Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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Christ Is God
Chapter 20 – The Greetings in the Letters
I’ve mentioned the importance of the greetings (salutations) in the apostles’ letters (epistles). In this chapter, I’ll list one from each letter of the New Testament. Scan them and see for yourself how consistent a picture of God and Christ they present. And keep in mind that this picture portrays both pre-creation and post-resurrection realities.
Romans 1:7 …Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
1 Thessalonians 1:1 …To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
2 Thessalonians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 1:2 …Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:2 …Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Titus 1:4 …Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
Hebrews 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
James 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…
2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—
1 John 1:2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us–
1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
2 John 1:3 Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
3 John, the smallest of all the New Testament texts, is the only letter that does not carry a greeting line from God and Christ. But even this tells us something…because it does not carry a greeting line from God only or from Christ only either. So, even in this little letter, there is no departure from the pairing of the two.
Jude 1:1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth…
These salutations were not copy-and-paste text that the authors mindlessly included in their letters. They carried profound importance. They nourished the faith of those who believed that Jesus was more than a man – and that, by the will of God, He truly had overcome the curse of death.
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