Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
It's actually the very end of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. It's how he chooses to end his letter. I wonder, how do you end letters that you write? Most of you probably don't write letters very often anymore. Maybe an email. How do you end an email? You've got a signature. Sincerely. Warm regards. What is it?
Paul would often end his letters with what's called a benediction. And a benediction is like a prayer. It's a blessing. He's expressing this desire that he has for the people that he's just written to. And actually, what you have here is Paul's only Trinitarian benediction, which means that in this benediction you have the three persons of the Godhead.
You know God is one God, but He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And so he prays three things for these people that he loves. He prays grace and love and fellowship. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
And you know, I don't know each of you, but I would pray the same for you. I would want the very same thing for you. He says about those three things—the grace, the love, and the fellowship—"May it be with you." That means may you experience it. And so I would hope and my desire is that you experience the grace of Jesus, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Many of you need to experience that right now, you need to experience that today. I was at a low season in my life a couple of years ago. I'll spare you the details, but I felt worthless. I felt alone, and I'd always prided myself as being a person that was always able to rise above those kinds of feelings and emotions, but it hit me.
And it was in those days that it became more precious to me than ever, that I understand these very things Paul describes here. I needed to remember that God the Father loved me, that God the Father had affection for me. I had to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ was giving me grace. You know what that means? It means undeserved favor, not favoritism, not favor because you're this or you're that—but just favor because He loves you. Undeserved.
And then the fellowship. The fellowship, the community, the family. We have been, by the Spirit of God, adopted into the family of God. I don't know you, but you're my brother. Or you are my sister. And in those dark days and in your dark days, we need to remember the love of God, the grace of Jesus, and this fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
And so I'll read it again, and I'll pray it over you now. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
