The letters from the early apostles that are recorded in Scripture were written to be read aloud to the believers who received them. As these letters were read aloud, the powerful blessings contained in these letters would be spoken over the believers who received them.
In these letters to the early Christians, the apostles sent one blessing more often than any other that was to be spoken over the believers. These blessings delivered powerful impartations of grace to the believers who received them.
But why was grace the most common blessing that was spoken by the early apostles? Why was it more important for the believers to receive blessings of grace more than anything else?
Here are some of those blessings:
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”—Romans 16:20 (KJV)
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”—Romans 16:24 (KJV)
“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 1:3 (KJV)
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”—1 Corinthians 16:23 (KJV)
**“Grace **be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”—2 Corinthians 1:2 (KJV)
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”—2 Corinthians 13:14 (KJV)
**“Grace **be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ”—Galatians 1:3 (KJV)
“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”—Galatians 6:18 (KJV)
**“Grace **be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Ephesians 1:2 (KJV)
“Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”—Ephesians 6:24 (KJV)
**“Grace **be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Philippians 1:2 (KJV)
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”— Philippians 4:23 (KJV)
“To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Colossians 1:2 (KJV)
“The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.”—Colossians 4:18 (KJV)
“Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Thessalonians 1:1 (KJV)
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”—1 Thessalonians 5:28 (KJV)
**“Grace **unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”—2 Thessalonians 1:2 (KJV)
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”—2 Thessalonians 3:18 (KJV)
“Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”—1 Timothy 1:2 (KJV)
“Grace be with thee. Amen.”—1 Timothy 6:21 (KJV)
“Grace be with you. Amen.”—2 Timothy 4:22 (KJV)
“To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”—Titus 1:4 (KJV)
“To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”—2 Timothy 1:2 (KJV)
“All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.”—Titus 3:15 (KJV)
**“Grace **to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Philemon 1:3 (KJV)
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”—Philemon 1:25 (KJV)
“Grace be with you all. Amen.”—Hebrews 13:25 (KJV)
“Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”—1 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”—1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)
**“Grace **and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord”— 2 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
“Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”—2 John 1:3 (KJV)
“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne”—Revelation 1:4 (KJV)
The Bible closes with this blessing:
“The **grace **of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”—Revelation 22:21 (KJV)
Grace is the most important thing that we can ask God for. Grace is what we need more than anything else in life. Grace empowers us to fulfill the will of God for our lives.
“And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”— 2 Corinthians 9:14-15 (NLT)
How Grace Empowers You
Grace gives us the desire (motivation), the power, and the ability to do God’s will.
“[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.”—Philippians 2:13 (AMPC)
Said more simply,
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”—Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
Paul’s Testimony
Paul describes how God’s grace enabled him to become possibly the greatest apostle of the early Church.
“By God’s special gift of grace, I became a servant to tell that Good News. God gave me that grace through his power. I am the least important of all God’s people. But God gave me this gift—to tell the non-Jewish people the Good News about the riches of Christ. Those riches are too great to understand fully.”—Ephesians 3:7-8 (ICB)
“But God’s grace has made me what I am. And his grace to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)”—1 Corinthians 15:10 (ICB)
“It is through Him that we have received grace and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the Gentiles”—Romans 1:5 (AMP)
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”—1 Timothy 1:12-14 (NKJV)
It was through God’s grace that Paul received the messages that he shared with the churches that he oversaw. When he wrote and spoke to the believers, he was inspired and guided by the grace of God.
“For I say, **through the grace given unto me,**to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”—Romans 12:3 (KJV)
“But I’ve written to you in a sort of daring way, partly to remind you of what you already know. I’m writing to you in this way because of the grace that was given to me by God.”—Romans 15:15 (CEB)
God’s grace guided Paul as he built up the churches and the individual believers through his discipleship efforts.
“According to the grace (the special endowment for my task) of God bestowed on me, like a skillful architect and master builder I laid [the] foundation, and now another [man] is building upon it.”—1 Corinthians 3:10 (AMPC)
“We have conducted ourselves with godly sincerity and pure motives in the world, and especially toward you. This is why we are confident, and our conscience confirms this. We didn’t act with human wisdom but we relied on the grace of God.”—2 Corinthians 1:12 (CEB)
The Life of Jesus
Jesus was no exception. Jesus is our model. While He was here on earth in human form, it was grace that enabled Him to fulfill His purposes in life.
“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”—Luke 2:40 (NKJV)
What Grace Does for You
God’s grace will do the same thing for you as it did for Jesus and the apostles, enabling you to fulfill His great purposes for your life!
“who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”—2 Timothy 1:9 (NKJV)
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”—Hebrews 12:28 (NKJV)
“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”—2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT)
If we are going to have any hope of fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives and to reap the rewards that God has prepared for us, we must be empowered by His grace.
“I’m now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.”—Acts 20:32 (ISV)
Our Gifts Come from the Grace Given to Us
God’s grace does not look the same in every believer. God’s grace is personalized for each one of us. Through God’s grace, each one of us receives the gifts that we need in order to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives.
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”—Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)
“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.”—1 Corinthians 1:4-7 (NIV)
God’s grace is given to all of us. To some is given the grace to be an apostle, to others, grace to become prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and to function in other gifts. Grace is expressed in our gifts.
“But each one of us has received a gift of grace. These gifts are given to us by Christ. That is why Scripture says,
‘When he went up to his place on high, he took many prisoners. He gave gifts to his people.’ (Psalm 68:18)
… So Christ himself gave the gift of the apostles to the church. He gave the prophets and those who preach the good news. And he also gave the pastors and teachers as a gift to the church.”—Ephesians 4:7-11 (NIRV)
“Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other.”—1 Peter 4:10 (ICB)
“All these things are for your benefit. As grace increases to benefit more and more people, it will cause gratitude to increase, which results in God’s glory.”—2 Corinthians 4:15 (CEB)
Grace Empowers You to Respond in Christlike Love
“Our friends, we want you to know what God’s grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor. I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will they begged us and pleaded for the privilege of having a part in helping God’s people in Judea. It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God’s will they gave themselves to us as well. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
“Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”—2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (GNT)
Grace for Married Couples
God gives married couples unifying grace that empowers them to fulfill their joint purpose as a couple.
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”—1 Peter 3:7 (ESV)
More than anything else that we could ask God to gives us, we desperately need his grace to guide us, to motivate us, and to give us the strength and the ability to do His will in all circumstances.
