Galatians 1:3-4 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, English Standard Version (ESV)
How many of us need God's grace and peace today? Whether we admit it or not I'd say that we all do. The book of Galatians is one of the first, if not the first, of the books/letters written by Paul. This introduction is more than just a simple greeting. It sets the tone of the letter and gets to the heart of it, the heart of Paul's ministry and the heart of the gospel.
You may have heard it said that "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing", and that is what Paul is trying to do hear in this letter. He is focusing on the fact that we are saved by grace, we can't do anything to earn it and we shouldn't be turned away to clean up our act before we can go to church and learn more of His great grace. In verse 4 the words "who gave himself" should bring us back to John 3:16 "for God so loved the world that He gave" and that this gift was given to us for a purpose, to deliver us from sin, from this present evil age.
Martin Luther wrote that "these two words, grace and peace, contain in them the whole sum of Christianity. Grace contains the remission of sins; peace a quiet and joyful conscience. Peace of conscience can never be had, unless sin is forgiven. ...... So there is no means to take away sin, but grace alone. Therefore, Paul in all the greetings of his epistles sets grace and peace against sin and an evil conscience."
What do these two words, grace and peace, mean to you today? If you have them, praise God. If you need them, seek Him now, you may come as you are, and "oh yes" (The Message v. 5) He will not leave you that way.
Galatians 1:1-5
The Message (MSG)
1 1-5 I, Paul, and my companions in faith here, send greetings to the Galatian churches. My authority for writing to you does not come from any popular vote of the people, nor does it come through the appointment of some human higher-up. It comes directly from Jesus the Messiah and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. I'm God-commissioned. So I greet you with the great words, grace and peace! We know the meaning of those words because Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we're in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God's plan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever! Oh, yes!
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