“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Paul launches Galatians with his customary greeting of “grace and peace.” This salutation bestows blessing upon the Galatians.
Grace to you
Grace is God’s goodwill and work toward us. We do not work for grace because grace is what God does. It is all that He is free to do for us because of the cross of Christ (Ga 1:4).
and peace
There is an inner rest to our souls, knowing that we have God’s goodwill and work in our lives. We possess no peace without grace first blessing our souls. Grace always precedes peace in these greetings. Because of the death of Christ for our sins, there is no alienation between God and us. More than that, we have an ongoing sense of God’s sovereign work in our souls.
from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
“From” indicates that both grace and peace have their source in God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul joins the Father and Son as one source of grace and peace. We do not strive for peace with God because God settled the sin issue through Christ’s death. We do not need to seek God’s approval because we have it.
Principle:
True peace comes from the grace sourced from the Father and Son.
Application:
We do not obtain God’s peace through our own effort. It comes exclusively from God. We never get God’s peace without first receiving God’s grace. We receive a full measure of peace with a full understanding and appropriation of God’s grace. We cannot manufacture this peace because it comes solely from God. He dispenses it freely from His character. Life will grate on our souls if we try to operate without God’s grace.
