Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

There are certain things that nearly all of us desire. We all want to love and be loved. We all want peace. We all want to enjoy life. But the problem is that we often try to obtain all these things for ourselves, by our own efforts. But that’s not the best way to get what we need! Why do we do this to ourselves? We know there’s a better way!

God desires to give us certain blessings, and we need to trust Him to bless us.

Read 1 John 1:1-3

The text names three great blessings that we may receive from God (v. 3). It’s very common to find such a blessing at the beginning of a letter in the Bible (see 1 Corinthians 1:3, which is word for word the same as the greeting found in Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon; and very similar to Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, and Titus 1:4. Paul adds the word mercy when writing his letters to Timothy, and Peter’s letters include the phrase “be multiplied to you.” 2 Peter 1:2)

In fact, the only letters we don’t find blessings of grace and mercy are Hebrews, James, and 1 and 3 John. And here, in 2 John, the blessing is formed differently. The blessings are paired with a future verb, indicating that these aren’t merely hopeful prayers, they’re surely coming!

These are blessings that we desperately need. Grace and mercy are similar yet distinct. Grace is receiving God’s unmerited favor. Mercy is the withholding of God’s wrath against our sin. Mercy would be like if Ed deserved a good beating, but I decided not to give it to him. Grace would be like if I walked up to a random person and gave them $20. Grace is often used in the Bible to refer to both grace and mercy.

Peace is a relational peace with God and an inner peace we have throughout life. We need a relational peace with God. Our sin separates us from God. If we’re to have any hope of going to Heaven after this life, we need to have a restored relationship with Him. And we all desperately desire an inner peace throughout life. We don’t like all the drama stirred up by discontent people in our lives. We wish all the drama would stop, but we know that’s never going to happen. So we want to learn how to live peaceful lives despite what’s going on around us.

These are some pretty important blessings! Grace, mercy, and peace. And the text says that will have these blessings. Yet the apostle John is writing to a specific person. When reading the Bible, it’s important that we not overlook the original circumstances. Although John doesn’t name the person, he was writing to a woman and her children. John was sure that this woman and her children would obtain these blessings. So the question that we should have of this text is, first, can we have these blessings as well, and if so, how can we have them?

The woman that John wrote to was not some random lady, but was the elect lady (v. 1). There’s a lot of speculation as to who this elect lady is. Some think her name was Eklekte. Some think her name was Kyria. Some think John was writing to either Mary or Martha. I don’t think we can be certain as to who it was. But we can be sure of a few things about her.

She was a believer. The term “elect” is often applied in the New Testament to those whom God has saved. And John was sure that she would receive grace, mercy, and peace, things that no unbeliever will ultimately receive from God. Another thing we know about this woman was that John loved her, but had not seen her for some time (v. 12). Also, she was likely very prominent in the early church. John identified himself as “the elder.” Everyone knew it was him. John identified the woman as “the elect lady.” Likely anyone reading this letter would know who John was talking about. Not only did John love her, but all who knew the truth loved her (v. 1). But why did they love her?

John and the others loved her in truth. These two concepts (love and truth) are extremely important to the apostle John, and to every believer. Jesus told His disciples, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Jesus also told His disciples, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

When you know Christ, who is the Truth, then you love everyone who knows Christ. You can’t help it. The bond is so strong and real that you just want to give them a great big hug. Because God saved you and them and you’re part of the family of God (v. 2). When God’s truth is in you and in us, we have such joy together, and love for one another that no amount of time and space can change that. We long to be together to encourage each other and praise God together.

It’s in the context of all this that John writes of these blessings that we have from God (v. 3). So who is the “us” that John says will have these blessings? It’s we who have the truth in us. It’s we who love each other because we have the truth in us. And how do we receive these blessings? If you know Christ, you already have them! And you can be sure that you will have grace, mercy, and peace in eternity. There’s nothing you have to do or can do to earn them. They’re gifts (v. 3).

Receiving these things from God for free seems so strange to the world. We’re taught from a very young age that nothing in life is free. That you can’t get something for nothing. That there’s always a catch. There is a catch: your life will be changed! But isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that why you’ve come here this morning? We don’t come together because we have it all together. We gather here because we admit that we don’t have it all together. We need God’s grace. We need God’s mercy. And we need God’s peace. And God wants to give these things to all of us. All He asks is that we trust in Christ.

Trust in Christ today, and receive God’s blessings.