Our Undying Love for Christ (Eph. 6:21-24)

Well, we're finishing up the book of Ephesians today. And as you turn to Ephesians chapter 6, I'm going to cover this concluding a portion of the letter and it's always a little bit of a challenge to conclude a letter because Paul wrote it to the Ephesians primarily, even though he meant it for the whole church to be read. But sometimes it's a wonder of like how what do we do with this ending of a letter fact, I want to read you these four verses and then we'll we'll talk about it. Paul says beginning and verse 21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing teacher kiss the Beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything I've sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers in love with Faith from God the father in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love in corruptible to my title this week. I took from that last line those who love the Lord Jesus Christ with a love Incorruptible in that word Incorruptible could mean Immortal that can mean undying and that's that's how I took it off our undying love for Christ polish showing in this conclusion his great love for the church at Ephesus. He also shows his pastoral heart but it's interesting. We've heard throughout the letter of the Father's Love For Us that he loved us before the foundation of the world. We heard of this son's love for us how high and wide and deep and long the love of Christ is there's been implied that the spirit has love for us because as we keep in step with him, he reveals God's love to us and he's the one who has been Made it home in our hearts through faith. But now Paul is saying the proper response is that because we've been so greatly loved we ought to love God and Paul says this kind of love. It's a love that's Incorruptible another words. It's it's undying it will never fade. It will never go away. Now. Sometimes we perceive and feel like our love for God is waxing and waning we just sang about it this sometimes we don't feel like our love for God is very strong. But if we understand what Paul taught us in the whole book of Ephesians, we realized that our loving God is Not ultimately based upon our effort. The spirit of God is at work in us to stir up in us this reality of who we are in Christ and everything that we have and as we keep in step with him, we know that our love for Christ will never fade away. It will never to use this same kind of language. It will never perish its Incorruptible its undying it's unable to die. And this gives us great hope this morning. Because we live in this already not yet. And you might be tempted to think my love for God is it's like a feeble candle it it waxes and wanes and I'm afraid it's going to die at some point that the circumstances of my life would become so great that I just don't love God anymore. Maybe you felt that way. I know I have But we have this great hope that that we're not it's not ultimately our own effort apart from God. It's actually a spirit empowered love that is rooted in everything that we have in Jesus because we've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ according to chapter 1, so I want to pull this out know Paul is talking about who he's sending this man picture kiss in this benediction to the church at Ephesus. I want to pull out by application a great encouragement to us today who live in Benicia and not Ephesus or adjacent to Benicia. Vallejo dare we say the word Vallejo

So first Paul's gift to those who love Christ he sends This Man tickets. And this is one of those things that it's very easy. If I said to you who is Tisha guess you would say, I don't know and if I asked you was he even mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. You would say, I don't know I would say I don't know. I'd have to look it up. It would be a Trivial Pursuit exercise. So let's do that a little bit turn over to Acts chapter 20.

The first time he's mentioned is here in Acts chapter 21 verse 4. Because what I want to do is paint you a a picture of biography of Tisha kiss. So you can get an idea of what Paul's intention was in sending him. So 20:1 Paul is in let me just read it after the Uproar ceased Paul sent for the disciples and after encouraging them. He said farewell and departed for Macedonia Macedonia. Is that country? That was it was a province of Rome at the time that was just above Greece when he'd gone through those regions and given them much encouragement. He came to Greece and there he spent three months and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria. He decided to return through Macedonia. So pater the buryin son of pyrrhus accompanied him and of the Thessalonians aristarchus and secundus and Gaius of Derby and Timothy and the Asians tetricus and trophimus these went on ahead and we're waiting for us at row as but we sailed away from Phillipi after the days of unleavened bread. And in five days, we came to them at role as where we stayed for 7 days. So just in passing ticha kisses mentioned as one of the Asians Asia Minor modern-day turkey is where Ephesus is tychicus was from Ephesus, but he was a part of Paul's missionary team. He was part of this team that was traveling around with Paul sharing the gospel building up the church. He was with Paul here. We see in Greece. It was during the third missionary journey that he ended up going to troas with Paul and then turn over to 2nd Timothy 4:12.

