Charles Spurgeon Commentary Revelation 1:4-5

"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood;" — Revelation 1:4-5 (ASV)

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. (Revelation 1:4–5)

Think, dear friends, how this benediction may be fulfilled.

"Grace be to you," he says, "and peace." And what are to be the fountains and springs of this peace? It is to come from God first, from him which is. All that God is, is a fountain of peace and grace to us. And from him which was—all that he has ever been, the eternal past, the changeless purposes, the divine predestination of the Infinite. There are springs of peace and grace here. And from him which is to come.

All that God will ever be—all the manifestations of his power, his justice, his love, which the ages are yet to see—all these are wells of grace and peace to God's own people.

I want you to think of this. And when your minds are disturbed and you need peace, and when your heart is sinking and you need grace, come to God for both of these things, regarding him as him which is, which was, and which is to come.

And there are seven spirits which are before his throne.

The Holy Spirit, in whatever way he operates in any of his divine works—in all these he is the Comforter, the source of grace and peace to us. You need not be afraid of the Holy Spirit, even though he is the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning, for he will burn up nothing in us but what ought to be consumed, and will judge nothing but what ought to be judged and condemned. So peace may come to us from the seven spirits which are before the throne. But grace and peace flow especially from Jesus Christ as the Faithful Witness.

Whatever he bears witness to, it is full of grace and peace to believers, and he himself is the first begotten from the dead. Oh! his resurrection! What a wondrous fountain of grace and peace that is to us! And then his divine sovereignty—his rule over all providence and nature, the Prince of the kings of the earth—what grace and peace may every one of you who love him find there! At the thought of this, the divine writer turns from his benediction to a doxology.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

John's benediction to the seven churches of Asia is like that of Paul when he is writing to a Christian church, Grace be unto you, and peace. You have probably noticed that, when Paul is writing to a minister individually, his greeting is, Grace, mercy, and peace; for those who have the solemn charge of souls need "mercy" above all other men. May they find mercy of God in that day!

But to the churches themselves, it is simply this double benediction, Grace be unto you, and peace. These blessings, coming in their proper order, grace first, and peace afterwards, are very precious. That peace which is not founded upon grace, and does not follow grace, is a false peace.

Grace be unto you, and peace. But if you have grace, peace ought to follow; you have a right to it; it is a logical sequence to the possession of the grace of God. Well does Dr. Watts sing:

"If sin be pardoned, I'm secure;
Death has no sting besides."

If grace is given, glory will follow. Therefore, beloved, Grace be unto you, and peace. And this grace and peace must come from the Lord Jesus: from him which is, and which was, and which is to come. This grace and peace must come from the eternal Father, the self-existent Jehovah, and from the ever-blessed Spirit. God alone is the Lord and Giver of grace and peace.

And this double blessing must come from a realization of the Lord Jesus Christ in his glorious character as the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Never forget, dear friends, that even today Christ is the Prince of the kings of the earth. The Queen reigns, and the Czar reigns; but it is still more true that The Lord reigneth. There is One who is higher than the highest of all earthly kings, even the Prince of the kings of the earth.