33. New Life 101- Peace, Grace, and Pure Love. Ephesians 6:21-23

New Life 101- Peace, Grace, and Pure Love

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.

Paul begins his letter with grace and peace… and Paul ends his letter with grace and peace…

Ephesians 1:1–2 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have thought a lot about grace and peace this year as we have worked through Ephesians. But, not only grace and peace, the letter keys in on faith and love from beginning to end as well.

I say year because I think this is the 33rd message from this little letter. Grace and peace are central themes to the book of Ephesians. And yet, I fear that talking deeply about grace or peace is difficult for many church-goers today, and I pray that the depth of our understanding continues to grow, even if others settle for something far more cultural than biblical.

Peace is the reconciliation of sinners to God that brings peace to the hearts of sinners, and it is also the reality and the pursuit of relationships between Christians.

It’s December, and we are celebrating Christmas- and we will be singing songs about peace on earth- but just because peace has come doesn’t mean that people have peace. Peace is about being right with God… and being right with God is a pre-requisite for being right with one another. (1 John 4)

Eph 2- dividing wall down

Eph 4- pursue unity

Grace is more than undeserved or unmerited favor, grace is also power for living.

Grace as Undeserved Favor

Ephesians 2:4–9: 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 3:24: “[We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Grace is what inclines God to give gifts that are free and undeserved by sinners.

Romans 5:15: “If many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”

So, grace is that quality in God that produces free gifts for guilty sinners in salvation.

Romans 11:5–6: “At the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

So, you can’t work to earn grace. It is free and undeserved.

“Now, that’s what most of us have in our minds when we say God is a God of grace. And that’s true. It’s wonderful. Our eternal lives depend on it. None of us would be saved if grace were not undeserved favor, and were not a quality in the mind of God, in the heart of God, in the nature of God.” John Piper

Grace as Power for Living

John Piper writes, “grace is not only a disposition or a quality or an inclination in the nature of God, but is an influence or a force or a power or an acting of God that works in us to change our capacities for work and suffering and obedience.”

And this is the manner in which Paul uses the word “grace” in the opening and closing of his letter.

Ephesians 1:1–2 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians. 6:23-24

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.

2 Corinthians 9:8: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

Now, that seems to picture grace as a power or an influence for obedience.

2 Corinthians 12:9: Jesus says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

1 Corinthians 15:10: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder [that was the effect of grace] than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

To those who have received the undeserved favor of God- he prays and hopes that God’s grace will serve to influence them and help them as they go about life for God- in particular a life in which they strive to serve and experience difficulties.

Reflecting on the letter and the series of sermons over the last year… I have come to see that there are a few truths that undergird the letter, and they help make the connection between the head, heart, and hands of the Christian life. What I mean by that is, that the gospel is more than what we think, it is more than what we feel, the gospel changes who we are- it transforms our mind and heart, and in turn changes how we live (hands and feet).

First-

You cannot have grace without peace, because you cannot have peace without grace.

Grace and peace are major themes of the letter- but they are foundational truths to our understanding of the gospel.

Second-

You cannot have faith without love, because the faith that saves bears the fruit of transformation.

1 Corinthians 15- imperishable

These are not just thoughts from the book of Ephesians….

1 John 4 where it speaks of love and faith

James who writes that those who have faith will demonstrate it with love

1 Corinthians 13 where it says that faith without love is literally nothing…

Third-

You cannot have grace or peace without love, because you only have grace and peace because of God’s love.

1 John 4

And the love of God that saves and transforms, produces a love for God that never dies.

And, I think if I was to sum up where the letter of Ephesians ends…

The letter of Ephesians

Aims to spur or Encourage believers to remain in their love for God regardless of the circumstances.

The context of Ephesians- Paul is in prison for Christ

They are being persecuted and will be more and more for Christ

They are being attacked by the enemy, and will be until the end, because of Christ.

Like much of the NT Ephesians is written to inspire and spur Christians to say faithful in the midst of a world that is corrupt and broken, a world that is opposed to God and His ways.

And, to those who belong to God, Paul strives to help them to love God for real… because a love that perseveres is a love that is pure.

Love that perseveres is love that is pure

One of the reasons that Paul is so direct and clear in his language to those under his care- is the danger of them not truly loving God… if they don’t truly love God, then don’t belong to God… so, instead of making sure they do the right things, Paul is making sure that their love for God is “right”.

Paul wrote of this aim to Timothy in 1 Timothy… and Timothy was an elder in the Ephesian church.

1 Timothy 1:5: 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Jesus loves us all the way to the end, and those who are His love Him all the way to the end.

John 13:1: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

As John moves into the account of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection he makes note that Jesus knew what was coming next in his life… Jesus washed their feet- knowing he would soon be crucified. Jesus ate and shared Passover with them, knowing the crucifixion was waiting…

Jesus loved all the way to the end because his love is pure… our obedience to God must be in the example of Jesus- out of a pure love, and all the way to the end. Our obedience cannot be corrupted with selfish desires-

Selfish desires like the blessings of God because you did something for Him… Ephesians says that in Christ are the treasures and knowledge… we already have all that He has if we are saved. So, our motivations for doing are not to gain something for ourselves, but to love God because He has loved. us.

How do we love Him? Paul prays for our lives to be rooted and grounded in love, and that we will. Know the height and depth of God’s love, and that we will be filed with the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14–21 (ESV), 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We love God with our lives.

Ephesians 4:1–7 (ESV), “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

Walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called…

We love God with our purity of mind, heart, and body

Eph 4:17-32, Eph 5:1-21

We love God in the way we are to our family

We love God in the way we are to one another

We love God in the way we are to our neighbors

We love God in the way we fight the enemy

We love God when we pray

We love God through the perseverance of our love, faith, and peace through all situations; and our perseverance is grounded and rooted in the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6:23–24 (ESV)

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.

Encourage Christians to persevere in faith and love (context of a war/world where the enemy seeks to corrupt the lives of those who follow Jesus)

Strive to live. With a love that is pure…

Paul expresses the goal of his ministry and effort- to result in Christians who love God with a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith.

We focus so much on not letting our faith be corrupted, that we miss the truth that faith without love isn’t anything at all… and love without faith- and the fruit of faith isn’t love at all… 1 Corinthians 13, James, Jesus- love obeys, 1 John

Ephesians 2 (ESV)

By Grace Through Faith

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 John 4:7–21 (ESV)

God Is Love

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. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (ESV)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.