Ephesians 6:21-24 Loving Concern for the Saints

Review

Paul’s Purpose in 1st Three Chapters:

God’s Greatness, Power and Love: Throughout this letter Paul has pointed the thoughts of the Ephesians to the greatness, power and love of God.

Full & Correct Understanding of Salvation: All of the truth that Paul has set forth in these first three chapters was meant to give the Ephesians a correct understanding of their salvation and their standing in the church.

The first three chapters should have led us to a deeper understanding of our salvation, of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Those truths that we covered are a great comfort and encouragement and should lead us to stand in awe of God, to praise Him for Who He is and thank Him for what he has done.

Chapter 4

Because of these great truths of our salvation, Paul has called for radical changes in the life of the believer because the believer has been radically changed.

And in chapters 4-6 Paul gives explicit instruction for how believers are to live and how they are not to live. He calls believers to put off the old life and to put on the new. All of which is in the context of our relationships with others.

Paul has called for humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, love, unity and peace.

He has called us to lay aside falsehood and instead to speak truth, to be angry and yet not sin. He has called for bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and all malice to be replaced by kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness.

Chapter 5

The worthy walk is a life of imitating God, walking in love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.

The worthy walk is a walk of self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

It is walking in the light rather than in darkness, it is a life that rejects immorality of every kind, but instead exposes the unfruitful deeds of darkness.

Submission - Paul calls believers to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. That is, out of reverence, respect for Christ, believers are to put themselves under other believers. They are not to demand their own ways but look out for the interest of others.

The chapter finishes with Paul begining to show how submission works on the life of the believer. He begins to explain submission in the various relationships. In chapter 5 he explains submission in the context of the family, Husbands and Wives. In doing so he compares the relationship of husband and wife with the relationship of Christ and the Church.

The marriage relationship is a Picture of the Gospel!

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 begins with a continued explanation of what it means to live a life of submission. Paul moves on to Children and Parents and then to Slaves and Masters.

In all of this submission, Paul makes it clear that it is to be done “In the Lord” or “as to the Lord”. Submission must always be in the context of Christ! Our submission is motivated by our submission to Christ and never goes beyond what Christ would allow.

Spiritual Battle: As we learned in Ephesians 6:10-17 that Spiritual battle is fought in the midst of our daily lives.

It is a battle that is fought against the temptations that surround us and against the fleshly desire to live according to our ∫.

It is a battle that is often fought in our daily relationships within the church, the home and the workplace.

And in spite of the fact that the battle is part of our actual daily lives, Paul made it clear in Ephesians 6:12 that the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

While the battle happens in the physical world with real people and real temptation, the source of the battle is spiritual.

We are to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, \we need to be clothed with the Armor of God.

And since the battle is spiritual and not physical, the armor is spiritual as well.

The Armor of God, is the truth of Jesus Christ, His righteousness, the Gospel, salvation.

As we remind ourselves of the great truths of Jesus Christ, that we have been saved by the very power that raised Him from the dead, that we are protected by that same mighty God who is now also our loving Father, we are able to overcome the fiery darts of the enemy.

But to win the battle against our spiritual enemies takes more than just reminding ourselves of the truths of the Gospel. For our hope is never simply in ourselves, in OUR ability to remember the gospel and “have more faith”. No, verse 10 of this chapter makes it very clear that our only hope is in God Himself.

***Add from below about Prayer****

Introduction

Today we come to the end of the letter of the Ephesians.

And throughout this letter, Paul has shown great love and concern for the saints at Ephesus as can be seen not just in the content of the letter but also in the specific prayers that Paul mentions.

In chapter one, Paul prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to [them] a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

He prayed that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened so that they would know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power to them who believed.

Then in chapter 3 Paul mentioned another prayer.

He prayed that God would grant them to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man, so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they would be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that they would be filled up to all the fullness of God.

So Paul prayed in chapter 1 that they would have the knowledge of God’s power in them and then chapter 3 that God would strengthen them by that power that they would truly know Christ and His great love.

