The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (Romans 16:20)

We are accustomed to benedictions that refer to the three persons of the Trinity and may be surprised to discover that there is not a biblical requirement that the three persons should always be mentioned. In 15:13, Paul gives a benediction in which the Father and the Holy Spirit are mentioned, and in 15:33 he has one in which only the Father is mentioned. Usually, his letters open with a benediction that mentions the Father and the Son.

This is not the only occasion in which the second person of the Trinity is the one that is mentioned. Paul uses this benediction in Galatians 6:18: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers.’ A similar one is used by him in Philippians 4:23, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and Philemon 25. Galatians and 1 Thessalonians are his earliest letters whereas Philippians and Philemon were written several years after he wrote Romans. So we can deduce that Paul used this benediction frequently throughout his ministry.

Before we look into the meaning of this statement we can observe four obvious points. One is that Paul thought that the Romans needed this spiritual experience in order to face what was coming their way. The second is that Paul knew this grace was available for all of them, and not just for a special few among them. The third is that Paul knew that this grace was suitable for all of them, whoever they were and whatever they were going through. And the fourth is that we can deduce that Paul believed that the grace of Jesus could be effective in all of them, no matter their sins and failures.

His dignity

There is another question that we can ask, and it is this: ‘Why does Paul not say, “The grace of God the Son be with you”?’ Of course, he may not have had a special reason for not doing so. Nevertheless, we can ask why he uses this description of Jesus. I would suggest that Paul’s reason is connected to how we think about the second person of the Trinity. In giving this name to him, Paul is urging us to remember that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. I think we tend to forget this role of the Son, that he became a man in order to provide us with the blessings and benefits of salvation that God planned to give to us.

In order to be the mediator Jesus has to be able to represent the two parties involved – God and man. As the Son of God, a divine person possessing all the attributes of God and always fully cognisant of the plans of God, he can represent God perfectly. Moreover, he is a real man, fully able to represent his people at the same time as he represents God, and to do so perfectly. While he had never lived in Rome, he knows what it was like to live in Rome and what divine help was needed by the believers in Rome from God.

There is a wonderful picture of Jesus as our representative in the way that the high priest of Israel carried the names of the twelve tribes into the presence of God. The names were on his shoulders, which is the place of strength, and on his breastplate, which is the place of affections. We should remind ourselves frequently of this great reality that we have such a mediator.

We can say more about Jesus as mediator through this statement because it includes the title ‘Lord’, which is a reminder to us of the position he now enjoys in heaven. Forty days after his resurrection, he ascended to heaven and took his place at the right hand of God and was given the title ‘Lord’. Of course, in his person as the Son of God he was always Lord. Yet when he became man, his lordship was hidden from the eyes of people and most people who saw him had no idea who he was. But the great day of his coronation came when public acknowledgement was made in the highest location that the One who had suffered on the cross for sinners has been highly exalted and given the name, ‘Lord.’

This means that whenever we repeat this benediction we are making a great confession. We affirm with great joy that he is the appointed king of the universe, the one who has all power in heaven and on earth. And not only are we affirming his status, we are also affirming his competence to fulfil the spiritual needs of his people wherever they are.

His determination

It may help us understand this benediction better if we think briefly about another verse that describes the grace of Jesus. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:9: ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.’ That verse indicates that the purpose of Jesus’ death (his poverty) was so that we could share his riches.

While many details can be deduced from this verse, two are of relevance for us as we consider Paul’s benediction about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first is the intensity of his desire that we become rich. We can measure a person’s intensity for something by the lengths to which he will go to attain it. A person who wants to win an Olympic medal will focus his attention on being ready for the attempt. The heart of Jesus was focussed on liberating his people from sin and its consequences, which he did by suffering on the cross as their substitute when he bore the wrath of God against their sins. We should always admire the intensity of Jesus as he went to the cross.

The second detail from this verse to observe is the generosity of Jesus. We can estimate whether or not a person is generous man by comparing his givings to his resources. A multi-millionaire who gives £10 to a beggar is not being generous. A generous person does not give out of his resources but according to his resources. Jesus does not merely give out of his resources, but he makes his people rich according to his estimation. The obvious deduction we can make is that grace will be given in abundance.

