“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
who according to His abundant mercy
“According to” means according to the standard. Commensurate with God’s mercy, he has given us a living hope.
“Mercy” is the outward manifestation of pity. It assumes a need on the part of the person who receives mercy. It also assumes that the person who gives mercy has the resources to meet the demand adequately.
Mercy is God’s action toward us while we are in a hopeless condition. It is grace in action. Grace depends on the character of God. Peter himself received the grace of God. He vacillated hot one day and cold another. His spiritual roof fell on him several times, yet God demonstrated grace to him over and over.
The New Testament uses the mercy of God in the sense that He is rich in it (Ephesians 2:4) and has provided salvation for all men (Titus 3:5; for Jews–Luke 1:72, and Gentiles–Romans 15:9).
He is merciful to all who fear Him (Luke 1:50). We find mercy when we pray (Hebrews 4:16). When Christ comes back, Christians will receive mercy at that time (2 Timothy 1:16; Jude 21).
There is a distinction between grace and mercy. Grace describes God’s attitude toward the lawbreaker; mercy is His attitude toward those in distress.
PRINCIPLE:
Mercy is God’s grace in action toward us.
APPLICATION:
Do you view yourself as unworthy of God’s mercy? Worth has nothing to do with receiving God’s mercy. We receive God’s mercy by his grace. Grace is what we receive without merit.
Maybe the reason it is so hard for you to accept God’s mercy is that it is hard for you to accept God’s grace. We have nothing to offer God. He has everything to offer us.
