Paul's
Greeting:
Desire For Others
To Grow In Grace
In our day and age a greeting is often simply a precursor to the conversation. In Paul’s they a greeting, particularly that a letter, was often used to express personal feelings and wishes. The greeting that we find in verse 2 of Ephesians Chapter one is fairly typical of Paul’s greetings.
"Grace", of course refers to the unmerited favor of God. So often are greetings, the preliminary use of our conversations, lack both warm intent and content. They are simply "warmups" to get the conversation going easily. Not so with Paul’s greeting. Paul’s wishing them Grace is actually one of the warmest and kindness things he could wish them. What better think would he wish them? He desires that they enjoy the Grace of God.
I think, in a nutshell, this could really sum up Paul’s entire attitude toward all those to whom he ministered. Paul’s overriding desire in the lives of those to whom God sent him was that they might experience, enjoy, and growing God’s grace. Actually, that’s a good one word description of the theme of this book. God’s Holy Spirit, writing through the pen of the Apostle Paul, wrote the book of Ephesians that men might be redeemed by the Grace of God; and that those already redeemed might grow into Grace of the Lord who saved them.
By way of application, it would be profitable for us to think of those to whom God has led us in these terms. Think of all the people in your life. Would your intentions toward them mirror Paul’s wishes for the Ephesians? I think that, at times, we all fall into the all to human tendency to define things in terms of how they affect us. This is certainly not good thing, but it is, indeed, natural. With regard to our witness, we must turn that natural tendency around. It is imperative that, at all times, our minds be set on being a channel for God through which to demonstrate grace and mercy to those around us. This " others orientation" is what enabled the Apostle Paul, and many, many others throughout church history, to be of such great and wonderful use to the plan of God. At First, of course, such a perspective will require conscious choice and conscious thought and discipline on our part. But, as with any habit, if we persevere we will win through and it will become a part of our character, that which we naturally all are.
The wishing of "grace" was not just a greeting used to open up the letter and as a preliminary to the more serious things that followed. It was a statement from someone who was answerable to God for his stewardship and their leadership of the church. It was an expression of these are earnest and heartfelt desire for them in spiritual matters. As such, it does set the stage for what follows it. All that Paul will say in the rest of the bulk is aimed at benefitting them and at leading them into a greater experience of the grace and mercy of God. The Ephesians is not a book fall of dry doctrine. Nor is the book of ethereal and mystical concepts that are of little practical good. Rather, it is us solidly practical and useful book that speaks in magnificent terminology about our great, gracious, and merciful Heavenly Father.
Practically speaking, how can one assess one’s standing in grace? To begin with, we must understand that the primary answer to this question is objective and not subjective. It is rooted in what the Scripture proclaims to be true. The Bible teaches that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". God’s Word is simply replete with promises to save in response to believing. It is upon this bedrock foundation of God’s promise that our experience in his grace rests. It is these objective promises, not depending on whether we feel they are true or not, that undergirds our Christian experience.
However, the Bible is very clear that one who stands in God’s grace will live in a fashion that demonstrates that standing. In other words, a genuine believer will live a genuine Christian life. There will be works to demonstrate the truth of his conversion. Certainly, some believers will demonstrate a greater degree of works the others. But no genuine Christian, as we have noted, can be entirely without fruit. We want to underscore this truth. There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian.
And so it follows that one who has genuine standing in God’s grace will have evidence in their life to prove it. It should be noted that by "prove it" I am not saying that we need to prove to other Christians that we are saved. Realistically, neither do we need to "prove it" to God himself. He certainly already knows whether we are genuinely redeemed or not. Some would add that perhaps it is to prove it to ourselves. I think not. Rather, I use the term "prove it" in the sense of demonstrating a thing rather than trying to convince another that it exists. There will be, in the life the genuine Christian, things that demonstrate the presence of spiritual life. As we have noted, spiritual life cannot be present without being demonstrated or noticeable to some degree.