Conclusion - Ephesians 6:19-24

Our study of Ephesians has taken us now to the end of the last chapter. We have been looking at the battle that the Christian fights and the importance of putting on the whole armor of God. The Christian life is a battle. We wrestle against the devil, the world and the flesh. And the Lord Jesus Christ has given us all the victory that we need. We do not fight for victory, we fight from victory. He said, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world, that's Satan, be cast out.

And so the Christian ought not to be a victim. He ought to be a victor. He ought not to be lying on the battlefield wounded and broken, rather he ought to be taking his stand and as Paul writes here, having done all to stand. We've noticed in our previous lessons the posture of the Christian in the letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 2, we are told that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. In Ephesians 4 and 5, we're told about the Christian's walk. First we sit, then we walk, then we stand. Now don't reverse these. The Christian who does not realize his great spiritual heritage in Christ is not going to be able to walk or to stand. Unless you know how strong Christ is, unless by faith you are seated with him in the heavenlies, you will never be able to fight this battle against the devil.

And so when temptation comes, the Christian ought not to fall in defeat, for the word of God tells us that there is no temptation taken us, but as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. So the Christian life is a life of victory. Christ gives us the victory. This is the victory that overcomes even our faith.

Now Paul has outlined for us the whole armor of God. And of course, the armor of God is simply the spiritual provisions we have in Christ. Satan is the liar, therefore we have our loins gird about with truth. Satan is the sinner, the accuser, therefore we have on the breastplate of righteousness. Satan is out to divide and to kill. Therefore we wear the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace. Satan tries to bring doubt and unbelief, therefore we have the shield of faith. And we have the helmet of salvation to protect our minds, our head, that we might be able to be ready when the Lord Jesus shall return. Finally, we have the sword of the Spirit and we have prayer.

Now these two weapons, the sword of the Spirit and prayer are offensive weapons. With these we fight the battle. The other parts of the armor are defensive. And it has been pointed out that there are no parts to the spiritual armor for the back because the Christian is never expected to turn around and run. No, we are to face the enemy by faith and using prayer and the word of God to overcome him.

This is a very practical thing. If there are those in your life who disturb you, perhaps unsaved relatives or unsaved co-workers where you are employed. Perhaps there are people in your neighborhood who make things difficult for you because you are a Christian. The weapons that we use are the word of God and prayer. Just get off by yourself, close the door and pray. Talk to God about these people. Don't pray against them, pray for them. Ask God to show you his will, and he will. And then use the word of God. Whenever some problem comes, immediately turn to the word of God and see what the Bible has to say about it.

I recall some months ago a situation came up in our home involving a worker, a man who was supposed to have done some service for us, and obviously what he had done was not right. And oh how distressed we became, how fretful we became. And then the word of God rebuked us, fret not thyself because of evil doers. Don't worry about what other people are doing. God will take care of them, and God did. We turned the matter over to him and God worked in a very wonderful way and answered prayer.

The word of God and prayer are your weapons for spiritual victory. When you witness to people, use the word of God and prayer. Pray for the people. Pray that their hearts might be prepared. And then use the sword of the Spirit, that they may have conviction in their hearts. It's the word of God that convicts people. The Spirit of God uses the sword of the Spirit. He's not going to use our clever stories or our clever ideas. No, when you witness, just use the word of God. Just use that simple sword of the Spirit, the way Peter did at Pentecost, and they were cut to the heart. The way Stephen did in Acts 7, and they were cut to the heart. Oh, how the word of God pierces and cuts and divides and convicts.

Now Paul says in Ephesians 6:19, pray for me. Pray for me that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. You know, Paul was not so great and so proud that he was ashamed to ask for prayer. You know, there are some Christians who never ask for prayer. They don't need it. They think it's a mark of of weakness to ask for prayer. No, it's a mark of strength. I need people to pray for me. I never hesitate whether I'm writing a letter or speaking to people privately to ask them to pray for me. I need God's people to pray for me. And you need God's people to pray for you. And Paul said, pray for me that I might be able to be the right kind of a witness.

Now there are many other things he could have prayed about. He could have said, pray that the Lord will deliver me from prison. I'm sure people were praying about that. Or pray that I might get a little better accommodations while I'm here in Rome. But Paul was not asking for these things. Paul was praying that God would make him a good witness, that he might open his mouth boldly. Now we need more Christians like this today.

You see, the witnessing part of the Christian life is very difficult. It's two-sided. We must witness with our lives and we must witness with our lips. Now there are some Christians who are always talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Their talk is fine, but their walk is no good. And the Christian witness must have a consistent walk as well as a courageous talk. It's wonderful to be able to open your mouth and speak boldly for the Lord Jesus. But ere we say anything, we had better find out whether or not our lives back up what our lips say. You've heard the old saying, your life speaks so loud, I can't hear what your lips are saying.

Now there are some Christians who never say anything for the Lord. They're the kind who say, well, I'm going to let my light shine. I don't believe in talking. I'm just going to live my life. This is not right. This is not true. Paul didn't say, pray for me that my light might shine. Paul said, pray that God will give me the courage and the wisdom and the strength to open my mouth boldly and let people know the truth of the word of God. Now, letting our light shine is important. We have to live the life. But if we live the life and never open our mouths to say a good word for the Lord Jesus, people will never know why our lives are the way they are. Our fellow employees may admire us for our patience and our kindness, but unless we tell them that Jesus is the one who gives us patience and kindness, they may give us the credit. And God will lose the glory.

So there are two sides to witnessing. There is a life that is open and there are lips that are open. An open life for all men to read. A man came to Charles Spurgeon one day and said, may I write your biography? And Spurgeon said, you may write my life in the skies. I have nothing to hide. It's wonderful when a Christian is this way. He has nothing to hide.

Now Paul wanted to have boldness to speak. You'll recall in Acts that the the early apostles had boldness. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. When they were released from prison and went back to their church fellowship, they prayed that God would give them boldness, that they might open their mouths and speak for the Lord Jesus.

People are bold about everything else. They're bold to brag about their house or their automobile, their job. They're bold to tell you what they think about politics or sports. But how bold are people to talk about the Lord Jesus? Now I grant you, it takes tact and patience and love to witness. We don't want to be like bulls in a China shop, wrecking more than we help. No, the Christian witness must have love and patience, but he must have boldness. If you're going to speak up for the Lord Jesus, you'll need boldness, and this comes from the word of God and prayer.

Now the mystery of the gospel in Ephesians 6:19, of course, is what Paul talked about back in Ephesians 2 and 3. This this hidden secret that God was now going to put Jew and Gentile together in one body. That God was going to do a wonderful new thing. He was going to baptize by his Holy Spirit Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church. Now many people don't like to have this truth brought to them. They don't want the truth of the mystery. They want to mix Old Testament law and New Testament grace. Many churches today with their ceremonies and all of the regalia and all of the pomp and all of the liturgy are mixing Old Testament law with New Testament grace. They're trying to mix God's program with the Jews and God's program with the church, and you can't do this. This is confusion.

Paul said, I want to tell people the truth of the mystery, that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, that the church is made up of living stones who have been quarried out of the pits of sin and have been placed into the church, into the temple, into the body by the Holy Spirit of God. The mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds. This is a paradox. How can you be an ambassador if you're in bonds? Well, the answer is very simple. Paul through the throne of grace was able to carry on a great witness and a great work for the Lord, though in prison.

Now, very few of us have ever been in prison. Although your home may be your prison. You may be tied down with a sick loved one or you may be tied down with your family responsibilities, and your home is your prison. Perhaps your job is your prison. It's it's unbearable, it's it's lonely, it's difficult, it's hard. Perhaps your job is your prison. Perhaps some other circumstance in life has shackled you.

Every one of us, I think, has some kind of a prison, some kind of a a shackling experience. We're tied down. Paul says, even though you are in prison, you can be an ambassador. You don't have to get on a boat or on an airplane. Right there in the prison, Paul was an ambassador in bonds. Now he did this in two ways. First of all, he prayed. Oh, how Paul prayed. Paul prayed for the people in the churches that he had founded. He asked God to make them fruitful.

You know, when you're laid aside in sickness or accident and you aren't able to get out and and serve the Lord the way you are accustomed to, you get impatient. It becomes difficult. There are many wives who are tied down to their home responsibilities who would love to get out and witness for the Lord in a better way and they can't. You can pray. This is the wonderful thing about being a Christian, that no matter where we are, under what circumstances we may be, we can pray. And Paul prayed.

