Much More Than I Deserve

One of my friends always answers my question – “How are you?” – with, “Better, man. Much more than I deserve.” Another friend answers the same question with, “By God’s goodness and mercy, I am doing well.” A third friend, “I shouldn’t be saved, but here I am: purified and holy.” People have unique greetings in speeches or writings.

Paul’s standard Greeting is:

“Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus be with you,” which occurs in all his letters (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:2; Phlm 1:3; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; and Titus 1:4).

To Timothy alone, he added “mercy” to grace and peace; perhaps Timothy needed to be reminded of God’s mercy in his life.

Grace (charis) has many meanings in the New Testament. But one of them gives vivid imagery:

“The payment or wages to a worker is not charis but an obligation.” (Rom 4:4)

Imagine we hired a plumber to fix our kitchen sink, and she charged us $45. As we hand her the money, we say, “Here’s a gift for you,” she would look at us puzzled and perhaps laugh. That $45 is her wage, and we are obligated to pay that. But if we were to give her $55 and say, “I’ve added a tip or gift in addition to your wages,” she would thank us. Similarly, if we give to her friend, who came along and stood and watched her work, $20. She would understand that as a gift, a charis, not an obligation. Grace can often be translated as a gift, something we didn’t expect but received.

Peace is ending an enmity, imagined or real, between two. The apostles see God sending his Son to die so that he could resurrect him and reverse Adam bringing death into the world as an act of peace. God takes the initiative to reconcile himself with the world (2 Cor 5:14–15, 18–19).

After introducing himself and the audience and talking about the work of God/Father, Son, and Spirit in salvation, Peter gave a similar greeting to Paul:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” (1 Pet 1:2)

Since he had already talked about God/Father, Son, and Spirit involved in purifying them, he didn’t include the sources of this grace and peace. Of course, they were from God/Father, Son, and Spirit – those three involved in preplanning, carrying out the task, and purifying Peter’s audience.

But Peter’s request or blessing was grace and peace multiplied to them. This verb was commonly used for sins increasing (Matt 24:12), people multiplying (Acts 7:17), the number of Christians increasingly added to the church (Acts 6:1), and the gospel spreading rapidly (Acts 6:7; 9:31). Peter wanted the grace and peace that his audience received to keep on multiplying in their lives. Most likely, he meant that God’s grace and peace reigned in their lives, and how they showed grace and peace to others also multiplied. They were the recipients and the givers of grace and peace.

The same is true of us: we who received an abundance of God’s grace (gifts) and peace (reconciliation) must extend the same to others. We should quickly forgive others’ shortcomings and reconcile when divisions arise. Then we live a life that reflects the truth that we’ve been granted more grace and peace than we deserve.