There's only three passages. So we're going to run to the second one. I'm trying to you know, build up the story a little bit, you know The Who and the off of it, but I don't know if that's quite come and get thank you. I got a little reaction out of you 2nd Timothy 4:12. Let me start verse 9 Paul. Of course. This is the last letter he wrote he's in prison. He's going to die tradition says he was beheaded at Rome by Nero for his face and he's writing to Timothy and he says verse 9 do your best to come to me soon for Demas in love with this present world has deserted me and gone to thessalonica crescents is gone to galatia Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. So this team of missionaries that traveled with him by the time Paul's in prison the second time everybody's gone. The only one with him is Luke The Physician who wrote the Book of Luke in the book of Acts. Get Mark and bring him with you for he's very useful to me for Ministry Tisha kiss. I have sent to Ephesus. So did she kiss was with him and Paul? Cuz I sent him to Ephesus and we have to read between the lines. Paul was probably planning to replace Timothy there in Ephesus cuz that's where Timothy was in 2nd Timothy with tetricus as the pastor. So Timothy come to me. I'm going to send you a replacement in tetricus. In fact because Tisha kisses mentioned at the end of the book of Ephesians, he's probably the Scribe who wrote the letter so Paul that very standard if you were writing a letter to somebody you would or you would speak it orally and someone would write it down and be your scribe pitch kiss was probably describe for the letter to the Ephesians. And Paul backless. Let's turn back to it. Will he's mentioned in Titus. 112 is the third one. So let's go ahead and look at that.

I'm not in 112.

312 when I send Artemis ortygia kiss to you do your best to come to me in the copoulos for I've decided to spend the winter there. Yeah. So he also was sent to replace Titus at Crete when Titus was going to go to Paul. So there was this ministry that Paul was doing where he would have his team. He would send one of them like Titus or Timothy to go to a church that they previously planted and build it up. But when he needed one of those one of his right hand guys like Titus or Timothy to return to him, he would send a replacement and it seems that what we can reconstruct is tychicus was that replacement. He was that one who would come in and just make sure that the church was running smoothly after these other brothers had left and returned. So he was a very trustworthy reliable co-worker and help her. So turning back to Ephesians. Let's kind of reconstruct here will pulse. Verse 21 so that you may also know how I am and what I'm doing kischuk is the Beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. So this is another pattern of him saying kitchen kisses been with me. This is the first imprisonment not the second one that we saw in 2nd Timothy, but he says I'm going to send tickets to you. He's going to tell you everything about how I'm doing and what's been going on and he's going to be the one who brings this letter of the Ephesians to the church at Ephesus and he probably was described who wrote it and with the track record of tickets in scripture like this. It's no wonder Paul thought of him as a faithful minister or servant in the Lord. Isn't it incredible? Like we don't think of tickets when we think of faithful ministers in the New Testament? He's not the first name that comes to my mind is going to be one of the Apostles is going to be all it's going to be perhaps James or wheat, but we don't think of these people who just Faithfully have been serving the lord Paul trusted him so much that he sent him to Ephesus twice center creek once and was with him throughout this ministry. One of the commentator says to think that Paul at the very end of this unbelievable epistle actually gives the gift of a personified version of every single thing that you find in this letter to the church so that they might see in the flesh what he's been speaking about. Therefore. We have the man with the message he gave the church that he loved one of his best men and one of God's best blessings to check is sent to exhort them sent to encourage them sent to push them and pressed. to implement all of the blessings that they would read about in this book what I thought And it's always good to hear what the Lord is doing in the lives of other Ministries one of the reasons. I wanted to read this letter from our missionary was because we want to hear what the Lord is doing. And in Russia in North Africa. Paul says, I want you to know how I'm doing they wanted them to the Ephesians to be comforted by this and to think that we've had opportunity to from our local church here that started a year ago to partner with a brother who helped us start the ministry and send him to Russia to continue work there and then sending him we sent one of our best a dear dear brother in the Lord. And we want to know what's going on with them. We want to hear these Ephesians wanted to know what's going on with Paul Paul's essentially saying I know that you've been praying for me. I know what you know what I've been battling against that I'm in prison. I want you to know how the Lord has been answering your prayers. And so another words Paul wanted them to be comforted. Pause the one whose death is a real possibility and yet he still concerned about this church this flock and thinking about our opportunity to to support missionaries to have them come visit us preach to us. It's why we want to travel and see them and share our life with them to have our hearts knit together. This is at the heart of Fellowship. So Paul is very practical in this knowing that these relationships are crucial for the building up the body of Christ for the advancement of the Gospel in missions in his vision of God's new Society Was Not Mere Theory, but something he put into practice. And so John Stott and his commentary says by prayer correspondence and visits. He sought to cultivate the building up of Christ's body. What how does this apply to us? Well, we know that our love for Christ is not merely verbal. It's not merely emotional. It actually works itself out in doing something. It works itself out in obedience to God it works itself out in doing the same kinds of things that we see here. It's why we want to be a part of Missions and church planting. I think of Jason and Kristen wanting to be sent up to Calistoga and what a thought to think that we would send our best to go and Advance the kingdom in the Napa Valley and the need is great and that we could be a part of that and wouldn't it be an encouragement to say this is not just a matter of checking a box or doing what we're supposed to as a church. This is a manifestation of our love for Christ. We have been so greatly loved that. We need to share that love with others. So that others would know how greatly their loved in Christ.