Paul had a great concern for their Spiritual understanding and life.

And today as we come to the end of the letter Paul expresses his love and concern for them once again.

First we will see in verses 21-22 that Paul is concerned about their very concern for him and seeks to encourage them.

And then in verses 23-24, we see Paul’s love and concern in the benediction of the letter.

So tonight we will look at these final 4 verses of the letter and then I want to wrap up our study of Ephesians by going back and highlighting some of the truths of the letter.

Ephesians 6:21–24 NASB95

But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

Pray

Last week we took a look at the Secret Weapon that we have in the Spiritual Battles that we face in our daily lives.

That Spiritual weapon is prayer.

And Paul made a point that after putting on the Armor of God, we were to pray at all times in the spirit with all prayer and petition.

Not only for ourselves, but for all of the saints, even for Paul.

And as Paul made a specific request for himself, he mentioned that he was an ambassador in chains.

And this was not the first time that Paul mentioned or alluded to the fact that he was a prisoner as he wrote this letter.

In Ephesians 3:1 Paul called himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...”.

In Ephesians 4:1 he called himself “the prisoner of the Lord”.

Paul was an ambassador in chains because of the mystery of the Gospel.

That mystery was the truth that salvation was available to the Gentiles.

Paul was indeed a prisoner for the sake of those that he was writing to.

But Paul makes it clear that he was actually a prisoner of Christ more so than of the Romans.

Yes, the Romans arrested him and put him in chains, but it was because of his obedience to Christ.

He was bound by Christ to do just what he had done, that which had landed him in chains.

And though Paul was ultimately the prisoner of the Lord, the fact that He was in prison was a great concern for the Ephesians.

The fact that Paul’s imprisonment actually exalted Jesus did not make it any less of a concern for the other believers.

The Concern for Paul

And Paul certainly understood that his imprisonment would cause concern for them.

He was even concerned that they would lose heart, become discouraged because of his situation.

Back in Chapter 3, after he mentioned he was a prisoner of Christ he made it clear that his preaching of the mystery of the gospel was part of the eternal plan of God.

Then he said in Ephesians 3:13, “Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.”

Paul was concerned that his situation would be a cause of stumbling for the Ephesians in spite of all that he has said in this letter.

So we read in

Ephesians 6:21 NAS

But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

The Ephesians were obviously aware that Paul was in prison.

But since there were no televisions, telephones, computers or even post offices in that day, information about Paul would have been hard to come by.

The Ephesians would have been in the dark about the details of Paul’s situation.

And fear of the unknown is one of those debilitating fears.

Not knowing can cause anxiety, discouragement and fear.

Is Paul still alive” How is he being treated? I bet they are beating him and withholding food.

He is probably in a dark dungeon.

Does he regret bring the gospel to us?

Maybe Paul was wrong.

After all if he was in the will of God, why would God allow him to be imprisoned?

Details of his Circumstances

It is clear that Paul understood that his situation could be a hinderance to the Ephesians walk with Christ.

So he sent Tychicus to inform them about his “circumstances”.

Tychicus would inform them of the details of Paul’s imprisonment, how he was being treated, where he was being held and any other detail that Paul thought they needed to know.

How Paul was Doing

And he would not stop with just the circumstances.

Tychicus was to inform them also of how Paul was handling the situation.

That is what is meant when Paul said that Tychicus would inform them of “how I am doing”.

Tychicus would let them know that in spite of the imprisonment, Paul had some freedoms and was being used by Christ for the advancement of the Kingdom.

So we see that Paul was concerned about the Ephesians from the fact that he sent Tychicus to “make everything known to them.”

Who is Tychicus?

But we also see his concern for them in the fact that he sent Tychicus.

I say that because of how Paul describes him. He did not send just anyone.

Tychicus was a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord.

Beloved Brother

Paul calls him a brother, that is, a fellow member of the Family of God, a brother in Christ.

And he was not just any brother in Christ, but one who was very dear to Paul. Paul calls him a “beloved brother”.

