Grace

Philemon 25

25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Ephesians 2:8-9 AMPC

For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favour) that you are saved ( delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; [9] Not because of works [not the fulfilment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

Believing in Jesus means living always as grateful people.

We are receivers of the most precious gift of all - grace!

We have received what we didn't deserve.

Jesus has forgiven us although we deserved judgement and punishment.

We are destined for eternal life. "Death" has become a doorway to Heaven and not a dreaded highway to Hell!

All of this is not of our doing, there is no place for works or fleshly pride.

Grace streams from Jesus into our spirits and must evermore dwell there.

The book of Philemon is a tiny letter in the New Testament, which is there to teach us how grace received must extend outwards to others.

It's a beautiful cleansing river which must freely flow outwards to others in order to demonstrate its power!

Onesimus was Philemon's runaway slave, who had met Paul and become a fellow believer in Jesus.

Paul is now asking Philemon to extend grace to Onesimus and receive him back, not as a slave, but as a beloved brother.

As followers of Jesus, our actions are meant to mirror Christ's grace so that others can receive the same forgiveness that we enjoy!

This is a great challenge in every day life.

It's one that we cannot do in our own strength.

As Paul ends his letter:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, so may it be with us - more and more!