Secondly, Paul witnessed. Now he wasn't able to preach to everybody in Rome, but there were soldiers there, and Paul was chained 24 hours a day to a Roman soldier. Can you imagine being chained to a man who said, pray without ceasing? You know, one by one these soldiers were saved. One by one the Apostle Paul had the joy of seeing his enemies become Christians. This is why in Philippians, at the very end of Philippians, Paul makes a very strange greeting. In Philippians 4:21, salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.

Here's a remarkable thing, because the Apostle Paul witnessed the way he did, people were saved all the way into Caesar's household. Now never underestimate the power of witnessing and praying. You may not have very many people to whom you can witness for the Lord, perhaps the next door neighbor, the vegetable man who comes to the door, the postman, the man who reads the meter. You may not have very many people to whom you can witness, but if you're faithful to witness to them, God will bless your witness and God will use you. An ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.

But that ye also may know my affairs and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things. He was the man who carried the letter to the church. Now Paul was not embarrassed to share with people his circumstances. I know there are those who say, well, I just talk to God about my problems. Well, this is all right. You ought to talk to God about your problems. But the Bible does say, bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. I'm not a mind reader. I have no idea what problems people go through unless they share them with me.

Now Paul did not share his problems and his burdens with them to get sympathy. Paul never felt sorry for himself. There are Christians who do. Paul wanted them to be encouraged in the Lord, and he wanted them to pray for him. And so he told Tychicus, his messenger, to share with them the problems and the burdens of Paul's ministry there in Rome, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts.

Now he closes with his benediction. Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. Look at those great Christian words there. Peace, love, faith, grace. You can't do any better than that. You cannot find any greater collection of jewels than those.

Peace. Back in Ephesians 2, Paul had talked about Jesus Christ who had made peace between Jew and Gentile. In Colossians he wrote and said, he is having made peace through the blood of his cross. There's no more enmity now between Jew and Gentile, no more enmity between the believing sinner and the Lord. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Can you imagine a man in prison about to be tried for his life, writing to his friends and saying peace? This is what Christ does for you. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ does for a man. Salvation lifts him above his circumstances. He's no longer a victim, he's a victor.

Peace be to the brethren, not to everybody. There is no peace, saith my Lord, to the wicked. Back in Isaiah, the prophet wrote that. There's no peace to those who aren't saved. When they shall say, peace and safety, then cometh sudden destruction, says 1 Thessalonians. No, peace be to the brethren, to those who know the Lord Jesus Christ, and love with faith.

Now we usually have faith, hope and love. Here we have faith, peace and love. Love, Christian love. Oh, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Faith. This is the what gives us the victory. Faith. If you have faith so much as a grain of mustard seed, you can tell the mountains to move. Faith. Where does faith come from? The word of God. Romans 10:17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Peace, love, faith, from God the Father and the Apostle Paul. No. From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, God the Father is the great supplier of all that we need. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God the Father is the great supplier. God the Son is the great channel. God the Holy Spirit is the one who makes it available to us. And so the Lord Jesus Christ gives us peace and love and faith. And then that great last word, grace. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.

Paul always closed his letters with grace. Grace was his signature. Grace was the signature on his letters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Over in 2 Thessalonians 3:17-18, Paul says, the salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle, so I write, and here it is, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. This is Paul's signature. This was the signature on Paul's letters. Grace. And if anyone knew the meaning of the grace of God, it was the Apostle Paul. Oh, to grace, how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be.

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, not in hypocrisy, but in sincerity. Now if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, you have peace and love and faith and grace. And God is with you and God is going to bless you. And he'll keep you. And he'll use you for his glory. This brings us now to the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. We've spent many weeks studying it, and we could go back and start over again and study it more and more. It's such a rich and deep book. Let's keep in mind that Ephesians gives us doctrine and duty, blessing and responsibility. And after all he has done for us, my, the least that we can do is turn our lives over to him and let Jesus Christ use us for his glory.

If you have never experienced the grace of God, right now ask the Lord to save you. As we close the lesson with a word of prayer, you ask the Lord to come into your heart and save you, and he will. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Shall we pray? We thank thee, Father, for the opportunity thou hast given us to study this precious letter. And may the truths that we have learned be real in our lives. Even now may there be someone who will open his heart to Christ and receive the grace of God and be born again. And know the joy of having sins forgiven. Help us now, Father, to be faithful to thee and to do thy will. We pray for Jesus' sake. Amen. Our Lord, our Savior.