Ephesians 6:18-24

Complete Devotion to the Lord Jesus

In our Lord's providence He has seen fit to bring our study of Paul's marvelous epistle to the Ephesian church to a close.  Last Sunday we read Paul's words to us, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might."  Paul specifically exhorted us to rest in God's strength in the midst of the raging, cosmic spiritual warfare in our midst.  We said last week that Paul did not remind us of this struggle with the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places to lead us to fear.  Rather, he has raised our awareness of this struggle so that we might be alert to Satan's evil schemes and know where to turn for our strength in the heat of battle.  Notice that Paul no where tells us to go about searching for a fight with this spiritual evil.  We don't engage in this struggle by looking behind every bush and under every rug for a demon waiting to pounce on us.  Nor do we engage in this struggle by taking them on in our own puny strength and by calling upon them to cast them out into a heard of swine.  No!  We engage in this struggle by actively resting upon the person and work of Jesus Christ.  It is through our union with Christ that God has clothed us with His own armor, which is our being clothed in the mighty power of the gospel of Christ.  Remember, as we said last week, that each piece of armor is the faithful word of the gospel which is the power of salvation.  As we rest in Christ's work alone it is our glorious privilege to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, starting with our neighbor, our friends, our family, etc. As the power of the gospel intrudes into Satan's domain, the Holy Spirit will work through the proclamation of the gospel to rescue God's elect from the bondage of darkness and bring them safely into their eternal abode in the kingdom of God's marvelous light.  Our strength in daily battle is the gospel of grace.  It is our armor of Christ Himself.  We stand firm and press forward with the gospel of Christ not by human might or power, but by the strength and might of the Spirit of the Lord (cf. Zech. 4:6).

But how do we access this powerful strength; the very power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead?  It is to vv. 18-20 that we now turn to see Paul's answer.

We stand firm in God's strength in the midst of trials and tribulations of life with constant prayer and watchfulness, not only for ourselves but for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

First, Paul tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit (with all prayer and petition) (v. 18).  "With all prayer and petition," Paul speaks of dependent, intercession or supplication to God.  Prayer is the Christian's greatest expression of complete and total dependence upon God's sovereign grace and mercy.  When we call upon God in prayer we are admitting our insufficiency of strength and power in all things.  We must have the assistance of someone much greater, in fact, infinitely greater than ourselves.  Paul has already prayed twice for you in this letter:  First, in 1:15-23 where he called upon the Lord to increase your understanding of the greatness of God's power at work in your salvation.  Second, in 3:14-21 Paul asked the Lord to strengthen you so that you might grasp the infinite dimensions of Christ's love for you and that you might be filled with the fullness of Christ. 

Do you pray?  Do you pray for yourself and for your brother and sister in Christ that they may grasp God's amazing power and love at work in their lives?  Are you praying for your spouse, your children, your parents in this way?

Paul sees the realm or sphere of our prayer as being "in the Spirit."  Jesus Christ opened the veil into the Holy of Holies through his death upon the cross (cf. Heb. 10:19-20) so that you might have complete access to the Father's throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16).  Once Christ ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father, in fulfillment of His promise that He would never leave us as orphans but that He would send another Helper (John 14:16-17), He poured out the Holy Spirit of God upon us that He might be with us always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).  Now, the Holy Spirit takes everything that belongs to Christ and makes it our own by uniting us to Christ through faith alone.  Therefore, all the blessings which are ours in Christ are now made known to us through the agency of the Spirit of God.  Paul says in Eph. 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (or blessing which we receive through the Spirit) in the heavenly places in Christ."  In Eph. 1:13 Paul says that we have been forever sealed with the Holy Spirit "of promise."  He is God's very pledge of our full and complete redemption to come and constantly reminds us that we are God's own possession which He redeemed with the precious blood of His own beloved Son.  It is the Spirit who made us alive in Christ and raised us up to sit with Him in the heavenly places.  It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that we have been brought near to God so that we now have peace, who is Christ Himself, between us and God.  The Holy Spirit is the very realm in which that peace is expressed and by whom we are being built up into the very dwelling of God Himself (READ 2:17-18, 22).  It is in the Spirit that we are strengthened with the power of Christ's resurrection that we might know the fullness of Christ's love for us (3:16, 18-19).  It is Spirit of God who is continually filling us full of Christ that we might grow in maturity and walk in Christ (5:18; cf. 4:12-13).  It is therefore in and by the Spirit that we are to pray to the Father and call upon Him for our strength in the gospel of Christ.  Paul even tells us in Romans that even when we do not know what we are to pray for, the Spirit comes to our assistance and intercedes for us with unspoken groanings that are perfectly in accord with the will of our Father (cf. Rom. 8:26-27).

The prayers of Christians are to be accompanied by spiritual vigilance and perseverance for all the saints.  Jesus told his disciples on the night of his betrayal "to watch and pray" (Mk. 14:38).  He also told them to constantly be alert for his unexpected return at any moment (Lk. 21:34-36; Mk. 13:32-37).  Paul also reminds us in many places that we are always to be on the alert and persevere in prayer at all times (1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20; Rom. 12:12; Col. 4:2).  What does Paul mean by "praying at all times" and continually being on the alert?  Can a Christian possibly do this?  Must he always be awake and never sleep but in constant prayer?  Well, some in the history of the church interpreted both Jesus and Paul to mean just this and they would set up hours throughout the day and night to constantly be in prayer at integral throughout the 24 hours of a day.  But Paul has already explained to us what he means by being awake and alert in 5:8-14.  Paul is referring to our spiritual slumber in the kingdom of darkness and how in Christ we have become "Light in the Lord" and now we walk as children of the Light of Christ.  When Paul tells us to be constantly awake and alert, praying at all times, he is meaning that we are not to fall back into spiritual sleep or apathy but in light of Christ's coming we are to be awake in Christ, not only for ourselves but for all others.  Why?  Because of Satan's evil schemes to attempt to hinder the progress of the gospel of Christ, in our own lives, in the lives of the rest of the saints, and in the proclamation of the gospel into new realms where Christ is not named. 

In addition to our prayers for one another, Paul focuses our attention specifically on one important aspect of the commission of our Lord:  the furtherance of the gospel into new areas.  Paul asks the church to pray that Christ would give him boldness to proclaim the gospel, especially in light of his imprisonment (vv. 19-20).  It's rather interesting to note what Paul prays for here.  He doesn't ask that he be delivered from prison.  He doesn't sit around in self-pity and resentment.  Rather, the cross of Christ is the total and complete passion of his life.  As he looks around at his terrible predicament all he can think about is having greater boldness to proclaim the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation.  Paul told the Corinthians:

For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Cor. 1:22-24; 2:2).

Paul prays that God may make the gospel known to his hearers.  At every moment, Paul is in complete dependence upon God's display of His mercy and grace.  Paul himself had to have his mind opened by God to grasp the mystery of the gospel and now he prays for his hearers that they too would have the mind of Christ (cf. 3:2, 7-8). 

Before every sermon do you ask that God would help you, your spouse, your children, your neighbor know and understand more fully the gospel of Christ?  Do you pray that God will send the gospel forth with laborers who will proclaim the gospel fully, boldly, and freely?  Have you asked God to send you forth unto the fields that are ripe unto harvest?

Finally, Paul mentions bearer of this very letter, Tychicus.  Tychicus is to not only bring them the letter but he is sent as Paul's authorized colleague to inform the churches concerning Paul's present circumstances and to strengthen and encourage them in their labors for Christ.

Then in vv. 23-24, Paul closes his letter with a typical benediction which concludes his emphasis upon the peace of God, who is Christ (2:14) which has brought them near to God and the grace by which God has shown undeserved sinners His incredible mercy and love.  In v. 24, Paul speaks of the "incorruptible" or "immortal" grace of God.  Paul has taken the entire epistle to speak of this grace.  Earlier in the epistle, Paul spoke of this grace as being shown to you out of God's love for you  (1:4; 2:4) and then of Christ's love for you (3:17, 19; 5:2, 25).  This love of God and Christ flows through you as a Christian in your love one for another (1:15; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2; 6:23* -- with faith expectancy).  But note the end result of everything that Paul has said to us -- it is his final prayer that God would give to you "immortal" grace in your undying commitment to love the Lord Jesus Christ.  Christ is the single devotion and passion of Paul's life and it is his prayer that God would give all grace to you who, in gratitude for all that Christ has done for you, love your Lord Jesus with all your, heart mind, and soul.  Where Paul ends, Peter began his epistle with these words:

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

Amen!

-SDG-