We'll come back this afternoon to Philippians and the first chapter. Look again at that verse that we were considering this morning, this salutation in the pre-script of the letter, wherein Paul says to these saints in Christ Jesus, who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons, verse two, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We considered something of the form of these words in general this morning, noting that these are words that were common to both Greeks and Jews that Paul uses, and yet in the usage of them, he exalts them and brings them to a height wherein in the very words themselves is contained all that is necessary in the Christian life. We also noted in that that by the very language that he uses, grace to you and peace. It is the apostle who has been commissioned under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to carry out a special mission. mission and message, and therefore, as it comes, this is not a wishful desire, this is not merely a prayer, this is not him usurping some kind of authority. He stands, he writes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace, conferring the very things that he's writing. Then we looked at what grace is, both in the conception of the Christian life, but also as we go through the Christian life, and then what peace is, again, the foundation within that peace as we go through the Christian life. Well, we do well now to consider in this salutation not only the meaning of this grace and peace, but the source of it also, the source of grace and peace. And here is where I have been praying as I have prepared this and thought about it. Here's where the hope of this blessing is solidified and becomes a reality when we consider what follows the words of grace and peace. If this was merely Paul saying grace and peace, then what hope, brethren, would we have? We wouldn't have any. Paul's in prison. He's shackled and he's chained to Roman cards. His limitations are on full display. But this promise of the riches of grace and peace conferred is not coming from Paul. It's coming from another source. And that which follows is meant to convey several things to our hearts and to our minds, to their hearts and to their minds, and then through them, our hearts and minds. So firstly, And by the way, there are many things that could be drawn out from this language. I am being purposely selective in what I'm drawing out for time's sake, but also because I know that there's far more in these words than I can cover in one or even many messages. So I'm being selective here. But as we think about the source, I want us to think in specific terms, or ways. Firstly, this. What he says, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, is meant to convey that that which is promised, grace and peace, is coming from Him who is boundless. Someone who cannot be bound, like Paul, by the limitations of space. Someone who cannot be bound by the limitations of time or the limitations of the weakness of the human body. But someone who is infinite. Someone who is eternal. It is grace and peace, he says, from God. In Him, there is no lack. In Him, there is no weakness. In Him, there is no deficiency. He's not bound by circumstances. He's not subject to our weaknesses. And there is in Him the infinite storehouses of riches, the riches of grace and the riches of peace. I'm going to do something that I don't normally do. But recently I was reading again of the life and the wisdom of Joseph in Genesis and how he interpreted Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41. And I wanna use Joseph here as something of an illustration of what I mean when I say that the source of grace and peace is coming from a boundless place. So in chapter 41 of Genesis, and you can turn there if you like, keep your finger in Philippians because we'll come back. But in chapter 41 of Genesis, we find Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream. The dream that he had, I won't go through it, but basically the interpretation of that is that there is going to be in the land seven years of plenty, and then following that immediately is going to be seven years of famine, the famine being greater than the seven years of plenty. or those dreams for Pharaoh, he gives to Pharaoh a plan. And the plan was to collect one fifth of the land and to gather all the food. And we're told in verse 35 of chapter 41 to store up the grain. And it says in verse 49 of chapter 41 that Joseph, and this is very interesting language, gathered very much grain as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable." And then in verse 54, we read, The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. There was immeasurable storehouses of grain. more than the sand of the sea, more than Joseph could keep track of and count. And that immeasurable, those immeasurable storehouses of grain were enough to satisfy the hunger of all the people in Egypt over the course of that seven years and beyond. So that when Joseph's brothers come from Canaan to seek bread, they were not turned away. Not because they were Joseph's brothers, they were strangers at that point, but because there was more than enough, sufficient in these immeasurable storehouses of grain. And in chapter 43, they actually come back, his brothers actually come back again. Their supply in the land of Canaan had been exhausted, but Egypt's still had not. Now, we don't know how long it is between the first visit and the second visit, but we know it's within the span of seven years. So it could