Endurance of Joy (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Introduction:

As we conclude this amazing letter that Paul wrote to the Ephesians saints, we must understand that this letter was also written for us. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. We have learned so much about the spectacular grace given to us by the Father through his Son, Jesus, the Christ, and that this grace was applied and sealed by the Holy Spirit. We are above all people on the earth most blessed with the greatest of all futures; with the guaranteed victory as we battle our evil enemy; with the greatest of messages, the gospel; with the unstoppable power of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit; with the delegated authority as ambassador’s of Christ…we are Christ’s representatives here on earth…hallelujah and amen!

As a result of all this blessing, Paul leaves us on a positive note, not one derived from just thinking positive thoughts and not dealing with reality. But one based on the reality of all that has been revealed to us regarding who we are and what we have, and the responsibility we are given to encourage one another. So with that in mind, let’s look together at Paul’s Final Greetings from Ephesians 6:21-24.

Text: Ephesians 6:21-24

Ephesians 6:21–24 ESV

21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Main Idea: Since God has given us every blessing in Christ Jesus, we are to live out this reality through steadfast encouragement and love for one another.

I. Encourage Through Personal Testimony (21-22)

There is nothing like the personal testimony of what God is doing in someone’s life that brings an immense encouragement that God is at work, and all of this is not for naught.

A. Tychicus the Faithful (21)

(21) So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.

[So that] (hina [conjunction] - in order that) you also [may know] (oida [per, act, sub] - know absolutely, or first hand) how I am and what I am doing -

Paul wanted the Ephesians saint to know first hand how he was fairing and what ministry he was engaged in.

Paul’s personal testimony while chained to a prison guard brings more glory to God then if he had nothing wrong in his life. Paul mentions this to the Philippians, also a prison epistle…

Philippians 1:12–14 ESV

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

It is part of being in the body of Christ to let the body know how we are doing. We are not called to be independent or isolated islands of humanity. Since Paul communicated his well being through the letters he wrote taken by the hand of faithful carriers, in this instance it was…

Tychicus - Tychicus was a beloved brother who had served Paul faithfully for some time (see Acts 20:4; Col. 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:12; Titus 3:12) and probably carried the original letter to Ephesus. In a parallel passage from Col 4:7

Colossians 4:7 ESV

7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

he was both, the beloved (agapetos [adjective]) brother (adelphos [noun]) and faithful (pistos [adjective]) minister (diakonos [noun]). The adjectives beloved and faithful, describe the nouns brother and minister or diakonos.

in the Lord - shows where his faithfulness originated. From within Christ, Tychicus’ brotherly kindness and faithfulness flowed outward.

will tell you everything. - As a result, Paul was confident that he would give the Ephesians an accurate, first hand report on Paul.

‌Paul also wants the Ephesians to know that not only will he let them know how Paul is doing, but...

B. Tychicus the Encourager (22)

If indeed Tychicus was the carrier of Paul’s letter, it is fascinating to note that Paul places as much emphasis on the ministry of his faithful brother, Tychicus, as he does his own letter, for he says…

(22) I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose - note the two-fold purpose:

that (hina [conjunction of purpose]) you may know how we are - again, how things are with Paul, but also…

and [that he may encourage] (parakaleo [aor, act, sub] - to alleviate sorrow of distress, to give emotional strength to; same word used of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16) your hearts - put their hearts at ease and lift them up from their worry or concern.

I am reminded that part of our responsibilities to one another is to encourage each other during our time of sojourn here on this earth where there is plenty to become discouraged about. Here are some examples from scriptures that will help us in doing so:

Encourage those who have lost loved ones who died in the Lord:

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 ESV

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Encourage those who are idle to work hard:

2 Thessalonians 3:11–12 ESV

11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Encourage each other in how we treat one other in various life stages:

1 Timothy 5:1–2 ESV

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Encourage one another in our overall work for the Lord:

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

II. Encourage Through God’s Blessings (23-24)

Not only are we to be encouragers as one human being to another, but the truth of our encouragement is found in God’s word and the blessings the he has promised to his people, the first being…

A. God’s Blessing of Peace (23a)

(23a) Peace be to the brothers, - in the context Paul is invoking the blessing of the peace of God, which we know from scripture is a result of our peace with God.

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This peace is a state of being that comes from a deliberate act of exercised faith in what we know and believe that God knows what he is doing and what he has promised to us, we will receive. This peace is directly linked to…

B. God’s Blessing of Love (23b-24)

(23b) and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

love with faith - as mentioned above, not only is the peace we receive a result of exercised faith, but the love of God given to us is also linked permanently to our faith.

Our faith, a gift of God that was exercised at salvation, brought with it the love of God, shown to us and implanted into our hearts, giving us the ability to love as God loves.

Romans 5:5 ESV

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

No one loves like Christians, because no one is capable of loving like Christians, because this love is…

from God the Father (the originator) - a love that chose us before the foundations of the earth were laid, and was not a result of anything found in us that was worth loving.

Ephesians 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

and the Lord Jesus Christ - a love that determined in eternity past to become flesh, take on the sin of those chosen by the father, and give his own life as a ransom for many.

John 15:12–13 ESV

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:6–8 ESV

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That great, immeasurable love, is the basis for what Paul says next…

(24) Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Grace be with all - that unmerited favor of God that not only saved us but keeps us in our process of sanctification. We will end where we began as this grace points back to chapter one…

Ephesians 1:6–14 ESV

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

[who love] (agapao [pre, act, par]) our Lord Jesus Christ with [love incorruptible] (aphtharsia [noun] - unable to decay) - those who were first loved by God, now are lovers of God with his love given to us. A unable-to-decay love that is eternal, and a taste of heaven.

1 John 4:7–11 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

I close this morning with a quote from Susannah Spurgeon, in a prayer she gave that highlights this verse:

O my Lord, how I thank you for this precious word upon which you have caused me to hope! Now, all the day long, my heart shall sing over the safety and blessedness of being freely loved, instead of fretting about the sad lack of my poor love to you. ‘Not that we loved God' is darkness and bitterness, and death eternal; but 'that he loved us' is light and pardon, peace and everlasting life.

So What?

Are we quick to testify of God’s work in our lives?

Are we willing to be vulnerable and let people know how we are doing so they can pray for and encourage us?

Do we understand, that God has called us to encourage one another as we battle in this life together.

Do we actively work at loving one another with the love given to us by God?