Ephesians 6:21-24 "A Benediction of Grace"

Introduction:

The Apostle Paul often ended his epistles with a benediction of blessing upon the particular church he was writing to.

He wanted the churches to be encouraged in the midst of uncertain and difficult times.

And Ephesus was no exception so as he says in verses 21-22 he is sending Tychicus to communicate to them about Paul’s own well-being.

And he is doing this most likely during his 2 year house arrest in Rome.

Tychicus was most likely the one who would be carrying the letter. A letter that speaks mainly about God’s work of grace in the lives of His covenant people.

And in Paul’s final words of conclusion he pronounces even again the blessings of God upon His people. Look back to verse 23 of your text:

I. The Blessings (23).

First we see that he declares peace to the brothers. This is common for Paul in his benedictions to proclaim peace upon the people of God. It would be the same idea derived from the Old Testament Jewish custom of greeting or saying goodbye with the Hebrew word “Shalome” which denotes the idea of peace or harmony in the context of a relationship.

But in this context it is not a peace that is primarily between people that is being emphasized here. It is peace with God that one has due to the finished work of Christ where God has removed the hostility between us and Him and He has removed any and all condemnation upon us through Christ.

This is how we have peace with God as Romans 5:1 tells us: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And we know that Paul has this idea in mind as he then declares to them, “love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of verse 23.

“Love with faith from God” tells us that not only does “peace” originate with God through Jesus Christ, but so does “love with faith” originate with God through Jesus Christ. God initiates the gift of His blessings to us through Jesus Christ.

Just like the work of Christ fortifies us in the armor of God, so does the work of Christ secure for us the blessings of God. Our love relationship with Christ is the very basis of the ongoing bestowment of God’s grace to us. Look back at your text to verse 24:

II. The Basis (24).

Our love for Christ is the basis of ongoing grace to us. This is not the same as the unmerited grace where God initiates salvation prior to us being regenerated by the Holy Spirit when He opened our eyes to saving faith.

In this verse love is present in the Christian and grace abounds to those who love Christ with love incorruptible.

The idea of love being incorruptible is denoting that it is a love that is not subject to decay. So the second use of love is not present in the Greek text. The ESV puts it in because it is implied by the context. The first use is from the family of “agape” and it is the highest form of love. It is the kind of love that God loves His people with.

But here verse 24 is talking about the love that we are to love Christ with. To be honest I find my heart fickle as all get out when it comes to my initiation of love in the direction of Christ. Because I can so easily be led astray in my affections by worldly things or just my emotions manipulating my affections for Christ.

This is why we need to remember to take verse 23 with us into verse 24. Because the love that comes with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is a God initiated deposit of love to us due to the work of Christ on our behalf. We didn’t initiate love in our own hearts for Christ. We were incapable of loving Him prior to Him loving us. This is laid down as a foundational truth of the Christian faith in I John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

In order for a fallen human being to have love incorruptible, it has to come from outside of him from an incorruptible source. What Paul is pronouncing is for the Christian believer to be blessed with God’s spiritual vitality due to grace being poured out on a continual basis through Jesus Christ. The blessings of God provide the basis for the ongoing provision of grace to us Christian.

If we didn’t have this we would easily slide in to a performance basis trying to earn grace to us. But as it is we have it provided for us and true love for Christ is not the love you try to muster up in an attempt to convince Christ and yourself that you love Him. Love for Christ is a gift from God where He cultivates it into our hearts as he sanctifies us in sovereign grace.

When we realize this it will keep us from measuring our perceived love for Christ against the perception that we perceive others have for Him. Such things are ridiculous when we realize that the love that we love Christ with has been initiated in our hearts by God. He is the only source of love incorruptible and without His love for us it is impossible for us to love Him.

The love of this world in contrast is corruptible and it ebbs and flows in keeping with the sinful hearts of men. It has too often selfish over tones that promote selfish ambitions at the expense of others. It drifts towards exploitation of others in relationships and in the end it is far from being the same as the covenant love of God that He pours in to our hearts in Christ.

Conclusion:

Girl from the jail who had been used repeatedly by men who didn’t love her but who exploited her again and again. I saw her when she got our sitting on a curb beside the street. I pulled up and I rolled down my window and asked how what she was doing. She immediately started cussing at me and called me a creep and told me to get lost. I began to laugh and when i did she recognized my and said Pastor Brett is that you? I said yes it is.

She began to apologize over and over again. She said Pastor Brett I am so hungry could you get me something to eat. I took her to McDonald’s and got her some food.

The love of God to us in Christ that He pours into our hearts Christian is not a love that uses you and throws you away. When you encounter His love by divine grace it is infinitely better than McDonald’s.

God gives us Christ as His provision of grace to us. The world will leave you on the curb but Christ never will.

Come to Him confess your sin and find your rest in His grace to you.

Unbeliever you need this gospel of God’s grace to you in Christ. He paid our debt. Believe unto salvation. Let’s Pray!