II Chronicles 6:42) SeeMercy
5-1-15
The Lord led me to study mercy lately. It’s been shown to me that it is a spiritual gift according to Romans 12:8. An exhaustive word study was conducted using Strong’s Concordance and the Bible passages according to the following words: “mercies”, “merciful”, “mercy”, and also “mercyseat”. The study was a blessing and insightful, particularly in the first and last items, which has been generally the case throughout this Grace Study.
“Mercies”
1.) Holy mercy, Acts 13:32-37 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ The fact that God raised Him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings (mercies KJV) promised to David.’ So it is stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.” Well this entire item entry is a massive study in perceiving God’s grace. Having said that, the following is noted:
a) This term, “mercies” in the KJV, is rendered “blessings” in the NIV, and is the word “hosios” in the Greek. The word is defined as “holy” by Vine’s[1]. And, I believe W.E. Vine “hit the nail on the head” when he noticed, regarding this Greek word “hosios”, “It is used of God… and of certain promises made to David, which could be fulfilled only in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Acts 13:34. … In the Septuagint, ‘hosios’ frequently represents the Hebrew word ‘chasid’, which varies in meaning between ‘holy’ and ‘gracious’, or ‘merciful’; cp. Ps 16:10 with 145:17.” Essentially Vine is noticing that mercy is a divine attribute that we can sometimes have, and that God sometimes practices (but always has). From my perspective, of this Grace Study, I’m concluding that there are certain mercies of God, planned and prophesied of long ago, before creation in this case (Acts 2:23, Ephesians 3:9).
b) In a totally separate study, just 30 minutes ago, I was just today going over the places in the Bible where God said, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.” I was trying to determine the point in time when the Father said that to the Son. (And, I think I have the timing sorted out.) I picked up on the Hebrews 1:5 & 5:5 passages (also Psalms 2:7), but totally missed the better (for my purposes) explanation brought out in Acts, above. Since there are no accidents in the life of a Christian, and because God sits sovereign upon his throne, I believe this to be intercession (grace) from God’s throne of grace.
c) Now, we should step back and perceive that holy mercies connote the intercession of God from his throne in marvelous ways that would truly take an act of God to do, and even to think of (not negating that God can move humans to have unnatural mercy- which is akin to God’s grace gift of mercy- therefore conceding that such mercy is not limited to believers).
d) And, I note that there is a problem of semantics when employing all these various translation books, in that all the Greek words being cited are not exactly the same in their endings (which should connote different tense, conjugation, and declination- too much to explain herein). I favor Alfred Marshall’s text[2] for Acts 13:34, “I will give you the holy things of David the faithful”. And then the kicker, that brings out the real meaning for our purposes, is that this same root word “hosios” (3741 in Strong’s[3]- “right (by intrinsic or divine character)”) was only used once to denote mercy in the New Testament. The other times it was translated “holy” or “precious”. And, amazingly 2 of the 6 times it was rendered as “holy”, were different renditions of Psalms 16:10, “You will not let your Holy One see decay” (as found in Acts 13:34, above, and in Acts 2:27).
e) Acts 13:34 is a requote of Isaiah 55:3, and Isaiah 55:3’s meaning is rendered merciful kindness by the translators in the KJV, and “faithful love” in the NIV.
So, within the concept of holy mercy are the “holy things of David”, which included the coming of the “Holy One” and the death of the “Holy One” who would not see decay. And, as was stated above, I’m concluding that there are certain mercies of God, planned and prophesied of long ago, which happen and we realize they are from God in his set purpose and foreknowledge. Can we be a part of these merciful acts of God? Yes, especially if we recognize, seek out, and practice that grace gift of mercy- as manifested by God’s Holy Spirit within us. The following are additional passages regarding this concept of holy mercy, the first four of which are the occurrences of the word “holy” which are cited by Strong’s number 3741- “right (by intrinsic or divine character”:
f) Acts 2:27, “…because You will not abandon Me to the grave, nor will You let your Holy One see decay.” This is, of course, taken from Psalms 16:10.
g) I Timothy 2:8, “I want everyone everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” How can a person’s hands be holy? Or, another way of asking this is, “How are a believer’s hands holy, when raised in prayer, because of intrinsic or divine character?” Yes, our divine character, received by inheritance from God as sons, does make us holy. Also, I note that I Corinthians 11:2-16, addresses our position before God’s throne in prayer, “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. … A man ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.” So we see that when we pray or prophecy we are coming before God’s throne, and we are coming before angels and even the demons who are watching. And, God’s throne of grace is a very awesome and holy, and powerful place to be. We are told to come boldly before God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). However, the Old Testament saints did not have this privilege, since Christ’s flesh had not yet been sacrificed to make possible the believer’s access into God’s holy presence- Hebrews 10:19-20. And, Paul doesn’t just want us to lift our hands in prayer, but rather “lift up holy hands in prayer”. Of course it is not just our hands that are holy, but we, being in Christ Jesus, are holy in our new nature. And in our new nature, believers are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms- Ephesians 2:6.
h) Hebrews 7:26, “Such a high priest meets our need- one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” Of course we can easily see why the Lord Jesus is holy merely by his intrinsic or divine character.
i) Revelation 15:4, “Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For You alone are holy.”
j) Luke 1:76-79, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” This passage does not employ that Greek word “hosios”, but the use of mercy herein certainly connotes the meaning of holy mercy, since mercy is cited as the reason for the calling of John the Baptist, and forgiveness of sins through Christ, and Christ’s glorious return as the Rising Sun.
k) I Peter 1:3-5, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for you, who by faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” This passage also connotes the meaning of holy mercy in that such mercy imparts to us new birth and our heavenly inheritance kept by God’s power for us.
l) Matthew 9:27-30, “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then He touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.” What a startling miracle to go along with this item concerning the sure mercies of David! I originally picked up on Matthew 9:27 while researching Item#6, below. But, I immediately thought, “Uh Uh, I know where this passage belongs.” And so, I placed this precious and beautiful healing narrative up here along with “Holy Mercy” and the sure mercies of David. I wonder how much those blind men understood of the sure mercies of David, and how much would have been taught by the Jewish teachers of that day. I Chronicles 6:42 involves a similar plea- based on God's promised/ sure mercies to David.
2.) Mercies of God, Romans 12:1 (KJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, bare one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.” There is a bit of a difference between the KJV rendering and the NIV rendering of this passage. And, this difference brings out the challenge to us, which is already being brought out in Item#1, above. This challenge is to realize that our grace gifts are a part of the sure mercies of David, a part of our abundant life promise- from God to believers (See Item#14 of the Apostleship Section). The KJV is shown above because the KJV brings out the challenge in understanding of the usage of that phrase “”by the mercies of God”. Alfred Marshall’s Greek renders this phrase “through the compassions of God”. So, the question becomes, “Is Paul beseeching us by power of the sure mercies of God?” Or, are we to present our bodies as living sacrifices, practicing our grace gifts, by the power of the sure mercies of God- as brought out in Item#1 above? The NIV renders this phrase “in view of God’s mercy”; and this NIV translation doesn’t solve the basic quandary above. Is the reason for Paul’s beseeching due to his “view of God’s mercy’’? Or, are we to present our bodies “in view of God’s mercy’’? I tend to accept the latter. And, I believe this would not be in view of God’s mercies, but rather through the sure mercies of David- that is, empowerment by God’s grace gifts. Paul identifies in verse 3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me,”. Now, if Paul had merely said, “For I say, through God’s grace”, then we could conclude that he’s pointing out that his speech is through God’s grace. And, we could strongly conclude that the conjunction “for” connects this phrase with his beseeching in verse 1. Then, we’d surmise the meaning that his beseeching was by the mercies of God, rather than our sacrifice through the mercies of God. However, Paul didn’t merely say that! Paul said, “For I say, through the grace given me… ”, thus distinguishing between his gifts of grace and our grace gifts. And several verses in this passage allude to empowerment by grace, especially practicing of the grace gifts: vs 1, “by the mercies of God”, “present … which is your reasonable service”; vs 3, “through the grace given me”; vs 6, “having then gifts differing according to the grace”.
And, there’s that word “holy” again used in conjunction with the mercies of God. And this word “holy”, according to Strongs, relates to purity from defilement, especially as used in the term “Holy Ghost”. And, why are our bodies holy as they are presented as living sacrifices? They’re holy because they are temples of God’s Holy Spirit. And, I believe this passage is accentuating and proving up what is said elsewhere in this Grace Study, that God is indwelling his Church through the grace gifts- which are manifested through his Holy Spirit. (See the following references for God indwelling his Church through grace gifts: Item#68 of the Apostleship Section, Item#439 of the Prophecy Section, Item#1b of the Word of Wisdom Section, and Items#85 & 109 of the Evangelism Section. Also see Item#b, of the second paragraph of Item#1, above.)
We cannot leave this discussion without bringing out the similarities between the Romans 12:1-8 passage and the Ephesians 4:1-16 passage. They are sister verses, and while they have somewhat differing grace gifts mentioned, the believers are urged by Paul in both passages to practice their grace gifts “in view of God’s mercy”, (Romans 12:1) and “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). The following are some thoughts in that regard:
a) Now, if you think about it, “in view of God’s mercy”- (accentuating his gift of Sonship to us), and “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”, means practically the same thing in terms of a reason to do something.
b) Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” I conclude, then, that the manner and measure of one’s grace gift is directed and throttled by the measure of faith God has given each of us.
c) Romans 12:2 gives the purpose of Paul’s urging, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Ephesians 4:15 also gives the purpose of Paul’s urging, “Speaking the truth in love we will in all things, grow up unto Him who is the Head, that is, Christ”. See Item#11c of the Rule Section.
d) And, obviously, in both passages we can note that differing grace gifts are listed, with each person having differing gifts, as it suits the Lord and according to the measure of one’s faith.
And, another Scripture speaking of the mercies of God explains one great reason why the Lord would show mercy, rather than wrath: “What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath- prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As He says in Hosea: ‘I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one.’”- Romans 9:22-25.
3.) The God of All Comfort, II Corinthians 1:3-11, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion (mercies- KJV) and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings which we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” We know that the Spirit of God wars against all flesh/ carnality in this world; and so “Everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”- II Timothy 3:12. But God is merciful and doesn’t allow us to be overwhelmed by the persecution intrinsic to our flesh and the natural world around us. So, He comforts us in these trials, and we can recognize that He is the “Father of mercies and the God of all comfort”- II Corinthians 1:3 (KJV). And, through such comfort we can feel his loving hand upon our shoulder. It’s worth noting that, while writing this, I’m sitting at a table in a hotel room, our house having caught fire with little fire but much smoke damage. We certainly feel the Lord’s hand upon us, and view this as an opportunity to rid ourselves of much worldly baggage, and some carnal attitudes as well. The timing of the Lord is impeccable and praiseworthy! I note that this item could easily been entitled, “the dispensing of comfort”, because it explains how mercy and comfort are passed on to others through the Lord. And, I note that this passage helps explain the Spirit gift of mercy by how it starts from the Father and then flows out of us to others. I believe that this is how all Spirit gifts work; after all, aren’t all such gifts of the Spirit? And, God indwells his Church through the gifts. (See Item#68 of the Apostleship Section.) The following are more passages relating to The God of All Comfort:
a) Romans 9:15-18, “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”
b) James 3:17, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
c) James 5:11, “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
4.) Mercy as an indicator and reminder, Philippians 2:1-2, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion (‘bowels and mercies’- KJV), then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and purpose.” “Mercies”, herein, is a reminder that the reader should make Paul’s joy complete, and humbly take on the attitude of Christ- Philippians 2:3-18. And so, once reminded by the presence of mercy, and having known comfort from his love, and the presence of God’s Spirit, we realize from these indicators that we have a new, Godly nature and a special calling; and so, we can do the things Paul is asking of us in the passages following (verses 3-18). (Also see Item#7 below, because mercy is showing us that we are of the Father.)
a) Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion (bowels of mercies), kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
Both passages, Philippians 2:1-2 and Colossians 3:12, use heart/ bowels of mercy as a gut check of where we are in Christ.
5.) For Thy mercies’ sake, Nehemiah 9:28-31, “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. You warned them to return to your Law. But they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. For many years you were patient with them. By your spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”
a) Psalms 6:4, “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me Lord, for I am faint; O Lord heal me for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”
b) Psalms 31:7-9, “I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.”
c) Psalms 103:8, 11, 17, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (‘plenteous in mercy’ KJV). … For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love (‘mercy’ KJV) for those who fear Him; … But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love (‘mercy’ KJV) is with those who fear Him, and his righteousness with their children’s’ children-“. The Lord wants us to recognize his mercy.
The Lord’s mercy transcends our cognition of it, and obviously our degree of righteousness. So, many times the Lord is merciful because, if not, we’d perish; and also mercy is part of his nature- and what believers sing songs about (Psalms 89:1).
"Merciful"
6.) Active Compassion by Divine Grace, Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.”
a) Hebrews 2:17, “For this reason He had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Christ is not a faithful and merciful high priest for a short time, or even for a long time, but rather, the Scripture says, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”- Hebrews 5:6. And, the Lord Jesus is continually and actively interceding on or behalf- and mercy is a part of his nature.
b) Hebrews 4:14-16, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then, approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
c) James 2:13, “… judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
Mercy proceeds from God’s throne of grace, and mercy is shown to those who are merciful. I perceive that mercy is like being given a divine, blank, check book, from which we can show all the mercy that we can, and we can know that God will then show us mercy. And, in so doing, we become like our Savior who is full of mercy- who is the express image of his Father.
7.) Same fruit of mercy as our Father, Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your father is merciful.” As was stated above in Item#6, by practicing mercy we become like our Father, and like his Son- our Savior. And, if you’re wondering where to draw the line on mercy, “merciful” actually means full of mercy.
a) Jude 22 gives a practical example of manifesting mercy as a grace gift in us, “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” With the gospel and other grace gifts we can work to snatch some from the flames, and bring doubters to faith in Christ. And, in so doing, we are acting in full cooperation with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as God’s right hand. But this verse reminds us that, while being merciful, we should keep an eye out to continue hating the sin that is destroying such people. Many people continue to urge me, in some of my work, “Be tolerant. Who are you to judge? Be tolerant!” such statements are nonsense! Such statements, at best, are the flesh of the critic warring against the Holy Spirit working in the evangelist. At worst, such statements are the lies of satan gurgling out of the mouth of a very carnal person- resisting the spread of the gospel by giving into fleshly and worldly notions. God hates sin, and if we are to work as an extension of his right hand of power, we need to hate the sin, even while being merciful and helping sinners. And, I believe this verse doesn’t just mean helping a sinner spiritually, but physically and financially as well- showing mercy as is fit (but hating the sin). Many people are ill because of their sin. Many people are financially busted because of their sin. Many people are confused and even mentally broken because of their sin. In working with such people, we must pray against, and in a careful way, preach against the sin, else no solution will be accomplished. And, an experienced servant of Christ would quickly state that lack of Godly faith is often the foremost sin/ error that a person has- which is destroying that person. So, Godly mercy must be coupled with hatred of sin; “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”- II Corinthians 6:14.
