.”
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men…” (Titus 2:11).
Principle:
Grace glorifies God because God does the doing.
Application:
If people do the doing, they get the glory. If God does the doing, then God gets the glory. Grace glorifies God because God does the doing.
“Even so then, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work” (Romans 11:5-6).
”But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
We have the right to come to the “throne of grace.” We have the right to pray, not because of something in ourselves, but because of who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
