Here is the conclusion to my study on Ephesians. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Conclusion

It has been hard to sit down and write my concluding thoughts on Ephesians. It is an adventure I have been pursuing for four years, and this marks the end of the journey.

I started with a belief that this short letter of Paul’s was a key to the church moving forward in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. That belief has been vindicated, even though I feel like my own study has barely scratched the surface.

Paul uses the word mystery to describe God’s plan of salvation. A mystery is something that was previously hidden but has now been revealed. I feel that the book of Ephesians is itself a mystery which God is now unveiling.

Many of the struggles which christians face in daily life would disappear if we could only see the world, and our lives, from God’s perspective. Ephesians starts with an amazing statement: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. That is an epic statement. It tells us the God has lavished his love on us and that he holds nothing back from us. It also tells us that the blessings are in the heavenly realm. We have to fix our attention on heaven and not on earth to receive the blessings that God has for us.

But the blessings are not for individuals alone. We are being built into a temple for God, a household of faith. All of the divisions and conflicts of human history are done away with when we recognise that we are all one in Christ.

When we really absorb this truth about who we are in Christ, it results in a new life. We are no longer locked into the ways of sin followed by those who do not know Christ. Growing in our understanding of Christ’s forgiveness, we become imitators of God, living holy lives not sinful lives.

Marriages are transformed and family relationships renewed. Even the workplace is made new by the power of submitting ourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul reminds us in the very last chapter that every battle is spiritual. We sometimes lose sight of this fact. We fight against people rather than the true enemies – the rulers, principalities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. God has given us weapons that will protect us in this battle. We have to take them up, praying in the Spirit at all times.

I have been surprised by the depth of understanding that the Holy Spirit has given me in this study of Ephesians. To see each verse of a dozen or so words speak to issues of faith and life has been a revelation in itself.

I hope that you, the reader of this book, are encouraged to go deeper into the Word of God. May God give you a deeper, fresh revelation of his grace to you and of your place in his eternal Kingdom. Amen

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:23-24. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:23-24

“Peace be to the whole community [literally” to the brothers”] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now we come to the very end of the letter, a blessing upon the people of the church.

The translation by the New Revised Standard Version of the Greek word for “brothers” as community is a bit of a stretch for this usually quite literal translation. I think that it detracts from the personal nature of the christian community. Most translations keep with “brothers”, or, as with the New Living Translation, “ dear brothers and sisters.” I think that the NLT catches best the sense of affection that Paul has for these beloved christians.

Paul prays for peace for the faith community. This is the traditional Hebrew blessing, “shalom”, which means peace and much more. He started the letter with an invocation for grace and peace, and he now concludes it with similar but not identical words.

If the church were to take seriously all of the promises and commandments in Ephesians, it would thrive in the peace of the Lord.

To the blessing of peace, he adds the phrase “ love with faith”. The two qualities of the love of God and faith In God are closely intertwined in practice. We cannot know the love of God without faith in Him, but, as we grow in our experience of love, our faith also grows. The two are, in reality, impossible to separate.

These qualities – peace, love, and faith – come as gifts from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We often think of faith as something that we do, but even faith Comes as gift (see 1 Corinthians 12:9).

Grace is a traditional Greek greeting. When Paul writes “grace and peace”, as he does in many of his epistles, he combines both Greek and Hebrew traditions, signalling the unity of Jew and Gentile in the New Covenant.

Paul is praying grace for all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word translated “ undying” means incorruptible, and is used in two ways in the New Testament. It can mean eternal in the sense that death cannot overcome something and cause it to decay. It also has the sense of pure or morally incorruptible.

In both senses of the word, love for Jesus is eternal and incorruptible. Loving Jesus Christ will last forever as it will carry on beyond the grave and into heaven. Pure love for Christ also brings a kind of Innocence in which we cannot be diverted from our true focus in Him .

Key points in these verses:

• We can experience peace,love and faith as gifts from the Lord
• Our love for Jesus can be everlasting and pure

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:21-22. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:21-22

“So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. I’m sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts.”

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul covers topics of cosmic significance, deep issues about our place in God’s Kingdom, and how we should live. He now turns to personal greetings because church is more than ideology and grand ideas. Even the greatest of our conceptions are based in relationship with God and with one another.

Paul is sending the letter with Tychicus, his dear friend and trusted coworker in the preaching of the gospel.

Paul knew that the Ephesians would want to know about how Paul was coping in his imprisonment. Their love for Paul is described clearly in Acts 20:13-37. They would value the opportunity to hear the news of Paul, not just advice and doctrine .

Tychicus is mentioned several times in the New Testament. He carried Paul’s letter to the Colossians and had been involved in part of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 20:1-4).

For people involved in Christian ministry, there is nothing like a faithful brother in the Lord who stands with you and encourages you over a long period of time.

Tychicus was a faithful minister in the Lord. Despite the many temptations to give up, he remained faithful to the Lord and to Paul.

