Continuing on with 2 John.
5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
Now John is speaking to the church and says I ask you. I’m not commanding you or writing a new law to you. I’m just asking you to love one another. This is the commandment we’ve had all along. Love the Lord your God, and Love your neighbor as yourself. So now we have the commandment to walk in truth and love.
6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
So, what is love? That you walk according to His commandment. The commandment you heard from the beginning, which is walk in love. So love is the commandment and the commandment is to walk in love. How easy is that. I mean to understand, not necessarily to always accomplish.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
John 3:18. This is the same John only he’s writing this from his gospel and recollection of the life of Christ on earth. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”.
Col 2:7,8.
7 You must depend on Christ only, drawing life and strength from him. Just as you were taught the truth, continue to grow stronger in your understanding of it. And never stop giving thanks to God.
Depend on Christ only. Hmmm, where have I ever heard that before? Oh ya. Right there in Colossians 2:6 – “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him”. Look at that verse 7. Don’t you recognize the Pauline influence in John’s writing? Well you should. It’s the same Holy Spirit inspiration.
8 Be sure you are not led away by the teaching of those who have nothing worth saying and only plan to deceive you. That teaching is not from Christ. It is only human tradition and comes from the powers that influence this world.
You can see that Paul and John are on the same page. John says there will be those who go on ahead and do not abide in the teaching of Christ. Paul says you must depend on Christ only. Both of them are saying it’s just Jesus. Stick with the truth.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Here’s scriptural authority for you to reject anyone who does not bring the teaching of the gospel of grace to you. Don’t take part in their wicked works.
12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
Our sentiments are spoken here also. We would rather not have to write you, but instead bring this to you face to face, so that your joy and ours can be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
Grace is a transforming reality. It transforms our present and eternal destiny. We will use grace for eternity. We get to come boldly to the throne of GRACE. Grace transformed you from a sinner to a righteous person. Before grace you were a prisoner to sin. Now you are a prisoner of righteousness. Grace did not give you power to sin better. It gave you power to live better.
Where did grace, mercy, and peace come from? From God the Father in truth and in love. What about mercy? Mercy is a by-product of grace. God gives me grace for all my past, present, and future sins, but when I mess up, He gives me mercy.
What is mercy? First we need to know that no one has a right to mercy. It is a by-product of grace. It is a gift to be given to you. When you understand this, you gain a deeper appreciation of God’s goodness to us. He gave grace and mercy to us, not because it was our right, but because He is right.
We could actually define mercy as a manifestation of grace in an act or an action. Remember when I said you can’t only present it in words, you have to show it in action. I was talking about grace. What is the manifestation of grace to others? It’s showing them mercy. Jesus said in Matt 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”. In Luke 6:36 Jesus said “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful”.
Mercy brings relief. God never runs out of mercy. His mercy endures forever. Mercy is a sign of God’s love that deals with our short comings. Without mercy we would all be in a constant state of distress and fear. Understanding God’s grace and mercy brings relief to us. We know that even if we mess up, the mercy of God will prevail and be manifested to us. Thank God!!
In the new testament gospels we see mercy was demonstrated and demanded. We hear people crying out “Son of David have mercy upon me”. In the new testament Pauline epistles we see mercy was provided and experienced.
What is peace? Peace is knowing that everything is going to be all right. There’s nothing broken and nothing missing. Every need met and provided for. Peace passes all understanding. It is provided to you by the Spirit, and produces quietness of spirit. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). It’s what Jesus had in the midst of the storm. We too can have peace in the midst of our storms.
Peace is also a personal gift to you. You can’t earn it. It’s a gift. Just like everything else God gives us. Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you”. Not only do we have the Peace of God, but we have peace with God and peace from God.
Everything we talked about here is in that greeting from John. These are three powerful truths that absolutely result in victory. You can’t lose when you understand and receive these three truths. All of this is through grace. It’s the great ridiculous, radical, inexhaustible grace of God. Grace, mercy, and peace.
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