God’s Word for You

2 Timothy 4:22 Grace be with you

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, July 20, 2026

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

Paul began this letter with the blessing, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1:2). Grace is the part of the blessing that he repeats, the love from God that we sinners do not deserve, but that God gives us just because he is gracious and loving. We who at conception are outside of God’s grace, sinful from the moment our mothers conceived us, have been brought to faith and righteousness only on account of God’s grace and love.

Here is a sermon in quick words that summarizes every sermon Paul ever preached. He begins with the additional blessing, “The Lord be with your spirit.” By saying “the Lord,” he refers to the Gospel name of God from the Old Testament, that “I Am” name, Yahweh or Jehovah, the name by which God made and kept so many promises. It is one of God’s names, a name that calls to mind his greatness, his love, and our position as his willing servants. But Paul does not say, “May the Lord lord over you” or “May the Lord give you commands.” He says rather, “The Lord be with your spirit.” When we think of the condition of our spirits, we might run back to very same Psalm that declares us to be sinful at birth, right from conception. That’s Psalm 51. Later on David adds, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit” (Psalm 51:17). A broken spirit, a broken heart, a heart that knows its sin and cowers before God’s holy wrath, is a spirit that needs the gospel. And God proclaims the gospel in his word.

Having comforted Timothy and us with the presence of the Lord, he also proclaims the Lord’s grace. He doesn’t say “the Lord’s grace,” but there is no other grace, not from anyone. Grace is undeserved love, and only God himself can give it; it is one of his holy attributes. He is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness’ (Exodus 34:6). Our prayer, “Be gracious to me” (Psalm 25:16) can only be prayed to him, for no one can pray to anyone else without blaspheming (Isaiah 44:17).

So here in this little verse is the whole Creed and so much of our faith. There is the Lord himself, and there is no other God. We show our faith in him by having no other gods and by loving our neighbor as ourself; therefore in a single word in this verse, “Lord,” we have put on display before us the Ten Commandments and the First Article of the Creed. All idolatry is condemned by this one word. Then there is “grace.” There is the whole second article, the sacraments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the forgiveness of our sins. Grace also draws to our minds the Third Article of the Creed, the doctrine of our sanctification, the resurrection of the body, and our place with God forever in heaven.

In a great many manuscripts and translations, the book ends with “Amen.” Why do we use “Amen” to close our prayers? James tells us in a warning: “Let him ask in faith, without doubting, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. In fact, that man should not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7). Amen, which means “truly,” or “this is most certainly true,” is a statement of confidence and honesty, that we do not doubt, but that we firmly believe that our Father in heaven will hear us and answer our prayers. So we truly have our eyes only on God’s promise and not at all on our good works or what we think of our worthiness. We hold out our hands, and the Lord holds out his, and satisfies the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:16). But he also listens to what is in our hearts, and which we utter in our prayers, and showers us with everything that he does, that he loves us.

This is Paul’s final word.

God willing, tomorrow we will turn our attention to the book of Genesis.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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