Pastor Adam Gomez
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Scripture: Ephesians 1:2
Topic: "Grace and Peace"
In Ephesians 1:1–14, we discover eleven profound gifts that God gives us:
He gives us grace in verse two, and in the same verse, He gives us peace. In verse three, He blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Verse four speaks of election, showing that He chose us, while verse five reveals our adoption as He predestined us. Moving to verse six, we see our acceptance as He accepted us. In verse seven, we receive redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Verse nine highlights wisdom and understanding as He made known to us the mystery of His will. Verse eleven assures us of an eternal inheritance that we have obtained, and verse thirteen promises the Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee, marking us with the Holy Spirit of promise.
This morning we are going to discuss the first two of God’s gifts to us, grace and peace.
We need grace in a world that is so demanding. Our world demands our time. There is hardly a minute of our day when we are not expected to be doing something for someone other than ourselves. We are people on the go. We set our alarms, which are not gracious to us, and they demand we wake up at a certain time; we set our schedules, squeezing another appointment into an empty slot. Our calendars are not gracious, but they keep us efficient like good Americans.
The Declaration of Independence gives us the right, as Americans, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the pursuit of happiness has been translated to the pursuit of wealth. In turn, our employers are not very gracious to us, wanting more out of us with less pay and benefits.
I can’t think of anything more important that we need in our lives today than God’s grace and peace. We need God’s grace for us. We need God’s grace for each other. We need God’s grace for our circumstances.
What Is Grace?
Grace is God’s unmerited favor. God’s grace cannot be earned, and it is not deserved. It cannot be repaid. Rather, God’s grace is a reflection of His kindness and goodness toward us. We receive God’s grace not because of anything we have done to earn or prompt it, but simply because He values us, delights in us, and chooses to show us favor.
God displays His grace to us in several key ways.
1. God Displays His Grace to Us Through Salvation
God demonstrated His unmerited favor by sending Jesus to pay the price for our sins, allowing us to be forgiven and declared righteous.
Depending on your religious upbringing, you may have been exposed to a system of religion that taught that it is God’s grace plus some merit of our own that saves us. The problem with such an understanding of God’s grace is that it requires the recipient of God’s grace to make themselves spiritually fit to not only receive God’s grace for salvation, but then to grow in God’s grace through good works.
So, should we, as believers, enjoy a life of willful sin? First of all, if you are a true believer, filled with the Spirit of God, it will be impossible for you to actually accomplish such a lifestyle. The apostle Paul clears up the issue in Romans 6:1–2 when he asks:
2. We Display God’s Grace to Each Other Through Reconciliation
God's grace restores broken relationships and gives believers the strength to forgive each other. When we give grace to another person, it reflects our kindness and goodness towards them in spite of their inability to do anything that prompts us to give them grace.
When we are gracious to each other, we are benevolent, forgiving, and free from vengeance in our hearts. We become happy, content, calm, relaxed towards each other, and inviting. As Spirit-filled individuals, giving grace to each other should be very natural.
You might ask, “What about my enemies or perceived enemies who will never repent?” You must have enemy love!
3. God Displays His Sustaining Grace Through Divine Perseverance
God’s grace provides encouragement and strength and gives us wisdom to handle trials.
God’s grace meets us in the midst of our rainy days and dark nights. It holds us up when everything and everyone in our lives have let us down. God’s grace keeps us moving forward when we are on the verge of quitting. In times of crushing hardship, deep confusion, or imminent danger, it is God’s grace that carries us through.
Consider the Apostle Paul’s thorn in the flesh:
By God’s sovereign will, a thorn in the flesh was given to Paul. Paul asked the Lord three times to remove it, but God’s answer to Paul was, “My grace is sufficient for you!”
What is your thorn in the flesh? You ask the Lord to remove it, but He doesn’t. You ask again and again, but He says to you, “My grace is sufficient for you!” God’s grace not only allows us to accept our figurative thorn in the flesh, but His grace also prevents us from growing bitter, resentful, embittered, or becoming angry towards God because of it. God’s grace gives us sustaining strength—divine perseverance—through life’s trials.
Throughout the New Testament, grace always comes first—it is the source, while peace is the outcome. Grace is the ship that moves us, and peace is the anchor that holds us steady.
What Is the Peace of God?
The Greek word used in this verse for peace is eirēnē. If your name is Irene, your name means peace. The word gives the idea of a state of tranquility. Other words that can be associated with the word peace as it is used here are security, safety, prosperity, and felicity, which refers to intense happiness or bliss.
For the Christian, the word peace in this verse denotes a tranquil state of the soul, fearing nothing from God and content with one’s earthly lot, whatever that might be.
In John 16:33, Jesus reminds us, “…In the world you will have tribulation…” We’ve all been through life’s storms.
The world gives its peace sparingly, temporarily, and with conditions. In contrast, God gives His peace abundantly, generously, and unconditionally.
The Apostle Peter writes in his epistle:
Peter wished the saints an exponential explosion of grace and peace! He does not only wish that grace and peace merely trickle into their lives, but that they be multiplied—compounded, amplified, increased, and intensified. In 2 Peter 1:2, plēthynō speaks of a vibrant, never-ending increase—an overwhelming wave of grace and peace that keeps expanding.
The peace that surpasses all understanding is displayed in a person who is anchored in the midst of a storm. God’s peace is rooted in His character, His presence, His promises, and His sovereignty. God’s peace surpasses human understanding.
