Love Gets The Last Word (Ephesians 6:21-24)

This is the 49th sermon in our series on Ephesians. We look at the three closing verses of the letter this morning and I think that next week I will preach a survey of Ephesians, sort of an overview of the whole book in one sermon.

But, as I said, this morning our text is the last three verses of the book of Ephesians; verses 21 thru 24 of Chapter 6.

You can find that on page 1163 in the navy blue Bibles found in your pews.

Ephesians 6:21–24 (ESV)

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. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

B. Review from Last Week

As you very likely remember, Paul has been talking about spiritual warfare in this chapter. And he moved from that topic to the topic of prayer. Which reminds us that this battle is not one that we fight by human strength, but through the good work of prayer. And notice now that he moves from prayer to fellowship. Talking about encouraging of the brothers in Ephesus.

What we learn from our text this morning is that Paul sent this letter to the Church in Ephesus by way of a fellow named Tychicus.

Who was Tychicus? The short answer is we really don’t know. 2 Timothy 4:12, and a few other places. We know he was a friend of Paul’s and a fellow minister.

2 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)

Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

So Paul deploys him to Ephesus to carry this letter. And we know that Paul sent the same guy to carry the letter to the Colossians as well, and with very similar language. He starts to close the letter to the Colossians by saying:

Colossians 4:7 (ESV)

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

So what else do we know about him? Well, not much. He gets name dropped a handful of times in the New Testament, but we really don’t have a lot of information about who he was. So why does he get mentioned?

I mean, we believe in what’s called verbal plenary inspiration, that is that the Bible was written by chosen men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. So we don’t believe that the writers of Scripture got turned into robots and had no idea what they were writing. Like Jesus Christ who is the Word of God, and is full God and fully man, so the Scripture which is the Word of God is fully the work of God and fully the work of the human authors.

And so sometimes I think there is a temptation to de-emphasize personal greetings and farewells like this. They don’t seem to obviously have any doctrinal content. But I want to suggest that Paul including these personal notes at the end carries implications for our life, for fellowship, and for encouragement.

C. Sermon Prayer

Let’s Pray.

Heavenly Father: Your Word is indeed perfect, converting the soul; a sure testimony, giving wisdom to the unlearned, and enlightening the eyes. We humbly implore you, through your boundless goodness, to enlighten our blind intellect by your Holy Spirit, so that we can truly understand and profess your Word and live according to it.

It has pleased you, most merciful Father, to reveal the mysteries of your will only to the little ones; and you have told us that you look to him alone who is of a humble and contrite spirit, who has reverence for your Word. Therefore, grant us a humble spirit and keep us from all fleshly wisdom, which is enmity against you.

Bring to the right way those who stray from the truth, so that we all may serve you in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our life.

We ask this from you, most merciful Father, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Based on a Prayer by Martin Micronius)

D. Transition to Sermon

So we have three verses to meditate on together this morning, and I want to show you at least three things

First, In Spiritual warfare, Christians Need Encouragement.

Second, Encouragement comes from knowing how it’s going.

Third, our state as Christians is a blessed state—we are a people of peace, faith, love, grace, and so on.

I. Christians Need Encouragement

Some parts of the Bible are hard to understand. Thankfully, this is not one of them. Paul makes it very clear why he is sending Tychicus.

Ephesians 6:21 (ESV)

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.

Highlight: “So that you also may know how I am doing.”

That’s the purpose right there.

Paul says my purpose in sending this guy is so that you will know how I am doing. And not only that,

Ephesians 6:22 (ESV)

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

Highlight: “…for this very purpose”

So here’s the reason:

Highlight: “that you may know how we are”

Same as before, that you will know how I am doing.

And...

Highlight: “…that he may encourage your hearts.”

Paul is sitting in prison, and he wants to make absolutely certain that the Christians at the church in Ephesus don’t give up hope. That they are encouraged.

Now this is really important because I think there can be a temptation, perhaps especially in Reformed circles to assume that encouragement is like having a pet. Nice to have, but it is possible to have a contented life without one.

I think it is possible for some of us to think about encouragement that way. Nice to have, but if you don’t have it, you should be able to carry on OK.

And the closing words of the book of Ephesians really should make you rethink that. Paul says “I’m sending this guy to you, because I want to make sure that you are encouraged.”

In fact, we see this in the form of an explcit command in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5:9–11 (ESV)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Highlight: Therefore encourage one another

Notice that this command to encourage each other flows out of the work that Christ has done to deliver us from wrath and give us salvation. Could you imagine a better way to endorse the whole idea of encouraging each other.

