In Paul’s greetings in his letters, he always wished “grace and peace” to the people living there.

And no wonder! Because whether you’re living through Pandemics and Protests in the Twenty-First Century, or through Perplexities and Persecutions in the First Century, you need grace and peace.

For example, when Paul wrote to churches in Galatia—a part of modern-day Turkey—Paul said, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:1-3).

Why did the people in Galatia need grace and peace?

They were confused. They were being taught things contrary to the gospel—the good news—that Paul taught them. In this oldest letter by Paul that has been preserved, he ended their confusion.

He wrote them: “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:7).

These people were teaching the Galatians that faith in Jesus was not sufficient—by itself—to “rescue [them] from the present evil age.” (Galatians 1:4). They were teaching the Galatians that—in addition to faith in Jesus—they had to follow the Law of Moses.

This dispute was captured in the dispute whether non-Jewish followers of Jesus needed to be circumcised—have parts of their male genitals cut off.

Never afraid to speak his mind, Paul wrote: “As for those agitators,  I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” (Galatians 5:12).

Why was Paul so vehemently against requiring followers of Jesus to also follow the Law of Moses?

After all, Paul himself was a Jew. He reminded the people receiving his letter:

“[Y]ou have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” (Galatians 1:13-14).

But then grace entered the picture. As Paul put it: “God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal [Jesus] in me so that I might preach him among [non-Jews].” (Galatians 1:15-16).

As a result of God’s grace, the churches of Judea (the region near Jerusalem) “heard the report ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they praised God because of me.” (Galatians 1:23-24).

To attain righteousness, Paul now relied on the faith he received by God’s grace, rather than relying on how well he was keeping the Law of Moses. (Galatians 2:15-16,21; 3:3-11; 5:4-6).

Paul told the Galatians: “I died to the [Law of Moses] so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in [Christ Jesus,] the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained by the [Law of Moses], Christ died for nothing.” (Galatians 2:19-21 (emphasis added)).

On the contrary, through the gift of God’s amazing grace, Christ “redeemed us in order that [blessings] might come to [non-Jews] through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:14).

Therefore, “in Christ Jesus [we] are all children of God through faith.” (Galatians 3:26). Our common faith in Christ Jesus provides the basis for overcoming all the divisions among us—whether in First Century Galatia or in Twenty-First Century Humanity.

This means “[t]here is neither Jew nor [non-Jew], neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:23).

This means that the amazing grace we receive “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” fulfills Paul’s wish that the Galatians—and all of us—receive peace.

How does grace lead to peace?

First, grace is a gift.

We don’t have to fret and worry whether Jesus will “rescue us from the present evil age.” (Galatians 1:4).

We don’t have to work super hard and super well to rescue ourselves, our families, our nations, and our civilizations from the present evil age.

We can be at peace, relying on the grace of God.

Why?

Because Jesus already “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” (Galatians 1:3-4).

We can be at peace, relying on our faith in the promises of God. (Galatians 3:15-18).

We can be at peace, knowing “[i]t is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1).

We can be at peace, knowing “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6).

Second, grace gives us peace because—despite our many disputes and divisions—we become one in Christ Jesus.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul told them that: “meeting privately [in Jerusalem] with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among [non-Jews]” (Galatians 2:2). This would have been the same gospel that Paul was defending in his letter to the Galatians.

Why did Paul meet privately with the leaders in Jerusalem? He wanted to confirm that they agreed with his teaching that both Jews and non-Jews are saved by faith alone; that non-Jews are not required to keep the Law of Moses.

As Paul put it: “I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was [not a Jew].” (Galatians 2:2-3).

Not that this meeting of Paul and other esteemed leaders led to total agreement about this divisive issue.

Paul told the Galatians that when Peter later visited Antioch (a church with many non-Jewish believers), Paul “opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” (Galatians 2:11).

Why? Peter’s hypocrisy.

“For before certain men came from James [, another ‘esteemed leader’ of the early churches, and the brother of Jesus], he used to eat with [non-Jews]. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from [non-Jews] because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy . . ..” (Galatians 2:12-13).

Despite these sharp disagreements about how to live the Way of Jesus, and despite these vehement, public, personal denunciations of other believers for hypocrisy, Paul could still write to the Galatians that “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith . . .. There is neither Jew nor [non-Jew], neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28).

To this day, we continue to have sharp disagreements about how to live the Way of Jesus. We continue to make vehement, public, personal denunciations of other believers for hypocrisy.

How do we overcome these disputes and divisions among those who follow the Way of Jesus? The same way that Paul and other esteemed leaders of the early church overcame such disputes and divisions.

They gave each other “the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace of God” had given different believers different ministries. (Galatians 2:6-9).

They unified around a ministry that they were all called to undertake. They agreed that we all “should continue to remember the poor, the very thing [Paul] had been eager to do all along.” (Galatians 2:10).

Third, grace gives us peace by giving us faith so we “receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.” (Galatians 3:14).

We do not receive the Holy Spirit for a brief moment. We receive the Holy Spirit for the rest of our lives.

The people who Paul denounced for perverting the Gospel took a different view. Instead of people being set free by living in the Spirit, they wanted people to be “enslaved” by the requirements of the Law of Moses.

To refute this perversion of the Gospel, Paul wrote, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the [Law of Moses], or by believing what you heard [about Jesus]? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3).

Both Jews and non-Jews must choose whether to live by the means of the flesh or by the means of the Spirit. No one can have it both ways. (Matthew 6:24).

Why?

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit [desires] what is contrary to the flesh.” (Galatians 5:17).

Furthermore, living by the means of the flesh will never lead to peace.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Such “acts of the flesh” will never bring peace—not in our personal lives, our families, our nations, or our civilizations.

In stark contrast, one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace. And no wonder. Because all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit ultimately lead to peace—in our personal lives, our families, our nations, and our civilizations.

“[T]he fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

These fruit of the Holy Spirit fulfill the ideals of the Law of Moses. For “[a]gainst such things there is no [Law of Moses]. (Galatians 5:24; Matthew 5:17).

Therefore, “through the Spirit” Jews and non-Jews both “eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. . . . . The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:5-6).

How does faith in Jesus lead to these fruit of God’s Spirit? “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:24-25).

Therefore, I’ll end this blog the way Paul ended his letter to the Galatians: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.” (Galatians 6:18).

READ MORE

For additional thoughts about how God gives us grace and peace, please read my blogs “Love Overcomes Karma” and “Love Overcomes Karma—Jesus”; and the chapter “James, Peter and John Fellowship with Paul” in my book Lighting the World, at pages 73-82.