Reflections on 1 Corinthians 1:3
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:3, NIV)
Paul opens nearly every letter with these two words, and always in the same order: Grace first, then peace. That order matters. Peace cannot come first. It grows out of Grace.
Grace is the gift from God, and it comes with knowledge. Peter writes, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). Knowledge is power: the power to live your life knowing that the God who loves you has your back, your front, and both sides. “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). That is how you can have peace in the storms of life.
All heaven is offered to us, ready for our needs. His Grace includes all things needful in this life, and it is a living, healing power that fills our hearts and minds as we choose to follow where He is leading.
He is our Father: a father who truly loves, guides, provides, and protects, careful and wise to allow only the best for His child. In His loving wisdom He allows us the consequences of our poor choices, not as a punishment but to help us learn. This is like no father I have ever known.
He is also the one who increases us: our talents, our friends, our means. He will not allow us to have more than is good for us. We can look at others and feel we are lacking, but that takes our eyes off the Lord. The endless stream of comparison tells us we are not our best, that everyone else is doing it better. That is a trap you do not want to fall into. Allow the Lord to increase you as you grow and can carry a fuller cup. The full cup is a heavy burden to bear, and we must have Him to help us if we are asked to carry it.
Peace is how we live and breathe. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Calm assurance is ours as we rest in His Grace, following each day the duties given us for that day. His peace and Love follow us everywhere we go, and His Spirit directs our steps through this world.
The One who knows you best loves you most. His faithfulness is proven. “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).