Paul's gift to the church at Ephesus was to send them tickets.

likewise our gift to those who love Christ is to send them people who love Jesus to serve them to minister to them. Perhaps it's you. I don't know if you've ever thought about that. I can remember being challenged. I was at a evening service and it was in 1999 and Phil Howard was preaching on Isaiah 6 here. Am I send me and it was for the opening of the the year for Grace School of Theology and Ministry? I was doing everything I could to get away from pastoral Ministry. I wanted to work my job at UC Davis being a computer programmer make lots of money prior to Y2K. I had my eyes set on being the next computer genius. I do not Bill Gates. I mean not that high, but man I thought I was going to just give a lot to the church and maybe lead to Bible study and the Lord put it on my heart. Through his Providence has and not giving it rest. And that that night after hearing that message I could not sleep and I prayed all night and by the morning I said, okay Lord, whatever you would have me do I'll do so I enrolled in grade school theology the next day. I started taking classes and then later that year went up to Grace Church in Apple Valley to be on staff.

And the Lord this is how he works. This is how he moves is you are so captured by how much he has loved you but you love him in return we love because he first loved us and that love didn't manifest itself in serving others.

It's why we've emphasized the priesthood of Believers so much. That we want to be a priesthood of Believers that served one another that manifests the love of Christ in our own church as we love and serve one another.

So Paul's gift is Tisha kiss and he had said earlier that God gives gifts to the church some of his Apostles some as profit. Some is evangelist some is pastors and teachers for the equipping of the Saints to do the work of ministry. The people that are those gifts that that's not spiritual gifts in that context in that verse. It's those people who are gifted to the church and here's another one at the end of the letter tetricus while the second part of this conclusion is Paul's blessing to those who love Christ verses 23 and 24. The benediction peace be to the brothers and love with Faith from God the father in the Lord Jesus Christ. This word benediction literally is just a word of blessing. I have a explanation in our bulletin every week about each of the elements of our corporate Gathering and why we include them and I don't always talk about it. But if you were to get one of the print copies of the bulletin you would see that the service from the call to worship to the call to repentance to the the remembering in the Thanksgiving of assurance of Salvation in Christ to the preach the word to the communion to a song and prayer of Thanksgiving and then a commissioning and a listing for service and then a benediction takes the shape of the Gospel. The whole service is meant to be a rehearsal of the Gospel. That just as we were told to believe the gospel to worship Jesus to Bow the knee to him. It's a call to worship to stop worshiping ourselves.

And if you're not a Christian here today this call to worship that we started with Psalm 89, but the call to worship is a call to say I'm not the boss of my own life anymore. I'm not the King. Jesus is

And I would just ask you if Jesus isn't King in your life. How's your kingdom going?

It's going well for you.

Jesus gave an illustration of it is the wise man built his house upon a rock. Foolish man built his house upon the sand. See when the winds come when the storms of life come When Trials come with we built our own kingdom. It's not going to last but if we have submitted to Jesus is King and believe the gospel man. It's a kingdom that will never perish and never fade away and we get to be a part of that Kingdom apart of that family and it's not by works. It's by faith believing Did Jesus died in our place that he was buried and rose again? Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead you shall be saved. What a glorious gospel and at the end of this gospel message. He is a benediction righted that we will never perish but have everlasting life eternal life. What a benediction what a word of blessing. We will never come into condemnation. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Did the the Wrath of the father has been fully satisfied in the work of the Sun at the cross? And the spirit of God is a downpayment of our pledge and the down payment and pledge of our inheritance that everything God has promised will be met in him. All of his promises are yes, and amen he's going to keep them all. What father ever keeps all his promises even the best of us? We mean to keep our promises but circumstances. We're not God. We don't know tomorrow, but our father in Heaven who knows the future who knows all things whose Sovereign over all he keeps all his promises. And he loves us with an everlasting love.

