THE CURRENT REIGN OF JESUS Grace and peace come to us from God and Christ; from God by purpose, and from Jesus by authority; from God as Father, and from Jesus as Mediator. The Scriptures frequently speak of this arrangement: grace and peace coming to us from both the Father and the Son. -- Tomorrow:
(1 Corinthians 15:25)
"Grace, mercy, and peace, FROM God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2). 'Grace, mercy, and peace, FROM God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior" (Tit 1:4). "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:3). "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and FROM the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love" (2 John 1:3). "Grace to you and peace FROM God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 1:7; Philemon 1:3). "Grace be unto you, and peace, FROM God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 1:3; Phil 1:2). "Grace be to you and peace FROM God our Father, and FROM the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 1:2; Eph 1:2). "Grace be unto you, and peace, FROM God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Col 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1).
Grace is God's favor, and it comes to us because Jesus has received "power over all flesh." It is given to us because it is sorely needed to make the journey from time to eternity and from earth to glory. It comes from both the Father and the Son because they are joined together in the work of salvation. technically, it is by God and through Christ. God determines it, Jesus delivers it.
When grace is received, we are well pleasing to God. We are also effectively taught" to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly" (Titus 2:12, NRSV). Those who do not live in this manner are not being effectively taught by grace. at some point they have frustrated the grace of God, and it has ceased to teach them. Those who are denying, or saying "NO" to, ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living righteously in this world, HAVE been taught by the grace of God to do so.
Peace keeps our hearts and minds from being dislodged by the onslaughts of the devil. We are stabilized by it, thereby equipped to make progress even though confronted by apparently insurmountable odds. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:7, NSRV). It takes an exalted Christ to accomplish this! We are exhorted, "let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col 3:15). By faith, give your consent for it to manage your emotions, intellect, and will. When you are settled in your heart, circumstances will have no power to move you.
How glorious is the announcement of Christ's exaltation. "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him" (1 Pet 3:22). This is power to bring eternal life to us. It is power to bring to us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet 1:3). He gives "eternal life" to us by giving us an understanding of God (1 John 5:20), by manifesting Himself to us (John 14:21), and by enabling us to "lay hold on eternal life." He also gives to us the glorious accompaniments of grace and peace, indispensable to our victory in Him.
All of this is accomplished while we are in the devil's domain. The Lord is preparing a table before us "in the presence" of our enemies (Psa 23:5). Prior to Christ's enthronement, no one possessed these benefit as they are now experienced. Of the best of the human race, who died in the faith, it is written; "Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect" (Heb 11:39-40, NRSV).
The "better thing" we experience in Christ is, in summary, "eternal life." It does not come to us automatically. The exalted Christ gives it to us. He is occupying the throne of David to bring God's purpose to fulfillment. It is that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Part of that abundance is grace and peace, which are "multiplied" to us (1 Pet 1:2; 2 Pet 1:2).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of the exalted Christ, I thank You for the effectiveness of the communication of both grace and peace through fellowship with You and the Son.