In the truth (é€v adn9etg. Omit the. The expression zm truth marks the atmosphere or element of truth in which some- thing is said, or felt, or done. See John xvii.17. Ln truth is equivalent to éruly, really. Compare Col. i. 6; John xvii. 19.
That have known (of éyvwxdres). Either have come to - know, or as Rev., know. The perfect tense of ywwaocka, to learn to know, is rendered as a present: Z have learned to know, therefore J know. See on 1 John ii. 3.
2. Which dwelleth (r#v pévovcav). Rev., abideth. En- larging on the idea of the truth: that which abideth. See on 1 John iv. 9, on the phrase to abide in, see on 1 John ii. 6.
Shall be with us (ue? judv écrar). With us has the em- phatic position in the sentence: and with us zt shall be. Note the change from abideth in to shall be with, and see on John RVs LO te
3. Grace be with you, mercy and peace (éorau we? jucdv x apts eos eipjvn). The verb is in the future tense: shall be. In the Pauline Epistles the salutations contain no verb. In 1 and 2 Peter and Jude, rAnIuv9ein be multiplied, is used. Grace (yapes) is of rare occurrence in John’s writings (John i. 14, 16, 17; Apoc. i. 4; xxii. 21); and the kindred yapifowas to favor, be kind, forgive, and yapicua gift, are not found at all. See on Luke i. 30. Mercy (€deos), only here in John. See on Luke i. 50. The pre-Christian definitions of the word include the ele- ment of grief experienced on account of the wnworthy suffer- ing of another. So Aristotle. The Latin mésericordia (miser “wretched,” cor “the heart”) carries the same idea. So Cicero defines it, the sorrow arising from the wretchedness of another suffering wrongfully. Strictly speaking, the word as applied to God, cannot include either of these elements, since grief can- not be ascribed to Him, and suffering is the legitimate result of sin. The sentiment in God assumes the character of pitying love. Mercy is kindness and good-will toward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them. Trench ob- serves: “In the Divine mind, and in the order of our salvation