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.

I love these final greetings because they give us insight into what is going on behind the scenes. Even though Paul has many enemies, he also has many friends and brothers in ministry that help him and encourage him along the way. It’s important for us to be a band of brothers, as it were, as we seek to live for Christ day by day.

In these final verses we find that Tychicus is a faithful friend who will transmit Paul’s greetings to the Ephesians and will let them know how Paul is doing. To what end? For the purpose that they be encouraged.

And then as he usually does, Paul emphasizes the peace, love, and grace of God that come from both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s good for us to remember that if we are in Christ, we have peace with God. God loves us and continually extends His peace and grace toward us day after day after day.

Amen!

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:35 AM January 9, 2023.

¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

After Paul’s request that the Ephesians pray in the Spirit with perseverance and supplication for all saints, he asks for prayer for himself as well in verse 19.

We can no longer pray for Paul, but we can pray for our pastor and missionaries we know along these same lines. So what does a preacher/pastor/missionary need?

Paul asks for prayer that he would have the words given to him so that he would speak what he ought to speak. Have you ever considered praying this way for your pastor?

In addition, he wants to proclaim the word boldly. We need courage as we try to be a witness for Christ, and certainly pastors and missionaries who have a more public ministry need to be bold. There is so much input from media in our world that only bold preaching will break through.

And what is it that he wants to boldly proclaim? The mystery of the gospel. He knows this message needs to be boldly presented loud and clear to anyone who will listen. This same message needs to be proclaimed by every pastor and missionary everywhere. Let’s pray that God will give the words and the boldness to every man of God who faithfully preaches the Word.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:31 AM January 9, 2023.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

This is our second article on Ephesians 6:17. Last time we discussed the helmet of salvation. The other piece of armor listed in this verse is the sword of the Spirit.

This seems to be the only offensive weapon listed among the pieces of armor. Of course it is used defensively as well. The first thing we need to note is that the verb at the beginning of the verse says to take the sword. In other words we need to pick it up, have it with us and use it when needed.

What is this sword? This passage tells us that the sword is the word of God. How do we use it? Well, I think the example of Jesus during his encounter with Satan when the devil tempted Him gives us a good example.

Satan tempted Jesus in three areas which would almost certainly trip us up: The lust of the flesh — “turn these stones into bread;” the lust of the eyes — “look at all this land I will give you if you worship me;” and the pride of life — “cast yourself down and the angels will come and rescue you. Won’t that be dramatic?”

But each time, Jesus countered with a specific passage of scripture which aimed at the specific temptation Satan hurled at Him.’

Jesus’ example gives us the pattern. First, we need to memorize as much Scripture as we can. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The Psalmist is clearly trying to store up God’s Word in his memory so that when temptations came he would be able to counter them.

To take up the sword and have it with us means we also need to meditate on it, and commit it to memory so that you have it available when needed.

Then, we need to actually use it. When the enemy attacks, we not only want to be sure we have the shield of faith as a defensive weapon, but we need to quote the Scripture to ourselves as well as as to our adversary to resist his onslaught. The Bible says that we should resist the devil and he will flee from us. But resisting requires scriptural fortification with the sword. Otherwise we are just standing out there on the battlefield precariously unprotected.

Think about what steps you can take to make a serious effort of memorizing Scripture and internalizing its meaning well so that you will be able to defend yourselves and attack the enemy head on when he threatens you.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:50 PM October 17, 2022.

 …and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In ancient battles, the runner was an important part of the war effort. There were no walkie talkies or satellite phones. Runners carried messages and orders from one part of the battle field to another. They also brought news, whether good or bad, to the government leaders. For example, in 2 Samuel 18, David hears of the news of the death of his son Absalom through a runner.

We, as soldiers in God’s army, are also ambassadors to announce to everyone that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” Part of our armor, therefore, is to have our feet ready to run with the message that the battle has been won and God has secured the victory. There are skirmishes to be fought, but the victory has already been assured. The world needs to know this.