have been a few weeks, months, maybe a few years, we don't know. But what we do know is that Joseph's brothers and Jacob, his father, their supply had been exhausted again, and yet Egypt still had enough. And just as an aside, I know we're not reading all of these chapters, I'm giving you a very broad overview of them, but just as an aside, there was such an abundance that not only is Joseph able to give to them what they need to take back to the land, not once, but twice, but he's actually able, we find at the end of chapter 43, he's actually able to bring them to his home. and to present to them what would seem to be no small feast. And I find that interesting. Here they're in the midst of a terrible family, and yet Joseph not only has enough to send back home with them, but because there's no lack, he brings them to his table, and he doesn't just give them ramen noodles. Right? He gives them a feast, a feast in the midst of it. And again, I say all that to make this point, how much more the overflowing riches of God, so bountiful are the store we just sang about in that hymn 13, but so bountiful are the storehouses of His grace and peace. And Paul is able to say to the Philippians, in Philippians chapter four and verse 18, I have all, and a pound. And then he says to them, with respect to their own needs, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. grace and peace from God, the infinite, boundless one. And the from God assures the supply, right? The from God ensures the supply, but surely something else that's meant to be conveyed to them in this is not just his bounty, but also his benevolence. God has everything that we need. We can see that. We can point that out in so many different ways. But when he says grace and peace from God, it's not only to conjure up in our minds this infinite, boundless God who is able our lives and is able to meet and supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. But it is also to conjure up in our minds the benevolence of this great and infinite and boundless God. Going back to Joseph, it would have been one thing for there to have been an immeasurable, immeasurable resources of grain in Egypt. But what is all that? to those who are in need if there's no benevolence, Joseph could have withheld it. And even more so when he recognized who it was that was coming to get it. You're not just some strangers that I've never met, but then it dawns upon them. These are those brothers of mine. Those wicked brothers who hated me and who despised me and who would have killed me and who sold me into slavery. He recognizes that. Joseph could have withheld it in light of that. But he didn't. He didn't. He acted graciously and benevolently and I say all that, again, using a man as an illustration to then come back to God. How much greater is God than Joseph? God is not only an infinite God full of riches, but he's a gracious God. Far beyond our comprehension, really. You have no idea. You think you've tasted of the grace of God? You have no idea how gracious he is. He proves this to us every day. I just want us, and for you younger guys, for you children, I want you to think about this. This is important for your life. God proves to us every day how gracious he is. He's the one who gives, life, breath, and all things to all people, even to those who spurn him, even to those who think nothing of him, even to those who hate him, even to those who shake their fist boldly, foolishly in his face. He graciously and undeservedly does good. He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, the Lord Jesus said. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust and we can see that from nature itself. It testifies that very thing of the bounteous benevolence of the Almighty God to the good and to the evil, even as wicked man goes on in his rebellion, railing against his creator. God goes on in his kindness day after day after day, not leaving himself without a witness, doing good, giving rain, giving fruitful seasons, filling our over the last couple of days that we needed so desperately. It didn't just fall on the house of the saints. It didn't just fall in the fields of the godly. So, these places, men and women, were in such a drunken stupor that they couldn't even get out of their beds. God have his grace. filling our hearts with food and gladness, not giving us what we deserve, but rather supplying us with that which is necessary to prove His benevolence. Just look around you. Think about the food that you enjoy. Think about the table that you sit at, the food that you eat. That's God's benevolence. Even when we are not thinking of Him, We're told by Paul in Romans chapter two and verse four, even that benevolence, the riches of his goodness, his forbearance, his long suffering over and over again, he does that so that perhaps we might be led by it to repent. He gives rain and he gives sun and he provides the ungodly with all of these things and he's long suffering to the ungodly and those who wickedly rebel against him so that in the giving, in the benevolence, in the outstretched hand, there might be a witness that would say, come to me sinner. See how great and good I am and how much you need me, repent. very call to repent is an evidence of his goodness and benevolence and grace that he would even say to you, you are dying in your trespasses and sins. You will perish. Repent. That's a goodness of God. He's proven this even more. not only by all of these things, and not only by the calls to repentance in the midst of all of this goodness that He lavishes upon us, but He's proven it even more by giving His only begotten Son. This is why John 3, 16 is such a wonderful and beautiful verse that is so repeated throughout the history of the church over and over. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I mean, how much more benevolent can he show himself to be? He spared not his own son. That's what we're told. I'm gonna read to you what Romans 5 says. This is what he says, Romans chapter 5. When we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Scarcely for a righteous man, one will die. Yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And then notice what he goes on to say here, which I think is so beautiful. Much more than Having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the Son, He said, will freely give us all things. If God will show himself to the wicked to be so benevolent in this way, in the goodness lavished upon us day by day, in the calls to repentance, in the giving up of his son. And Paul says, in light of all of that, if he would do that, How much more then will he not freely give to us all things that we have need of in the Christian life, grace and peace, Paul says in the salutation, from our father. From our father. Remember Psalm 103, Psalm 103 says, it's been so instructive to my own heart as I think about my children. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear him, for he knows our frayed breath. He remembers that we are dust. I say to us, saints, shame on us forever, never doubting any of his goodness and his kindness and his benevolence and his love towards his people. You know how much he loves you. Do you know what it is that he's given for your sake? Do you know how he looks upon you and pities you in all of his benevolence and remembers what you are and has dispensed grace and peace according to you? But Paul doesn't stop at this. He would have us here in Philippians and elsewhere, he would have us to go on in our thinking to know that it's not only at first, I say that not only at first from God our Father. And the reason I say first is because so often we could think of God as this God who's full of wrath. God behind the wrath and behind the sending of the Lord Jesus Christ is a motive of love and of benevolence. Paul would have us to think like that, but then to go on and to give thought not only to the benevolence and the bounty of God, our father, but that he would have us to think upon the Lord Jesus Christ, that we have the good hope of grace and peace conferred, not only through a bountiful father, not only through, excuse me, a bountiful God, not only through a benevolent father, but we have the good hope of grace and peace being conferred by the one that he refers to as the Lord Jesus Christ. And all three of those titles are packed so full of meaning, I'm not even gonna try to unpack them. I just simply wanna make this one point. When he says the Lord Jesus Christ, what he has in mind is the one to whom is given the preeminence and the sovereignty. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes this when he writes to the Colossians, Colossians chapter one, speaking of Christ, the one in whom we have the forgiveness of sins, the one in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the one in whom and by whom we have been plucked from the power of darkness, conveyed into the kingdom of this sun. That one, Paul says, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him, all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence." And here again, I cannot help but refer to Joseph as a shining illustration of this for us. Notice what is said back in Genesis chapter 41, that hopefully we'll get this point across to us. There in Genesis chapter 41 in verse 40, after he tells Pharaoh the plan, Pharaoh says, that's a really good idea. And then in verse 40, he says, you shall be over my house. and all my people shall be ruled according to your word. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. And he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried out before him, bow the knee. So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "'I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, "'no man may lift his hand or his foot "'in all the land of Egypt.' "'And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphna Pionea, "'and he gave him as a wife.'" And then it talks about his wife and so on and so forth. And then in verse 46, "'Joseph was 30 years old, "'when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt, "'and Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh "'and went throughout all the land.'" of Egypt, there is an authority and a lordship that is given to Joseph by Pharaoh. Again, I use him as an illustration to say this, that so it is that God has highly exalted Christ and that he has seated him at his right hand, that he has given him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue confess those in heaven, those on earth, those under the earth, all of the rulers, all of the principalities, all of the powers, Jesus Christ all things on behalf of his church. And it's his riches in Christ that supply the saints. Genesis chapter 43, Joseph's brothers come back to him. They come back with this heaviness. They were so fearful. The guilt of what they had done to their brother began to set in upon them. That which they had done to their father lay heavy on their hearts. The uncertainty of what would happen to Benjamin as they brought him back down to Egypt confronted and it disturbed