There is another detail that we must remember as we think about this connection to the grace of Jesus and it is mentioned by Peter in 2 Peter 3:18: ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Peter indicates the exclusiveness of the grace of Jesus as the location of Christian progress – we cannot develop in a spiritual way anywhere else. And Peter also highlights the similarity between growing in grace and growing in knowledge of Jesus. His words tell us that experiencing the grace of Jesus will involve getting to know Jesus better, and we can think about some of those ways now.

His delight

Jesus wants each of his people to know him intimately and the only way that they can know him is through his grace. We know that the subject of his grace is vast and we need to break it down into different areas. Yet as we break it down, we must remind ourselves that doing so enables us to know Jesus more deeply than previously.

One way to look at his grace is to remind ourselves that it is purchased grace. We have already thought about this aspect when reflecting on Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 8. Yet it is important for us to realise and to remind ourselves that the giving of grace is not uncertain. I may know a person who can help me, but that is not the same as knowing that he will help me. How do I know that Jesus will give grace to each of his people? Because he purchased it for them. We know that he commenced showing grace to them before they thought of asking him about it when he started the process of bringing them to himself through the gospel.

Another way to look at the grace of Jesus is to remind ourselves that it is plentiful grace. It is plentiful in degree as well as in extent. Without looking at particular aspects at the moment, we can see that his grace covers all areas of spiritual needs of every believers and lasts throughout that person’s life on earth. How many are experiencing his grace at the moment throughout the world? I suppose each of us could create easily a list of ways in which the grace of Jesus has been given to us. Because it is plentiful, it means that we do not have to worry that somehow it will run out. Jesus is always full of grace.

At the same time, we have to remember that it is personal grace in the sense that Jesus ensures that each of his people receives the particular grace that they need at any given time. This is a reminder of his awareness of and interest in his people. No doubt, they pray for grace often and may have a particular kind in mind. Yet the Saviour knows exactly the kind of grace that they will require and he provides it for them in their own personal way.

Those three aspects of grace – purchased, plentiful and personal – describe it in general. While it is good to look at grace from a general perspective, it is also beneficial for us to look at it in special ways. One special way is to consider pardoning grace, which is one that each of his people needs on innumerable occasions. How often we need this purchased, plentiful and personal grace! The fact that it is purchased means that it will be given, the fact that it is plentiful means that it will be given always, and the fact that it is personal means that it will be given accurately and meaningfully for each of his people.

A second form of particular grace is what we can call provided grace in the sense of his people receiving from Jesus his choice of spiritual food for their souls. The reality is that only heavenly food will satisfy the new creature. Even things that are not necessarily sinful will not fully satisfy our regenerated souls. The only spiritual food that will satisfy our hearts is Jesus himself, and this may be why Peter told us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus. Unlike the best of earthly food, Jesus does not become uninteresting if we have such a diet every day. And speaking of diets, we don’t need to worry about any bad growth appearing as a consequence of feeding on Christ. There is enough in the person and work of Jesus to satisfy the largest of minds, the strongest of emotions, and the most determined of searchers.

Then a third form of particular grace is peculiar grace, by which I mean experiencing grace in unusual ways. One common example is the way that believers in trouble can enjoy the peace of God, sometimes in very difficult or in very dangerous situations. They may be facing trials that look very severe, but during them they can have an amazing sense of the Lord’s presence.  This experience is beyond human explanation, but it is a common way by which believers come to know Jesus in a deeper way. As Rutherford put it, ‘O, what I owe to the file, to the hammer, to the furnace of my Lord Jesus!’

A fourth way in which Jesus comes in grace to his people is by what we can call prospective grace, by which I mean when he gives to them foretastes of and assurance about the heavenly homeland. Of course, such grace is given through descriptions of heaven in the Bible, but they become so precious through the hidden working of the Spirit as he seems to whisper in our souls, ‘This is where you are heading.’ I see no reason why we should not a verse or a chapter about heaven every day. As has often been suggested, an heir to an inheritance will often think about the day it will be his and the benefits it will bring to him.

I would mention a fifth kind of grace from Jesus which I call preventing grace. This is given to stop us succumbing to Satan’s temptations or to our own sinful tendencies. Are you ever surprised that you did not lose your temper in a difficult situation? The achievement was not arrived at through your abilities but through the grace of Jesus preventing you from sinning. There are many examples that could be given of this wonderful aspect of grace.

So we can say that Paul has a great deal in mind when he refers to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry summarises it as ‘the good will of Christ towards you, the good work of Christ in you,’ and that is a helpful way to remember it.