Grace of God (Colossians 1:6)

God freely gives forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We are incapable of earning these by our own actions, knowledge, or good intentions.

Our natural state is that of being spiritually dead because of inborn sin and continuous breaking of God's law (Eph. 2:1-3). As a result, we are the targets of His wrath (Eph. 2:3). Yet, while we are in this horrible state, God mercifully shows His love toward us by giving us spiritual life with Christ (Eph. 2:4-6). He saves us from our terrible predicament to "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us" (Eph. 2:7). Forgiveness for breaking God's law is a gracious and free gift of God that can only be received by trusting belief in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8). Nothing that we do or say can earn forgiveness (Eph. 2:9). God completely and freely grants us forgiveness so He gets all the credit and praise. We cannot take any credit for ourselves (Eph. 2:9).

Grace and Peace (Colossians 1:2)

Paul begins all his letters with a greeting that includes grace and peace to his readers. This grace and peace are from God who is the only true source of each. It is interesting that they are always stated in the same order. We cannot have peace with God or each other until we experience the transforming grace of God.