them. And then there was this whole matter, if you read the story, this whole matter of this money that had appeared in their sacks. They went down the first time, they paid the money, they go away, they open their sacks, and all their money is there. And now they're having to come back. And they're having to face the one that they're afraid they've stolen from. And they thought that when they were called into Joseph's house, this one who had so much, and here's what I'm trying to emphasize, this one who had so much authority in the land of Egypt, so much power, They thought for sure He is going to seize us. They thought they were toast. And they had every reason to think so, to be honest with you. Notice in Genesis 43 verse 19. their reasoning. When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's house, they talked with him at the door of the house and said, Oh, sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. But it happened when we came to the encampment, we opened our sacks and there each man's money was in the mouth of the sack, our money in full weight. So we brought it back in our hand. We brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks. You can hear in this the concern that they had and the fact that they wanted somehow to make it right. As a side note, I would say this as I reflected upon that. It's interesting how that man at times can even turn the benevolence of God into a cause of worry here. Joseph had done something good for them and it just resulted in some worry. But anyways, that's just as a side note. I want you to notice though, after they say this to the steward, verse 23. And as you read this, I pray that you hear the words of the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior. Verse 23. He said, peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given your treasure in your sacks. Can you imagine hearing that? How did that must have allayed their fears? How it must have calmed their troubled breasts? You don't have to be afraid. This man has just spoken real peace to us. We can let our guard down now. And here at the outset of this letter in Philippians, and all our Lord has said to us, we find the same bountifully benevolent, sovereign, authoritative words, grace to you and peace, from God our Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ. And surely as Joseph's brothers, knowing the power that this man wielded, must have been instantly calmed and comforted and strengthened So we, brethren, may rest assured all will be well. We're told that they sat with him and that they ate and that they were merry. Well, I would say it this way. The Lord Jesus Christ, our brother, has filled our sacks with grace and peace and has spread before us a feast wherein we may sit at his feet and rest. That brings me then in the last place to this. What was to be the effect of all of this upon these believers and by us, or the effect upon us by extension? This is very important. So I know it's late in the afternoon and I do need to wrap up, but this is very important. What is this supposed to mean to us? Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And the first is this, I would say, They were to experientially partake of this grace. He's filled our sacks. That's already been hinted at. I've already spoken of it earlier today, but I want to bear down on it just a little bit. I said just a moment ago with Joseph's brothers, Genesis 43, 34, so they drank and were married with him. And in a very real sense, that is what I'm saying. that when we realize what it is that our God is conferring to us through the very words themselves, that we are to partake of them even as much as Joseph's brothers partook of the drink and partook of the food and partook of the merry, the merriness of the whole scenario. Paul is speaking this as a, I remind you again, a delegated official and an extension of God the Father and an extension of the Lord Jesus Christ. So his words, when he speaks them, carry the weight of the Godhead and all that's represented in that, and therefore his words are their words. And that's how we should receive this. And that's really how we should receive the entirety of the letter. He's in effect saying, grace and peace have arrived at your doorstep. They are as real and they are as operative and they are as fully yours as this letter is in your hand. And when you open the door of this letter in faith, grace and peace are coming in. Therefore, as you read this letter, and all that's conveyed to you in it, see it as a dispensing of grace and peace into your church, into your life, the power of God at work through the communication of truth, the peace of God stampeding upon all that is swirling and churning in me and setting up, coming and setting up that guard, those garrisons whereby our hearts and minds are kept safe in Christ Jesus. Though I would not this afternoon push this point too far, I do want to say this because I think it's important. There's something to be said about this authoritative blessing from God through the apostle being conferred upon the church, those members of that church. And if you think about it, how vital was this to these people, this church? Their beloved friend was in a life and death situation. Paul, they themselves are faced with similar perils, suffering for the sake of Christ. There was, if you understand this letter, the brewing of dissatisfaction, disaffection, and strife among them. wickedness abounding all around them, false teachers lurking in the shadows, those wretched enemies he