So this benediction this word a blessing. This is more than a wish. This isn't just wishful thinking this isn't Hallmark theology. You know, you got the cards that give you a nice wish for your birthday or for the holidays or your anniversary. This is a type of prayer for us. Paul is praying a prayer that he knows will be answered because it's rooted in the character and Promises of God, and he says peace be to the brothers and love with Faith from God the father in the Lord Jesus Christ Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love in corruptible Grace and peace begin the letter 1:2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Grace and the letter and peace and the letter here. He mixes them up. He says peace first and then love with face and then Grace. What peace and love peace and Ephesians is incredible, isn't it? Turn back to 2:14. He himself is our peace. Who is that the Lord Jesus who is made us both one and is broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of Commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create and himself one new man in the place of two so making peace and Mike reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility and he can't even preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near for through him. We both have access in one Spirit to the father. What an incredible the kind of Peace we have with God means we have access to him. We can come to him whenever we want and we're not going to be turned away. Remember Esther in the Old Testament. She was married to the king and she wasn't sure that she had access whenever she wanted. Remember the story of Esther she on danger of losing her life decided to go into the king without first being asked for. Presuming upon the king's character. And she wasn't sure if she was going to lose her life. Is he that's an Earthly King. We have a Heavenly King God who sits in the heavens who made all things. But what we have is a great promise that we can come to him whenever we want. It no longer is like in the Old Testament where if you decided to go into the presence of the Lord in an unworthy manner you might get struck dead. Now we come to God as a father. Because Jesus made peace. There's nothing left to do we have access in the Holy Spirit to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. As I told you when we were there in a fusions 218 that is the main verse that the first two chapters are driving towards. Is peace with God Access to him we can come to him whenever we want and we can ask him whatever we need and then in chapter 3 he says he's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think so you can't ask her think too much cuz he does exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think.

That is good news. That is peace. Of course Paul's appealing to the Old Testament concept of Peace as well Shalom. That's the one Hebrew word. I think we all know Shalom peace life is the way God intended it to be the idea. But we know in this Fallen World. We don't have Shalom. This is not life as God intended it to be but he's promised it. But we have experienced it now in Jesus we have peace we have shalom. And here we have it in the benediction as well piece. He says to the brothers and love with faith. Now he says Brethren Brothers brothers and sisters. It's a plural word members of one another he had said and 4:25 that we are put away falsehood Let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another he said in verse 2:19. We belong to the same household were members of the household of God is why we are called brothers and sisters or the old word brethren brothers and sisters why because God is our father. So what is Paul saying pulsating in the benediction may you know, the fullness of the father's favor enjoyment of the total well-being that he bestows That's what Paul is praying for them. And then he says love with faith. But what kind of love has he been talkin about? The love of God one of the main purposes of the book of Ephesians was to promote love and here it's combined with faith. Of course, he had prayed we saw that last week in and we saw a few chapters ago in Chapter 30 that you would know how high and wide and deep and long the love of Christ is so that you'd be filled with all the fullness of God all that. You would know it you already have it. It's just that you would know what you already have and now Paul is giving them a benediction year in verse 23. Peace be to you and love with faith. He already knows that you have the love of God. So what is he saying now that you would get more of the love of God, but that you would be aware of how much God loves you and the way that you become aware of how much God loves you is by face. And this love is from God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It's how we started the letter. And so what he saying is the origin of love comes from our Triune God, but I think what he's getting at the reason he doesn't mention the spirit is because he's saying the father has loved you, and if you want to know how much the father has loves you look to the Lord Jesus Christ look to the Cross because they're The Father's Love is Gone public. He loves you when you were at your worst he gave you his best his son and if he didn't spare his son, how will he not with him freely give you all things. So when you're tempted to doubt that the father loves you you need to look to Jesus. And remind yourself of how much You Been Loved. We just sang about it. Jason reminded us of the poetic nature of the third verse. What a picture that it will never be exhausted. For all eternity Paul had said earlier, you know what the father is going to be doing as the ages of Eternity roll on one upon another upon another in the coming ages. The father's going to continually be revealing his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. sin chapter 2 of Ephesians Suppose you're simply saying I'm praying for you that you would know how much you are loved. what I thought

you know what to know what the application is of that is to know how much you're loved. To remind yourself of how much you've been loved.

