Paul’s greeting. (1.3-5)

by Kent Leslie ✉️

Grace and peace. [1.3] Grace, χάρις/háris, is a typical Greek and Roman greeting. They just meant “hello” or “greetings” by it, but it literally means “grace/favor/blessings upon you.” Peace, εἰρήνη/eiríni, is a typical Hebrew greeting, שׁלום/shalóm. They also meant “hello” by it (and still do!), and of course it literally means “Peace be unto you.”

There are gonna be Christians who over-analyze the literal meanings. And for good reason: Paul, as we can see a few places in the New Testament, was a big fan of wordplay. Sometimes he’s gonna bring up these literal meanings, and try to teach something from it. He’s gonna make puns. Full disclosure: I think puns are a really lazy form of humor. But that’s just me; some people love them, and Paul’s one of those guys.

And God does grant us grace and peace. ’Cause the gospel. Salvation. Kingdom of God. Adoption into his family. Even for gentile pagans like the Galatians! That’s all in verse 4.

Forever and ever. [1.5] Literally τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων/tus eónas ton eónon, “from age to age.”

Pharisees and ancient Christians believed there’s the present age, in which there’s evil and suffering and death in the world; and the next age, in which all that stuff comes to an end, ’cause Messiah comes to establish that age. That next age is meant to last forever.

In Revelation 20, we find the next age lasts a thousand years, as Jesus and his followers rule the world; then God establishes New Earth in Revelation 21, which really will last forever. But Jesus rules in both of those ages, so it’s kinda like one big forever age. We can debate that. Maybe when we study Revelation? Not today though.

So whenever you see English translations say “forever,” that’s kind of a shorthand for these ideas. To Jesus be the glory from age to age. In every age!