Galatians 1:3-5 (WEL) May grace and peace be yours from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, 5 To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
V3 May grace and peace be yours from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul prays for God to bless the Galatian churches to have grace and peace. Grace is God’s undeserved blessings for strength, wisdom, help in living the Christian life. It is not deserved; it is a gift from God. God’s grace is not received by anything we do as rituals.
Peace is God’s peace which is an inner calm despite outward troubles. To enjoy peace, we need God’s assisting grace (2 Corinthians 12:9). The source is God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Compare John 1:14-16.
Comment:
Day by Day by Grace devotional on John 1:14:
“Jesus showed us the kind of life that God’s grace could be developing in us—a life of truth, a life of godly reality. Jesus came as the One to offer that fullness of grace to all who would trust in Him.
“Now, for those who are depending upon Him day by day, life is explained and developed “grace upon grace.” God’s grace received establishes first a layer of forgiveness and spiritual new birth. Then, layers of growth, transformation, fruitfulness, victory, maturing, service, etc., are added as His grace is appropriated by faith. Yes, the Christian life is to be “grace upon grace”—upon grace, upon grace, upon grace—until we stand face to face someday with our Lord of grace!
“Wherever we are in our spiritual pilgrimage, our progress has come from receiving by faith from His fullness of grace. Whatever remains to be accomplished must transpire in the same manner, receiving more fully of His fullness. Oh, what fullness is yet available to us in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
V4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father,
It is God’s will for people to be delivered from this present evil world, its sin, its evils, its guilt, its doom because of God’s wrath. Jesus freely gave Himself to be the Savior, the Passover Lamb, to satisfy the wrath of God because of our sins. The purpose is to deliver us from the present evil world. This world is doomed for destruction, not annihilation. The world and all people will face the wrath of God unless the penalty for sin is paid in full. The penalty for sin is death, both physical and spiritual. Existence after death is an eternity of torment in the Lake of Fire. God wants people to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone; He does not want people to suffer from His wrath. God gave a solution, a redemption, and salvation—believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As Christians, the Holy Spirit works in our lives to mature us into disciples of Jesus Christ.
Warren W. Wiersbe on Hebrews 13 comments:
“Our Great High Priest is also our Great Shepherd. When He was on earth, He worked for us when He completed the great work of redemption (John 17:4). Now that He is in heaven, He is working in us to mature us in His will and bring us to a place of spiritual perfection. We will never reach that place until He returns (1 John 2:28-3:3); but while we are waiting, we are told to continue to grow.
“The phrase make you perfect (Hebrews 13:21) is the translation of one Greek word, katartidzo. This is an unfamiliar word to us, but it was familiar to the people who received this letter. The doctors knew it because it meant “to set a broken bone.” To fishermen it meant “to mend a broken net” (see Matthew 4:21). To sailors it meant “to outfit a ship for a voyage.” To soldiers it meant “to equip an army for battle.”
“Our Savior in heaven wants to equip us for life on earth. Tenderly, He wants to set the “broken bones” in our lives so that we might walk straight and run our life-races successfully. He wants to repair the breaks in the nets so that we might catch fish and win souls. He wants to equip us for battle and outfit us so that we will not be battered in the storms of life. In brief, He wants to mature us so that He can work in us and through us that which pleases Him and accomplishes His will.”
V5 To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
We must have the attitude to glorify God, the desire to glorify God, and the striving to do all things to glorify God.
We learn:
- The blessings of God’s grace.
- The blessings of growing in the Christian faith.
Questions:
- Is everything you think, say, and do to glorify God?
- Have you been thankful today for all God has done for you?