Ministry of Grace Church

The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.

Truth to Learn

We must read the Bible to learn God’s message to us.

Behind the Words

Aspasmos is the Greek word translated as “salutation.” It is based on aspodzomai, which means “to salute.” Thus, aspasmos refers to “a salutation or greeting.”

The expression “with my own hand” is from tē emē cheiri, which literally means “by me the hand.” The word order in Greek indicates that Paul is emphasizing the fact that it was done with his own hand.

The word “sign” is sēmion, which refers to “a sign, a mark, or a miracle with a spiritual end and purpose.” It is commonly used to indicate a signature or mark of a person’s identity. In the gospels and other places in the New Testament, this word is also used to indicate a miraculous occurrence that is given as a sign of God’s mighty power.

Meaning Explained

Most of the Apostle Paul’s letters were written by an amanuensis (a scribe), who did the physical writing of what Paul dictated. We see distinct evidence of this in his letter to the church at Rome:

I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. (Romans 16:22)

One possible reason for him using a scribe is that Paul may have had a problem with his vision. In Galatians 6:11 he said,

See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 

Note that the word translated “letters” (the Greek word gramma), could also refer to an entire epistle, but since we know of only one letter that he wrote to the Galatians, it is reasonable to assume that he was referring to the size of his lettering, not the size of the epistle. If Paul did, in fact, have a problem with his vision, it would explain why he used a scribe.

Paul put a similar statement of a salutation from his own hand in his letters to other churches (1 Corinthians 16:21 and 1 Corinthians 16:21).

But, why would Paul indicate that this letter was from him and not a forgery? You may recall, back in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 he said the following:

not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us …

It was not uncommon during the early years of the Church for letters to be written to other believers in which the writer claimed to be Paul, Peter, John, or another of the apostles. For this reason, and because the subject matter of this letter is so vital in correcting false teaching, Paul gave irrefutable proof that this was a genuine letter from him.

Application

What we have in the Bible today is God’s word, revealing Himself to us. He used many different human authors, but they were all controlled by the Holy Spirit so that their writing is inspired (God breathed). What we do with God’s Word is up to us. We cannot live a fruitful Christian life is we don’t read it regularly and put into practice what He tells us. Read your Bible, my friend. Read your Bible. Read your Bible!