We sometimes lament over preachers and pastors who lose their ministry because of scandalous sin. Some even announce that they have lost their faith in the Lord. For every celebrity pastor who falls, there are undoubtedly many other less known ministers who just get worn down by the constant pressure of being at the forefront of the Christian community.

Maybe we should rejoice in those who, like Tychicus, remain faithful to the Lord and to their assignment. When we think of the intensity of spiritual warfare that surrounds every believer, but especially those called to preach the gospel, it is only the grace of God that sustains them and strengthens them in the battle.

As well as being a messenger for Paul, Tychicus seems to have had the ministry gift of encourager. Paul wanted him to encourage the hearts of the christians at Ephesus.

Every church or christian community needs that one person (or more) who has this gift of encouragement. They are the people who remind us of our purpose in dark times. They believe in us as followers and ministers of Christ. They cheer us on when the battle gets difficult. They are the ones who hold our arms up when the battle goes longer than we can endure alone (Exodus 17:10-13).

Paul did not send just anyone to carry his messages. We live in an era of constant bombardment in emails, text messages, and phone calls by people who are not interested in us, but only in our money. Rather than sending just anybody to deliver his message, Paul considered this to be a ministry in its own right. The bearer of the message had to be the right man who would go on to do much more than merely carry a letter.

Key points in these verses:

• The context of Ephesians is a personal relationship between Paul and the church
• Tychicus was a beloved friend and coworker with Paul
• We need to pray and encourage pastors and other ministers of the gospel
• We all need encouragers

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:20. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:20

“… for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.”

Paul describes himself as an ambassador in chains for the gospel.

Every nation sends out ambassadors to other countries to represent the interests of the home nation abroad. An ambassador is a go between in many ways, communicating the views of their own government as well as informing their government if what is happening in the other nation.

To be an ambassador for the gospel means to represent the gospel amongst those who do not know it, to be the light in the darkness, so to speak.

Paul particularly saw himself as an ambassador to the gentiles. At this time of his life, that ministry is now focused on one particular person, the Emperor himself.

For Paul, the great culmination of years of preaching the gospel would be reached when he stood before Caesar to represent the Kingdom of Jesus. If he could share the claims of the gospel with the most influential people in Rome, the gospel would be more easily preached right through the Empire.

Paul’s dream did not come to pass in his own lifetime. He was executed by Nero around the year 65. Persecution of Christians continued sporadically through the Empire until Constantine became a Christian in the early 300’s. Within a generation of that date, Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire.

In every nation of the world, to be appointed as an ambassador is seen as a prestigious thing. Ambassadorships can be offered to career public servants or as a reward to political allies. While there are some positions that might be considered as less prestigious than others (e.g. remote locations in Africa or South America would be less exciting than London or Washington), nobody would want to be appointed as an ambassador in chains.

In the human way of looking at things, Paul was just another political prisoner or a religious zealot awaiting trial before the emperor, but Paul saw his position as God saw it. He was an ambassador of Jesus Christ!

We must not let our self-esteem be determined by the world’s judgements. If we are serving God, it is His assessment of us that matters, not the world’s .

Paul asks for the Ephesians to pray for him to be bold in his speaking.

We might think that Paul would want to tread carefully while he is in prison. In this situation, he is vulnerable to mistreatment by guards, other prisoners, and officials. It might be tempting to not say anything that might cause offence. Paul isn’t one to fly under the radar. He prays for the ability to speak the message boldly even in this vulnerable condition.

He is aware that he must speak. It isn’t clear whether he is thinking primarily about his eventual court case before the Emperor. Perhaps he is thinking about his daily encounters with various people.

He is conscious of the need to share the gospel. It is like a fire burning within him, a force that compels him. If he is going to speak, as indeed he must, he might as well do so boldly .

He needs prayer for this because it is all part of the spiritual warfare that he wrote of earlier in the chapter. As the ambassador of Christ in chains, his battle is not against human enemies, but against the principalities and demonic rulers of this present age.

Key points in this verse:

• We are all called to be ambassadors for the gospel
• whether we are In chains like Paul, it is God’s calling that gives us status not the rewards of men
• Even though Paul’s desire to see the Emperor saved did not come in his lifetime, it did come to pass eventually
• We must not soft-pedal the gospel even when we are tempted to do so
• Everybody needs prayer to be able to share the gospel

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:19. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:19

“Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”

Having asked his readers to pray for all the saints, Paul asks for prayer for himself.

Paul was at the front lines of the spread of the gospel and the planting of churches throughout the Empire. He was aware that, for this reason, he was in special need of prayer .

The proclamation of the gospel is not just a matter of putting together a message. It is a part of the war of the spirits that Paul alluded to earlier. Paul is the spearhead in this battle against satan, and therefore he needs extra prayer because he faces greater opposition.

