to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
"With these three terms, then, Paul greets Timothy and the church: charis [grace]-God’s ongoing forgiveness and enabling, eleos [mercy]-God’s sympathy and concern, eirene [peace]-God’s tranquility and stability within and among them as individuals and as a Christian community." [Note: George W. Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, p. 67.] 