So before we go any further, I just want to put this on the table at the start: Christian, you are called to the good work of encouraging your brothers and sisters.

So encourage each other! Husbands, when was the last time you encouraged your wife. Told her how marvelous her work was? Wives, when was the last time you encouraged your husband by praising his accomplishments? Kids, children, and young people—when was the last time you encouraged mom and dad, and told them what a great job they’re doing?

And to that you might expect me to add “Congregation, encourage your pastor” but to quote Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, “concerning this, you have no need for anyone to write to you.” Marissa and I have been magnificently encouraged by so many of you in the last month. Grace Presbyterian Church, you excel in this.

So we need encouragement, and we are called to encourage each other. So what does it look like.

Well, from this text, encouragement most simply looks like: Knowing How It’s Going.

II. Knowing How It’s Going

We need to define what we mean by Christian encouragement, and what it means for Christians to encourage each other, because it is possible to get the work of encouragement wrong.

Back in February of 2022, Marissa and I took a vacation to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, and Steve Mathis preached on the subject of encouragement. And in that sermon, Steve wisely pointed out that encouragement is so much more than just saying “You can do it!” or “You got this!” It’s good for a dad to yell that out at a T-Ball game, as Steve observed. But Steve also told you that Christian encouragement is a matter of reminding each other of our position in Christ. Of who we are in Christ.

Steve also reminded us that one of the most common phrases in the Old Testament is

Exodus 20:2 (ESV)

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Why does God continually remind the Israelites of this historic act? So they could be encouraged to trust God in the future.

Christian encouragement doesn’t just make people feel better about their situation, it lifts up their eyes so that they are reminded to trust God, even if their situation is terrible.

And how does Paul do this?

By telling them how it’s going.

Now that almost seems to easy, doesn’t it?

Surely there’s more to it than that.

But no. Not really.

Paul simply says:

Ephesians 6:21 (ESV)

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.

Highlight: So that you also may know how I am doing.

And in case you missed it, he says it again in verse 22:

Ephesians 6:22 (ESV)

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

Highlight: that you may know how we are

This paints the picture of the Ephesian church struggling with discouragement over what? Probably over the fact that God’s man for the salvation of the Gentiles was sitting in prison.

Has God given up on him? Is his ministry over? Has he given up? Is he looking around at cell walls thinking “What have I gotten myself into?”

And Paul says “I’m sending you Tychicus, so he can tell you how I’m doing.”

Do you begin to see why I said this is most certainly part of the Holy Spirit’s inspired word for us?

Christians encourage each other by giving updates on what God is doing in their lives. We encourage each other by the good work of self-disclosure.

Christians encourage each other by the good work of self-disclosure.

What does that mean? It means that we should all be regularly telling each other how life is going.

One of the terrible traps that modern American Christianity has fallen into is that fellowship and worship are consumer activities that we just show up for, we get our tastes satisfied, we check our box, and then we do it again next week. That’s just what good Christians do.

Instead, what the Bible gives us is a vision of a community of faith where people actually have the nerve and the courage (because they’ve been en-couraged) to talk to each other about the realities of life.

This covers everything from casual conversations to pastoral counseling. God builds churches so that Christians are regularly engaged in the good and necessary work of talking to each other. Being honest with each other. Seeking help when there’s a problem, seeking clarity when there’s confusion or concern, seeking forgiveness and restoration when there’s a conflict , and most of all (for our purposes this morning) encouraging each other by talking about how it’s going.

How is it going?

Oh, let me tell you. God’s been so good. He’s been keeping his promises. He’s been sustaining me. He’s been helping me to love my wife, to respect my husband, to be kind to that frustrating person at work. He’s been meeting our needs when we really didn’t know how that was going to happen. He’s provided a way forward when we thought there was no way. He’s been answering our prayers.

Or, it’s not going so well. It’s been hard. But we’ve been sustained. We’ve been refreshed by his word and by the words of his people. We are not giving up.

Do you get it? We don’t just need a nice feeling of encouragement, we need to hear the stories of God’s faithfulness from each other’s lips on a regular basis, and dear saints, if that is true, do you realize that our fellowship and conversation, and disclosure and vulnerability with each other is anything but optional?

We need each other’s encouragement. We need each other’s honesty. We need each other’s testimonies. And I don’t just mean salvation stories (though those are very encouraging) I mean the day to day, week to week, month to month celebrations of all that God is for is Jesus Christ, keeping his promises to us every day.

III. Encouragement is How God Himself Blesses Us

Let’s go back to our text. Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians with these words.

