Of the 27 New Testament books, 18 begin with a greeting of peace — a greeting of peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Interestingly, GRACE is always mentioned first before PEACE!
‘…Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ….’ (2Thess 1:2)
‘…Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord..’ (2Peter 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. ..’ (Eph 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 from the Lord Jesus Christ…’ (Romans 1:7)
‘…Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come…’ (Rev 1:4)
In every instance, it’s Grace and then Peace, not the other way around. This is because until you experience the GRACE of God, you can’t have peace WITH God! Peace WITH God is a product of adequately experiencing the ‘justification by faith’ that comes mightily by the GRACE of God!
‘…Therefore, having been JUSTIFIED by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ…’ (Rom 5:1)
And until you experience PEACE WITH GOD…you cannot enjoy the Peace OF God! PEACE OF GOD is the kind of Peace that permeates your circumstances, makes you stable in the midst of earthly storms and invokes God’s intervention on any situation! Oh I so love how the Bible describes this kind of Peace!
‘…And the peace OF God, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus…’ (Phil 4:7)
That kind of Peace that can make Jesus to be SLEEPING while in a STORM! He was not just sleeping; the Bible even said He was sleeping of a PILLOW right in the midst of turbulence!
‘…Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves BEGAN TO SPILL OVER INTO THE BOAT, so that it was about to fill with water. Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping WITH HIS HEAD ON A PILLOW…’ (Mark 4:37-38)
There are some details in scriptures you will almost feel are not needed. But no detail of scripture is without significance! The Pillow was to show how overly relaxed He was despite the ongoing turmoil. No wonder it is said to be a kind of Peace that PASSES all understanding!
‘…And the peace OF God, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus…’ (Phil 4:7)
The Peace OF God makes a believer calm in the midst of challenges. What was the end result?
‘..And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, PEACE, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was A GREAT CALM.…’ (Mark 4:39)
Hallelujah!
In summary: Scripturally, it is GRACE first before it can be Peace. And its prevalence in the Bible reminds us that this is, indeed, how it has to work; without Grace, there is no Peace! When you experience the GRACE of God…you will enjoy Peace WITH God. And when you enjoy Peace WITH God…you will always experience the Peace OF God.
‘…And the peace OF God, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, shall KEEP your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus…’ (Phil 4:7)
Amen.
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