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whereas the customary commendation is absent, the benediction is present in all its
fullness, unreserved and free as the gospel he preached, and for which he suffered.
"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Gal. 1: 3).
It is the habit of many commentators to go into the meaning and doctrinal significance
of the words "grace" and "peace" used in the salutation, but while we are sure that these
words are never used by the apostle lightly or without intention, they constitute not so
much a piece of doctrine to be studied, as an heartfelt wish to be immediately
appropriated. They give atmosphere to the remainder of the epistle, and to loiter on the
threshold of the epistle itself, to examine this introductory blessing word for word is to
misunderstand its place and intention. Therefore, instead of dealing with the wording of
this salutation, let us use it as an introduction to the larger question that has received so
much light in modern times from the papyri discovered in the sands of Egypt. In view of
the discovery of this papyrus, Lightfoot's words have become classical, he wrote:
"If we could only recover letters that ordinary people wrote to each other without any
thought of being literary, we should have the greatest possible help for the understanding
of the language of the N.T. generally."
That help we now possess, as Professor Milligan has said:
"An Egyptian papyrus letter and a N.T. epistle may be widely separated alike by
nationality and habitat of their writers and by their own inherent characteristics and aims,
but both are written in substantially the same Greek."
To this may be added that the form in which the epistles are written, their opening
salutation, their thanksgiving and commendation, their conclusion and benediction, are
seen to be in accordance with the accepted model of the times. Individual expressions
moreover, found in Paul's epistles, find their echo in the papyrus letters. For example:
"Comfort, therefore one another" (2nd cent.).
"Henceforth" used as an introduction to concluding injunctions (2nd cent.).
"Serapion, with all at his house, salutes you" (1st cent.).
"Parousia" for personal presence (Phil. 2:12 and 3rd cent.).
"To be refreshed" as in 2Tim. 1:16 (3rd cent.).
"A casual review of the private correspondence in the papyri reveals the fact that the
letters of the period followed a regular and established order and were shaped in a
well-defined way . . . . . as a rule, the customary epistolary formulae turn on the
following: (a) thanksgiving for good news and expressions of good wishes; (b) prayers
for welfare of body and soul and also for worldly prosperity."
"The generous proportion of personal greetings in a private letter is quite in keeping
with its essential character as a fresh and intimate communication between absent
friends."
"A list of personal greetings closing the communication is a markedly common
feature in papyri private correspondence" (Meecham, "Light from Ancient Letters").
The postscript is by no means a modern invention, and examples are found in the
papyri of a postscript added by another hand after the signature has been appended. The