We all need to pray for people whom we know in ministry. Our own pastors, small group leaders, evangelists, and missionaries. Every one of these is engaged in the most intense of battles, and they need our constant prayer.

Paul asks that when he opens his mouth to speak, a message is given to him. Paul, like many preachers, does not want just any message, he wants a word (“logos” is the words translated as message here) from God. The word from God changes lives, pulls down strongholds, demolishes opposition, raises the dead, and saves souls. This is the sort of word that Paul wants to speak. It only comes through prayer as our spirits are submitted to the Holy Spirit.

Paul wants to speak boldly. He has something of a reputation as being fiery and bold, but I suspect this was not his natural disposition. There is a boldness, a fire, that comes from the Holy Spirit, which is greater than human oratory. A man can persuade a crowd by force of personality and various manipulative techniques. When the Holy Spirit takes control of a preacher, the result is far greater than human abilities alone.

Every preacher should pay for both the message of the Lord and boldness in preaching it.

Paul wants to make known the mystery of the gospel. A mystery in the Bible refers to something previously hidden, but now being revealed.

The gospel, or Good News, is a mystery in the sense that until Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, there was so much about God’s plan of salvation that was hidden in plain view.

God promised in Genesis that the seed of the woman would destroy the serpent. In retrospect, we can see that this applied to Jesus who was not conceived in the normal way.

God promised King David that one of his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel forever. That seems to indicate that there would always be a Davidic dynasty reigning over Israel. But now we see that this, too, was a reference to Jesus reigning over the world for ever.

All of the Old Testament, in fact, points to the Good News that “ God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The gospel can be deduced from the Old Testament, but only when we see Jesus is the key that unlocks the mystery.

So Paul request prayer for boldness to be able to preach this message under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Key points in this verse:

• Paul requested prayer because he was on the front lines of the spiritual war
• Every preacher needs a word or message from the Lord
• Paul wanted to proclaim the gospel in boldness. We should also ask for the boldness of the Holy Spirit

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:18. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:18

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To this end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

Although prayer is not part of the armour of God, it is an essential part of the spiritual life. Paul here uses very expansive language, using words such as all, every, always. For the genuine Christian, there is never a time to neglect prayer. It should be as natural a part of our life as breathing.

Not just any prayer will do. This prayer is not a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or reading from a prayer book. Paul is exhorting us to pray in the Spirit.

Praying in the Spirit means that we pray with an awareness of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We listen to what the Holy Spirit is directing us to pray. We pray with the knowledge that the Spirit Himself intercedes for us in groans beyond human understanding (Romans 8:26-27).

Praying in the Spirit means also praying in tongues, the language given to us by the Holy Spirit. We allow the Spirit to direct our words because our words alone are not enough.

We are to pray at all times. This takes discipline and endurance. Some of us have established specific times to pray, both alone and with others. This is good, but Paul is saying we need to learn to pray at all times.

By being conscious of our thoughts and the rhythm of our days, we can learn to direct every part of our lives to prayer. When people or situations go through our mind, rather than letting our brain idle past them, we can turn them to prayer.

We can learn to turn the routine and monotonous times of life to prayer. Tasks like mowing, cleaning, washing up, can easily become opportunities to pray in the Spirit.

We must pray every kind of prayer and supplication. This is a classroom of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who can lead us into every kind of prayer. A supplication is a request. We listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying about a person or a situation, and then we make our request to the Father.

We must keep alert, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are in partnership with the Lord. There are millions of testimonies from believers who received an impression, an idea, sometimes even an urgent summons to pray for someone. They pray earnestly for the person, and later find out that their prayers were needed at that exact time.

To keep alert means that we are not distracted by the things of the world. It is easy to fill every part of the day and night with external stimulation- music, social media, movies, TV, and the like. When we engross ourselves in these things, we are not being alert to the Holy Spirit. Like a sentry guarding a military target, we must keep our spiritual senses actively engaged for the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

We must persevere in supplication for all the saints.

We are not the only ones involved in spiritual battles. My Christian brothers and sisters are also fighting against the enemy. There are other people who are being targeted for persecution, suffering, or discouragement. Our hearts must never become so focused on our own struggles that we fail to support others in their struggles. Our prayers of supplication must be for others and not just for ourselves.

It is not easy to pray for “all the saints” as there are millions of people to pray for. We should regularly pray for the saints in we know, such as people in our church, members of our cell group or home group, pastors and other leaders, people who are sick, and those who are facing persecution in other countries. When the Spirit lays a burden for particular names into our heads, Then we should pray urgently and earnestly for those people.

The ministry of prayer is the duty and the privilege of all Christians. We must always look to the needs of other people and not just ourselves, and be alert to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Key points in this verse:

• Prayer is a key weapon in our spiritual warfare
• We must constantly pray in the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to prompt us to pray specifically
• We must learn to pray on every occasion at all times
• Our prayers should be directed towards the needs of other christians, as well as our own needs.