3 “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,”
4 “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father,”
5 “to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.”
vs. 3: - “Grace and peace” - This is a New Testament greeting. Previous ‘Notes’ commented that Grace and peace are not usually combined as a blessing in the Old Testament. The closest we see is: "Say to them: ‘The LORD bless you and protect you; The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’"' (Num. 6:23-26). Paul includes this combined blessing in every letter he wrote.
This blessing is so we may know God’s grace working in us, so we may grow in our faith, knowledge, and affection; that we may live for Him, and by His influence. In peace, we have a cessation of hostility between us and God; assurance of our salvation and thereby fear nothing from God.
This is powerful stuff! We are free and unencumbered. We have the information and power to live for Him.
My son rescued a dog, which had been abused by previous owners, from the pound. The dog, “Louise”, mostly cowered in the back bedroom in fear and trembling (literally!). Louise wouldn't even come out of the room to eat. She quivered at loud noises or raised voices. It has taken patient months of love, but now they are seeing progress. She plays outside with their other dog. Louise is learning to trust them, and feel safe.
In some ways we are like Louise: we are not free as long as we continually fear retribution from a fierce and vengeful god.
You don't feel the freedom to innovate and perform to the best of your ability in your job if you are always looking over your shoulder, always aware you may receive a reprimand for minor mistakes.
God is not asking us to bear down, to grind our way through life. He is not telling us to work harder, try harder, or work smarter. Jesus is saying, “I in you, and you in Me,” (John 14:3) and “Apart from Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5) and “I will give you a Helper who will teach you.” (John 14:16, 26; 15:26) We’re not living this life in our own power, but by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
vs. 4: - “gave himself” - Jesus was not coerced. He just did the will of God. We often hear people say that Jesus ‘was an itinerant preacher that upset the local authorities who had him killed’. This explanation for Jesus’ crucifixion is just plain wrong. The advent of Jesus was never ‘Plan B’. The triune God had a plan to redeem the world, not just mankind. See: Phil. 2:5-9; Eph. 2:25; 1 Tim. 2:6; Tit. 2:4.
“rescue us “ - ‘Plan A’ is: a perfect life sacrificed to cover sin. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” (Lev. 5:9; 16:15; Heb. 9:22; 1 Tim. 1:15; Luke 19:10; Matt. 26:28; John 12:27, 28; Eph. 1:7 )
God rescued the Israelites from slavery. They could do nothing to escape Egypt. God worked several miracles against Egypt, and they were asked to leave! In the final miracle, the angel of death struck the first born of every house in Egypt. The Jews were told to mark their homes with the blood of a lamb. The angel of death would harm no one who believed and followed the instuction. There was nothing the Jews could do to free themselves, or atone for their sins, except provide a sacrifice. (Exo. 12:23) See note 1 below.
There is nothing we can do to bridge the chasm of sin between us and God. God provides the payment for our sins - at no cost to us - Jesus Christ the Savior. His blood shed on the cross satisfies God’s justice. His resurrection shows us the sacrifice was all good, and provides us the hope of glory.
“according to the will” - (John 6:40, 57; 12:49; 16:15; Eph. 3:11) - The plan for salvation was set in the mind of God. Jesus executed that plan to perfection (it had to be perfect or it wouldn't work!) through the power of the Holy Spirit. The plan was according to the Father’s will. Jesus did not ‘fly by the seat of His pants’. He followed the plan.
vs. 5: - God is worthy! (See: Rev. 4:11). God is eternal! (See: Deut. 33:27; Isa. 9:6; Mark 16:20; John 3:36; 1 Tim. 1:17, 6:16; Rev. 1:20, 6:23, 16:26).
***Note 1: See the following Bible verses for a better view of God rescuing Israel:
Exo. 6:1 Watch what I am going to do!
- Exo. 7:20-21 - Blood on the water
- Exo. 8:6-7 - Frogs
- Exo. 8:17 - Gnats
- Exo. 8:23-24 - Insect swarms
- Exo. 9:6-7 - Livestock died
- Exo. 9:10-11 - Boils
- Exo. 9:23-25 - Thunder, hail and fire
- Exo. 10:12-15 - Locusts
- Exo. 10:22-23 - Darkness
- Exo. 12:29-30 - Death
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