A Final Word

Ephesians 6:18-24
“A Final Word”

 “The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.” These words come to us, believe it or not, from the Bible. Act.19:32 (niv) is describing the scene in Ephesus after God had worked extraordinary miracles there through Paul. After he had been preaching and teaching there for several months, something like revival broke out. Luke records that “the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily” (Act.19:20). People were healed and delivered from evil spirits. They forsook their witchcraft and destroyed all vestiges of it. Everything I read to you earlier from Act.19.

Paul left that city and traveled through a few others toward the end of his third missionary journey. But he could not get the Ephesians off his mind. He was concerned for them. So, he went to Miletus some thirty miles south and summoned the Elders of Ephesus to talk with them. And he had direct word with them (read Act.20:18-32). Is there any wonder why he worried about them—given all that had happened in their city? And how did he know that wolves would come in among the Elders? It had to be a word from the Lord. Still, he commended them to God and to the word of his grace that would enable them to grow in his likeness, and he left, despite many tears.

Now, as many as five years later, he has written this letter to them which we call Ephesians. His clear intention is to establish the theological foundation for the church as the body of Christ—Jew and Gentile reconciled to God and one another, together under the Lordship of Christ; which is the great mystery of the gospel—then he spelled out some of the practical ways in which all this changes one’s life.

For three chapters we’ve been looking at a series of qualities and beliefs and patterns of behavior that are characteristic of walking in a manner worthy of our calling. We used to walk in trespasses and sins (2:2) before we came to faith in Christ, but then we were saved in order to walk in good works (2:10). In fact, we’re called to walk in a manner worthy of our salvation (4:1), not as the Gentiles do (4:17) but in imitation of Christ’s love (5:2). We should walk in the light (5:8) and we should do so carefully, with wisdom (5:15). And we should walk this walk not only at church, but in our marriages, at home, and at work—everywhere. Finally, though, what remains in order for us to walk worthy can be summarized as armor that enables us to stand firm—but it’s really just describing a virtuous life—wearing truthfulness like a belt, righteousness like a breastplate, readiness from the gospel like fitted shoes, wearing faith like a shield, salvation like a helmet, and wielding the word of God like a sword. Why? We’re in a battle, a war. Our enemy has the taste of blood in his mouth and is bent on destroying us. But greater is he who is in [us] than he who is in the world (1Jo.4:4).

Paul’s instruction didn’t finish there though. In 6:18-24, he issued a final word to the Ephesians, to all believers, which I’d like us to explore in four parts this morning.

Part 1 – A Final Standard – 18

Paul’s thought from vv.14-17 continues right on in vv.18-20. There really isn’t even a new sentence there, not to mention a new paragraph. We’re to put on the armor of God praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. Commentators often imply a break there in order to underscore that prayer is not simply a seventh piece of armor. Rather, it is a new participle, standing alongside of four others in this passage: Having fastened on (14), Having put on (14-15), and taking up (16). Now it is praying and keeping alert (18). All of these stand under the verb in v.14 which is stand. They’re the means by which Christians are able to stand. The first three have to do with the armor, the military metaphor, but these last two stand apart from that. They are not metaphor; they are reality. Prayer and keeping alert don’t stand for something else, they are what they are.

Praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. “Praying ‘in the Spirit’ means praying under the Spirit’s influence and with his assistance,” wrote F. F. Bruce (411). Supplication speaks of requests in prayer; it could be taken as one form of praying, like questions are one form of communication. But these two words could also operate almost as synonyms emphasizing the incessant intensity of prayer that is necessary in order to stand against the enemy. Peter O’Brien (484) wrote, “The effect of this accumulation of terms for petitionary prayer (a verb and two synonymous nouns) is to underscore emphatically the importance in the Christian’s warfare of believing and expectant prayer.”

These Ephesians had to pray. There was no alternative. They were in a battle to stand firm against the enemy in their city. They had to pray at all times, just as Paul also wrote in 1Th.5:17: Pray without ceasing. They had to be led along by the Spirit, with all kinds of prayers and requests. They had to keep alert; and here Paul didn’t choose the same word as he did in Col.4:2 which means watchful and attentive; rather, he chose the same word Jesus did in Luk.21:36 when he urged his disciples to stay awake! These Ephesians needed to stay awake with all perseverance in order to pray for all the saints. This is the third and fourth time the word all is used in this single verse: all times, all prayer and supplication, all perseverance, all the saints. Further emphasis on that incessant intensity needed in our prayers at wartime; nothing is so unimportant that it should not be covered in prayer. And special emphasis is placed on prayer for one another—for our fellow warriors in the battle.

