Blessings and Benedictions from Scripture for the Church

A few years ago, I read through the Old and New Testaments looking for blessings and benedictions to use at the beginning or end of sermon messages and prayers. Occasionally, I also use these blessings and devotions in devotional settings, staff gatherings, or moments of blessing over a group of people.

I admit that most of these come from the New Testament rather than the Old. That is simply where many of my favorite blessings and benedictions are found. There are certainly many to be utilized and valued from the First or Old Testament. Twelve of these blessings and benedictions, I regularly use at Water Street Mission, at the conclusion of each Alpha Course session we run every day for two straight weeks. Over time, for me, these words have become more than liturgical endings to me. They have become reminders, prayers, declarations, and invitations into the life of God.

The Value of Blessings and Benedictions

I think Paul understood the value of a good blessing and benediction. Many of these blessings are found at the beginning or the end of his epistles. They help us see what Paul was speaking to people. I believe that Paul was not merely passing along information or theological arguments. Nor was he just creatively writing the standard “hope you are well” and “blessings” at the start and ends of his letters. Paul was forming communities through words saturated with grace, peace, hope, endurance, holiness, and love. Read out loud, these blessings and benedictions carried convicting and teaching power.

There is great value in speaking the truth in love and challenging one another in faith. The scriptures remind us that “faith comes from what is heard” (Romans 10:17, NET), and I think something transformative happens when these passages are read aloud. They shape the atmosphere of a room and community. They steady anxious hearts and distracted minds. These are tested statements that call people upward and invite Christ deeper inward. They remind hearers and communities alike of who God is and who they are becoming in Christ.

Suggested Blessings and Benedictions

I want to give you a glimpse into some of my favorite blessings and benedictions. If you are looking for some new blessing or benediction to add to your prayers, sermons, or letters, you might find one that resonates with you in this list.

From the Old Testament:

• “The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and protect you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’” So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’” (Numbers 6:22–27, NET).

From Church Letters:

• “Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5–6, NET).
• “Now to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 16:27, NET).
• “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 1:3, NET).
• “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” (1 Corinthians 16:23, NET).
• “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (2 Corinthians 1:2, NET).
• “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4, NET).
• “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:13 [14], NET).
• “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Galatians 1:3, NET).
• “Brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” (Galatians 6:18, NET).

From the Prison Letters:

• “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Ephesians 1:2, NET).
• “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3, NET).
• “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him, — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.” (Ephesians 1:17–19, NET).
• “Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2, NET).
• “Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” (Ephesians 6:23–24, NET).
• “And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9–11, NET).
• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:16–17, NET).

From the Pastoral Letters:

• “Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, NET).
• “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (2 Thessalonians 1:2, NET).
• “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16, NET).
• “To Timothy, my genuine child in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!” (1 Timothy 1:2, NET).
• “Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17, NET).
• “So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2:1–2, NET).
• “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” (2 Timothy 4:22, NET).
• “To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!” (Titus 1:4, NET).

From Others:

• “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Philemon 3, NET).
• “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (Philemon 25, NET).
• “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1–2, NET).
• “May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!” (2 Peter 1:2, NET).
• “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.” (2 Peter 3:18, NET).
• “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.” (2 John 1:3, NET).
• “To those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you!” (Jude 1b–2, NET).
• “Maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.” (Jude 21, NET).

A Few Reflections on Reception

I love to imagine what Paul’s letters were like when they were first read aloud to communities desperate for encouragement, correction, conviction, hope, and endurance. An orator would stand before the gathered church and read the words carefully, perhaps even mirroring Paul’s own emphasis and emotion. One can almost imagine the room growing quiet during moments of challenge, or heads lifting at words of grace and peace. Sometimes the blessings must have landed like water in the desert.

In this way, Paul gives us some of the greatest blessings and benedictions in Scripture. He strategically composed words that carried transformative faith, prophetic challenge, theological depth, and pastoral tenderness all at once. And it was not only Paul. Jude, Peter, John, the writer of Hebrews, and even God Himself in Numbers all give us language for blessing others in the name of the Lord.

The Most Common But Powerful

Though it is the most commonly used blessing, Numbers 6 is especially important in understanding this tradition of publicly read blessings. God instructed Aaron and his sons to repeatedly speak these words over Israel:

“The Lord bless you and protect you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

This was not a sentimental ritual or habit that God was asking them to start. It was the language of the covenant that was meant to form and transform them time and time again. God taught that when His people live by and under His Name, His favor, protection, and peace are extended to them. Immediately after this blessing, God says, “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). Such a public blessing was an act of identity, realignment, confession, and encouragement. It was a short sermon with lasting memorable power and transformative impact. The blessing served as both a reminder and an identity-forming experience. Israel needed to hear, again and again, that they belonged to God. When we read blessings and benedictions, I think they have the same possible impact.

Paul and the other New Testament writers mirror this same idea. Their benedictions repeatedly remind believers of grace, peace, mercy, endurance, holiness, hope, and the sustaining presence of Christ. These were not throwaway greetings. They were intentional acts of pastoral care and theological formation. The early church lived under pressure, persecution, temptation, division, and suffering. These blessings reminded them of whose they were and who God was calling them to be.

Ways To Use These Blessings and Benedictions

There are many ways to use these blessings and benedictions beyond just closing out a devotion, sermon, or prayer. They can be ways to start or end a church leadership meeting, or a member’s meeting. They can be used in hospital rooms or when praying for people who are sick or struggling. You may even just want to have one or two a week to reflect on and see what they bring up for you as you journal through them. Practice saying them to each other, or over your family. I’d love to hear ways that people incorporate these or other blessings and benedictions into their everyday walk.

Don’t be afraid to settle for 2-3 and repeat them a lot. Blessings and benedictions are repeated because humans need repeated reminding of who God is, how good God is, and what a good God extends to us and requires of us. You will notice similarities in Paul’s words in various contexts. When something works, don’t fix it. At the core, these are powerful for communities. There is something powerful about powerful statements in the plurality of a gathering. Faith is not meant to be privatized; these statements, written almost always to groups of people, remind us that we belong to God and to each other.

Questions for reflection:

I’d love to hear your thoughts as you read through this list.

• Which of these blessings or benedictions are your favorites?
• Which do you hear used most often?
• Which might you begin using in your own life, church, family, or community?
• What is missing from this list for you?

Thanks for stopping by. I am Jeff McLain, and I write about the Quiet Way—a life shaped by the Lord’s Prayer, spiritual disciplines, and sustaining habits. Much of my work explores theology at the intersections of everyday life and the invitation of the scriptures to lead a quiet life. If this post encouraged you, consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a thought in the comments, or subscribing so you don’t miss future reflections. You can also find more of my writing at the Lead a Quiet Life blog on Patheos, and you can listen to the Discovering God Podcast, where we explore the scriptures and the life of faith together. I genuinely enjoy conversation. If something here resonated with you, feel free to reach out by email or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram.