https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBwcTDZRmkY
supposedly has Paul's thorn in the flesh.
In this lesson, students learn about grace and mercy
In essence, grace is getting what you don’t deserve, while mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is most needed in the midst of sin, suffering, and brokenness. In a world of earning and merit, judgment dictates what you deserve. That is why everyone wants and needs both mercy and grace.
https://www.orbcfamily.org/blog/faith/understanding-difference-mercy-grace/
Devotion
2 John 1:3 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from[a] Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Our study on the New walk continues with this passage that has at least three references to God's love.
Grace is the attribute of God in which He leans toward us with His undeserved love that gifts us eternal life and the forgiveness of sins.
Mercy is the covenant promise God made to us. He would take away the punishment of our sins.
We can summarize these first two this way. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Love is a word that always has a meaning connected to Godly love. This kind of love is so special, that the word was invented for God's love.
The other two words that are found here also show the special nature of God.
Peace is like that felt when a war is over. This war is the one between us and God. He made it possible for us to be with Him by having Jesus die on the cross for us. That was the message of the angels when Jesus was born "Peace on earth. Goodwill toward men."
Finally we consider the word truth. In our world, truth seems to take on whatever meaning people want it to have. But the actual word we translate as truth could also be translated reality. It is real that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We can rest assured of this truth because the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe what He has said and what He has done. That is why we can say with John, "3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from[a] Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love."
2 Corinthians 13:14ESV The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The first parting gift that the Triune God bestows in the Apostolic Blessing is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember what you were taught in confirmation class about the word grace? Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. Another way to think about it is as an acronym: G-R-A-C-E, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul defined beautifully what the grace of Christ is: 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. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
You see, this gift of God’s grace given freely to us sinners was obtained by a price. There was great cost involved. Remember, grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. The expense was Christ’s redemptive work. It cost Him full use of His divine attributes and abilities. It cost Him the glory and honor that was due the true God. It cost Him His perfect life on behalf of our sins.
So what’s the result of Christ’s oh-so-expensive redemptive work? God’s GRACE for the sinner! All God’s riches are freely bestowed upon you by grace through faith in Christ Jesus! It cost Him everything; it costs you nothing! That’s the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! Grace means you have the forgiveness of all your sins. Nothing your guilty conscience says will change that fact. You are freely forgiven. Grace means your life has meaning and purpose because your life is tied to the Christ. He is your identity and focus. Grace means you have eternal salvation. Your sins forgiven means your eternal life in heaven. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is truly an incredible gift to sinners from the Triune God.
Glory be to Him who loved us,
Washed us from each spot and stain:
Glory be to Him who bought us,
Made us kings with Him to reign!
Glory, glory To the Lamb that once was slain!
(Lutheran Service Book, 506:2)
Luke 6:36, 37 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
To be merciful is to be sympathetic toward those who are suffering or struggling. It is one of God’s attributes: He “pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13). Jesus by His compassion showed Himself to be the Son of God (Matthew 9:36). Yet He was not haughty toward His fellowmen but reached out to them, bore with them, helped them in their needs, and finally gave Himself as an offering to redeem them.
Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we have been justified and exalted to the high standing of God’s own beloved children. We have an exalted position in this world, but we should not on this account exalt ourselves and be haughty towards our fellowmen.
Mercy should govern our attitudes toward others. Judging and condemning are both unmerciful, and therefore not fitting for children of the merciful heavenly Father and disciples of the merciful Lord Jesus Christ.But what does Jesus mean here by judging? This passage is often taken to mean that we should not judge or condemn sinful behavior or false teaching. But this can’t be right, because Scripture instructs us to evaluate both conduct and teaching, to hold fast to what is good and reject what is evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22).
Jesus here warns against cultivating in ourselves an unmerciful and unloving heart. Such a heart is revealed when we are quick to judge and condemn the actions of others rather than to explain them in the best light; when we want to condemn others rather than forgive them and deal with them in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1).
The way of mercy in thinking of others and dealing with them is fitting for us to whom God has shown such great mercy. We who were by nature children of wrath He has made His own beloved children by His grace in Christ. When we show mercy to others we exhibit Godlike and Christlike attitudes and behavior. In this way we confess Christ and give Him glory.
Let us then continually pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that He would work in us His blessed fruits of longsuffering, kindness, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22, 23).
The lesson
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. On these tablets I will write the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one may come up with you. In fact, no person is to be seen anywhere on the entire mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”
4 Moses cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Moses got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hand. 5 The Lord came down in the cloud. He took his stand there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, 7 maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin. He will by no means clear the guilty. He calls their children and their children’s children to account for the guilt of the fathers, even to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshipped. 9 He said, “If I have now found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go along with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our guilt and our sin, and accept us as your possession.”
12 I must go on boasting, although there is nothing to be gained. So I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, was carried up to the third heaven (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know—God knows). 3 And I know that such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know—God knows) 4 was carried up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words that a man cannot possibly speak.[a] 5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 6 Indeed, if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from doing this, so that no one will think more highly of me than what he sees in me or hears from me.
7 Therefore,[b] to keep me from becoming arrogant due to the extraordinary nature of these revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, so that I would not become arrogant. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that he would take it away from me. 9 And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect[c] in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me.
10 That is why I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For whenever I am weak, then am I strong.
21 Then Peter came up and asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you as many as seventy-seven times.[g] 23 For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle them, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[h] was brought to him. 25 Because the man was not able to pay the debt, his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, children, and all that he owned to repay the debt.
26 “Then the servant fell down on his knees in front of him, saying, ‘Master, be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ 27 The master of that servant had pity on him, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii.[i] He grabbed him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 “So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30 But he refused. Instead he went off and threw the man into prison until he could pay back what he owed.
31 “When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were very distressed. They went and reported to their master everything that had taken place.
32 “Then his master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt when you begged me to. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His master was angry and handed him over to the jailers until he could pay back everything he owed.
35 “This is what my heavenly Father will also do to you unless each one of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Footnotes
Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times sevens
Matthew 18:24 Ten thousand talents was an enormous amount equal to sixty million days’ wages. Each talent was worth six thousand denarii. A denarius was one day’s wage.
Matthew 18:28 This was one hundred days’ wages, since one denarius was equal to one day’s wage.
Rembrandt van Rijn (and Workshop?) (Dutch, 1606 - 1669 ), The Apostle Paul, c. 1657, oil on canvas, Widener Collection