Faithful Minister

Paul also called him a faithful minister in the Lord.

Tychicus was a fellow servant of Christ who was faithful, that is trustworthy.

He could be trusted to fulfill his duty of delivering the letter and informing them of Paul’s circumstances and how he was doing in the midst of them.

Loving Concern for the Ephesians

Now, as we move on to verse 22, Paul makes his loving concern for the Ephesians even clearer.

Ephesians 6:22 NAS

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.

Tychicus, as a servant of Christ, a faithful minister was especially qualified for the task of bringing word to the Ephesians.

And it was Paul’s desire that by doing so, Tychicus would bring comfort to the Ephesians.

The information that he would bring would dispel any rumors and fear about Paul’s situation and encourage them.

What great love and concern we see from the Apostle Paul for the believers in Ephesus.

Paul desired that they know about his situation, not for his benefit, that they would pray for him, but for their benefit.

That they would be comforted knowing that Paul was doing well in spite of his imprisonment.

Application for Today?

And we may wonder how a text like this could be relevant to our lives today.

We might ask ourselves, “So what?

What does it matter to me that Paul sent Tychicus to comfort them?”

While our circumstances may be completely different, we should not miss what is going on in this text.

The Ephesians had a great concern, a great love for Paul and Paul had great concern and love for them as well.

And if you have ever been involved in a church where the leadership seemed far removed, and seemed never to care about you personally, then you can begin to understand how important this mutual love and concern is.

Paul’s Perspective

And as we consider these verses from the perspective of Paul there is much that we can learn.

Consider Paul’s attitude toward his circumstances and other believers.

Although Paul had every reason to complain, he didn’t.

He could have used the letter to tell the Ephesians how he had been mistreated and how everything that was happening to him was unjust and that they should help him to be freed from his imprisonment.

And yet we see throughout this letter that Paul’s concern was not about his circumstances.

Last week we saw that Paul’s concern was that he would be bold with the Gospel, the very reason he was in prison.

And in our text this morning we see that his concern is for how his circumstances are affecting the saints in Ephesus.

He is concerned about their reaction to his situation.

And that is where this text becomes immensely practical.

How do you handle difficult circumstances?

Do you allow your circumstances to bring you down and cause you to complain to others about how unjust and difficult your life is?

Or do you like Paul, have a greater concern for other believers than for yourself?

When you are relating your circumstances to others, do you point them to the glory of Christ?

Are your words good for edification according to the need of the moment so that they will give grace to those who hear? (Eph 4:29)

Paul’s did.

What does this look like in daily life? Any examples in our day, in our sphere, of people who exemplify this?

Greg Roberts daughter, Monica Snyder has many severe medical problems.

She has undergone numerous surgeries, is in terrible pain most of the time and very seldom does she even make it to the worship service on Sundays. She is a prisoner in many ways because of her medical problems.

On top of that her daughter Danica has had serious medical issues since she was a small child and underwent many surgeries as well. Because of all that, they have medical bills that most of us could not even imagine.

And yet, through it all, Monica not only exalts Christ, but shows the same concern for other believers that Paul had for the Ephesians.

I bring up Monica because she has provided encouragement to some in our own body.

In the midst of all of her difficulties, she has expressed concern for Jeff and Brenda with the adoption process.

That is the kind of concern that we should have for other believers.

And if we are to have that kind of love and concern for one another, then we need to see our circumstances from the perspective of Christ and be more concerned about the gospel and for other believers than for ourselves.

Paul’s Benediction

Well, let us move on to the final two verses of this letter and Paul’s benediction. Look at verses 23-24

Ephesians 6:23–24 NAS

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

Peace & Grace

Paul ends where he began this letter.

Back in Ephesians 1:2 Paul said, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This salutation has been reversed and expanded in the benediction.

Paul begins with Peace and ends with Grace.

Here again was see Paul’s love and concern for the Ephesian believers as he expresses his desire for the best for them.

