…from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Summary: Paul’s use of both the Father and the Son point us to an enduring truth.
When Paul gifts Timothy with “grace, mercy, and peace,” he doesn’t just say “from God.” Instead, he points us to two different beings: God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
What do you think of when you read that? Does it make you wonder if you should pray to both of them when you pray? Jesus famously said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Doesn’t that mean that praying to one is the same as praying to the other?
The answer to these questions has to do with the difficulty we humans have in understanding the amazing dynamics of the spiritual realm.
When Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, he explained that for people to see the kingdom of God, they have to be “born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus is puzzled. He doesn’t understand at all. Jesus, in turn, expresses amazement at Nicodemus’s puzzlement:
“I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (John 3:12)
How indeed!
Look at how the Bible portrays Jesus in the Book of Revelation:
“…among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1:13-16)
Among the descriptors is a sword coming out of his mouth? Why?
Later, John writes:
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” (Revelation 5:6)
Here we see Jesus as a lamb, looking dead, with seven eyes.
What is going on here?
The Bible uses images to reveal God’s nature to us. If Paul uses both names, that doesn’t change the fact that Jesus and the Father are one.
Application: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” — Jesus, John 14:9
Food for Thought: What is the best way for us to approach these kinds of statements about God?
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