Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1628
“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21.
THE first saints could never be long without speaking of their Lord and Savior. He filled their hearts and, therefore, they must necessarily speak of Him. How ingeniously they bring Him in! When they commence an Epistle, the salutation will be sure to bear His name. When they are in the midst of a letter, they lay down their pen and offer a prayer. And when they begin, again, it is with a benediction in which His name is prominent, or with a doxology ascribing glory unto Him, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. John’s Book of Revelation is full of Christ. Its opening verse rings out the precious name and the closing line, which is now before us, repeats the heavenly music! Is not the Lord Jesus the sum and substance, the Glory of every vision seen in Patmos? May I not say of the Apocalypse, as John said of the New Jerusalem, “the Lamb is the light thereof?
Until He looses the seals and opens the roll, the book of John’s prophecy is so folded up that no man shall understand it. John could not finish his book without mentioning that name which was dearest of all names to him. As he puts aside his pen to write no more, he concludes with an invocation of blessing upon all the saints in every place—and this is the form of it—“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” Paul is thought to have claimed the use of this benediction as his particular token—“in every epistle so I write.” I am not sure that it is so, for I suspect that the Apostle referred to his own large handwriting and to the signature which he put to his letters. But still, according to many interpreters, Paul used this particular blessing as his private mark—the seal of the authenticity of a letter.
See the end of the Epistles to the Corinthians and Thessalonians—“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” Certainly Paul used the words often, but, perhaps, when Paul had been taken up, John deemed it right to adopt Paul’s motto and with it to set, as it were, his stamp and seal upon the last book of Revelation. It was a benediction which could not be engrossed by any one Apostle, nor, indeed, by all the Apostles put together! Paul made it his own, but John had equal right to use it. And it is now all the dearer to us because both these mighties employed it.
Brothers and Sisters, the benediction before us is not only Paul’s word and John’s word—and the Bible’s last word—but it is now the chosen word of all the ministers of Jesus Christ! Is not this the benediction with which we dismiss the faithful—“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all”? So shall it remain until the Lord shall come a second time! It is an expression suitable to the most gracious heart, a prayer with which the Believer may vent his best wishes and express his most devout desires. Over you all at this time, in my own most humble but sincere manner, I would pronounce the benediction, “The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
If the Spirit shall help me, I would at this time say, first, let us consider this benediction. And then, secondly, let us consider its peculiar position, for something can be learned from it.
I. First, then, let us CONSIDER THIS BENEDICTION. It divides itself into three parts, under these heads—What? How? And, to whom?
1. What? What is this which John desires when he says—“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all”? The word is “Charis.” I do not think any better translation could be given than, “Grace”—it is usually translated Grace throughout the New Testament. Those who understand the Greek language thoroughly tell us that it has for its root, “joy.” There is joy at the bottom of Charis, or Grace. It also signifies favor, kindliness and especially love. And I might, without violating the meaning of the Spirit, read the words thus—“The love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” But inasmuch as love to unworthy creatures such as we are can only display itself in free favor—that is, Grace—and we know that the term used is an accurate expression, we will let it stand as it is, only putting in a drop or two of the sweet honey of the love which lies within it.
John desires that we may have the free favor of Jesus Christ, the love of Jesus Christ, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ Himself is generally mentioned in our benedictions as having Grace and the Father as having love— and our usual benediction begins with the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God. Is that the proper order? Should we not rather say, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? Brothers and Sisters, the order observed in the benediction is that of our experience—the order in which we learn—the order in which we receive. We first receive the Grace and free favor which are in Christ Jesus—and then, from these we learn the love of the Father—for no man comes unto the Father but by Jesus Christ.