You Been Loved With an infinite Eternal everlasting love that cannot be measured. the father said his affection upon you in Christ before the foundation of the world chapter one says he is loves you. You might be tempted to think that you're not worthy of it, but you don't deserve it. Therefore. You can't receive it. The reality is you don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. I'm not worthy of it. But part of the Gospel messages. I have received it in Jesus. You have received it in Jesus. And so instead of pushing away lean into it delighting it think upon it Ponder on it meditate upon it. Let it feel all of your mind and your heart in your affections. But it roll over you. like waves upon the seashore

This Love

Let me just say this way. This is what Paul is is fraying in this benediction. May you taste of God's love. Gracias free and overflowing and may God continue to Grant you faith. You see after all. It's a gift of God Paul's in chapter 2. He concludes with Grace. Grace Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love Incorruptible. May God continue his grace to you God's free and undeserved favor favor. This is his prayer. He had talked about Grace in chapter one. chapter 1 verses six and seven He says to the praise of his glorious Grace which with with with which he's blessed us in. the Beloved In him, we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace 2:5, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us to live together with Christ by Grace. You've been Savers 7 so that in the coming ages. He might show the immeasurable Riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus for by Grace. You been saved verse 8 through faith, and this is not your own doing. It's the gift of God 4:7 but Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. So what is Paul getting at? He's getting at you have this grace. You've been graced from the father in Jesus from all eternity. It's been applied to you when you believed by Grace. You've been saved through faith is not of yourselves that the gift of God, not of Works lest anyone should boast and you now have this grace. So you may you be aware of it. You don't need more grace. You've been given infinite immeasurable Grace. May you be aware of this grace that is already yours. This unmerited favor make it feel you're thinking made drive your motives. And what does it do? Well, I think all of this causes us to love our Lord Jesus Christ with love Incorruptible. This is the foundation the motivation peace and love and grace when we understand that we can't help but say Lord Jesus. I love you. I'm yours do with me. Whatever you want. And whatever he wants is a life of obedience. in whatever Ministry he's called us to Andrew Lincoln and his commentary says elsewhere. The letter is referred to God's love for believers in Christ love for them to Believers love for one another to believing husband's love for their wives into Believers love in general. But this is the only place where their love for Christ is made explicit. He's in ads in this way. The letter closes with a stress on Believers personal relationship and commitment to Christ.

Well, this is just another way of saying we love because he first loved us. This is how Paul is closing the letter with a love Incorruptible and undying love and unceasing E Turtle Immortal Incorruptible. Love love from the age to come in other words. I love that is Heavenly I love that is been brought forward. And made real in our hearts and the Lord Jesus according to chapter 2 has settled down and made himself at home in our hearts by faith. So by grace This undying love which are blessings of the new age or what Paul wants us to know that we already have in Christ. We we love him in other words for what he's done. But don't we also loved him for who he is? We love him because he loved us and the reason he loved us is because he is loved what we could go over. We we were in the first letter of First John prior to the book of Ephesians. It wasn't that meant to give us great Assurance to know that you have eternal life. Well, how is it that we know we have eternal life because we have been loved by the father. And he's gifted us his son and that's a demonstration of his love and he's gifted us his spirit and that's a demonstration of his love. So that you may know you have eternal life know that you've been given the Sun and you've been given the spirit and what do we hear in the book of Ephesians the same thing? We've been given the sun we've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and we've been given the gift of the spirit. He's the down payment and pledge of our inheritance until we obtain possession of it to the praise of his glorious Grace. Paul could have said to the praise of his glory and we would have said amen. What does he say to the praise of his glory is Grace glory is the adjectives his grace is glorious. It's to the praise of his grace. This is how Paul ins this letter all Grace to You Grace be with you you have it be aware of it understand who you are in Christ understand everything that you have. This is what promoting you a fire that will never be quenched of love for God in Christ by the spirit. This is what would this do? in our community if we were aware of this if we lived in light of this everyday it would give hope to the Hopeless. It would give peace to those who were at War. It would give joy to those who have no joy. This is the good news of the Gospel. This is the glory of Christ in The Community of Faith this what the book of Ephesians is all about. And this is my heart's prayer for Trinity Church. Is it the spirit of God would do will work in our church to such a way that we would be a city on a hill that we would be a light to our neighbors and our friends and we would see many come to Jesus.

Father thank you for this time in this word. Return to the table now. May it be a response of love? our love for Christ Our Savior who loved us and gave himself for us