Grace be to you and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
χαρις υμιν και ειρηνη απο θεου πατρος ημων και κυριου ιησου χριστου
11 Church Fathers comment on this verse
He spoke of grace and invoked God the Father, because this invocation is a sign of the imparting of grace. How so? Hear what he says elsewhere: "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal 4:6). "And the Lord Jesus Christ," because for our sake Christ was born and appeared in the flesh.
Having said "grace," he adds, "from God our Father," to show what grace has done for us. It has made the Master and God our Father. Yet the Lord, that is, the Son, by His grace toward us also became Jesus and Christ. For our sake He was incarnate, was named Jesus, and sanctified humanity by the Godhead.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," and not through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Either both terms refer to both, that is, both grace and peace refer both to God the Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ. Or each term separately refers to each Person separately, so that grace refers to God the Father, and peace to Christ.
The second is more likely, since immediately afterward it follows: "to the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6). Thus the Father's grace is that He was well pleased to send us His Son for our salvation. The Son's peace is that through Him we have been reconciled to the Father.
Paul wishes the grace of God to the saints and believers, and he calls God our Father because all things were created and restored by Him. He calls Christ our Lord because He redeemed us by giving Himself for us.
The Apostle again placed the preposition "from" (dia) before the words "God and Father." By this he shuts the mouths of those who dispute the Godhead of the Only-begotten, showing that this preposition does not signify inferiority. In the greeting he praises the Ephesians, for he called them saints and faithful.
Two things most decisively put an end to quarrels and express the commandment of God: grace and peace. Since the Ephesians remain in error, grace is more important for them. Through it they could come to know God, obey Him and Christ without reserve, and hope wholly in Christ, accepting nothing else. Paul also adds: "And peace from God." For whoever remains at variance with the faith gives rise to divisions.
After the inscription and greeting (Eph 1:1-2) comes the dogmatic part. First, the dogmatic part: a general survey of the divine economy of salvation (Eph 1:3-19). Having offered doxology to "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places," the holy Apostle Paul considers "our election in Him," that is, in Jesus Christ, "before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4). This means our calling to Christianity.
The superscription and greeting appear customary, yet they are entirely fitting here. Thus, for example, by calling himself not by his former Hebrew name, Saul, but by the Greco-Roman name Paul, he expresses a certain closeness to Christians from among the Gentiles.
In his calling himself an Apostle, one may also see a particular thought: the desire to indicate his lofty mission from God. It is greater than all other missions, as much as the King of kings is higher than every earthly authority.
In calling Christians saints and faithful, one may likewise see the Apostle's special care for the Ephesians. By this their holy election and firm abiding in it were confirmed.
The bestowal of grace and peace at once defines the sacred and mystical character of the mission's content. Since these gifts are bestowed from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, their power and efficacy are plain. The Apostle immediately proceeds to unfold them.
It is also worthy of note that the Apostle Paul gives the blessing and writes the epistle "by the will of God," as hierarchs of the Church now write, "by the mercy of God." From this it is clear that no ministry in the Church should be self-assumed arbitrarily. It should be received by the election and manner established in the Church of God. In its conferral, according to one of our interpreters, Bishop Theophan, "the will of God is manifested."
Stirring all to holiness and faithfulness, St. John Chrysostom says: "How many virtuous people there were then, when even laypeople were called saints and faithful!" Our interpreter adds to this: "Then all were in very deed holy and pure before God. Christians in general were zealous not only that they themselves be holy, but that all others be holy. They desired that their whole society have no spot, not even in one person. So should all Christian communities be."
"One may say that holiness and faith correspond to grace and peace. Grace is the source of holiness. Peace is the goal of fidelity to the faith. To attain the peaceful ordering of the heart, in which God rests, is the sweet end of the labors of a God-pleasing life" (Bishop Theophan).
After the superscription of the epistle and the greeting (vv. 1-2), the Apostle speaks in one long period about the extraordinary riches of divine grace manifested in Christ. He also speaks of the high dignity of the Church founded by Him.
