A Powerful Greeting

The authors of the letters in the New Testament often greeted their readers with the words "grace and peace" in some form. The phrasing grace and peace occurs 17 times throughout the New Testament in greetings.​ Yes, many of them are from Paul, but there is still a repetition worth looking at.  

Romans 1:7:  "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 1:3 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Galatians 1:3 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

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

Philippians 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Colossians 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father."

1 Thessalonians 1:1 "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace to you and peace."

2 Thessalonians 1:2 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Timothy 1:2 "To Timothy, my true child in the faith:  Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

2 Timothy 1:2 "To Timothy, my beloved child:  Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

Titus 1:4 "To Titus, my true child in a common faith:  Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior."

Philemon 1:3 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Peter 1:2 "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:  May grace and peace be multiplied to you."

2 Peter 1:2 "May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

2 John 1:3 "Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love."

Revelation 1:4 "John to the seven churches that are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,"

God's Word is powerful and it does not return void. And that is true even in the greetings of the letters. The phrase "grace and peace" holds power. There is deep meaning and significance in the phrase. The part of speech used, the joining of two different cultural greetings, the implications, the repetition all come together to make "grace and peace" a truly beautiful greeting. 

These two articles give great insight into this powerful phrase:
"Grace and Peace:  How a Simple Salutation Points Us Toward a New Society" by Al Hsu
"May Grace and Peace Be Multiplied to You" by John Piper 

​When I wake up in the morning, I want grace and peace to greet me.
When I walk through the day, I want grace and peace to be multiplied in and through me.
And when I fall asleep at night, I want to rest in the wondrous and extravagant grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

May grace and peace rule in our hearts and our homes so that we might spread His grace and peace to the nations.