Grace. Paul used this word in the first chapter and now comes back to it in the second. In chapter 1 he used grace as a greeting, a focus of praise, and described it as a source of blessing. Though he did not teach directly of it he gave grace an exalted place. The hints became ambiance pleasing aromas calling the reader to want more of this great thing.
Chapter 2 began with a jerk rattling the reader from the brink of pride by raising the specter of death. Including himself, Paul wrote that all had fallen under the curse of sin. Life in sin had been natural, gratifying, disobedient, but deserving of God’s punishing wrath. Importantly, and interestingly, Paul used the past tense while unpacking their collective pasts. Now, in this second chapter, he will more clearly paint grace, this time writing of it as the rationale for the salvation we possess.
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