“Did you see what happened to Israel Folau, um, the rugby league player? What happened to him? He was taken to court, actually he took them to court because he was kicked out of his professional job because he quoted something on his Facebook or on his Twitter. And he actually quoted something from the bible. He was expressing his faith, but he was persecuted. How dare you judging people? I’m not judging my beloved. I’m just quoting and confessing and professing my faith. So the church is in a place where it is persecuted.
Asia, here, represents the whole world.
He says? Do we have the verses on the screen? We don’t. That’s okay. ‘Grace to you and peace.’ John, is sending the message to the seven churches in Asia and begins the message with ‘Grace to you and peace.’ In a nutshell, it is that grace that brought Jesus Christ. And when Jesus Christ came, peace was made possible. Grace and peace to you all. Grace to you and peace. Grace brought Jesus and when Jesus came, peace was made possible. What is grace? Grace is a gift from God, given for free for someone like me unworthy of it. Grace is a gift from God, given for free to someone like me that is not worthy of it. So what is the grace of God? Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus hanged on the cross is the grace of God to all humanity.
How did peace come about? When Jesus was crucified, through His precious blood that He shed on calvary on the cross, washed away the sins of the world and those who accepted Him their sins were washed and once their sins were washed they become reunited and reconciled back to God. Peace was made possible by the Lamb of God in shedding His blood on calvary on the cross. God was reconciled back to men. Peace was made possible through the blood of Jesus Christ. So, grace brought us Jesus and when Jesus came, peace was made between God and man.
‘From him who is and was and who is to come‘: so this grace and peace is from the one who is, is from the one who was, and is from the one who is to come. Now, I’ll give you two interpretations from the one who is, who was and who is to come. One interpretation is ‘from the one who is’ – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who is at the moment dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit is the one who is present in the church of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one in whom we walk, we talk, we move, and we live. Currently we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit. ‘From the one who was’ – God the Father, who was from the very beginning, the one who loved us from the very beginning. The one who created us from the very beginning. And the one who is to come, the son, Jesus Christ, who will come in the end to judge the living and the dead. Who will come to take His bride without a blemish, without a stain, into the Father’s house.
But, in this particular verse, and for this evening, I will say that since grace is given by God, because grace is a gift from God given for free to people who are not worthy of it, and that gift which God gave all people is His son, Jesus Christ. He is the grace of God. Therefore I will say that the grace is coming and the peace from the one who is, and from the one who was, and from the one who is to come is God the father. And why I say all of them, God the Father, because straight after that ‘and from the seven spirits who are before His throne’ – the seven spirits is the Holy Spirit and from Jesus Christ, the son of God.
So, grace and peace from the one who is, from the one who was, and from the one who is to come – God the Father. And the seven spirits who are before the throne of God – the Holy Spirit. And from Jesus Christ, the son of God. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son. This is the trinitarian God which all Christian people believe and worship. We believe that God is one but this one God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
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