May His Love And Peace Be With You

Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:23-24

What do you think when you hear a benediction? When the pastor pronounces one, it indicates the end of the service. Some people can’t wait for that moment.

They often serve as the final word in a church service, a banquet, and funerals. But, they are more than your cue to gather your belongings as you prepare to walk out the door.

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The Bible contains many benedictions that speak words of peace and love. They also include blessings of all sorts. Let’s take a look at some of the more common ones.

May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord instructed Moses for Aaron and his sons bless the people with that blessing. When they did it in His name, God said, “I myself will bless them.”

Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

If you quickly read over that one in Hebrews, let’s pause and digest what it says. May God, who sacrificed His Son for us, equip us for His will, and empower us to please Him.

Grace, Peace, and Love for You

Next, we’ll examine the Benediction of the Apostle Paul’s final greeting to the Corinthian church. He uniquely included a blessing from each part of the Trinity.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Many benedictions speak directly to those hearing it. Instead of speaking straight to the Roman Church, Paul asked God to give them His joy, peace, and hope.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

In Ephesians, Paul addressed many topics. He covered the relationships between husbands and wives, children and parents, and workers and employers.

Before his final greeting and Benediction, he encouraged the church to put on the armor of God. He described each piece after he named them. His Benediction contained three blessings.

The Ephesians Blessing

The first blessing of “Peace be with you” expresses the peace of God that the world doesn’t understand. Telling someone, “Peace be with you,” invites the God of peace to go with them.

This peace spoken about by Paul can cut through the daily chaos we rub shoulders with. So, how can Christians face stressful times without any anxiety or worry? By the peace of God.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

After Paul said peace be with you, he continued with the next blessing. “May God the Father and the Lord Jesus give us love with faithfulness.”

Everything the Lord does for us has love stirred into it because God is love. Jesus proved His love to us when He went to the cross for the forgiveness of sins. John wrote the following.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 1 John 4:9

The Benediction, written in Ephesians, includes the phrase “with faithfulness.” He didn’t need to add it because God is always faithful. He proved His faithful love in the next verse of 1 John 4.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10

When we receive the second part of Paul’s blessing, we can’t lose. God, in His faithfulness, loved us enough to send His Son. Jesus loved us enough by wilfully offering Himself as our sacrifice.

God’s Eternal Grace

The last sentence in Ephesians talks about the grace of God. “May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.” Every living person can take advantage of God’s grace.

Every person, though, doesn’t rely on the grace of God. Therefore, the apostle didn’t direct this blessing to every person on the earth. He said for God’s grace be upon those who love Jesus.

May God’s grace be upon you. Not just for today or tomorrow or when we feel like worshiping God or when we’re nice to people. No! He makes His grace available for all eternity.

Our emotions continually jump in different directions. Sometimes, we have good moments; other times, we experience not-so-good moments. Our lives weave in and out of sinful episodes.

Fortunately, His peace, love, and grace don’t hinge on our emotions. Because of His faithfulness, He has planted them in His deep and unwavering commitment to His Word and promises.

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! Psalm 36:5-7

The Apostle Paul has pronounced the following for all who read these last two verses. Peace with you, the faithful love of God, and His grace for eternity. Why don’t YOU pray it one more time?

Peace be with YOU, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give YOU love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon YOU who love our Lord Jesus Christ.