Grace and Peace
Paul opens his letter with a gospel greeting.
When the church council in Acts 15 met to make a decision about what to require of the uncircumcised Gentiles who were coming into the church, after a decision had been made they drafted a letter to be distributed to the churches that had Gentile members. Here are the opening lines from that letter.
Acts 15:23 ESV- “The brothers,
(See how they say whom it's from first?)
both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.
Just like this letter, Paul's to the Philippians, it first names whom it's from, then it states whom it's for, then it says, “greetings.” That was the universal formula for letter writing at the time, but Paul changed it. He Christianized it, or we might say he kingdomized it. He changes one letter at the end of the word “greetings” so that it becomes “grace.”
Grace is unmerited favor, and it is the unmerited favor of God which he wishes upon them. This sort of well-wish is far superior to the common “good luck” well-wish that we're used to. It's a gospel-wish, and is, in fact, the ultimate expression of Christian love. It is grace which has restored us to God's favor, and it is grace that has forgiven our sins and granted us a righteousness not our own. It is grace which has given us eternal life and blessing. And it is grace which is restoring us to full communion with God.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved wretches like us!
“Grace to you,” he says, “and peace,”
Now, while Paul is writing in Greek, Paul is thoroughly Hebrew, and his wishing of peace upon them is a common Hebrew greeting of shalom. It implies wellness, and wholeness, and all the goodness and blessing associated with peace. In its fullness it is an expression which connotes the full blessing of the world to come. It looks forward to the consummation of all things. It is the best of wishes.
While grace is what is behind our being saved, shalom is the result of God's great salvation in its eschatological fullness, when it's complete, in its completion in the world to come. Shalom is both what Christ made with God for us, and the final state to which he is bringing the world. The fullness of shalom is full communion with God. Jesus is the prince of shalom and the king of shalom.
By the way, that's what Jeru-shalom means. It means “king of Salem” or “king of peace.” Jesus is Jerusalem in that sense, and he is the prince of shalom and he has come to usher in a reign of shalom which will endure forever.
This peace that is wished upon them is something they may have a taste of already, in that they already are found in Christ, and have the peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding. But that's chapter 4. More on that later in the letter.
Some have pointed out that this is a combination Gentile and Jewish greeting, that perhaps Paul is being political here in the way he does this, or at the very least giving recognition to the fact that the early church contained both Jews and Gentiles. “Shalom” was the typical Jewish greeting. Want an example?
In the upper room where the disciples were meeting secretly after the death of Christ, and when they were still in doubt about his resurrection, Jesus appeared to them. John records it in…
John 20:19 ESV - On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Shalom. It is a greeting used to this day.
Grace is what is given in the gospel, and peace is the end result and the essence of the kingdom that Christ came to bring—peace on earth.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s more than a greeting. That’s the gospel!