Ephesians 1:1–2 (NKJV)
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Scripture: Ephesians 1:2
Topic: "Grace and Peace"
In Ephesians 1:1–14, we discover eleven profound gifts that God gives us:
He gives us grace in verse two, and in the same verse, He gives us peace. In verse three, He blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Verse four speaks of election, showing that He chose us, while verse five reveals our adoption as He predestined us. Moving to verse six, we see our acceptance as He accepted us. In verse seven, we receive redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Verse nine highlights wisdom and understanding as He made known to us the mystery of His will. Verse eleven assures us of an eternal inheritance that we have obtained, and verse thirteen promises the Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee, marking us with the Holy Spirit of promise.
This morning we are going to discuss the first two of God’s gifts to us, grace and peace.
We need grace in a world that is so demanding. Our world demands our time. There is hardly a minute of our day when we are not expected to be doing something for someone other than ourselves. We are people on the go. We set our alarms, which are not gracious to us, and they demand we wake up at a certain time; we set our schedules, squeezing another appointment into an empty slot. Our calendars are not gracious, but they keep us efficient like good Americans.
The Declaration of Independence gives us the right, as Americans, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But the pursuit of happiness has been translated to the pursuit of wealth. In turn, our employers are not very gracious to us, wanting more out of us with less pay and benefits.
I can’t think of anything more important that we need in our lives today than God’s grace and peace. We need God’s grace for us. We need God’s grace for each other. We need God’s grace for our circumstances.
Ephesians 1:1–2 (NKJV)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
What Is Grace?
Grace is God’s unmerited favor. God’s grace cannot be earned, and it is not deserved. It cannot be repaid. Rather, God’s grace is a reflection of His kindness and goodness toward us. We receive God’s grace not because of anything we have done to earn or prompt it, but simply because He values us, delights in us, and chooses to show us favor.
God displays His grace to us in several key ways.
1. God Displays His Grace to Us Through Salvation
God demonstrated His unmerited favor by sending Jesus to pay the price for our sins, allowing us to be forgiven and declared righteous.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Depending on your religious upbringing, you may have been exposed to a system of religion that taught that it is God’s grace plus some merit of our own that saves us. The problem with such an understanding of God’s grace is that it requires the recipient of God’s grace to make themselves spiritually fit to not only receive God’s grace for salvation, but then to grow in God’s grace through good works.
Romans 11:6 (NKJV)
“…And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.”
So, should we, as believers, enjoy a life of willful sin? First of all, if you are a true believer, filled with the Spirit of God, it will be impossible for you to actually accomplish such a lifestyle. The apostle Paul clears up the issue in Romans 6:1–2 when he asks:
Romans 6:1–2 (NKJV)
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!”
2. We Display God’s Grace to Each Other Through Reconciliation
God's grace restores broken relationships and gives believers the strength to forgive each other. When we give grace to another person, it reflects our kindness and goodness towards them in spite of their inability to do anything that prompts us to give them grace.
When we are gracious to each other, we are benevolent, forgiving, and free from vengeance in our hearts. We become happy, content, calm, relaxed towards each other, and inviting. As Spirit-filled individuals, giving grace to each other should be very natural.
Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)
“…be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Colossians 3:12–13 (NKJV)
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.”
You might ask, “What about my enemies or perceived enemies who will never repent?” You must have enemy love!
Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”
3. God Displays His Sustaining Grace Through Divine Perseverance
God’s grace provides encouragement and strength and gives us wisdom to handle trials.
God’s grace meets us in the midst of our rainy days and dark nights. It holds us up when everything and everyone in our lives have let us down. God’s grace keeps us moving forward when we are on the verge of quitting. In times of crushing hardship, deep confusion, or imminent danger, it is God’s grace that carries us through.
Consider the Apostle Paul’s thorn in the flesh:
2 Corinthians 12:7–9 (NKJV)
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’”
By God’s sovereign will, a thorn in the flesh was given to Paul. Paul asked the Lord three times to remove it, but God’s answer to Paul was, “My grace is sufficient for you!”
What is your thorn in the flesh? You ask the Lord to remove it, but He doesn’t. You ask again and again, but He says to you, “My grace is sufficient for you!” God’s grace not only allows us to accept our figurative thorn in the flesh, but His grace also prevents us from growing bitter, resentful, embittered, or becoming angry towards God because of it. God’s grace gives us sustaining strength—divine perseverance—through life’s trials.
Throughout the New Testament, grace always comes first—it is the source, while peace is the outcome. Grace is the ship that moves us, and peace is the anchor that holds us steady.
What Is the Peace of God?
The Greek word used in this verse for peace is eirēnē. If your name is Irene, your name means peace. The word gives the idea of a state of tranquility. Other words that can be associated with the word peace as it is used here are security, safety, prosperity, and felicity, which refers to intense happiness or bliss.
For the Christian, the word peace in this verse denotes a tranquil state of the soul, fearing nothing from God and content with one’s earthly lot, whatever that might be.
In John 16:33, Jesus reminds us, “…In the world you will have tribulation…” We’ve all been through life’s storms.
John 14:27 (NKJV)
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The world gives its peace sparingly, temporarily, and with conditions. In contrast, God gives His peace abundantly, generously, and unconditionally.
The Apostle Peter writes in his epistle:
2 Peter 1:2 (NKJV)
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
Peter wished the saints an exponential explosion of grace and peace! He does not only wish that grace and peace merely trickle into their lives, but that they be multiplied—compounded, amplified, increased, and intensified. In 2 Peter 1:2, plēthynō speaks of a vibrant, never-ending increase—an overwhelming wave of grace and peace that keeps expanding.
Philippians 4:7 (NKJV)
“…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The peace that surpasses all understanding is displayed in a person who is anchored in the midst of a storm. God’s peace is rooted in His character, His presence, His promises, and His sovereignty. God’s peace surpasses human understanding.
Ephesians 1:1–2 (NKJV)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Crossroads Church of Denver
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