2 Timothy 1:1-2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I would again remind you, as I have often done before, that the apostle Paul, when he is writing to a minister, invariably begins his epistle with the triple greeting, "Grace, mercy, and peace," but when he is writing to a church, he commences with the double benediction, "Grace and peace." You will find that this is his wish for the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, "Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." This is also his form of greeting to Philemon, who was a private Christian, not a minister; but when the apostle is writing to Timothy and Titus, his own sons in the faith, and his fellow-ministers of the gospel, he says, "Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord." It seems as though, guided by the Holy Spirit, he thought that the office of the Christian ministry is of so weighty and responsible a character that the man who rightly fills that honourable position not only needs the grace and peace that are necessary for all believers, but that he must in addition have a special supply of mercy; and, truly, no one needs mercy more than the preacher of mercy. Note, too, that the "grace, mercy, and peace" are to come "from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." Father and Son are united in the gracious act of bestowing "grace, mercy, and peace." The Father is the great eternal fountain of all these blessings, but the son is the divinely appointed channel through whom they flow down to us.
2 Timothy 1:1-2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I would again remind you, as I have often done before, that the apostle Paul, when he is writing to a minister, invariably begins his epistle with the triple greeting, "Grace, mercy, and peace," but when he is writing to a church, he commences with the double benediction, "Grace and peace." You will find that this is his wish for the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, "Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." This is also his form of greeting to Philemon, who was a private Christian, not a minister; but when the apostle is writing to Timothy and Titus, his own sons in the faith, and his fellow-ministers of the gospel, he says, "Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord." It seems as though, guided by the Holy Spirit, he thought that the office of the Christian ministry is of so weighty and responsible a character that the man who rightly fills that honourable position not only needs the grace and peace that are necessary for all believers, but that he must in addition have a special supply of mercy; and, truly, no one needs mercy more than the preacher of mercy. Note, too, that the "grace, mercy, and peace" are to come "from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." Father and Son are united in the gracious act of bestowing "grace, mercy, and peace." The Father is the great eternal fountain of all these blessings, but the son is the divinely appointed channel through whom they flow down to us.