May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
This is no mere politeness on the part of Paul, it is not some trite saying like ‘Dear Corinthians’, rather it expresses Paul’s deepest longing for these new and troubled believers in Corinth. To be aware of and experience God’s grace, his unmerited favour, and to enjoy the peace that God brings into our lives, is to be blessed beyond all measure.
It is not just the world around us that is being torn apart by strife and bloody warfare, our inner beings are assaulted and seduced by evil and sometimes this leaves us dejected or fearful. While the world around us may cry out for peace in the Middle East or the Korean Peninsula, what we find we need is peace within, a peace that transcends human peace negotiations and treaties. Individual believers and indeed the whole church in Corinth was struggling with sin and its consequences; lives were being disrupted and spoilt; their witness to the healing grace of Jesus was being clouded and huge changes were needed in the way they lived and worshipped together. Nothing was more necessary than God’s grace and peace in their lives.
The needs remain today. Use this same brief prayer for our life together in Beeding.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give us grace and peace. AMEN