First, does grace, mercy and peace come on us
as we walk in truth and love? That
definitely makes sense I would say. And
it fits well with v1-2. The recipients
of the letter, the elect lady and her
children, are well loved because the truth abides in them and in those who
love them. So in that position that they
live, one of truth and love, the Apostle prays upon them grace, mercy and
peace. And that is the position in which
we will best experience these three graces.
But wait a second. What about Christ? What about the nearest antecedent: the Son of the Father? When we go on reading this little letter what
does John say? This truth and love that
the elect lady and her children walk in (v4-6) is contrasted with the many
deceivers who have gone out into the world (v7-11). The conjunction “for” at the beginning of v7
is causative: since or because many have gone out into the
world. John then stresses the doctrine
of Christ. Whoever does not abide in
that doctrine runs the risk of losing their full reward. A church should separate themselves from
those who come with such a doctrine that demeans the truth of Christ, that does not confess Jesus Christ as coming in
the flesh.
If we consider the entirety of the letter v3
sounds like this: grace, mercy and peace
will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
the Father, that Lord and Son whom we know to be the truth and expression of
love from the Father. In other words
it was Jesus who was truth and love. This idea about Christ is in full agreement
with the first letter from John:
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn. 4:10).
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an
understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true,
in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).
As we said, the question itself is not an
important interpretive question. But it
is a means by which we can think deeply about this letter which by its size and
place near the back of the Book one
that might be easily overlooked. Grace,
mercy and peace are not just “typical” blessings at the beginning of a
letter. They are the provision of God
through Christ by which we live each day.
May we ourselves be known, as was the elect lady, by our truth and
love! Further, may we not stray from the
Son of the Father who came to earth, in the flesh, true God and true Man, and
who lived among us and revealed the glory of His Father! Amen!
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