Ephesians 6:23–24 (ESV)

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Paul closes the letter with a blessing, a benediction of peace and love and faith and grace. These sorts of parting words are very common in Paul’s letters. In fact, Paul begins all of his letters with grace to you and closes them with grace be with you. Have you ever wondered why that is? I really don’t think I can put it better than John Piper. He says that Paul begins his letters with grace to you because that is exactly what is happening when you read the inspired words of God in the Bible. The grace of God is flowing to you. But he then adds,

...as the end of the letter approaches, Paul realizes that the reading is almost finished and the question rises, “What becomes of the grace that has been flowing to the readers through the reading of the inspired letter?” He answers with a blessing at the end of every letter: “Grace [be] with you.” With you as you put the letter away and leave the church. With you as you go home to deal with a sick child and an unaffectionate spouse. With you as you go to work and face the temptations of anger and dishonesty and lust. With you as you muster courage to speak up for Christ over lunch.

What then do we learn from Paul’s unbroken pattern of beginning and ending his letters in this way (“Grace be to you.” “Grace be with you.”)? We learn that grace is an unmistakable priority in the Christian life. We learn that it is from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, but that it can come through people. We learn that grace is ready to flow to us every time we take up the inspired Scriptures to read them. And we learn that grace will abide with us when we lay the Bible down and go about our daily living.

Could there be anything more encouraging?

But I want you to notice something else.

Paul is not just talking about encouragement here, he is talking about love. Just look at how many times love shows up in our text.

In verse 21...

Don’t read the text, just go straight to the portion you mean to emphasize.

Ephesians 6:21 (ESV)

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.

…Tychicus the beloved and faithful minister.

And then when we get to verse 23

Ephesians 6:23 (ESV)

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Highlight love with faith

And then verse 24...

Ephesians 6:24 (ESV)

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

Highlight love and love incorruptible.

Now when I was preparing this sermon, I noticed that love showed up with faith in our text. Tychicus is the beloved and faithful minister. And he calls them to love with faith.

And it reminded me of the famous passage in 1 Corinthians...

1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

And just so you know, a good tool in Bible study is when you see one of these, start looking for the other two. Because they tend to all show up together.

And so it is in our text. Peace be to the brothers and love with faith. Beloved and faithful. But where is hope? What better way to stir up Christian hope in all that God is for us in Christ than to simply say

Ephesians 6:22 (ESV)

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

Highlight encourage your hearts.

Encourage each other in this great hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

It makes sense that these always show up together. They must always go together.

And so where does this leave us?

Where does Paul leave the Ephesians?

With the love of Christ, which is why I have titled the sermon Love Gets the Last Word.

Ephesians 6:24 (ESV)

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

What does that mean? How can we have an incorruptible love for Jesus? A love that does not wax and wane like the moon? A love that trusts and endures through all circumstances. A love that rejoices regardless of the circumstances?

By encouraging each other. What will happen to us, over our life together as a church is that we will face trial and affliction, and our love for Christ will always be—in those moments—what comes under threat.

And so we shout to each other, with shouts of deliverance as it were. The Lord is with you. He is for you. He is on your side. He will sustain you. He loves you. He has not abandoned you. He will glorify his name in you. Let not your love grow cold dear saints, and do not be so foolishly proud as to think you do not need the encouragement of the body of Christ.

Conclusion: What is God Doing In Your Life?

So we learn from this text that we need encouragement, that we encourage each other by knowing how it’s going, and that encouragement is how God himself blesses us.

God Himself means for us to be an encouraged people. So I leave you today with a question—what is God doing in your life?

In other words, how is it going?

What is the story?

Some of you have great encouragement of the Lord’s work going on right now today, don’t hide that, share it! The body needs it!

Some of you are at a low point right now, and you need encouragement. Don’t be too proud to say it. When you come forward today to receive the Lord’s Supper tell an Elder “I need encouragement, can you pray for me?” After service today, ask a fellow Christian “How is it going? What is God doing? I could use a reminder that he’s at work!”

And perhaps some of you are far from God. And your story right now is that you are fleeing all the encouragement of Christ, all the forgiveness of your sins, all of the peace and comfort of the Gospel because you’re not done trying to sustain your own soul with your own self-confident encouragements.

Are you tired yet?

Do you want to know the rest of the forgiveness of your sins, to know you will not be found naked and ashamed on the last day?

And the greatest gift of all, to know your maker and to know what you were made for?

To know Christ is to rest in this encouragement, and he calls you to it today. So come and welcome to Jesus Christ.