Peace Be With You
Daily Reading: (2 Thessalonians 1:2):
“Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Before we get to peace we have to start with grace. I believe it is grace that leads to peace. Until we know grace, we can’t experience God’s peace. J. Hampton Keathley III says, “Grace, one might say, is the work of God for man and encompasses everything we receive from God.”[1] That would include peace.
Grace carries with it peace. So what is peace? Eirene (peace) in 2 Thessalonians 1:2 would be: security, safety, prosperity. If grace leads to our peace than peace keeps what grace gives.
Grace and Peace cannot be manufactured it comes from God (2 Thessalonians 1:2). The Greek word for “from” in 2 Thessalonians 1:2 is apo and it means of origin of a cause. This means God is the cause and source of my life’s peace.
Peter will write something over and over again making it explicit. He begins both his letters, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” The verb behind be multiplied is used twelve times in the New Testament and always means increase — move from lesser to greater. So, it is important to know that both grace and peace can be increased in your life (1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2). Peter’s desire is that both grace and peace be multiplied unto us. New measures for new moments. God’s Word tells us that when you receive revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, it will cause grace and peace to be multiplied in your life. It will cause you to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness.
The more we learn of the beauty and love of our Lord Jesus, the more we see His perfect work on the cross, and the more we position ourselves to receive a multiplication of God’s grace in our lives.
When Paul would write grace and peace to you- The word “to you” implies movement. Grace and peace are on the way. More is coming. God continues to send you exactly what you need. What an awesome Father! That’s the best father there is. He is so far ahead of us, but also is with us and He is ready to give you more and more of His grace and His peace.
[1] J. Hampton Keathley III. https://bible.org/article/grace-and-peace #2Thessalonians, #PeaceBeWithYou, #acts433, #PeacefulSeries