8.) Atonement sacrifice (propitiation), Luke 18:13, “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” Strong’s has this as the Greek word “hilaskomai”, meaning atonement or propitiation; and is the root of the Greek word “hilasterion”, which is used for the Ark’s mercy seat/ atonement cover in Hebrews 9:5. So, the tax collector is asking for mercy based on atonement, and was a very wise thing to do. The following also speaks of mercy due to propitiation:
a) Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.”(KJV). The Greek word “hileos” is used here, meaning propitious/ gracious, which again brings in the concept as atonement as the basis for mercy.
b) Romans 3:25-26, “God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement (propitiation KJV), through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance He left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” So, propitiation is a basis for mercy, and, most notably, the mercy of salvation for the believer.
c) I John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
"Mercy"
9.) Spared judgment- rule of 1st reference, Genesis 19:16, “When he (Lot) hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.” So, we see that the first reference to mercy in the Scripture is an example of spared judgment. The following are more examples of mercy as spared judgment:
a) I Corinthians 7:25, “… I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.” So, Paul reckoned his trustworthiness as coming from the Lord as an act of mercy. And, he was contending that without the Lord he was not trustworthy- in his old nature. And, we also can conclude that any Godliness of behavior is mercifully given to us by God, because without Him we’d all be a mess. For proof, we need merely to look honestly at our past life before we were saved. (Also see Item#c, below.)
b) II Corinthians 4:1&7, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy, we have this ministry we do not lose heart. … But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Let’s be honest, we were dead in transgressions and sins, as is clearly stated by Paul in Item#c below. Paul was a persecutor of Christians even unto death in his old nature; many of us were acting like insane men in our old nature. And now we have a grace ministry of some sort, we walk with the King of Kings, and we have a nail hook in the tent of God (Ezra 9:8). That’s mercy!
c) Ephesians 2:1-7, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” I note that it is one of the purposes of this Grace Study to explain and dive into what it means to be already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Also see Items# 109 & 145 of the Evangelism Section, Item#443 of the Prophecy Section, Item#20d of the Healings Section, and Item#15n of the Word of Knowledge Section.
d) I Timothy 1:13-16, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.” This is, of course, what was already brought out in Item#b above, but this is in Paul’s own words.
e) Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of righteous acts which we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This passage is a famous salvation memory verse, but clearly states that salvation is not by righteous acts, but because of Christ’s mercy.
f) James 2:13, “… because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” This follows the golden rule, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And also, if you can obtain mercy, or give mercy, then mercy is greater than the judgment and, per Item Nos 6&7, mercy is a divine attribute/ grace gift.
g) I Peter 2:4-10, “As you come to Him, the Living Stone- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a Stone in Zion, a chosen and precious Cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this Stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The Stone the builders rejected has become the Capstone,’ and, ‘A Stone that causes men to stumble and a Rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message- which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Once a mature believer asked some younger believers this question- in order to get them thinking, “Are you a holy priest or a royal priest?” Well, I forget his explanation. However, that gives me liberty to supply my own explanation. I conclude that, in Christ Jesus it is impossible to be a holy priest without also being a royal priest. You see, in Christ Jesus, by the above declaration, we are holy priests- able to offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. So if you are a believer, you are already a holy priest in Christ Jesus. And, since we are already seated with Christ, in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus; and since He is the King of Kings- already seated at God’s right hand; we are already royal in our priesthood. Considering, then, the type of people we once were, this arrangement is more than kind, and an extremely merciful blessing.
h) Exodus 12:9-14, Miriam, after murmuring against Moses, was quickly healed of the leprosy brought on by God’s burning wrath. This shows that even in God’s judgment, He sometimes holds back, and shows mercy even in the type of judgment meted out in situations. So we can pray, as Moses did, in the midst of such judgments, that the person would learn their lesson and be corrected or directed; while, at the same time, praying that the Lord’s judgment won’t permanently harm that person’s body, and that He would have mercy intertwined with his judgment upon that person.
10.)Mercy- not sacrifice, Matthew 9:11-13, “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
a) Hosea 6:4-7, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant- they were unfaithful to me there.”
b) Matthew 12:1-8, “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabaath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabaath.’ He answered, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread- which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabaath in the temple the priests dececrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabaath.’” These uses of the word “mercy” as shown in these Matthew passages of item#10 employ the Greek word “eleos” (Strong’s #1656), which means tender compassion.
c) Matthew 23:23-24, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the Law- justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
It’s obvious that the Lord desires from believers these same attributes that He desired from Jews under the Law. So, then, we would ask ourselves, “If we’re in Christ, and He is in us, are we also just, merciful, and faithful- since these are all Godly attributes?” Well mercy is the attribute, which is also a grace gift, which is being studied herein.
11.) Son of David, mercy healing requests, Matthew 9:27-31, “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” As is displayed in Item#1, above, the Lord is careful to fulfill all the promises prophesied about and through his servant David. So, when these blind men petitioned the Lord as the Son of David, he almost had to respond. Also, the Greek word for mercy herein is “eleeo” meaning “display mercy” (Strong’s # 1653). The following passages also refer to mercy healing requests to Christ as the Son of David:
a) Item#1g above.
b) Matthew 15:21-28, “Leaving that place, Jesus retired to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy (Also Strong’s # 1653) on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.’ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged Him, send her away for she keeps crying out after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’ The woman came and knelt before Him. ‘Lord, help me!’ She said. He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table’.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” It’s noted that the Lord originally didn’t want to acknowledge her request because she was a Gentile; and the time of the Gentiles, the Church Age, hadn’t come yet- until the gospel was 1st preached to the Jews. But why are the gentiles considered by God to be the Jews’ dogs, at least back then? Well, as I consider this present age I see the practices and teachings of God gradually being eroded away in our society (the world). Things like creation, the flood, judgment by God, the Earth as the center of God’s creation (in terms of his attention, as opposed to extraterrestrials), marriage between men and women, the modesty and head covering of women, the concept of having to work for a living, all these truths and Godly practices are under attack in our supposedly modern age. But all these concepts are still in practice and being proliferated by Jewish teachings, even today. Have you ever seen how people live in these non-Christian and non-Jewish nations? It is not poverty, or that they are “third world”, that’s causing all this squalor. These people are dysfunctional because the truths of God which would make them functional are being withheld and masked over by their enemy satan- “the father of lies”.
c) Matthew 17:14-16, “When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him. ‘Lord, have mercy on my son,’ he said. ‘He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.’” In this case the man didn’t use the name, Son of David, but did refer to Jesus as Lord, and asked for mercy for his son’s healing.
d) Mathew 20:29-34, “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ Jesus stopped and called them. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He asked. ‘Lord,’ they answered, ‘we want our sight.’ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.” This healing event is similar to Matthew 9:27-31 above, except this event happened near Jericho and the setting is not quite the same in other respects.
e) Mark 10:46-52, (1653)”Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is son of Timaeus) was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped on his feet and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you’. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” What a beautiful story of Blind Bartimaeus, calling on Jesus as the Seed of David to have a show of mercy, and heal him! And so, many Bible lessons and Christian songs for all ages have been written about this amazing and beautiful story.
f) Phillipians 2:25-28 (Mercy in healing example) “But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also my messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is in distress because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.” This is, of course, a direct example of healing as an outward expression of mercy.
12.) Mercy to those who fear Him, Luke 1:50-55, “His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm: He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers.”
a) Luke 1:56-58, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months then returned home. When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.”
b) Galatians 6:14-16, “May I never boast except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.”
c) I Timothy 1:2, “To Timothy my true son in the faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s interesting to see that, in the salutation of his letters, Paul very commonly used a blessing in the form of “grace and peace to you”. However, in the 1st and 2nd Timothy letters Paul adds mercy to his saluatation. And, mercy is used in Jude’s and John’s 2nd letters, shown in Items# f&g below. Perhaps, as the persecution of Christians became more intense, the need for God’s mercy became more apparent in day to day living- and a plea for mercy became a part of everyday Christian speech.
d) II Timothy 1:16-18, “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, he was in Rome, He searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.”
e) Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” One of the first things that I realized years ago, in this Grace Study was that grace and mercy are two different concepts. And, now, while studying mercy as a gift, I realize that any blessings of grace that we receive are intertwined with mercy. In every case that I can consider, we don’t deserve grace (or grace gifts), grace comes due to mercy.
f) II John 3, “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.”
g) Jude 1-2, “… To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and kept by Jesus Christ: mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”
All of these passages have one thing in common. Each of the writers concludes that we need mercy from God even to get along with our day to day lives. I have said it before: that I really don’t know how people get along in life without a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus. And, we really need mercy and grace day to day to survive.
13.) Mercy as promised, Luke 1:61-75, “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and redeemed his people. He has raised up a Horn of Salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as He said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” So, the mercy of God to us is manifold, with some features as follows:
a) God has promised and manifested a “Horn of Salvation”- his Son, Jesus the Christ.
b) Rescue from the hands of our enemies.
c) Empowerment “to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days”. The Scripture refers to this as “the abundant life promise”- Item #12a of the Table of Contents Section, and Item#2 above.
d) Jude 21, “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
14.) The grace gift of mercy, Romans 12:6-8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” The following items also take up the discussion of mercy as a grace gift; and I’ve underlined the term “grace gift”, therein, to make these instances easier to find: Item# 1c and 2nd paragraph, 7a, 9f, and 10. I love the part about doing it cheerfully, but helping others takes time and effort on our part. And, sometimes, consciously and deliberately being merciful to others feels like I’m throwing money, time and effort into the wind. But, I conclude if I throw such into the Holy Spirit Wind, then He will make due with my offering in whatever way He sees fit. I also know that love covers over a multitude of errors, and the kindness of God leads men to repentance- Romans 2:4. And, I note that in this discussion the Spirit gift of mercy is overlapping with the Spirit gift of giving. (See Item#2h of the Giving Section.)