John Piper describes prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie. It’s our communication with headquarters when we’re out on the field. It’s not for small talk, just chatting; but there’s no part of the battle strategy that is too insignificant to confirm with the upper echelon. At wartime, everything is focused on the battle. We operate lean and hard. We ration supplies and trim all luxuries and excesses. We band together and support one another. The Ephesians were in a battle, as are all believers. They needed to pray diligently and persistently. That was the final standard Paul set for them: to pray for one another—and also for him.

Part 2 – A Final Request – 19-20

Part 2 of the final word Paul issued was a closing request for their prayers, vv.19-20. He prayed that words would be given to him when it was time to speak. He prayed that he would be able to proclaim the mystery of the gospel with boldness. That word actually means with freedom—a word preachers still use today when our speech comes fluidly, when words are present just and we need them and we truly feel that the Spirit of God is in greater control of our mouths and our minds than we are.

We’re a virtual spectator as God uses our mouths to speak his truth. Is it boldness? Is it clarity? Is it freedom? What is it that best captures that experience? Whatever it is, Paul sought prayer for just that sort of enabling as he proclaimed the mystery of the gospel. And it is that very gospel that had landed him in prison. He was an ambassador, in chains.

Think of that image! What would happen today if an ambassador from one nation was imprisoned in another? There would be scandal as each side positioned for military action. Ambassador in chains is a virtual oxymoron—a non-sequitur. It would be an embarrassment to the ambassador and an affront, and insult, to his sending nation. Ambassadors enjoy diplomatic immunity. But Paul was an ambassador in chains. His chains both confirmed and resulted from his status as an ambassador. And he was requesting prayer for boldness, clarity, freedom to speak as he ought. Ambassador is a lofty word; so, some suggest that his mentioning of his status meant that his request was for enablement to bear solid witness before the Emperor. And perhaps it was answered (2Ti.4:17). But regardless of the venue, Paul was humbling himself before the Ephesians demonstrating that even he needed to be prayed for in the battle—if the Apostle Paul isn’t above the need for prayer, no one is!

Part 3 – A Final Gesture – 21-22

Part 3 of Paul’s final word, then, comes in vv.21-22—a final gesture. Clearly he has now transitioned into his closing greeting and what he is saying to the Ephesians is that he is sending Tychicus to them in order for them to know how he, Paul, is getting along. Tychicus is described as a beloved brother, which may be even truer than it sounds. Luke recorded in Act.20:4 that Tychicus was from Asia. He may well have been an actual brother, or at least a family member to some of them. He’s also called a faithful minister. Certainly he was a trusted partner in ministry to Paul. He likely delivered both this letter and the one to the Colossians (4:7). The word also there in v.21 suggests the Ephesian church was one among a plurality of churches that were receiving word from Paul, and the closing words to Colossae are virtually identical to these. Perhaps they were the other church to whom Tychicus was delivering personal news as a faithful minister. He was later mentioned along with Artemas in Tit.3:12 as a possible successor to Titus at Crete. Tychicus was a trusted associate of Paul’s.

But Paul is sending him to Ephesus to encourage them. He is sitting in prison in Rome—an ambassador in chains—and he wants to encourage the brothers and sisters in Ephesus! That is quite a final gesture.

Part 4 – A Final Benediction – 23-24

Then comes the final benediction, Part 4 of Paul’s final word. He wishes them peace (23) and grace (24) in the reverse order from how they appeared in his opening greeting (1:2). There we saw that peace speaks of the reconciliation God has brought about between himself and his people, and also between themselves, by the free, saving initiative of his grace (Stott 27). It’s not immediately obvious why he would reverse the order, but in this letter it is not at all hard to understand why peace receives such prominence even when grouped with love, faith, and grace.

Peace has been a central theme. It is the mystery of the gospel that Paul has been hammering home to the Ephesians from the beginning—reconciliation between God and people that also accomplishes reconciliation between people and people, specifically between Jews and Gentiles. And peace is used as a virtual equivalent, a short hand reference, to that reconciliation as seen back 2:14-18: He himself who is our peace…came and 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. So now, in this final benediction, his prominent mention of peace brings all that theology back to us.

Love with faith is mentioned next, and this clearly seems rooted in 1:15 where these qualities were commended among the Ephesians. There Paul wrote, I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints. Here he seems to be urging those to continue. As we mentioned last week, this closing passage beautifully ties off all of the themes he’s awakened throughout the letter. This love and faith comes to them from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ just as grace and peace had done back in 1:2.

Finally, grace itself appears in v.24, that which affords joy, pleasure, and delight, sweetness and loveliness. We defined it earlier in the words of Strong: it is “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.” So, Paul wishes grace upon those who love the Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible, says the esv—similarly the nasv. The niv says with an undying love. kjv says with sincerity. This is a notoriously difficult wording to nail down. Literally the last two words of Ephesians could read with incorruption. But what do they modify? They could modify the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking of his immortality. They could modify grace, meaning that Paul is wishing grace and eternal life, immortality, to those who love Christ. Significant commentators favor this one. But I like the choice the translators have made: using with incorruption to modify love. Grace be to all who draw upon God’s grace to love the Lord Jesus Christ with an incorruptible love, an undying love.

If anything is clear to us from Ephesians, it is that God can enable his people to do that. In fact, he can enable them to know a love that is in essence unknowable (3:19), and thus be fill to the measure of the fullness of God. But then, tragically, we also know that those who cease over time to love God in this way call into question the very legitimacy of their relationship with him. And how do we know that? Jesus, in his own letter to these Ephesians, told them so in Rev.2:4. Even though they had stood strong in defense of the truth of the gospel, they had lost their first love—it wasn’t an undying love. And unless they returned to it, they would cease to exist as a church. It’s that serious.

Conclusion

Evidently these Ephesians did not stand firm, praying and keeping awake; they continually dozed off like the disciples in the garden allowing their love to become corroded and corrupted. As Paul has ordered this instruction here in vv.18-24 it seems that praying in the Spirit at all times with all prayer and supplication is that which seals the proper retention of the armor of God that enables believers to stand firm in the true faith and walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. It is that which fuels truth and righteousness and readiness. It facilitates an experience of peace that reflects the fact of our peace with God. It enables us, as it did Paul, to proclaim the gospel with freedom in every sphere to which we’ve been called. It is the means of communication by which the whole army of God stays in touch with the Supreme Commander. It is our response to God after he’s spoken to us in his word. And he even helps us to do it. His Spirit helps us, interceding for us with groaning too deep for words (Rom.8:26-27). And his Son also intercedes for us before the throne (Rom 8:36; Heb.7:25). And the Father has promised to answer every prayer according to his will (1Jo.5:14-15). The whole divine trinity is involved his assisting in the prayer, the fruit of which is a vibrant life in good standing with God—undying love of Christ and living in a manner worthy of the gospel.

C.S. Lewis captured this picture well in a latter section of his book Mere Christianity. He wrote (142-3), “An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with God. But if he is a Christian he knows that what is prompting him to pray is also God: God, so to speak, inside him. But he also knows that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the Man who was God—that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray, praying for him. You see what is happening. God is the thing to which he is praying—the goal he is trying to reach. God is also the thing inside him which is pushing him on—the motive power. God is also the road or bridge along which he is being pushed to that goal. So that the whole threefold life of the three-personal Being is actually going on in that ordinary little bedroom where an ordinary man is saying his prayers.”

Billy Graham was once asked what he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Some of us may quarrel with how Graham communicates the gospel at times, but I don’t know of any who would question his love for the Lord. When asked that question he replied simply. “I would preach less, travel less, and pray more.” You wonder what life lessons brought about that response from Graham? Was it the well-known struggles of some of his children? Was it his challenge of contextualizing the gospel accurately for a rapidly changing world? Or was it perhaps simply an undying love of Jesus that he wished he would have cultivated further during is days on this earth?

Whatever it was, that is his concern. But I would like his lesson to become ours this morning. And I would like to state that lesson in the form of a question. When we hear Graham’s words they ring with authenticity. And we say, “Ah, I wish I could learn that same lesson.” So, let me ask: What do you need to give up to pray more? For him it was preaching and travel. What is it for you? Is it some professional goal, some form of recreation, some aspiration for your children? Or perhaps it is some issue of unbelief? Do you believe that God is capable of doing it? Do you believe he is able to make you a man or a woman of prayer? Of enabling you to lay aside that which you must for the sake of prayer? Of enabling you to love the Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love that hungers to communicate with him in prayer? Remember, we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or think according to his power that is at work within us.

I want to give you two very practical thoughts about prayer that have been helpful to me as I learn to pray. They have to do with facilitating seasons of prayer—that’s where most of us struggle in prayer it seems to me. Quick sentence prayers can come quite a bit more naturally; disciplined seasons of prayer are the real struggle. First, establish a time a place a purpose and a plan for prayer. Second, and this really gets at it: pray until you pray.

If as a church and as individuals within it we are not praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication, keeping alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, we will neither be standing firm in our battle against an intractable enemy, nor will we be walking in a manner worthy of our calling in our Lord Jesus Christ.