Concern for the Church Body

And we should note that his concern is not simply for individuals but for the Church, the body of Christ as a community.

Paul desires peace and love to be to the brethren.

Peace and love come through faith, all of which are gifts of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So what is Paul calling for here in verse 23?

What is it that he desires for God to grant the Ephesian church?

Desire for Unity

Paul desires that there be unity, oneness in the church.

Paul said back in

Ephesians 2:14–15, “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

Christ has brought peace between Jew and Gentile by making them members of the one body of Christ.

Paul’s desire was that this peace would be a reality in the life of the church, that there would be peace in the sense of a lack of strife in their relationships with one another.

Well Being / Wholeness

But even more than that, that there would be peace in the sense of well-being, wholeness.

Paul desired that their faith in Jesus Christ would lead them to acts of love for one another so that the church would be healthy, that there would be peace, well-being among them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Grace of God

Ephesians 6:24 NAS

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

All of this, of course, is impossible without the grace of God. Paul’s desire is that God’s powerful grace would flow to and through all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love, verse 24.

Paul is not speaking of those who merely profess to love Jesus, but those who actually do love Him.

As one commentator states, Paul is not speaking of a “fleeting, earthly love, but a spiritual and eternal one.”

Paul is speaking of incorruptible love, love that will not decay, love that is eternal.

Application for Today

Well, as we come to the end of this great letter, Paul’s desire for the church in Ephesus should be our desire for this local church.

Our desire should be that there is peace and love among us that comes through faith.

We should desire that God would continue to pour out His grace upon us that we might walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called, not just individually but as those who are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Wrap Up of Ephesians

Throughout this letter we have received very practical instruction as to how we should live so that our lives will be truly pleasing to Jesus Christ.

And while the last three chapters are what are typically called the practical section of the letter, even the doctrinal section is immensely practical.

For without understanding great truths, doctrines of the first three chapters, it is difficult, if not impossible to live the way we ought to.

For ir we are to put on the armor of God, we must understand the truth of the armor, the truth of the Salvation that we have in Jesus Christ, the truth of who we once were and who we have now become by the Grace of God.

If we are to pray to God for strength, we must understand who it is that we pray to and the power that is available to us through him.

Who is this God whom we serve according to the letter to the Ephesians?

He is the all powerful God who planned from all eternity to do what He has done.

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Eph 1:4

He predestined us to adoption as sons, not because of what we would do, but because of the kind intention of His will. Eph 1:5

Even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, He made us alive together with Christ. Eph 2:1; Eph 2:5

Why? Because of His great love with which He loved us, because He was rich in mercy! Eph 2:4

Not only have we been made alive together with Christ, but we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Eph 1:13

The Spirit who strengthens us with power according to the riches of God’s glory. Eph 3:18

The Spirit through whom we have access to the Father.

The Father who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

And yet, we must not forget that while we receive great benefits, God has made us alive together with Christ, not for ourselves, but for the praise of His glory.

Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 1:6, 1:14, 3:21 and 4:1.

And not only did he state it directly, but we even get the sense in reading the letter that Paul was just overflowing with Praise to God as he wrote about these great truths of salvation.

Great truths that should indeed lead us to bring glory to God, not just as we read the letter, but as we live out our very lives.

We have been implored to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called.

Paul has shown us what that is to look like in our daily lives, in our relationships in the church, the family and the world.

The doctrines that we find in this letter reveal the love of God for us and call for our love of God to grow and be revealed in love for the brethren.

All of this leads to a desire for practical godliness, to a worthy walk, a life that truly glorifies God.

This is why we have on our church logo the words “Loving, Learning, Living”.

God’s love for us causes us to desire to learn more about Him and as we learn more about Him, our love grows, for Him and for others which leads to living in a way that pleases Him.

Not out of duty but out of desire, not in our strength, but in His.

All of this being possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It is through faith in Him that we are able to be at peace with one another, that we are able to love one another in the church.

It is on the basis of His death, burial and resurrection that we have been made alive together with Him, by grace you have been saved.