15.) Glorify God for his mercy, Romans 15:8-11, “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.’ Again it says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples.’” We, as Gentiles, have been engrafted into Israel and into God’s promises to Israel- Romans 11:17-24. And, we gentiles have received mercy as a result of Israel’s disobedience; while disobedient Israel will receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to the gentiles- Romans 11:30-32. So, all believers can and shall praise the Father for his mercy. The Psalms, of course, are filled with praise for God’s mercy; and the Jews and the Gentiles love to sing these praises. A few such Psalms are: 5:7, 23:6, 25:7&10, 31:7, 52:8, 103:8, and 108:4.
17.) No mercy for some, Hebrews 10:26-31, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” I had to stop myself and think in Item#12e, above. I said, “I realize that any blessings of grace that we receive are intertwined with mercy.” Whereas, I was about to say, I realize that all grace that we receive is intertwined with mercy.” However, I had to consider that grace, being intercession from God’s throne, can also be judgment; and judgment can be coupled with wrath- which obviously isn’t mercy.
a) James 2:12-13, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the Law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Matthew 5:7 states, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” And, Matthew’s concept is inherent in James’ letter. And, the Golden Rule, which says, “… Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”(Matthew 7:12). So, the Golden Rule is also inherent in James’ letter.
Old Testament Mercy
18.) His mercy endures forever, I Chronicles 16:34, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his love (mercy in KJV) endures forever.” The mercy of God, especially in terms of salvation, and the rewards that will be bestowed upon us in heaven, will last forever. It’s hard to get a handle on that concept. But, it is repeated so many times in the Old Testament that the concept had to be contained herein, else I’d be remiss. Here are some of the many places where this verse is repeated in the Old Testament: I Chronicles 16:41, II Chronicles 5:13, 7:3&6, 20:21, Ezra 3:11, Psalms 106:1, 107:1, 118:1-4, 29, 136:1-26, 138:8, and Jeremiah 33:11. And, really, we must stop here and consider the worth of our life and our work for the Lord. Forever is a long time to be saved or unsaved. And, forever is also a long time to either have or be without the many rewards that the Lord is preparing for us. But, his mercy endures forever!
19.) The mercyseat, Exodus 25:17-22, “Make an atonement cover (mercyseat- KJV) of pure gold two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark of the testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” We should understand the following two very important facts about the mercyseat:
a) Only the high priest, once a year- on the day of Atonement, was allowed to enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, and such priest only went in with the blood of a bull for his own sins and the blood of a goat for the Israelites’ atonement. The priest would enter the Holy Place with a censor full of smoke and incense to shield his vision from the mercyseat, so that he would not die. Then the priest would sprinkle the front of the mercyseat with the bull’s blood, and sprinkle in front of the mercy seat seven times. Then the priest would slaughter the goat and do the same with its blood. And so, once a year, atonement was made for the Israelites. (See Leviticus 16:1-17.) Now consider the symbolism. The Cherubim were, and still are, actual heavenly creatures seated before God’s throne, who are guarding and enhancing his glory, Ezekiel 1:28, and II Kings 19:15. And, Scripture describes the Lord as seated between the Cherubim- Psalms 80:1, & 99:1. The above Scripture, in Exodus 25, also describes the Cherubim, these fierce heavenly creatures, as constantly staring at the mercyseat. Why is that? It is because of the blood, they are staring at the blood. It is only because of the blood of atonement that they hold back from totally destroying anyone daring to enter the holy presence of God; and the Lord would only allow that once a year on the day of atonement. And, as verification of the potential for God’s wrath, we can recall what happened when Nadab and Abihu casually entered God’s presence- Numbers 3:4. So, we must understand that the relationship with God, which the Israelites had, was based upon the blood sprinkled before and upon the mercy seat. And, of course, we Gentile believers only have a relationship with God through the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus- Hebrews 10:19-22. “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no forgiveness.”- Hebrews 9:22. I think it’s amazing that God in heaven spoke to Moses face-to-face. However, even more amazing is that, through the blood of Christ, we believers are able to come into God’s presence in worship and in prayer- Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19-22.
b) Secondly, the Lord is very succinct concerning where He will meet with Moses. “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”- Exodus 25:22. Numbers 7:89, gives an example of such a meeting, “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting (that is the Tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the testimony. And He spoke with him.” It’s amazing that the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face. However, it’s more amazing that God allows us to come into his presence in prayer and worship- Hebrews 10:19-22. Further, God requests that we do come before his throne in prayer and worship- Heb 4:16, and John 4:23. Even further, the time will come when we will have a permanent face-to-face relationship with the Lord- I Corinthians 13:12, and I John 3:2.
So, we see why the atonement cover is called the mercyseat. It’s because God has had mercy on us believers, and has allowed us weak humans to have a relationship with our glorious Lord, through the blood, even allowing us to call Him “Abba, Father”- Romans 8:15, and even dispensing to us grace gifts. And, those fierce protectors of God’s glory and holiness, the cherubim, won’t consume us with the fire of his glory, because they’ve been ordered to stare at and give place to the blood of Christ. And, guess what, if Christ is seated at God’s right hand, between the cherubim, and we are already seated in heaven with the Father in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6), then we also are seated between the cherubim; and receiving their protection in our lives. Have you ever felt evil being held back from you, or otherwise sidestepping a wicked act through no power of your own? I have. Is this the cherubim protecting us? Are these footsteps in the sand the work of the cherubim, or God Himself, or is there even a difference? Well, I Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So, someday we’ll understand these quandaries.
It’s interesting that this study of mercy begins and ends with two Old Testament concepts. The first concept, Item#1- “Holy mercy”, is a concept which I’ve never considered. This concept makes the point that much of the mercy of God is fulfillment of prophecy. The last concept, Item#19- “the mercyseat”, reminds us that, while the Lord is a merciful God, any relationship which we have with Him is based upon his mercy shown at Calvary, -“There above the mercyseat between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands.” Item#19b reminds us that, at that time, we will have a permanent face-to-face relationship with the Lord- “But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is” (I John 3:2). And, Item 19 ended by reminding us that, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So, we will find out these things when we leave this carnal body behind us- in the glory. However, through faith in his promises and study of his Word, we can realize these things beforehand, and use such truths to be more effective servants of the King. “Your eyes will see the King in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.”- Isaiah 33:17.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT POINTS
Lest someone misconstrue, or even deliberately twist, the results of what’s being concluded from this study, the following summary points are noted:
1.) Mercy is a grace gift, and is, therefore, a manifestation of God’s grace and Holy Spirit in this world. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1c, and 2nd paragraph of Item#1- as underlined, 7, & 14.)
2.) Anyone can practice mercy, even though it is a very Godly attribute. And, the Lord desires that every believer practices mercy. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1c, 4, 6, 10, & 13.)
3.) God is full of mercy, the God of all comfort, and his mercy endures forever. He urges believers to come before his throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help- Hebrews 4:16. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, & 18.)
4.) Much of God’s mercy is being meted out in the form of prophecy, especially salvation through Christ’s work at the cross. Such mercy has been referred to as “holy mercies” in Acts 13:34; and many of these mercies are plainly recognized as fulfillments of God’s promises to David. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 2, 4, 11, 13, & 15.)
5.) Atonement/ propitiation is also a basis for mercy. The above item references this: No. 8.
6.) Mercy by definition is always a case of spared judgment. (The above items reference this: Nos. 9, & 12.)
7.) Although God is full of mercy, sometimes judgment is necessary. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3a, 12, & 17.)
End HOME
[1] W.E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981) p 227, B2.
[2] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament in Greek and English (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Company, 1975) p 389.
[3] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) various pages (per the reference numbers) of his Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary and his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.
5-1-15
The Lord led me to study mercy lately. It’s been shown to me that it is a spiritual gift according to Romans 12:8. An exhaustive word study was conducted using Strong’s Concordance and the Bible passages according to the following words: “mercies”, “merciful”, “mercy”, and also “mercyseat”. The study was a blessing and insightful, particularly in the first and last items, which has been generally the case throughout this Grace Study.
“Mercies”
1.) Holy mercy, Acts 13:32-37 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ The fact that God raised Him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings (mercies KJV) promised to David.’ So it is stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.” Well this entire item entry is a massive study in perceiving God’s grace. Having said that, the following is noted:
a) This term, “mercies” in the KJV, is rendered “blessings” in the NIV, and is the word “hosios” in the Greek. The word is defined as “holy” by Vine’s[1]. And, I believe W.E. Vine “hit the nail on the head” when he noticed, regarding this Greek word “hosios”, “It is used of God… and of certain promises made to David, which could be fulfilled only in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Acts 13:34. … In the Septuagint, ‘hosios’ frequently represents the Hebrew word ‘chasid’, which varies in meaning between ‘holy’ and ‘gracious’, or ‘merciful’; cp. Ps 16:10 with 145:17.” Essentially Vine is noticing that mercy is a divine attribute that we can sometimes have, and that God sometimes practices (but always has). From my perspective, of this Grace Study, I’m concluding that there are certain mercies of God, planned and prophesied of long ago, before creation in this case (Acts 2:23, Ephesians 3:9).
b) In a totally separate study, just 30 minutes ago, I was just today going over the places in the Bible where God said, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.” I was trying to determine the point in time when the Father said that to the Son. (And, I think I have the timing sorted out.) I picked up on the Hebrews 1:5 & 5:5 passages (also Psalms 2:7), but totally missed the better (for my purposes) explanation brought out in Acts, above. Since there are no accidents in the life of a Christian, and because God sits sovereign upon his throne, I believe this to be intercession (grace) from God’s throne of grace.
c) Now, we should step back and perceive that holy mercies connote the intercession of God from his throne in marvelous ways that would truly take an act of God to do, and even to think of (not negating that God can move humans to have unnatural mercy- which is akin to God’s grace gift of mercy- therefore conceding that such mercy is not limited to believers).
d) And, I note that there is a problem of semantics when employing all these various translation books, in that all the Greek words being cited are not exactly the same in their endings (which should connote different tense, conjugation, and declination- too much to explain herein). I favor Alfred Marshall’s text[2] for Acts 13:34, “I will give you the holy things of David the faithful”. And then the kicker, that brings out the real meaning for our purposes, is that this same root word “hosios” (3741 in Strong’s[3]- “right (by intrinsic or divine character)”) was only used once to denote mercy in the New Testament. The other times it was translated “holy” or “precious”. And, amazingly 2 of the 6 times it was rendered as “holy”, were different renditions of Psalms 16:10, “You will not let your Holy One see decay” (as found in Acts 13:34, above, and in Acts 2:27).
e) Acts 13:34 is a requote of Isaiah 55:3, and Isaiah 55:3’s meaning is rendered merciful kindness by the translators in the KJV, and “faithful love” in the NIV.
So, within the concept of holy mercy are the “holy things of David”, which included the coming of the “Holy One” and the death of the “Holy One” who would not see decay. And, as was stated above, I’m concluding that there are certain mercies of God, planned and prophesied of long ago, which happen and we realize they are from God in his set purpose and foreknowledge. Can we be a part of these merciful acts of God? Yes, especially if we recognize, seek out, and practice that grace gift of mercy- as manifested by God’s Holy Spirit within us. The following are additional passages regarding this concept of holy mercy, the first four of which are the occurrences of the word “holy” which are cited by Strong’s number 3741- “right (by intrinsic or divine character”:
f) Acts 2:27, “…because You will not abandon Me to the grave, nor will You let your Holy One see decay.” This is, of course, taken from Psalms 16:10.
g) I Timothy 2:8, “I want everyone everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” How can a person’s hands be holy? Or, another way of asking this is, “How are a believer’s hands holy, when raised in prayer, because of intrinsic or divine character?” Yes, our divine character, received by inheritance from God as sons, does make us holy. Also, I note that I Corinthians 11:2-16, addresses our position before God’s throne in prayer, “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. … A man ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.” So we see that when we pray or prophecy we are coming before God’s throne, and we are coming before angels and even the demons who are watching. And, God’s throne of grace is a very awesome and holy, and powerful place to be. We are told to come boldly before God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). However, the Old Testament saints did not have this privilege, since Christ’s flesh had not yet been sacrificed to make possible the believer’s access into God’s holy presence- Hebrews 10:19-20. And, Paul doesn’t just want us to lift our hands in prayer, but rather “lift up holy hands in prayer”. Of course it is not just our hands that are holy, but we, being in Christ Jesus, are holy in our new nature. And in our new nature, believers are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms- Ephesians 2:6.
h) Hebrews 7:26, “Such a high priest meets our need- one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” Of course we can easily see why the Lord Jesus is holy merely by his intrinsic or divine character.
i) Revelation 15:4, “Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For You alone are holy.”
j) Luke 1:76-79, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Rising Sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” This passage does not employ that Greek word “hosios”, but the use of mercy herein certainly connotes the meaning of holy mercy, since mercy is cited as the reason for the calling of John the Baptist, and forgiveness of sins through Christ, and Christ’s glorious return as the Rising Sun.
k) I Peter 1:3-5, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for you, who by faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” This passage also connotes the meaning of holy mercy in that such mercy imparts to us new birth and our heavenly inheritance kept by God’s power for us.
l) Matthew 9:27-30, “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then He touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored.” What a startling miracle to go along with this item concerning the sure mercies of David! I originally picked up on Matthew 9:27 while researching Item#6, below. But, I immediately thought, “Uh Uh, I know where this passage belongs.” And so, I placed this precious and beautiful healing narrative up here along with “Holy Mercy” and the sure mercies of David. I wonder how much those blind men understood of the sure mercies of David, and how much would have been taught by the Jewish teachers of that day. I Chronicles 6:42 involves a similar plea- based on God's promised/ sure mercies to David.
2.) Mercies of God, Romans 12:1 (KJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, bare one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.” There is a bit of a difference between the KJV rendering and the NIV rendering of this passage. And, this difference brings out the challenge to us, which is already being brought out in Item#1, above. This challenge is to realize that our grace gifts are a part of the sure mercies of David, a part of our abundant life promise- from God to believers (See Item#14 of the Apostleship Section). The KJV is shown above because the KJV brings out the challenge in understanding of the usage of that phrase “”by the mercies of God”. Alfred Marshall’s Greek renders this phrase “through the compassions of God”. So, the question becomes, “Is Paul beseeching us by power of the sure mercies of God?” Or, are we to present our bodies as living sacrifices, practicing our grace gifts, by the power of the sure mercies of God- as brought out in Item#1 above? The NIV renders this phrase “in view of God’s mercy”; and this NIV translation doesn’t solve the basic quandary above. Is the reason for Paul’s beseeching due to his “view of God’s mercy’’? Or, are we to present our bodies “in view of God’s mercy’’? I tend to accept the latter. And, I believe this would not be in view of God’s mercies, but rather through the sure mercies of David- that is, empowerment by God’s grace gifts. Paul identifies in verse 3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me,”. Now, if Paul had merely said, “For I say, through God’s grace”, then we could conclude that he’s pointing out that his speech is through God’s grace. And, we could strongly conclude that the conjunction “for” connects this phrase with his beseeching in verse 1. Then, we’d surmise the meaning that his beseeching was by the mercies of God, rather than our sacrifice through the mercies of God. However, Paul didn’t merely say that! Paul said, “For I say, through the grace given me… ”, thus distinguishing between his gifts of grace and our grace gifts. And several verses in this passage allude to empowerment by grace, especially practicing of the grace gifts: vs 1, “by the mercies of God”, “present … which is your reasonable service”; vs 3, “through the grace given me”; vs 6, “having then gifts differing according to the grace”.
And, there’s that word “holy” again used in conjunction with the mercies of God. And this word “holy”, according to Strongs, relates to purity from defilement, especially as used in the term “Holy Ghost”. And, why are our bodies holy as they are presented as living sacrifices? They’re holy because they are temples of God’s Holy Spirit. And, I believe this passage is accentuating and proving up what is said elsewhere in this Grace Study, that God is indwelling his Church through the grace gifts- which are manifested through his Holy Spirit. (See the following references for God indwelling his Church through grace gifts: Item#68 of the Apostleship Section, Item#439 of the Prophecy Section, Item#1b of the Word of Wisdom Section, and Items#85 & 109 of the Evangelism Section. Also see Item#b, of the second paragraph of Item#1, above.)
We cannot leave this discussion without bringing out the similarities between the Romans 12:1-8 passage and the Ephesians 4:1-16 passage. They are sister verses, and while they have somewhat differing grace gifts mentioned, the believers are urged by Paul in both passages to practice their grace gifts “in view of God’s mercy”, (Romans 12:1) and “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). The following are some thoughts in that regard:
a) Now, if you think about it, “in view of God’s mercy”- (accentuating his gift of Sonship to us), and “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”, means practically the same thing in terms of a reason to do something.
b) Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” I conclude, then, that the manner and measure of one’s grace gift is directed and throttled by the measure of faith God has given each of us.
c) Romans 12:2 gives the purpose of Paul’s urging, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Ephesians 4:15 also gives the purpose of Paul’s urging, “Speaking the truth in love we will in all things, grow up unto Him who is the Head, that is, Christ”. See Item#11c of the Rule Section.
d) And, obviously, in both passages we can note that differing grace gifts are listed, with each person having differing gifts, as it suits the Lord and according to the measure of one’s faith.
And, another Scripture speaking of the mercies of God explains one great reason why the Lord would show mercy, rather than wrath: “What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath- prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As He says in Hosea: ‘I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one.’”- Romans 9:22-25.
3.) The God of All Comfort, II Corinthians 1:3-11, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion (mercies- KJV) and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings which we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” We know that the Spirit of God wars against all flesh/ carnality in this world; and so “Everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”- II Timothy 3:12. But God is merciful and doesn’t allow us to be overwhelmed by the persecution intrinsic to our flesh and the natural world around us. So, He comforts us in these trials, and we can recognize that He is the “Father of mercies and the God of all comfort”- II Corinthians 1:3 (KJV). And, through such comfort we can feel his loving hand upon our shoulder. It’s worth noting that, while writing this, I’m sitting at a table in a hotel room, our house having caught fire with little fire but much smoke damage. We certainly feel the Lord’s hand upon us, and view this as an opportunity to rid ourselves of much worldly baggage, and some carnal attitudes as well. The timing of the Lord is impeccable and praiseworthy! I note that this item could easily been entitled, “the dispensing of comfort”, because it explains how mercy and comfort are passed on to others through the Lord. And, I note that this passage helps explain the Spirit gift of mercy by how it starts from the Father and then flows out of us to others. I believe that this is how all Spirit gifts work; after all, aren’t all such gifts of the Spirit? And, God indwells his Church through the gifts. (See Item#68 of the Apostleship Section.) The following are more passages relating to The God of All Comfort:
a) Romans 9:15-18, “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”
b) James 3:17, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
c) James 5:11, “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
4.) Mercy as an indicator and reminder, Philippians 2:1-2, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion (‘bowels and mercies’- KJV), then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in Spirit and purpose.” “Mercies”, herein, is a reminder that the reader should make Paul’s joy complete, and humbly take on the attitude of Christ- Philippians 2:3-18. And so, once reminded by the presence of mercy, and having known comfort from his love, and the presence of God’s Spirit, we realize from these indicators that we have a new, Godly nature and a special calling; and so, we can do the things Paul is asking of us in the passages following (verses 3-18). (Also see Item#7 below, because mercy is showing us that we are of the Father.)
a) Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion (bowels of mercies), kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
Both passages, Philippians 2:1-2 and Colossians 3:12, use heart/ bowels of mercy as a gut check of where we are in Christ.
5.) For Thy mercies’ sake, Nehemiah 9:28-31, “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. You warned them to return to your Law. But they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. For many years you were patient with them. By your spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”
a) Psalms 6:4, “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be merciful to me Lord, for I am faint; O Lord heal me for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”
b) Psalms 31:7-9, “I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.”
c) Psalms 103:8, 11, 17, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (‘plenteous in mercy’ KJV). … For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love (‘mercy’ KJV) for those who fear Him; … But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love (‘mercy’ KJV) is with those who fear Him, and his righteousness with their children’s’ children-“. The Lord wants us to recognize his mercy.
The Lord’s mercy transcends our cognition of it, and obviously our degree of righteousness. So, many times the Lord is merciful because, if not, we’d perish; and also mercy is part of his nature- and what believers sing songs about (Psalms 89:1).
"Merciful"
6.) Active Compassion by Divine Grace, Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.”
a) Hebrews 2:17, “For this reason He had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Christ is not a faithful and merciful high priest for a short time, or even for a long time, but rather, the Scripture says, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”- Hebrews 5:6. And, the Lord Jesus is continually and actively interceding on or behalf- and mercy is a part of his nature.
b) Hebrews 4:14-16, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then, approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
c) James 2:13, “… judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
Mercy proceeds from God’s throne of grace, and mercy is shown to those who are merciful. I perceive that mercy is like being given a divine, blank, check book, from which we can show all the mercy that we can, and we can know that God will then show us mercy. And, in so doing, we become like our Savior who is full of mercy- who is the express image of his Father.
7.) Same fruit of mercy as our Father, Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your father is merciful.” As was stated above in Item#6, by practicing mercy we become like our Father, and like his Son- our Savior. And, if you’re wondering where to draw the line on mercy, “merciful” actually means full of mercy.
a) Jude 22 gives a practical example of manifesting mercy as a grace gift in us, “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” With the gospel and other grace gifts we can work to snatch some from the flames, and bring doubters to faith in Christ. And, in so doing, we are acting in full cooperation with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as God’s right hand. But this verse reminds us that, while being merciful, we should keep an eye out to continue hating the sin that is destroying such people. Many people continue to urge me, in some of my work, “Be tolerant. Who are you to judge? Be tolerant!” such statements are nonsense! Such statements, at best, are the flesh of the critic warring against the Holy Spirit working in the evangelist. At worst, such statements are the lies of satan gurgling out of the mouth of a very carnal person- resisting the spread of the gospel by giving into fleshly and worldly notions. God hates sin, and if we are to work as an extension of his right hand of power, we need to hate the sin, even while being merciful and helping sinners. And, I believe this verse doesn’t just mean helping a sinner spiritually, but physically and financially as well- showing mercy as is fit (but hating the sin). Many people are ill because of their sin. Many people are financially busted because of their sin. Many people are confused and even mentally broken because of their sin. In working with such people, we must pray against, and in a careful way, preach against the sin, else no solution will be accomplished. And, an experienced servant of Christ would quickly state that lack of Godly faith is often the foremost sin/ error that a person has- which is destroying that person. So, Godly mercy must be coupled with hatred of sin; “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”- II Corinthians 6:14.
8.) Atonement sacrifice (propitiation), Luke 18:13, “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” Strong’s has this as the Greek word “hilaskomai”, meaning atonement or propitiation; and is the root of the Greek word “hilasterion”, which is used for the Ark’s mercy seat/ atonement cover in Hebrews 9:5. So, the tax collector is asking for mercy based on atonement, and was a very wise thing to do. The following also speaks of mercy due to propitiation:
a) Hebrews 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.”(KJV). The Greek word “hileos” is used here, meaning propitious/ gracious, which again brings in the concept as atonement as the basis for mercy.
b) Romans 3:25-26, “God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement (propitiation KJV), through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance He left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” So, propitiation is a basis for mercy, and, most notably, the mercy of salvation for the believer.
c) I John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
"Mercy"
9.) Spared judgment- rule of 1st reference, Genesis 19:16, “When he (Lot) hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.” So, we see that the first reference to mercy in the Scripture is an example of spared judgment. The following are more examples of mercy as spared judgment:
a) I Corinthians 7:25, “… I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.” So, Paul reckoned his trustworthiness as coming from the Lord as an act of mercy. And, he was contending that without the Lord he was not trustworthy- in his old nature. And, we also can conclude that any Godliness of behavior is mercifully given to us by God, because without Him we’d all be a mess. For proof, we need merely to look honestly at our past life before we were saved. (Also see Item#c, below.)
b) II Corinthians 4:1&7, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy, we have this ministry we do not lose heart. … But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Let’s be honest, we were dead in transgressions and sins, as is clearly stated by Paul in Item#c below. Paul was a persecutor of Christians even unto death in his old nature; many of us were acting like insane men in our old nature. And now we have a grace ministry of some sort, we walk with the King of Kings, and we have a nail hook in the tent of God (Ezra 9:8). That’s mercy!
c) Ephesians 2:1-7, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” I note that it is one of the purposes of this Grace Study to explain and dive into what it means to be already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Also see Items# 109 & 145 of the Evangelism Section, Item#443 of the Prophecy Section, Item#20d of the Healings Section, and Item#15n of the Word of Knowledge Section.
d) I Timothy 1:13-16, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.” This is, of course, what was already brought out in Item#b above, but this is in Paul’s own words.
e) Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of righteous acts which we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This passage is a famous salvation memory verse, but clearly states that salvation is not by righteous acts, but because of Christ’s mercy.
f) James 2:13, “… because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” This follows the golden rule, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And also, if you can obtain mercy, or give mercy, then mercy is greater than the judgment and, per Item Nos 6&7, mercy is a divine attribute/ grace gift.
g) I Peter 2:4-10, “As you come to Him, the Living Stone- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a Stone in Zion, a chosen and precious Cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this Stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The Stone the builders rejected has become the Capstone,’ and, ‘A Stone that causes men to stumble and a Rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message- which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Once a mature believer asked some younger believers this question- in order to get them thinking, “Are you a holy priest or a royal priest?” Well, I forget his explanation. However, that gives me liberty to supply my own explanation. I conclude that, in Christ Jesus it is impossible to be a holy priest without also being a royal priest. You see, in Christ Jesus, by the above declaration, we are holy priests- able to offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. So if you are a believer, you are already a holy priest in Christ Jesus. And, since we are already seated with Christ, in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus; and since He is the King of Kings- already seated at God’s right hand; we are already royal in our priesthood. Considering, then, the type of people we once were, this arrangement is more than kind, and an extremely merciful blessing.
h) Exodus 12:9-14, Miriam, after murmuring against Moses, was quickly healed of the leprosy brought on by God’s burning wrath. This shows that even in God’s judgment, He sometimes holds back, and shows mercy even in the type of judgment meted out in situations. So we can pray, as Moses did, in the midst of such judgments, that the person would learn their lesson and be corrected or directed; while, at the same time, praying that the Lord’s judgment won’t permanently harm that person’s body, and that He would have mercy intertwined with his judgment upon that person.
10.)Mercy- not sacrifice, Matthew 9:11-13, “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
a) Hosea 6:4-7, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Like Adam, they have broken the covenant- they were unfaithful to me there.”
b) Matthew 12:1-8, “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabaath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabaath.’ He answered, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread- which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabaath in the temple the priests dececrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabaath.’” These uses of the word “mercy” as shown in these Matthew passages of item#10 employ the Greek word “eleos” (Strong’s #1656), which means tender compassion.
c) Matthew 23:23-24, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the Law- justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
It’s obvious that the Lord desires from believers these same attributes that He desired from Jews under the Law. So, then, we would ask ourselves, “If we’re in Christ, and He is in us, are we also just, merciful, and faithful- since these are all Godly attributes?” Well mercy is the attribute, which is also a grace gift, which is being studied herein.
11.) Son of David, mercy healing requests, Matthew 9:27-31, “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.” As is displayed in Item#1, above, the Lord is careful to fulfill all the promises prophesied about and through his servant David. So, when these blind men petitioned the Lord as the Son of David, he almost had to respond. Also, the Greek word for mercy herein is “eleeo” meaning “display mercy” (Strong’s # 1653). The following passages also refer to mercy healing requests to Christ as the Son of David:
a) Item#1g above.
b) Matthew 15:21-28, “Leaving that place, Jesus retired to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy (Also Strong’s # 1653) on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.’ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged Him, send her away for she keeps crying out after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’ The woman came and knelt before Him. ‘Lord, help me!’ She said. He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table’.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” It’s noted that the Lord originally didn’t want to acknowledge her request because she was a Gentile; and the time of the Gentiles, the Church Age, hadn’t come yet- until the gospel was 1st preached to the Jews. But why are the gentiles considered by God to be the Jews’ dogs, at least back then? Well, as I consider this present age I see the practices and teachings of God gradually being eroded away in our society (the world). Things like creation, the flood, judgment by God, the Earth as the center of God’s creation (in terms of his attention, as opposed to extraterrestrials), marriage between men and women, the modesty and head covering of women, the concept of having to work for a living, all these truths and Godly practices are under attack in our supposedly modern age. But all these concepts are still in practice and being proliferated by Jewish teachings, even today. Have you ever seen how people live in these non-Christian and non-Jewish nations? It is not poverty, or that they are “third world”, that’s causing all this squalor. These people are dysfunctional because the truths of God which would make them functional are being withheld and masked over by their enemy satan- “the father of lies”.
c) Matthew 17:14-16, “When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him. ‘Lord, have mercy on my son,’ he said. ‘He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.’” In this case the man didn’t use the name, Son of David, but did refer to Jesus as Lord, and asked for mercy for his son’s healing.
d) Mathew 20:29-34, “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ Jesus stopped and called them. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He asked. ‘Lord,’ they answered, ‘we want our sight.’ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.” This healing event is similar to Matthew 9:27-31 above, except this event happened near Jericho and the setting is not quite the same in other respects.
e) Mark 10:46-52, (1653)”Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is son of Timaeus) was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped on his feet and came to Jesus. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you’. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” What a beautiful story of Blind Bartimaeus, calling on Jesus as the Seed of David to have a show of mercy, and heal him! And so, many Bible lessons and Christian songs for all ages have been written about this amazing and beautiful story.
f) Phillipians 2:25-28 (Mercy in healing example) “But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also my messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is in distress because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.” This is, of course, a direct example of healing as an outward expression of mercy.
12.) Mercy to those who fear Him, Luke 1:50-55, “His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm: He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers.”
a) Luke 1:56-58, “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months then returned home. When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.”
b) Galatians 6:14-16, “May I never boast except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.”
c) I Timothy 1:2, “To Timothy my true son in the faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s interesting to see that, in the salutation of his letters, Paul very commonly used a blessing in the form of “grace and peace to you”. However, in the 1st and 2nd Timothy letters Paul adds mercy to his saluatation. And, mercy is used in Jude’s and John’s 2nd letters, shown in Items# f&g below. Perhaps, as the persecution of Christians became more intense, the need for God’s mercy became more apparent in day to day living- and a plea for mercy became a part of everyday Christian speech.
d) II Timothy 1:16-18, “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, he was in Rome, He searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.”
e) Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” One of the first things that I realized years ago, in this Grace Study was that grace and mercy are two different concepts. And, now, while studying mercy as a gift, I realize that any blessings of grace that we receive are intertwined with mercy. In every case that I can consider, we don’t deserve grace (or grace gifts), grace comes due to mercy.
f) II John 3, “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.”
g) Jude 1-2, “… To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and kept by Jesus Christ: mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”
All of these passages have one thing in common. Each of the writers concludes that we need mercy from God even to get along with our day to day lives. I have said it before: that I really don’t know how people get along in life without a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus. And, we really need mercy and grace day to day to survive.
13.) Mercy as promised, Luke 1:61-75, “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and redeemed his people. He has raised up a Horn of Salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as He said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us- to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.” So, the mercy of God to us is manifold, with some features as follows:
a) God has promised and manifested a “Horn of Salvation”- his Son, Jesus the Christ.
b) Rescue from the hands of our enemies.
c) Empowerment “to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days”. The Scripture refers to this as “the abundant life promise”- Item #12a of the Table of Contents Section, and Item#2 above.
d) Jude 21, “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
14.) The grace gift of mercy, Romans 12:6-8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” The following items also take up the discussion of mercy as a grace gift; and I’ve underlined the term “grace gift”, therein, to make these instances easier to find: Item# 1c and 2nd paragraph, 7a, 9f, and 10. I love the part about doing it cheerfully, but helping others takes time and effort on our part. And, sometimes, consciously and deliberately being merciful to others feels like I’m throwing money, time and effort into the wind. But, I conclude if I throw such into the Holy Spirit Wind, then He will make due with my offering in whatever way He sees fit. I also know that love covers over a multitude of errors, and the kindness of God leads men to repentance- Romans 2:4. And, I note that in this discussion the Spirit gift of mercy is overlapping with the Spirit gift of giving. (See Item#2h of the Giving Section.)
15.) Glorify God for his mercy, Romans 15:8-11, “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.’ Again it says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples.’” We, as Gentiles, have been engrafted into Israel and into God’s promises to Israel- Romans 11:17-24. And, we gentiles have received mercy as a result of Israel’s disobedience; while disobedient Israel will receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to the gentiles- Romans 11:30-32. So, all believers can and shall praise the Father for his mercy. The Psalms, of course, are filled with praise for God’s mercy; and the Jews and the Gentiles love to sing these praises. A few such Psalms are: 5:7, 23:6, 25:7&10, 31:7, 52:8, 103:8, and 108:4.
17.) No mercy for some, Hebrews 10:26-31, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” I had to stop myself and think in Item#12e, above. I said, “I realize that any blessings of grace that we receive are intertwined with mercy.” Whereas, I was about to say, I realize that all grace that we receive is intertwined with mercy.” However, I had to consider that grace, being intercession from God’s throne, can also be judgment; and judgment can be coupled with wrath- which obviously isn’t mercy.
a) James 2:12-13, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the Law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Matthew 5:7 states, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” And, Matthew’s concept is inherent in James’ letter. And, the Golden Rule, which says, “… Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”(Matthew 7:12). So, the Golden Rule is also inherent in James’ letter.
Old Testament Mercy
18.) His mercy endures forever, I Chronicles 16:34, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his love (mercy in KJV) endures forever.” The mercy of God, especially in terms of salvation, and the rewards that will be bestowed upon us in heaven, will last forever. It’s hard to get a handle on that concept. But, it is repeated so many times in the Old Testament that the concept had to be contained herein, else I’d be remiss. Here are some of the many places where this verse is repeated in the Old Testament: I Chronicles 16:41, II Chronicles 5:13, 7:3&6, 20:21, Ezra 3:11, Psalms 106:1, 107:1, 118:1-4, 29, 136:1-26, 138:8, and Jeremiah 33:11. And, really, we must stop here and consider the worth of our life and our work for the Lord. Forever is a long time to be saved or unsaved. And, forever is also a long time to either have or be without the many rewards that the Lord is preparing for us. But, his mercy endures forever!
19.) The mercyseat, Exodus 25:17-22, “Make an atonement cover (mercyseat- KJV) of pure gold two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark of the testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” We should understand the following two very important facts about the mercyseat:
a) Only the high priest, once a year- on the day of Atonement, was allowed to enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, and such priest only went in with the blood of a bull for his own sins and the blood of a goat for the Israelites’ atonement. The priest would enter the Holy Place with a censor full of smoke and incense to shield his vision from the mercyseat, so that he would not die. Then the priest would sprinkle the front of the mercyseat with the bull’s blood, and sprinkle in front of the mercy seat seven times. Then the priest would slaughter the goat and do the same with its blood. And so, once a year, atonement was made for the Israelites. (See Leviticus 16:1-17.) Now consider the symbolism. The Cherubim were, and still are, actual heavenly creatures seated before God’s throne, who are guarding and enhancing his glory, Ezekiel 1:28, and II Kings 19:15. And, Scripture describes the Lord as seated between the Cherubim- Psalms 80:1, & 99:1. The above Scripture, in Exodus 25, also describes the Cherubim, these fierce heavenly creatures, as constantly staring at the mercyseat. Why is that? It is because of the blood, they are staring at the blood. It is only because of the blood of atonement that they hold back from totally destroying anyone daring to enter the holy presence of God; and the Lord would only allow that once a year on the day of atonement. And, as verification of the potential for God’s wrath, we can recall what happened when Nadab and Abihu casually entered God’s presence- Numbers 3:4. So, we must understand that the relationship with God, which the Israelites had, was based upon the blood sprinkled before and upon the mercy seat. And, of course, we Gentile believers only have a relationship with God through the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus- Hebrews 10:19-22. “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no forgiveness.”- Hebrews 9:22. I think it’s amazing that God in heaven spoke to Moses face-to-face. However, even more amazing is that, through the blood of Christ, we believers are able to come into God’s presence in worship and in prayer- Hebrews 4:16 and 10:19-22.
b) Secondly, the Lord is very succinct concerning where He will meet with Moses. “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”- Exodus 25:22. Numbers 7:89, gives an example of such a meeting, “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting (that is the Tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the testimony. And He spoke with him.” It’s amazing that the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face. However, it’s more amazing that God allows us to come into his presence in prayer and worship- Hebrews 10:19-22. Further, God requests that we do come before his throne in prayer and worship- Heb 4:16, and John 4:23. Even further, the time will come when we will have a permanent face-to-face relationship with the Lord- I Corinthians 13:12, and I John 3:2.
So, we see why the atonement cover is called the mercyseat. It’s because God has had mercy on us believers, and has allowed us weak humans to have a relationship with our glorious Lord, through the blood, even allowing us to call Him “Abba, Father”- Romans 8:15, and even dispensing to us grace gifts. And, those fierce protectors of God’s glory and holiness, the cherubim, won’t consume us with the fire of his glory, because they’ve been ordered to stare at and give place to the blood of Christ. And, guess what, if Christ is seated at God’s right hand, between the cherubim, and we are already seated in heaven with the Father in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6), then we also are seated between the cherubim; and receiving their protection in our lives. Have you ever felt evil being held back from you, or otherwise sidestepping a wicked act through no power of your own? I have. Is this the cherubim protecting us? Are these footsteps in the sand the work of the cherubim, or God Himself, or is there even a difference? Well, I Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So, someday we’ll understand these quandaries.
It’s interesting that this study of mercy begins and ends with two Old Testament concepts. The first concept, Item#1- “Holy mercy”, is a concept which I’ve never considered. This concept makes the point that much of the mercy of God is fulfillment of prophecy. The last concept, Item#19- “the mercyseat”, reminds us that, while the Lord is a merciful God, any relationship which we have with Him is based upon his mercy shown at Calvary, -“There above the mercyseat between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands.” Item#19b reminds us that, at that time, we will have a permanent face-to-face relationship with the Lord- “But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is” (I John 3:2). And, Item 19 ended by reminding us that, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So, we will find out these things when we leave this carnal body behind us- in the glory. However, through faith in his promises and study of his Word, we can realize these things beforehand, and use such truths to be more effective servants of the King. “Your eyes will see the King in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.”- Isaiah 33:17.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT POINTS
Lest someone misconstrue, or even deliberately twist, the results of what’s being concluded from this study, the following summary points are noted:
1.) Mercy is a grace gift, and is, therefore, a manifestation of God’s grace and Holy Spirit in this world. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1c, and 2nd paragraph of Item#1- as underlined, 7, & 14.)
2.) Anyone can practice mercy, even though it is a very Godly attribute. And, the Lord desires that every believer practices mercy. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1c, 4, 6, 10, & 13.)
3.) God is full of mercy, the God of all comfort, and his mercy endures forever. He urges believers to come before his throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help- Hebrews 4:16. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, & 18.)
4.) Much of God’s mercy is being meted out in the form of prophecy, especially salvation through Christ’s work at the cross. Such mercy has been referred to as “holy mercies” in Acts 13:34; and many of these mercies are plainly recognized as fulfillments of God’s promises to David. (The above items reference this: Nos. 1, 2, 4, 11, 13, & 15.)
5.) Atonement/ propitiation is also a basis for mercy. The above item references this: No. 8.
6.) Mercy by definition is always a case of spared judgment. (The above items reference this: Nos. 9, & 12.)
7.) Although God is full of mercy, sometimes judgment is necessary. (The above items reference this: Nos. 3a, 12, & 17.)
End HOME
[1] W.E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1981) p 227, B2.
[2] Alfred Marshall, The Interlinear KJV-NIV Parallel New Testament in Greek and English (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Company, 1975) p 389.
[3] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company) various pages (per the reference numbers) of his Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary and his Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.