Philippians 4:23 Grace as the closing word

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit! Amen!

It cannot be missed that Paul concludes his letter with these words. So he does consistently and always (2Thes.3:17,18). It not only typifies his style of correspondence, it expresses his conclusion of everything.

Paul was called by grace (Gal.1:15). In fact, he is overwhelmed by grace from the Lord Jesus Christ (1Tim.1:14). And by grace he became who he is, and therefore he labored more than anyone else (1Cor.15:10). He is also entrusted with “the administration of the grace of God” (Eph.3:2). No one like him has put so clearly into the spotlight that all mankind shall be justified by the grace of God (Rom.3:23,24). He has heralded among the nations: the saving grace of God has appeared to all men (Titus 2:11)! Who of the Bible writers has displayed the grace of God as razor sharp and black and white as he (Rom.11:6; Gal.2:21)? Short and sweet: no concept characterizes Paul so much as…grace.

One could not think of a more apt conclusion to this very letter. Rivals in the field wanted to Judaize the Philippians so that they might “glory in the flesh” (3:1-4). What but “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” is the answer to that?

Delen: