No Fear and Undying Love

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

NO FEAR AND UNDYING LOVE

Eph 6:19-24

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

NIV

The concluding remarks from Paul are also, as we have to be constantly aware, the inspired word of God. All scripture is God-breathed, not just some, and therefore they are profitable for our correction, rebuke, and teaching and for our training in righteousness. But how do view what seems to be a personal note for our benefit? In some sense, we could understand we should be praying for others that when they open their mouths, words would be given to them, words from the Spirit, so they could fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. We also could see this as others should be praying for us, that when we open our mouths we would fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Of course, we are not in house arrest, literary in chains, but we are servants of the Lord. Although we mostly talk as being children of God, co-heirs with Jesus, we also are his bondservants, as well as his ambassadors to a lost and dying world. Therefore it would be right for us to pray that we would declare the mystery of the gospel fearlessly as we should. Again, it is a personal note about Paul sending Tychicus, a dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, he is sending him to tell of what is going on, but also to encourage the believers in Ephesus. Once again, we can learn, first, that we are also sent by God, to tell people everything that is going on within the scripture. This is making known the mystery of the gospel. Second, we are sent to others to encourage them. If we spent our time with fellow believers encouraging them in their faith, then we would not have any time to judge them, be jealous of them, or gossip about them, or think more highly of ourselves then we should, as well as a host of other wrongful thoughts or behaviors. It is interesting the Greek word translated encourage, is parakleetos, the very same word Jesus used when he told his disciples that he must go so he could send them the comforter, who we know as the Holy Spirit. So we can clearly see that as Tychicus was sent to comfort them, we are also sent to other believers to comfort, to encourage them in their faith, to counsel them in the mystery of the gospel, who is Jesus, crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended. He is the same Jesus who was there in the beginning and without him, nothing would be made. This is the same Jesus in whose image we were created. The final farewell of this letter includes a blessing on all of us believers who have an undying love for God. Again, the Greek word translated undying means incorruptible, unending existence. We are to love the Lord without any corruption or unending existence. Just thinking about that, gives us a picture of that which is corruptible does not have an unending existence, for this corruptible must put in incorruptible, this mortality must put in immorality. This is how we are to live, loving the Lord with complete incorruptibility, encouraging one another, speaking boldly without fear, the gospel message.