Sabbath: Grace, Love, and Fellowship
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 19th of September 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
2 Corinthians 8:9; Romans 16:20; 1 John 4:8-11; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 2:1-2; Galatians 4:4-6.
Memory Text:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14, ESV).
Paul closes 2 Corinthians by re-emphasizing essential elements addressed in his letters. He does this through five imperatives (2 Corinthians 13:11).
The first imperative, “Rejoice” (ESV), recalls earlier texts in the letters.
The second imperative, “Strive for full restoration” (NIV), translates a single word in Greek (katartizō), which appears here and in 1 Corinthians 1:10.
The third, “Encourage one another” (NIV), resumes 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. Paul begins and closes his second letter with encouragement. We receive God’s encouragement in order to encourage others (2 Corinthians 1:4,6).
The fourth and fifth imperatives, “Be of one mind, live in peace” (2 Corinthians 13:11, NKJV), are a call to unity. This atmosphere of joy, restoration, encouragement, unity, and peace is the condition for the presence of God, “the God of love and peace” (2 Corinthians 13:11, ESV). It results from our triune God’s work in the human heart (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Grace, love, and fellowship result from the work of the triune God for us. These three Christian features promote an atmosphere characterized by God’s presence.
When I am working with electronics, I often wish I had three hands; two to hold the electronic bits together and a third to wield the soldering iron. It would make things so much easier. If I had been there at creation, I might have made that suggestion to God. However, God knew the importance of three arms in our spiritual lives. He combined grace, love, and fellowship as his own characteristics. And that is a lot better than three arms and a soldering iron.
How often do we finish a church service with the benediction: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen”. Most of us are probably thinking that it is time the service is over and I’m hungry and can already smell the potluck lunch warming up. But we need to pause and remind ourselves that if grace, love and fellowship are the defining characteristics of God, and we are created in his image, then we have the responsibility of sharing those characteristics with each other.
Maybe sit near someone you don’t like during the potluck lunch and rise to the challenge. God has not given us three spiritual arms for nothing!