Ephesians 6:19-24
As we come to the end, we are impressed again by the courtesy and kindness that has pervaded Paul's writing. It's love (agape) in action. It's what the angels announced over the plains of Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus when they sang, "On earth, pence, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). Paul lets that same "good will" shine brightly to the last word.
"This good-will kind of love pervaded the church in the time of the apostles. It attracted people, and was one reason for the growth of the church in that first generation. It's a joy to read again one of Paul's farewell remarks as they usually come at the close of his "letters." Although this one was very likely intended to go far and wide in winning souls to Christ, it was also originally meant for the one church at Ephesus.
His few personal remarks help us appreciate the warm, outgoing person Paul was. (Well, wait a moment: no, he wasn't naturally that kind of a "personality" when he was persecuting the saints! The love of Jesus made him become that way.) If you had been a member of his congregation you would have loved him as a pastor and you would have cried too when he told everybody good-bye for the last time.
Here is where he asks the "saints" in Ephesus to remember him in their prayer:
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (Eph, 6:18).
The "battle" for which the "saints" need "the whole armor of God" is framed in prayer. The closer the people of God come to the end of time and the final test of the mark of the beast, the more they will want to pray. Facing the "time of trouble" and the close of probation will draw on their souls from deep down as never before in history. They will be keenly aware of how intensely the closing scenes of the great controversy are being played out. Prayer will not be a brief legalistic duty imposed as something one must "do" before getting in bed at night. The little formality "prayers" remembered before opening church meetings will be replaced by earnest heart cries to heaven. Those who are following their High Priest by faith in His closing work of atonement will want to cling to Him closely, their hearts deeply, profoundly moved.
If these final scenes were to be postponed until decades or centuries in the future, we today might not feel that sense of urgency in prayer. Our prayers would hardly be "all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." Those are serious petitions! But this lack of such earnestness in prayer today has been characteristic in the world church for well over a century. Among those who profess to understand life in the Day of Atonement, public prayer is often as coldly formal as it is among Christians who have no such understanding of truth. Those who feel moved by urgency are often assumed to be "alarmists,"
But Paul's plea is not alarmist emotional excitement occasioned by cataclysmic current events. Such media excitement dies out as the crisis fades from public attention. The foundation of serious Holy Spirit indited prayer is the historicist understanding of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. It's the reality of world events leading to the heavenly sanctuary being cleansed that impacts the very core of one's being.
The spiritual condition of the church worldwide is pictured in the parable of the "Ten Virgins," all of whom "slept." When the cry went forth suddenly, "The Bridegroom comes!" five sprang awake and trimmed their lamps to go to the "wedding." The other five had carelessly neglected to get oil, and it was too late now; they were shut out.
As we read this parable together with what Revelation says about the "marriage of the Lamb" (19:7,8), it becomes clear that the five wise "virgins" sleeping is the same lethargy as the Bride-to-be neglecting to "make herself ready for the marriage." The parable does not say that the Bride eventually refused to "make herself ready." But the five foolish virgins did. They refused to "buy" oil when they could.
What Paul says here applied to the "saints" in his time—Christ's ministry in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, just after Pentecost.
But now is the cleansing of the sanctuary when He ministers in the second* It's even more vital to stay close to Him in prayer. Our foe is getting desperate; he still hopes to win the great controversy against Christ. He has only a short time left in which to throw all his resources. Like an army bottled up where there's no way out and it fights wildly, so is Satan today. He knows he was defeated at the sacrifice of Christ on the cross; his desperate ploy is to keep the last days' church lukewarm, sleepy, absorbed in the world, up to the time when it's too late to go "buy" any "oil," He tells his angels, just keep the saints absorbed in their fun and worldly business, and we'll win yet. May this study in Ephesians function as a wake-up call!
Paul's appeal in closing could well have been written for this week's Internet news. The message of Ephesians is complementary to that of Daniel and Revelation—"present truth" (cf. 2 Peter 1:12). The apostle reminds the "saints" to pray for other followers of Jesus, not only for ourselves; we are a "body," and the needs of others rest upon our hearts as well. We are counseled, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5), and that "mind" of Jesus cares for the needs of "all the saints" (Eph. 3:18).
Ephesians 6:19, 20
"And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Paul knows that he is a chosen messenger for Christ; he knows he has been highly honored by the Lord; the Lord has raised up churches as the fruit of his labors; yet he feels that he needs the prayers of these people so the Lord can bless his preaching and writing! Here's a humble preacher who makes room for the Holy Spirit to work.
The more Christlike a person is, the less worthy he will feel to preach and teach the gospel, and the more he will long for the blessing of the Lord, And sometimes it will be when he feels the most helpless and undone that the Holy Spirit can strengthen him the more. As Paul was coming to preach in Corinth he just about came unglued with fearful tension:"! was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3). His humility revealed the genuineness of his dedication.
"How ready is the man to go whom God hath never sent;
How timorous, diffident, and shy, God's chosen instrument!"
The King James Version sounds a striking warning: "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:1). "They prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to err.... For from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone out into all the land,... Who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? ... I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran" (vss. 13-21), Jesus wants us to labor so faithfully and thoughtfully that our "fruit should remain" (John 15:16). Public acclaim and the records of baptisms may not reflect the true reports recorded by the angels.
No wonder Paul was so moved to ask for the prayers of God's people in Ephesus! To proclaim the gospel effectively anywhere takes more than any person has in him!
Ephesians 6:21-24
"But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. Peace 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 in sincerity. Amen."
A significant detail is almost lost here that we could easily overlook. It's Paul tying together "love (agape) with faith."
"Love [agape] with faith" (with "peace" and "grace" nearby) is the formula that permeates Paul's messages. To him, "faith" is not defined as a self-centered "trust," We must not misunderstand its true nature.
Paul's idea of faith is not egocentric; it's the mirror-reflection of Christ's agape. Faith is aroused in cold human hearts by the revelation of that kind of love. All humans are born empty, devoid of it, having yet to learn it. The gift comes by the preaching of the gospel when agape "is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Rom. 5:5). Then "faith works by agape" and it never fails to produce "fruit" in obedience to all the Ten Commandments of God (cf. Gal. 5:6). It includes that much neglected Sabbath commandment.
Paul's teaching of salvation by faith creates in the human heart a deep love for the Lord's holy Sabbath day that comes as a gift each week. That faith moves mountains of apathy; people wake up. The gift is long overdue, but the Lord says He will give it. Even now there are large numbers beginning to rejoice in a love for the Sabbath. As we near the final issues, that love will deepen as God's people understand and proclaim its truth more fully. The coming of the "mark of the beast" will usher in the revelation of its opposite—"the seal of God" in true Sabbath observance (see Rev, 7:1-4).
With this fresh outburst of saving good news Paul brings his most precious letter to a close. There are some of his readers who will receive "in sincerity" the gift of "grace" that he is passing on from "the Lord Jesus Christ." Their hearts have been deeply stirred, for time and also for eternity, by reading or hearing the message in this letter to the Ephesians.
May you and I be among them!