Grace, Mercy, Peace, & Blessing

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KEY WORDS:

GRACE, MERCY, PEACE, & BLESS

by Terri White   

". . . grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord."  I Tim. 1:2

GRACE

  • God's attitude toward lawbreakers and rebels (sinners): God extended His favor through Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, and not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:8,9)

  • God's power and enablement to do what He calls you to do: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Cor. 12:9)

MERCY

  • God's attitude towards those in distress (the results of sin): God works in us to bring healing to our bodies and souls after we have accepted His work of grace in the "new birth." 

  • In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament), the Greek word eleos (mercy) is used to translate the Hebrew word, hesed.  Hesed is the word that expresses God's covenant relationship with His people -- loving kindness, steadfast love, strength, generosity, loyalty, commitment, and mercy.  Mercy is compassion in action; God's mercy gives us beauty for ashes.  Mercy is an attribute of God; it is an ingredient of love, for God is love.

  •   ". . .The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving inquity and transgression and sin. . ." (Ex. 34:6,7)

PEACE

  • The result of God's grace and mercy in our lives.  The Hebrew word is shalom. 

  • God's peace produces harmony, health, prosperity, wholeness, safety, peace whose source is God (Phil. 4:7), unimpaired relationships, and fulfillment in one's undertakings. 

  • "The person to whom God has given shalom is the one who is blessed, guarded, and treated graciously by the LORD" (Numb. 6:24-26).

BLESS

  • To be successful in one's spirit, soul, and body.  The Hebrew word is barak. 

  • The "Beattitudes" (Matt. 5) are a beautiful expression of being blessed. 

  • "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. . ." (Ps. 1:1).

CONCLUSION

Grace, mercy, peace, and blessings bring us hope, all acting on our behalf in the ongoing process of salvation.  The meanings of all four words are intertwined, linked together to produce a complete work in our lives.