This same imagery is used in Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

May our feet be shod with the sanctified footwear that will carry the message of peace as part of the larger war effort.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

In addition to the belt of truth, we are to have put on the breastplate of righteousness. Notice that the text implies that the breastplate has been put on. It’s not an imperative, it’s a condition that exists: “having put on…”

The purpose of the breastplate, of course, is to provide protection for the vital organs in that region of the body: the heart, lungs, etc. But what does the “breastplate of righteousness” mean?

First, I think, it means that we have been declared righteous by God because of Jesus’ death in our place and his having credited us with Jesus’ perfect obedience. Satan’s continuous accusations cannot stand because we have been declared righteous by the Judge Himself. This fact is protective of us in battle when Satan’s arrows of doubt and accusation are flying.

Next, I think it means, at least to some degree, that we are living a righteous life, or at least attempting to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags. But, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to be putting to death the deeds of the flesh and living in the strength which God provides. We need to be careful though, because often we will think we are better than we are, and we tend to start living as though our own righteousness was good enough on its own to carry us through in the day of battle. That would be a dangerous assumption. But at the very least, we need to be humbly seeking God and His strength in our efforts to live for Him. In any case, it is the perfect righteousness of Christ that is the strength of our breastplate.

An interesting passage in Isaiah 59:17, speaking of God preparing to wage war, says, “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head.” Now obviously He did not need to have an imputed righteousness given to Him as a breastplate. In this case it is speaking of God’s own righteousness. But there is another thought I would like to put in the mix here. When God puts on righteousness as a breastplate, I think it signifies that His cause is just and righteous. Could it mean the same thing for us? When we enter into a spiritual battle wearing the breastplate of righteousness, we are being engaged as a soldier in the army of the King of kings. We’ve been given the responsibility of waging war and holding ground against the enemy. We have been given a righteous cause for which to fight and it is our duty to be thoroughly prepared so that when all is said and done, we will still be standing.

Is your breastplate in place today as the battle rages all around you?

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Stand therefore! Since the armor is to help us to withstand in the evil day, and when it is all over, we are to still be standing, stand therefore having the armor on and fastened correctly.

Now the various pieces, which we are to have been picked up and put on, are described for us. The first piece of armor described is the belt of truth. We are to gird ourselves about with the belt of truth. In Roman days, a man’s garments were much more loose-fitting and flowing than what we wear today. Before a man could wage war or compete in an athletic competition, he had to have his clothes tied up tightly so they wouldn’t get in the way of the activity at hand. Therefore a belt around his waist was used to tie up and tuck in all of that material so that it wouldn’t be in the way. Such girding also protected a man’s vulnerable body parts.

The Apostle uses this visual picture to describe our preparation for the spiritual battles we will surely encounter. The belt is described as the belt of truth.

The first and most obvious thing which comes to mind is that the Word of God is the truth upon which we stand and fight. But before that, there is a more important concept that we must have in order for us to be appropriately girded. That concept is the concept of truth itself.

The whole idea of truth is under attack today. Truth is said to be whatever we make it out to be in our own minds. But clearly, that is not what truth means. I may see an accident occur, and I may provide the police with my testimony. I may believe that I have explained the truth of what happened. But no matter how hard I believe it to be the truth, I may have missed something. In the excitement, I may have overlooked important details. A nearby security camera may show the aspects of the incident that I didn’t notice or have forgotten. Something truly happened, but I may not know the truth, even though I think I do. The camera itself picked up only one angle. A second camera may further reveal the truth about the accident. My point is, there is truth, even if we don’t know what it is, or believe it is something that it is not.

We believe the Bible is the truthful narrative about God, His character and His deeds. It also is a truthful narrative of man and our deeds and character. In order to stand our ground and fight the battles we face, we need to be equipped with the truth. That means not only having the truth, such as having a Bible on a shelf in the house. We must know the truth. That that only comes with faithful and careful reading and studying what God has to say about Himself and about us.