2. Grace unto you. The customary Pauline benediction (see on Rom. 1:7; 1 Thess. 1:1). Only in the pastoral epistles is the formula varied by the addition of “mercy.” The apostle recognizes that the spiritual gifts of grace and peace can come only from God. Grace is God’s love in action, freely providing complete salvation to undeserving sinners through Jesus Christ, whereas peace, the result of such action, involves the consciousness of sins forgiven, the recognition of reconciliation with God.