“.......Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His Throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth ......”
Revelation 1:4-5
The Apostle John is writing to the seven churches in Asia from the isle of Patmos. I am struck by his opening greeting, as he decrees grace and peace to each church. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed through the epistles how much this phrase, ‘grace and peace’ is used in the openings or closings.
HELPS WORD STUDIES notes ~
Next to "life" (2222/zōē), GRACE: 5485 (xáris) is perhaps the broadest (most inclusive) theological term used in relation to God in Scripture. 5485/xáris ("grace, divine favor") is the basis of every blessing as the Lord ever extends Himself to us. God's grace comes to us unlimitedly through Christ – "the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6, Gk text).
I believe grace and peace must have been a foundational revelation that the early church was built upon.
Here in Revelation, John reminds us just who these precious gifts come from and when he wrote 2 JOHN he added that they always come to us in truth and love. From Revelation, John describes our Heavenly Father as the one who is, reminding us that our Father is ever present. God dwells in now. Everything with God is a right now moment. As the one who was, John highlights, He was with us in the every moment of our past and as the one who is to come, He will be with us in the present moment in our future. In other words, we are never, ever, without God’s help.
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
AMPLIFIED Hebrews 13:5-6 “.....for He [God] ]Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! ]Assuredly not!] 6. So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?”
God comes with His grace and peace. There are also seven spirits before the throne who release grace and peace. Isaiah chapter eleven lists these Seven spirits and if we focused on those we would see how each one is powerful in its own right and would yield grace and peace when those specifics are needed. It is the Spirit Himself who strengthens us with might in the inner man and causes us to be strong in grace. Then finally, John writes, grace and peace come to us from Jesus Christ.
I guess my overwhelming thought in and with these powerful assurances, is why do we so often stumble in the midst of our crisis?
I’d like to share with you the definition of GRACE from the Helps Word Studies ~
Xaris (another feminine noun from xar-, "favor, disposed to, inclined, favorable toward, leaning toward to share benefit") – properly, grace. 5485 (xaris) is preeminently used of the Lord's favor, freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He "ever leans toward them").
Key quotes
R. Trench, "Aristotle, defining 5485 (xáris), lays the whole stress on this very point, that it is conferred freely, with no expectation of return, and finding its only motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the giver (Rhetoric. 2.7). . . . 5485 (xaris) is unearned and unmerited..”
Grace is the presence of God coming to us in the fullness of all He is, leaning towards us to share His unlimited benefits. Moses understood this when he prayed in Exodus chapter 33....
“If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.”
How much better would we be if our day started with this same cry, with His assurance given to us as it was to Moses.
“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
As I write this, my heart is strengthened and assured, we have no situation in life that we are not able to face and overcome because of His grace. His very presence is ever leaning towards us with all He is. WE HAVE HELP and all things are possible with God.