Grace....Philippians 4:21-23

Hiking the Rogue River Trail, Oregon 2013

Scripture:
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. 
All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.   -Philippians 4:21-23, NASB

Observation:
-Love the sense of community expressed.
-Paul has been able to promote the gospel in Rome, even to Caesar's household.
-Paul closes this letter with the reminder of the grace we have been given.

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Application:
Well, here we are at the end of Philippians.  Paul has had a lot to say to us through this letter.  It is no wonder that he closes with these final words,  "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."  Grace.  Because of the gift of grace we have through Jesus we have been changed.  That grace should lead us to love one another, to share our burdens, to be content, to promote the gospel, to live in harmony.  It is by grace that we have been given access to God the Father.  We are safe from anything the world can throw at us.   Our citizenship is in heaven.   Wars and rumors of wars should not cause us to waiver in our faith.  Government shutdowns/slimdowns are not cause for worry.  
It strikes me this morning as I look back over my posts on Philippians that Paul did not even call upon them to win the culture wars of their day.   He reminded them of their position in Christ and of the power of the gospel.   He reminded them to stand firm and conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, in now way alarmed by their opponents.  He reminded them that for Christ's sake they would suffer for their belief.  He reminded them that they lived in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (as do we) and they were to appear as lights in the world.  He reminded them that God was completing a good work in them.  He reminded them of their eternal goal.  It is by grace that Paul can say, "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (3:13-14)

Grace-the marvelous bookends of this letter from Paul.  He begins with grace and ends grace.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1:2)
For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. (1:7)  And in the middle he rejoices in all that God has done and will accomplish through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Oh His amazing grace-how sweet the sound.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
Deb