---
title: 1 Corinthians 1:3
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-1-3/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-corinthians-1-3.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Corinthians 1:3
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Corinthians 1:3

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

## JW Usage

Read as a conventional greeting reflecting Christ's exalted position as Jehovah's agent. Because the formula appears in every letter, JWs treat it as Pauline habit rather than as theology — a courtesy naming the two figures a congregation looks to, one as source and one as mediator.

## Protestant Usage

The repetition is the argument, not an obstacle to it. Habits reveal assumptions, and this one reveals a large assumption. Ask a Witness to open their NWT to four or five Pauline openings in a row — this one, then 2 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Galatians 1:3. The wording is identical each time: undeserved kindness and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. One preposition, two names, thirteen letters out of thirteen. The two nouns are not neutral. In the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, being gracious and giving peace are what the LORD does for his people. Paul takes that pairing and names two persons as its joint origin. Then the question that does the work: Paul could have written "grace and peace from God our Father and Michael the archangel," or "and Gabriel." If Jesus were a created being however exalted, that would be the natural form. Paul never once writes it, in any letter, to any church. Compare Galatians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:2.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Paul's Greeting Puts Jesus Beside the Father](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/pauline-greeting-formula.md) — Galatians 1:1-3 — Co-Source of Grace and Peace [Deity of Christ]