The Grace that Saves Us
Monday’s Verse:
From Philemon 1:3 NIV
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul is not a man of many words. Even in his greetings, the gospel is at work. “Grace to you and peace…” is not simply a polite, “How are you doing?” It is a declaration of the everyday things that make us Christians—the grace of God and the peace that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul writes this letter to Philemon, a wealthy man in the early church, about Onesimus, a runaway slave. There is tension baked into this situation on all sorts of levels: power, property, forgiveness, justice, you name it. But before Paul gets into any of it, before he makes a single request, he hammers his readers—both Philemon and Onesimus—in this: What they have in common. Grace and peace. These are not fuzzy, religious-sounding words. Grace is the specific work of God in and through Christ—God’s undeserved favor, lavished upon us. Peace is what flows from that—reconciliation with God, and therefore, reconciliation with each other.
In Christ, Philemon and Onesimus are no longer master and slave; they are brothers (v. 16). That’s the radical unity that Paul has his finger on. He starts with the basics. “Grace to you and peace.” We say those words every Sunday because we need the reminder every week. Politics, personality, or preference do not hold us together—but by Christ.
In the Lutheran tradition, we don’t ignore the elephant in the room or pretend that differences don’t matter. But we return again and again to the grace that saves us, and the peace that binds us.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the grace and peace that come only from You. Help us to live in that unity—not just in word, but in action. Where there is division, bring Your peace. Where there is pride, bring humility. Where there is hurt, bring healing. Unite us as one body, forgiven and free in You. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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