Considering Our Future with Christ

11/05/23 – 11/14/23

Grace and Peace

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  11/07/23

In the greeting to the churches in Revelation 1:4-5, the Lord Jesus pronounces grace and peace. In all the writings of the New Testament, it is always grace and peace. Have you ever asked yourself why none of them would write peace and then grace? No one can ever have the peace of God before receiving the grace of God. Only the grace of God through Jesus Christ can give you peace—true peace that reigns even in the midst of turmoil and the difficult times of life.

It is because of grace that we have had peace, have it now, and will have peace forever. If we confess Jesus as our Savior, that we are sinners saved only by His atoning blood, then we have had peace imparted to us. As God’s Word says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). We are now at peace with God because we have been made righteous in His sight: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The grace of Jesus has established peace not only between God and us but also among us. We can have peace in our relationships as we walk in the Spirit of the Lord. We can extend grace and forgiveness to one another in the present, remembering and experiencing now the grace and peace we have with God.

And we look forward to a day when that peace will be made complete and perfect for eternity. Peace will be forever. Shalom will be restored—wholeness will be all we know, for there will be no more crying or tears or pain or brokenness because the old order of things will have passed away (see Revelation 21:4). Are you ready for that day? Are you resting in the grace and peace of the Lord yesterday, today, and forever?

Prayer: God, I praise You for the grace and peace You have given to me. Help me to own it in the present in my relationships with You and others as I anticipate my future in the glory of Christ. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).