The Apostle first blesses Him who is God for us and the Father of Jesus Christ, because He Himself has blessed us. The Apostle describes the blessing given us by God in three ways.
This blessing is not earthly, but spiritual, and it is not uniform for all. Then, it comes from heaven and grants heavenly goods, though not, of course, in their whole fullness. Finally, it is received by us in Christ, or through Christ.
Grace and peace! In these two words the Apostle gathers all the spiritual treasures of Christianity. Grace is related to peace as leaf or root is related to flower and fruit. Divine grace is the chief condition of the Christian life, whose highest blossom and fruit is peace.
Grace is all the powers that pertain to life and piety. Peace is the unshaken possession of these gifts, their preservation, and their use. Peace with God in the conscience is inward peace. It comes from knowing that one has found a firm support for life and firm hopes. It also comes from bringing all one's aspirations into harmony and keeping them in that harmony.
There is also outward peace. Yet it is an external providential help, not a necessity for the inward life. Thus the apostolic good wish contains the highest and best things that humble and reverent Christian feeling can expect from one who wishes it well.
The highest thing is grace. It opens for the condemned sinner an entrance to the merciful God and Father, and opens for him the treasures of His boundless love. The best thing is peace. It is established when, in the struggle between light and darkness at the inward center of personal life, the advantage remains with the light. Then the conscience's troubling anxieties subside. The heavy feeling of answerless sinfulness and condemnation finds a trustworthy outcome.
For the Christian, consolation in sorrow and inspiration for courage in his unavoidable struggle lie in this: grace is always with him, and the promise of peace belongs to him. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ stand as surety for this, unfailing in word and deed.
Where grace is, there is peace, although the Christian does not always feel it in its full strength. He remains in struggle with sin, with dark powers, and with outward obstacles to his good undertakings.
One may say that holiness and faith, which have been mentioned, correspond to grace and peace. Grace is the source of holiness. Peace is the goal of fidelity to the faith. Having received grace through faith, remain faithful to the faith. Thus you will preserve grace as always present. With its help, advancing in holiness, you will attain the peaceful ordering of the heart, in which God rests. This is the sweet end of the labors of a life pleasing to God.
The One who grants grace is preeminently God the Father. The peacemaker is God the Son in the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is said: from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed Jerome writes: "Either both things belong to both together, that is, grace and peace belong both to God the Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ. Or one must be assigned to one, and the other to the other: grace to God the Father, and peace to the Lord Jesus Christ. A little below it is said: 'to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has graced us in the Beloved' (6). The Father's grace consists in this, that He was pleased to send His Son for our salvation. The Son's peace consists in this, that through Him we have been reconciled to God the Father."
Saint Chrysostom says: "He said 'grace,' and he calls God Father, for this name is the sign of that grace. How so? Listen to what he says elsewhere: 'Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father!' (Gal 4:6)."
Blessed Theophylact sets forth the same thought more fully: "Having said 'grace,' he adds 'from God our Father,' to show what grace has done for us. It has made the Master and God our Father. But the Lord, that is, God the Son, by grace toward us, became both Jesus and Christ. For, having been incarnate for our sake, He received the name Jesus and anointed humanity with the Godhead."
To believers is given the authority to become children of God, because, having received the Lord, they are born of God. They do not merely bear the name of sons, but are sons in reality (Jn 1:12-13). The Spirit of God, who accomplishes this, also implants the feeling of sonship. By it the truly regenerated man calls God Father with the same disposition as a natural son calls his natural father.
Jesus Christ is Lord not only of us Christians, but of the whole world. As Mediator and Redeemer, all things have been given to Him by the Father. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Mt 28:18). He will manifest this authority until the whole plan of the divine economy of our salvation is perfectly fulfilled. Then He will deliver His Kingdom to God and the Father (1 Cor 15:24), and God will be all in all.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 12 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS