2 John 1-3 Grace, Mercy, and Peace Will Be With Us

Introduction

What is our common belief of the truth? What is the thing that holds us together?

That question matters because there are many things people try to use as a banner of unity. People gather around personalities. They gather around preferences. They gather around history, tradition, politics, comfort, frustration, family ties, shared experiences, and common opinions.

Some of those things may have value in their proper place. But none of them can hold the church together forever.

The Apostle John opens this short letter by pointing the church to something much stronger. He points them to the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever. He is not speaking about a vague religious idea. He is speaking about what God has revealed through Jesus of Nazareth. In Christ, the mystery of the gospel has been fully unveiled. God saves sinners.

That truth is not temporary. It is not fragile. It is not something we can reshape into whatever we want it to be. It remains forever.

John is about to express that the truth that remains forever can be summarized in three words: grace, mercy, and peace.

We should not confuse this introduction as John’s greatest and fullest work. Instead, this is a foundational summary. Everything he writes is built upon it, and everything he writes points back to it. We have the grace of God because of the mercy of God, and because of that mercy, we have peace with God.

And these things are forever.

John is also preparing the church. He is about to warn them about false teachers. He is about to speak about deceivers who do not abide in the teaching of Christ. But before he tells the church what to reject, he reminds them what they have received.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us.

The Church of a Common Faith

John begins:

“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever” (2 John 1:1-2).

As the Apostle John opens another letter to a local congregation known to him, we can see that the message he has been proclaiming since his time walking with Christ produces a common response among those who believe it and hold to it.

John labels this message as “the truth.”

Those who know the truth love others who also believe the truth.

That is important. John does not speak to this church like a detached teacher passing along information. He speaks as an elder who loves them. But his love is not merely personal affection. It is not only because he knows them, likes them, or has history with them. He says that all who know the truth share this love.

In other words, the truth has created a family.

The reason seems to be twofold. First, the truth is in them. Second, the truth does not change. John says the truth abides in us and will be with us forever.

This truth cannot be malleable. It cannot be reshaped into whatever someone wants it to be. It is fixed enough to unite believers around the same confession, and it is powerful enough to produce the same response in those who hold to it.

This matters because the church is always tempted to replace the common faith with things that will not be with us forever. We may gather around preferences, personalities, traditions, politics, comfort, shared frustration, or personal loyalty. Then we act surprised when those things cannot hold us together.

But John points us to something better.

The truth abides in us and will be with us forever.

The end result of being shaped by the truth is love for those who are in the body of Christ. John says he loves the elect lady and her children. He also says that all who know the truth share that same love.

The truth that stays forever produces a love that reaches beyond one person. It forms a people who are held together by what God has made known.

This is not new to John’s teaching. In his first letter, he wrote, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9). He also wrote, “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light” (1 John 2:10). Love for the brothers is not an optional extra. It is one of the marks of those who abide in the light.

John said the same thing again when he wrote, “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). Then he made it even more direct: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (1 John 3:14).

Where did John get this from?

He got it from Jesus.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Then He added, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

That means division cannot become the banner of Christ’s people. There will be times when truth divides. John will soon make that clear when he warns about deceivers. But the mark Jesus gave His people is not suspicion, harshness, pride, or tribal loyalty. The mark of His people is love for one another.

But this love must be rightly understood.

Christian love is not birthed out of bare moralism. It is not produced by simply telling people, “Be nicer. Be more patient. Be more forgiving. Be more committed.” Those things may be true commands, but they are not the root.

Christian love is born from conviction about the character of God. When we see the grace of God toward sinners, the mercy of God toward the undeserving, and the peace of God given to those who were once His enemies, then love for the church becomes the fitting response.

We love because we have been loved by God.

We show mercy because we have received mercy.

We pursue peace because God has made peace with us through Christ.

The seeds of truth and faith, when fully developed, produce the fruit of love for those who are also in Christ. We love them because we recognize that they have been cleansed by the same Savior, forgiven by the same mercy, and brought into the same family of God.

Peter speaks in a similar way when he tells believers to make every effort to supplement their faith with virtue, knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). These qualities are not disconnected from the gospel. They are the fruit of knowing Christ. Peter says that when these qualities are increasing, they keep a believer from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8).

Then Peter gives the warning. Whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, “having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:9).

That is important.

The failure to love the brothers is often connected to forgetting what Christ has done. When we forget that we were cleansed from our sins, we begin to look at other believers without mercy. We begin to hold their weaknesses over them while forgetting that we stand by grace. We begin to treat the church as a place that exists to serve our preferences rather than a family created by the truth of Christ.

John begins with love because the truth produces love.

But he does not stop there.

In verses 1 and 2, John shows us what the truth produces. It produces love among those who know the truth. In verse 3, John shows us what comes with this truth: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son.

What Christ Has Obtained for the Church

John writes:

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love” (2 John 1:3).

So how does John summarize what comes to the church from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son?

Grace, mercy, and peace.

These three things are not separate ideas floating away from one another. They are connected. Together, they help us see what God has given us in Christ. We have the grace of God because of the mercy of God, and through that mercy, God has delivered us and given us peace with Himself.

And this is true for all who believe.

If we know that we have been forgiven and cleansed from our sins through faith in Christ, then we also know that other believers have been forgiven and cleansed from their sins through faith in Christ.

Sinners who believe in Jesus stand together, unified and redeemed in Christ.

And this is all because of the work of Christ.

This is why Christian unity cannot be built on temporary things. Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us. Preferences will not be with us forever. Political moods will not be with us forever. Personal opinions will not be with us forever. Traditions, styles, comforts, and earthly identities will not be with us forever.

But grace, mercy, and peace will be with us.

They come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son. They are not human inventions. They are not church slogans. They are not emotional wishes. They are gifts secured by Christ and given to His people.

Grace

The grace of God treats us with favor we do not deserve. By His graciousness, we are given a standing we could never earn. It is a gift.

There should be no confusion here. Anyone who stands righteous before God, anyone who has a standing that is acceptable and worthy before Him, did not obtain that standing by personal works.

No sinner stands righteous before God because of personal merit. No sinner becomes acceptable to God by his own effort. No sinner earns his way into the favor of God.

Christ fulfilled the law. Christ has been found worthy of acceptance. Christ alone deserves all the riches and rewards of perfect obedience. Yet He shares His wealth and standing with others.

He did not have to do this.

He does not owe this to us.

He has been gracious to those who believe.

Paul writes that the righteousness of God comes “through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Then he removes every possible reason for boasting: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). All have sinned. All fall short. No one comes to God with a record of personal worthiness.

But sinners are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

That is grace.

It is not earned. It is given.

Paul continues by saying that God put Christ forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith (Romans 3:25). This shows that grace is not God ignoring sin. Grace does not mean God simply waves away evil as if holiness does not matter. God remains just, and He is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

That means grace comes to us through the work of Christ.

John says something similar in his Gospel: “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known (John 1:18).

Jesus reveals the grace of God.

Paul also writes that God made us alive together with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:4-5). Then he says plainly, “By grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5). He repeats it again: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). It is “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

Grace destroys boasting.

Grace humbles the proud.

Grace comforts the guilty.

Grace unites the church because every believer stands on the same ground. No one in the church has earned a higher position before God by personal achievement. No one has been saved by being more naturally worthy. All who believe have received what they did not deserve.

This means the church cannot be a place where forgiven sinners look down on other forgiven sinners as though grace was needed by some more than others.

If we stand, we stand by grace.

If we are accepted, we are accepted in Christ.

If we are righteous before God, it is because Christ shares His standing with those who believe.

Mercy

But a common external conflict, and often an internal one, arises when we consider how a good and just God can respond to sinners this way.

How can a holy God show grace to sinners?

How can a just God forgive the guilty?

How can God give favor to those who have rebelled against Him?

This is one of the shocking truths revealed in the person of Christ. God is merciful when He does not have to be.

Did God become more merciful when He saved sinners? No. God did not become something He was not. He did not gain a quality He was lacking. God did not add mercy to His character through the work of Christ.

Instead, His mercy was revealed to us.

In Christ, no one can rightly accuse God of lacking mercy. He has shown mercy more clearly than we ever could have imagined.

When Moses asked to see the glory of the Lord, the Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD’” (Exodus 33:19). Then God said, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19).

Mercy belongs to God’s own name and character.

But this mercy is not controlled by man. It is not something God owes. It is not something sinners can demand from Him as though mercy were a wage. God says He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy.

Paul uses this same passage in Romans 9. He asks, “Is there injustice on God’s part?” Then he answers, “By no means!” (Romans 9:14). God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15). Paul concludes, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Mercy depends on God.

That may be difficult for proud hearts, but it is good news for guilty sinners. If mercy depended on our worthiness, we would have no hope. If mercy depended on our ability to repair ourselves, cleanse ourselves, and present ourselves acceptable before God, we would be lost.

But mercy belongs to God.

Titus says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us” (Titus 3:4-5). Then Paul makes clear what did not save us: “not because of works done by us in righteousness” (Titus 3:5). What saved us? “According to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5).

God saved us according to His own mercy.

He did this by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-6). The result is that, being justified by His grace, we become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7).

So grace and mercy are connected.

Grace speaks of the favor we do not deserve.

Mercy speaks of God not treating us as our sins deserve.

In Christ, God has shown both.

This should shape how believers view one another. If we have received mercy, then we cannot treat the church as though mercy is beneath us. If God has been merciful to us, then our love for other believers must be birthed from the conviction that God has revealed Himself as merciful.

Again, this is not moralism. This is not merely, “Be merciful because it is nicer.” This is deeper. Be merciful because you have seen the mercy of God in Christ. Love the church because God has loved sinners. Forgive because you have been forgiven. Show patience because God has shown patience. Do not build your unity on temporary things. Build it on the character of God revealed in Christ.

Peace

When we think of peace, the common idea that comes to mind is an internal feeling of tranquility. That may be a further ripple effect of the gospel, but it is not the primary thing being discussed here.

This matters because many people measure the peace of God by the stability of their emotions. If they feel anxious, burdened, discouraged, or unsettled, they may assume they are lacking God’s favor. They may think, “If I had peace with God, I would not feel this way.”

But the peace John speaks of is deeper than emotional calm.

The peace we have in Christ means we are no longer enemies of God.

The hostility has ended.

The judgment we deserved has been answered in Christ.

God is not at war with those who belong to His Son.

The peace John is speaking of is more like a peace treaty between warring nations. It does not merely stop the violence between them. It brings the people into a new way of living together in harmony.

But even that illustration falls short, because the peace God gives is more than both sides agreeing to stop fighting. It is not, “You go your way, and I will go mine.” It is the final resolution of hostility. Ill will has been removed, and the relationship has been changed into one of daily care, nearness, and communion with God.

Through Christ, sinners are not merely told that God will stop opposing them. They are brought near. They are welcomed. They are cared for. They are nourished in fellowship with the God they once stood against.

To understand the weight of peace with God, we need to understand what it means when God removes His peace.

In Jeremiah 16, the Lord speaks judgment over His people. He says, “I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy” (Jeremiah 16:5). What follows is grief, death, exile, silence, and the loss of joy (Jeremiah 16:5-9). The voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride are silenced (Jeremiah 16:9).

Then the people ask why the Lord has pronounced such great evil against them (Jeremiah 16:10). The answer is that their fathers forsook the Lord, went after other gods, served and worshiped them, and refused to keep His law (Jeremiah 16:11). The Lord says that the people had done worse than their fathers, following their stubborn and evil will and refusing to listen to Him (Jeremiah 16:12). Therefore, He would hurl them out of the land, and He says, “I will show you no favor” (Jeremiah 16:13).

That is what it means when God removes peace.

Judgment remains.

Distance remains.

Exile remains.

Favor is removed.

So when Romans says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is not a small comfort (Romans 5:1). That is the reversal of judgment. That is reconciliation. That is the end of hostility between God and those who believe.

Romans 8 says the same thing in another way: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Why? “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

Peace with God means condemnation is gone.

Peace with God means the war is over.

Peace with God means the believer no longer stands before God as an enemy under wrath, but as one reconciled through Christ.

This does not mean Christians will always feel emotionally stable. It does not mean believers will never feel sorrow, anxiety, grief, weariness, or internal conflict. But it does mean our standing before God is not determined by the shifting condition of our emotions.

Our peace is not rooted in how calm we feel.

Our peace is rooted in what Christ has done.

So when John says grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, he is giving the church something stronger than a feeling. He is reminding them of what God has secured for them in Christ.

Hold Fast to What Will Be With Us Forever

John does not begin this letter with grace, mercy, peace, truth, and love by accident.

He is about to warn the church about deceivers. He is about to speak about those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. He is about to warn them not to run ahead and abandon the teaching of Christ. He is about to show that love and truth cannot be separated.

But before he warns them, he anchors them.

Before he tells them what to reject, he reminds them what they have received.

The truth abides in us and will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us.

That means the call is not merely to enjoy grace, mercy, and peace. The call is to hold fast to the truth from which they come.

If we replace the truth with something temporary, we do not gain unity. We lose the very foundation that makes Christian unity possible.

If we replace the common faith with preferences, personalities, politics, comfort, tradition, or shared frustration, those things will not hold us together forever. They may gather people for a season, but they cannot create the love John describes. They cannot give grace. They cannot reveal mercy. They cannot establish peace with God.

Only Christ can do that.

In Christ, God has given us unearned favor. That is grace.

In Christ, God has not treated us as our sins deserve. That is mercy.

In Christ, we no longer have enmity with a holy God. That is peace.

And these things will be with us.

So what holds the church together?

Not preference. Not personality. Not convenience. Not history. Not temporary banners that will fade away.

The truth holds us together.

And the truth is what God has revealed through Jesus of Nazareth. The mystery of the gospel has been fully unveiled. God saves sinners.

Because we share the same Savior, we share the same mercy. Because we have been brought into peace with the same God, we are called to love one another in the same truth.

And because false teachers will always seek to distort what God has revealed, the church must hold fast to the truth that abides forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Scripture References

1 John 2:9-11
Love for the brother is a mark of abiding in the light.

1 John 3:11-15
Love for the brothers shows that one has passed from death to life.

John 13:34-35
Jesus commands His disciples to love one another as the mark of belonging to Him.

2 Peter 1:5-9
Faith should grow into love, and the lack of love reveals forgetfulness of cleansing.

Romans 3:22-26
Sinners are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 1:16-18
Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ, who makes the Father known.

Ephesians 2:4-9
Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, so no one may boast.

Exodus 33:17-20
God reveals that grace and mercy belong to His own name and character.

Romans 9:14-16
Mercy depends not on human will or effort, but on God who has mercy.

Titus 3:4-7
God saved us according to His mercy through regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 16:5-13
The removal of God’s peace shows the seriousness of judgment and separation from Him.

Romans 5:1
Those justified by faith have peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:1-2
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.