Paul begins most of the books he wrote by identifying himself as an apostle. He identifies himself as a “bond-servant” in Philippians and that statement sets the tone of the book. Let’s plunge into this grand epistle and see what we can learn.
Joe
“Grace to you, and peace”
Philippians 1:2
Philippians 1:2
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The order of words in this verse is very significant because without God’s grace there can be no real peace. We first really recognize God’s grace when we trust His Son, the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. As His children it is through His grace that we are kept and strengthened; that we increase in faith, knowledge, and affection. Because of His grace we, as Christians, can realize real peace in our lives.
Peace is an attitude. I like to think of it as the confident assurance that God is in control. Others may be able to influence other factors of our lives, but we have total control of our attitudes. The closer we are to Christ, the more we experience the genuine peace that He gives.
Man constantly seeks peace, but on his own he can never achieve it. It must come from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. As you study human history you will see that man has constantly been engaged in war in an attempt to achieve peace. This world will never know true peace until Jesus Christ returns in the millennium. During that period of time Satan will be shackled (Rev. 20:2) and the world will experience real peace.
Even the Christian struggles with peace because of the presence of the sin nature in our being. Paul talks about this struggle most explicitly in Romans 7:15-17 “For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.” That battle will only be over for us when the Lord returns and calls us to Himself (I Thes. 4:1-17).
We can be thankful that God the Father has given us His Holy Spirit to help us overcome Satan’s attempts to rule our lives and that He has promised to forgive our sin if we will only confess it (I John 1:9). Christians need to appropriate that verse in their lives every time Satan tempts us.
I pray that you will live your life in a manner that allows you to continually experience God’s grace and His peace.
The order of words in this verse is very significant because without God’s grace there can be no real peace. We first really recognize God’s grace when we trust His Son, the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. As His children it is through His grace that we are kept and strengthened; that we increase in faith, knowledge, and affection. Because of His grace we, as Christians, can realize real peace in our lives.
Peace is an attitude. I like to think of it as the confident assurance that God is in control. Others may be able to influence other factors of our lives, but we have total control of our attitudes. The closer we are to Christ, the more we experience the genuine peace that He gives.
Man constantly seeks peace, but on his own he can never achieve it. It must come from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. As you study human history you will see that man has constantly been engaged in war in an attempt to achieve peace. This world will never know true peace until Jesus Christ returns in the millennium. During that period of time Satan will be shackled (Rev. 20:2) and the world will experience real peace.
Even the Christian struggles with peace because of the presence of the sin nature in our being. Paul talks about this struggle most explicitly in Romans 7:15-17 “For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me.” That battle will only be over for us when the Lord returns and calls us to Himself (I Thes. 4:1-17).
We can be thankful that God the Father has given us His Holy Spirit to help us overcome Satan’s attempts to rule our lives and that He has promised to forgive our sin if we will only confess it (I John 1:9). Christians need to appropriate that verse in their lives every time Satan tempts us.
I pray that you will live your life in a manner that allows you to continually experience God’s grace and His peace.
