In the Second book of John, John the apostle has been emphasizing the truth. Error was rampant in his day as it is today, so there was a great need for this aged apostle to address the issues. Truth comes by Jesus Christ, God's Son, who is the way, the truth and the life. Today in verse three of this tiny book John gives us three benefits to having the truth in his greeting to the elect lady: He wrote:
Grace be with you, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Grace, mercy and peace – what a great combination of attributes John gives us. First, there is grace. The Greek word for grace is “charis” which means “unmerited favor”. “Unmerited favor” comes from God the Father in Jesus Christ. There is no amount of work, efforts, ways or being that can merit the love and favor of God. He freely gives it to all who will receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Paul the apostle wrote about grace in Ephesians chapter two and verses eight and nine. He wrote:
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
This is what separates Christianity from all the other religions of the world. Other religions have people work for their salvation, and Christianity says, “not of works”, and why? Because people then could boast about their accomplishments, their accolades and their disciplines. John greets the elect lady with “grace be to you” as the beginning of establishing the difference between those who declare that work must be done in order to establish salvation, and Christianity says the work has been done. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished,” and now those who believe that He finished the work are appropriated “unmerited favor” from God.
Secondly, John greets the elect lady with “mercy”. The Greek word used here is “eleos” which means “clemency”. In other words, not getting what we deserve. There is a penalty for sin – death – and we who have sinned deserve death, however, Jesus Christ came and paid the price for our sins upon the cross. He died in our place, and now when we stand before God, God issues “clemency” for we who deserve to die. We do not get what we deserve when we give our lives to Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Lord. If we have not believed in Jesus, then there is no sacrifice for our sins and judgment will be our fate.
Finally, John greets the elect lady with peace. Peace with God and the peace of God are two of the greatest characteristics we may obtain when we know Jesus. Peace with God insures that our salvation is secure, and when we stand before Him someday the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus will appropriate grace and mercy to us and thereby give us Peace with God. The Peace of God is when we live our lives in a manner of peace. The Greek word “eirene” is used by John and it means “a state of natural tranquility”. No matter what comes along in our lives, we can be at peace within knowing that God has everything under control.
For the life of me, I do not understand why anyone would reject grace, mercy and peace that comes from God the Father thru Jesus Christ. For us, it is the only way to live, and for that matter, it is the only way to die. May all who read these words consider greatly the benefits of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Next time we shall continue in this verse with thoughts about how these three attributes emanate from God the Father in love and truth, so meditate upon these ideas again, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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