calls them of the cross, those mutilators of the flesh. their beloved brother Epaphroditus had been sick. And Paul says, you had been distressed by it. And then whatever else can be covered under the word that he uses in chapter four, anxieties, cares of this life. All of that was present among this body of believers in Philippi. And all of that was out to discourage, dishearten, disrupt and destroy the work there. They stood in need. They stood in great need, not merely of well wishes from the apostle Paul, but they stood in need of something so much more powerful and so much more real and greater than what they had in themselves. And therefore the apostle says at the very outset, that which you stand in greatest need of, I am in an experimental way sending to you with the stamp of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Brethren, take it to the bank and cash it. But now, what are we to do with it exactly? Were they simply to sit back and squander it away? This is vital. What's the grace and the peace that is being conferred to them merely an enjoyment of it for the sake of enjoying it? We've got grace and peace. It's so wonderful. Look at what God has given to us at such great cost. Let's go on resting safely and securely, enjoying all of this. homes, pondering all the security that is ours, singing about the hope that's ours. Is that how we're to respond to these words? Or were they to respond by saying, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Why should I care about being holy? There's no need for me to be concerned about my sin. No need for me to think about my wrong attitudes. Look at all this grace. Look at all this peace that forgives and it comforts endlessly. Throw caution to the wind, eat, drink, be merry. Is that what they were to do with this dispensing of very bountiful, powerful grace, peace? No. Grace and peace conferred to them was not merely for the experience of it. the enjoyment of it as an end in itself. But the conferring of grace and peace and the experience of it was so that they might abound in every good work. So that their love might abound, which is what he prays for them in verse nine. So that they might approve the things that are excellent, which is what he prays for them in verse 10. so that they might be sincere and without offense, filled with all the fruits of righteousness, which is what he prays for them in verse 11, so that their conduct might be worthy of the gospel, which is what he commands them in verse 27, so that they might strive for the faith of the gospel, which is what he commands them in chapter 128. So that they might suffer well, which is what he says to them in verse 29. So that they might serve one another. Chapter 2 verse 2. So that they might have the mind of Christ. Chapter 2 verse 5. So that they might work out their salvation with much fear and trembling. verse 12 of chapter 2, so that they might be blameless and harmless children of light, 2.15, so that they might shine and hold fast to the word, 2.16, so that they might rejoice in Christ all along, chapter 3, so that they might not live for this world, but that they might live as citizens of another world, chapter 3, verse 20. so that they might have their hearts and their minds fixed on that which was praiseworthy, chapter four, verse eight, so that they might do those things which they had seen lived out in the life of Paul, chapter four, verse nine. That is what the dispensing of grace and peace is for. And brethren, I want to end on this note. Perhaps it would serve us well to think of it in this way, in this particular way. If it's not our intention to receive it by faith to those ends, which I've just mentioned, we shouldn't expect to receive it. I think that's something we need to think about. I want grace, I want peace. Do you want it for these purposes? To pursue holiness? To pursue a real communion with Christ your Savior? That you should not be like the world, but that you should be a citizen of heaven? That you should strive for the sake of the gospel? That you should give the entirety of your life for that purpose? That you should throw yourself entirely into the life of the church? Is that why you want grace? Is that why you want peace? No, I don't expect it. Brethren, I hope it is, it is who you say you are. These things, this is what I want to be as we open up this epistle and as we read what the apostle says, give me grace and give me peace. peace so that in the reading of it, I might become it. That's my new person. That we might be saved, that we might be kept, that we might grow in holiness and in the likeness of Christ our Savior to the very end. My God, help us to seek grace and peace to that end. And in seeking it to that end, We sit back with joy in our heart, smiles on our face, and say, my sack, my life is full of grace and peace. God is so bountiful and benevolent and merciful and gracious, sovereign, powerful. He's given us grace, amazement, and he said to me, peace, it flows. Father, you know, and we thank you, our God, that you know our friend, that we are but dust. Please, we would ask that this grace of peace would indeed come, and that it would come to the end, oh God, that we might overcome sin, that we might fortify it, that we might put into death, that we might live radically Christ-centered lives together for the sake of the gospel, for the glory of Jesus. O God, mercy upon us, help us to that end. Take pity upon us, O God, as a father does his children. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen.