Lessons #293 and 294
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Benediction (Eph 6:23-24)
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.
These two verses form the final part of Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. They conform to the standard practice of closing of a letter at the time of this epistle. This standard is to end a letter with greetings. However, the apostle’s greeting here is probably to be understood as a benediction, that is, a prayer wish of the apostle for the recipients of this epistle. As the apostle ended his epistle he used four words or concepts as part of his prayer wish or benediction that he used several times in the body of this epistle.
A first word or concept the apostle used in his benediction is peace. The word “peace” is translated from a Greek word (eirēnē) that may mean “harmony in personal relationships” of the type that Jesus indicated that He did not bring to the world, according to Matthew 10:34:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Jesus meant that because of His mission to the earth, personal harmony will not be found between those who accept His message and those who do not. In effect, because there are those who will respond to His message and those who will not then there can be no personal harmony between the two groups. Under this concept of personal harmony, Apostle Paul used our Greek word to describe the work of the Lord Jesus in establishing harmony between Jews and Gentiles that believe in Him, as he used it in Ephesians 2:15:
by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
The apostle used the Greek word translated “peace” under the sense of personal harmony between believers when he instructed of the necessity of unity or cohesiveness in the body of Christ in Ephesians 4:3:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Another meaning of our Greek word pertains to the state of well-being so that it corresponds to the Hebrew word (šālôm) that may mean “welfare, health.” In this usage, the apostle used the word in his introductory greeting in Ephesians 1:2:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The apostle used the Greek word in the sense of “welfare” his instruction about Timothy in 1 Corinthians 16:11:
No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
Because the prophets in the OT indicated that an important characteristic of messianic salvation is peace, our Greek word is used in the NT as being synonymous with messianic salvation. It is in this sense the apostle used the word in Ephesians 2:17:
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
Peace is an important concept in the apostle’s epistles in that he informed us of the peace we have with God in Romans 5:1:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
He indicated peace is a facet of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Here “peace” could mean “freedom from worry.” Anyway, the apostle is concerned here with peace in terms of harmony among believers and unbelievers as we can gather from the fact that the Holy Spirit through him encourages younger believers to pursue peace as a virtue, according to 2 Timothy 2:22:
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
The peace the apostle probably had in mind in his benediction is probably that of well-being of the recipients of this epistle that is possible because of the work of Christ. We say this firstly because the recipients of this epistle are believers, so they already have peace with God but then they are expected to have harmony among themselves. Secondly, it is because the peace he had in mind is to be to the advantage of believers as in the phrase of Ephesians 6:23 Peace to the brothers. The word “brothers” is used here not for male relatives of the apostle or even for male believers but for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in Ephesus. We know this first because the word “brothers” is translated from a Greek word (adelphos) that may refer to male sibling although in Greek literature the plural form of our Greek word may mean “brothers and sisters” and this meaning is certainly what is implied in Luke 21:16:
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
In verse 16 of Luke 21 “brothers” is to be understood as consisting of male and female siblings since the word “parents” encompass male and female. Therefore, we should expect the word “brothers” in this utterance of the Lord to include both male and female siblings of believers as those who will betray the believer. That aside, the Greek word translated “brothers” is used to describe one who shares the same belief with another. Hence the word is used by Christians in relation with each other, as evident in Apostle Paul’s use of our word in the instruction given to Christian slaves in their relationship with their human masters in 1 Timothy 6:2:
Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
The clause because they are brothers indicates that slave masters in view are believers as confirmed by the clause because those who benefit from their service are believers. Thus, it should be clear that our Greek word is a term Christians use to describe each other. Therefore, when the apostle wrote the phrase Peace to the brothers he meant the peace he had in mind is to be experienced by believers. Furthermore, since the word brothers is used at the end of the epistle, there should be no doubt that the brothers are the same believers, male and female, that the apostle described as God’s people or saints at the beginning of his epistle in Ephesians 1:1:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
In any event, a first word or concept the apostle used in the closing of his epistle is peace that in our context refers to the overall well-being of the believer. So, the apostle’s prayer wish is for the general welfare of believers that include good health and other blessings that God confers on believers including personal harmony between believers and others. This being the case, you should be concerned for the general welfare of your fellow believers. You should pray for God to give good health and other blessings to them. You should pray for continuous harmony among believers.
A second word or concept the apostle used in his benediction is love in Ephesians 6:23. The word “love” is one of the most commonly used words in the English language but one that is poorly understood. This is because we live in a world that is confused and think of love as being synonymous to sexual attraction. Thus, when a male or a female has sexual attraction to the opposite sex the person claims to love the other when the case may be a matter of being infatuated with the individual. Because of the misconception of the word “love” I feel compelled to repeat my comments in Ephesians 1:15 with some minor additions. Interestingly, the Greek word (agapē) translated “love” in Ephesians 6:23 is devoid of the concept of sexual attraction. The Greek word translated “love” appears 116 times in the NT but only once is it used in the plural with the meaning of “fellowship meal, love feast,” which is a common meal eaten by early Christians in connection with their worship, for the purpose of fostering and expressing mutual affection and concern. This meaning appears in Jude 12:
These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
In the other usages of our Greek word the meaning is that warm regard for and interest in another person and so means “esteem, affection, regard, love.” This means that in the NT the Greek word translated “love” in the English refers to a strong, non-sexual affection and regard for a person and their good that is in accordance with God’s moral character. It is a warm regard or affection that causes a person to be willing to forfeit rights and privileges on behalf of the object of love.
The definition we have given about the Greek word translated “love” is that which is given in the Greek-English lexicons but in the past I have given a working definition of love simply as “a thought-action phenomenon.” Of course, by thought we do not mean any kind of thought but that thought that is in keeping with God’s word or His moral character. If you think good thoughts about a person and stop there that is not love; and if you act without thought that is still not love. True love must first involve thought that is followed by the appropriate action; hence, the definition of love as a “thought-action phenomenon.” This definition is to remind us of two facts about love. It is not merely a feeling but a disposition that demands careful thought in dealing with others. For example, love that involves thought will enable you to analyze a situation or action of another person and no matter how adverse the other person’s action is towards you, you will be able to think still in terms of the interest of the individual. Take for example, what the Holy Spirit says through Apostle Paul to Christians in Rome in Romans 14:15:
If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
This verse is concerned with a believer giving up his right to eat food that he sees nothing wrong with but he refrains so that he does not cause another believer to sin. Failure to do this indicates lack of Christian love. This suggests that Christian love demands thought so that you can take into consideration the feelings and consciences of other believers in what you do. You see, unless one thinks carefully about another person’s spiritual welfare then there is no reason to give up one’s right to help another. We are stressing the fact that love demands careful thought about the interest of another person. It is only when we understand love as that which involves thought can we manifest the characteristics of love that the apostle also gave in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love is said not to envy. What is envy? Is it not a thought process in which one is either discontented or resentfully desiring what someone has? So, if you love you will not be envious of someone. Love does not keep record of wrongs. If love does not keep record of wrongs, then that implies it involves rejection of certain kinds of thoughts regarding wrongs done against an individual. Thus, it should be clear that love involves thought so that our working definition of love is vindicated. Of course, 1 Corinthians 13 also vindicates our working definition of love being an action oriented word. For example, when it is said that love is not rude then that means that one with love does not behave improperly. Behavior involves action on the part of a person.
In any case, our working definition of love as a thought-action phenomenon is to remind us of a second fact that love the Scripture demands of believers is one that can only be known by its demonstration. I can say to you that I love you but that is nothing but noise that comes out my mouth. You must see my action towards you, to believe a word of what I say. In other words, the Christian love is only known by the action that stems from it. Hence, it is not the kind of love that is secret or that you have in your heart without it being demonstrated. The Holy Spirit through Apostle John focused our attention to the fact that love is demonstrable as he indicated that God’s love is demonstrated in giving of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us in that passage that most believers know, that is, John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
It is through the same apostle that the Holy Spirit tells us that the way we recognize love is by its action. Therefore, love is explained in terms of Jesus’ dying for us on the cross, as stated in 1 John 3:16:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
This passage says, if you want to know what love is then look at what happened on the cross; the Son of God died for us the undeserving people. The apostle also indicates that if there is no action associated with love then whatever a person claims to be “love” is not biblical love. This he demonstrated with the example of ignoring a fellow believer’s need in 1 John 3:17:
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
This verse indicates that if a person claims to have love but does nothing to help his fellow believer in trouble when it is within his power to do so, all other things being equal, then such a claim of love is hollow.
The point we are stressing is that love is only recognized by its action, that is, to say that love in the NT sense is demonstrable. This truth is conveyed by the Holy Spirit not only through Apostle John but also through Apostle Paul. For writing to the Romans, he conveyed that love is demonstrable in Romans 5:8:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
To the Corinthians, the apostle demanded love to be demonstrated or proven through action, as we read in 2 Corinthians 8:24:
Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
The writer of Hebrews also conveyed the sense that love is demonstrable in his commendation of the recipients of his epistle, according to Hebrews 6:10:
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Love for God is said to be demonstrated through help rendered to others. The truth is that without understanding that love is a thought-action phenomenon then it will be difficult to explain fully some of the statements of Apostle Paul that involves the concept of love. Take for example, what he wrote to the believers in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1:3:
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The verbal phrase your labor prompted by love makes better sense if it is understood that love involves thought so that the apostle meant that it is because they could think and have affection for others based on their thoughts being focused on Christ that they could do the things that the apostle commended them. Similarly, it is by understanding our working definition of love that one can understand what the apostle meant by love increasing, as he stated in 2 Thessalonians 1:3:
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
For love to increase, means that there are more visible actions that prove it. Thus, the way a person’s love increases that is visible to others is that the individual is demonstrating love through actions.
Understanding of love, as we have explained makes it easier for a person to know when a believer has love for other believers. We are saying that it is not difficult to know that you have love for others. Your actions should reflect your love. In any event, our concern is to understand the love the apostle had in mind as he wrote the final greeting of this epistle. It is that quality of warm regard or affection that causes a person to be willing to forfeit rights and privileges on behalf of the object of love that was in the apostle’s mind although he did not explicitly define its object. The context suggests that the object of love here is fellow believers since this love is a virtue that comes from God that should be demonstrated towards others. You should through your action prove that you love fellow believers. In fact, if your action does not prove love for others then I am here to tell you that you do not love God, regardless of what you may claim. That love is concerned with quality of affection is confirmed by the third word or concept found in the closing part of the epistle since it is connected to the word “faith.”
A third word or concept the apostle used in his benediction is faith. The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) that is rich in meaning and so it is used in a variety of ways in the NT. The word can mean proof or assurance, as the word is used by Apostle Paul when he preached in Athens, as recorded in Acts 17:31:
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
The verbal phrase given proof of this is literally having given faith. Few commentators understand the literal phrase to mean that God has given all men the opportunity to have faith but most commentators understand our Greek word translated “faith” to mean “assurance” or “proof” in this context. The word can mean “firm commitment”, as it is used in Romans 1:5:
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
The clause the obedience that comes from faith is to be understood that obedience results from faith but “faith” here is primarily firm commitment or genuine devotion to the Lord. This is because for a person to obey God’s word, that individual must be committed to the Lord or have a genuine devotion to Him. It is also possible that “faith” here has another meaning we will mention later, that is, what is to be believed. The Greek word can mean “trust, confidence, faith” in the sense of believing regarding deity, as it is used in believing in Christ for righteousness in Romans 3:22:
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
The Greek word translated “faith” may refer to a religious movement such as the Christian faith in Galatians 1:23:
They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Here “faith” refers to the Christian movement although it is also possible to understand it as the good news or the gospel. The Greek word translated “faith” may mean “trust, confidence”, as in 1 Thessalonians 1:8:
The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,
In this passage of 1 Thessalonians, faith has the meaning of “trust” or “confidence”. Consequently, the United Bible Society Handbook suggests that the phrase your faith in God may be translated “how you have trusted in God” so that it is clearer that the word “faith” here means “trust” or “confidence.” The Greek word translated “faith” can also refer to Christian virtue, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:8:
But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Faith in this passage refers to a quality that one is to put on, hence it has the sense of Christian virtue or even true devotion to God. Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “faithfulness” in the sense of being an individual that another could have confidence because the person is reliable. It is in this sense that the word is used in Titus 2:10:
and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
The expression to show that they can be fully trusted is literally demonstrating all good faith. It is true that our Greek word may literally be translated “faith” but the sense in Titus 2:10 is that of being dependable or trustworthy. The point of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul is that slaves who are believers should ensure they are trustworthy to their masters in order that their masters would find the Christian faith appealing as they observe and interact with them. The Greek word translated “faith” can mean “pledge” as a solemn promise to be faithful and loyal, as it is used to describe what could happen to young widows who if they are included in the list of widows that the church will support because they are totally devoted to the Lord’s service and so promised not to remarry but because of their sexual desires decide to marry, as we read in 1 Timothy 5:12:
Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.
The clause because they have broken their first pledge is literally from the Greek because they reject their first faith. Clearly, the literal phrase first faith does not refer to the faith they exercised in Christ for salvation. Thus, faith within the context refers to promise the young widows made prior to being included in the list of the widows the church is to support. Therefore, our Greek word means “pledge” and not “faith” in the context. The Greek word can refer to the content of what is to be believed, that is, that which is believed, that is, “doctrine or belief or teaching.” It is in the sense of going astray from Christian teaching or belief that Apostle Paul used our word in 1 Timothy 6:10:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
It is also in this sense of belief or teaching or doctrine that the word is used in Jude 3:
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Here in Jude 3 “faith” could refer to Christian movement but it is best understood as body of doctrine containing the main tenets of Christian teaching.
We have noted the various meanings of the Greek word translated “faith” so the question is to understand how it is used in our passage of Ephesians 6:23. It is used here in sense of Christian virtue of faithfulness as it is connected with the word “love” as in the phrase love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ of Ephesians 6:23. The fact that love and faith are linked together indicates that the apostle was probably thinking of the kind of virtue that binds believers together in their relationship with each other. This is because the idea of love and faith being joined together to describe ideal relationship between people or between people and God is one that is conveyed severally in the OT. Take for example, we have love and faithfulness joined as description of virtue that should belong to the believer in Proverbs 3:3:
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Love in this passage may also mean loyalty so that a believer is being encouraged to be a loyal and dependable person. Anyway, the apostle’s prayer wish concerns virtues of faithfulness bound together with warm regard and concern for interest of others. Pray for believers to be loyal to each other bound with warm regard for and concern for others.
In any case, the love and faithfulness the apostle had in mind have divine origin. In other words, it is only from God that a person can possess such love and faithfulness that are part of the prayer wish of the apostle for the recipients of this epistle, as implied in the phrase from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ of Ephesians 6:23. The phrase God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ declares the plurality of persons in the Godhead and so asserts the deity of Jesus Christ. This is not easily perceived in the English because it reads as if God is associated only with the Father. This is not really the situation as the literal translation reveals. The phrase God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is literally God of Father and of Lord Jesus Christ. On a surface reading, the literal translation gives the impression that God here is that of the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ but that is not what the apostle intended. You see, the literal phrase reveals that the word God is joined to the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ because of the word “of.” The word “of” is a way in the English to translate a genitive in the Greek. However, in this literal phrase God of Father and of Lord Jesus Christ, it is better to interpret the Greek genitive as stating specific example of the head noun “God” so that instead of using the meaning “of” one uses the word “namely.” More technically, we have what is known as “genitive of apposition” in Greek grammar. This being the case, the literal phrase God of Father and of Lord Jesus Christ may be translated God namely the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This translation enables us to understand that when the apostle wrote the word “God”, he proceeded to describe the persons of Godhead he had in mind here as the Father and the Son. He did not mention the Holy Spirit probably because of His role in guiding believers in producing Christ-like character. Anyway, the point is that the phrase God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ according to the literal Greek states the plurality of persons in the Godhead and so by implication is an assertion of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This brings us to the fourth word or concept the apostle used in his final greeting.
A fourth word or concept the apostle used in his benediction is grace in Ephesians 6:24. The word “grace” is translated from a Greek word (charis) that has several meanings since the general meaning “unmerited favor” falls short as a meaning in some context. Consider for example, the use of the word “grace” in Luke 2:40:
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Clearly, since the recipient of God’s grace in this passage is the Lord Jesus Christ, grace could not possibly mean God’s underserved favor to sinners. Therefore, grace means “blessing” or God’s favor in a general sense of His beneficent disposition towards someone. It can also mean favored status indicating Jesus enjoyed favored status with God. This example shows that the Greek word translated “grace” has a range of meanings that we should explore.
The Greek word translated “grace” may mean “kindness” or “love.” This is the sense in John 1:14:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
To say that Jesus is full of grace means that He is full of love and kindness so that grace has the sense of “love” and “kindness.” By the way, to say that Jesus is full of truth means He is the true or complete revelation of God.
The Greek word translated “grace” can mean “charm” or “winsomeness, that is, attractive or appealing, referring to that winning quality or attractiveness that invites favorable response. This is particularly the case in connection with speech that is generally pleasing and engaging, often because of a childlike charm and innocence. It is this meaning of “grace” that is reflected in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle in Colossians 4:6:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
The meaning of “grace” in this context is “winsome” or “pleasant” thus the instruction let your conversation be always full of grace could be rendered let your conversation always be winsome. The translator of the TEV captured the meaning of grace in Colossians 4:6 since they translated the instruction as your speech should always be pleasant.
The Greek word translated “grace” can refer to a beneficent disposition toward someone hence refers to “care or help.” It is this meaning that is most appropriate in the action of the church that sent Paul and Barnabas to mission field in Acts 14:26:
From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
The church in Antioch committed Paul and Barnabas to the care of God as they embarked on the mission field so that “grace” in this passage refers to “care.” This meaning is reflected in the translation of the CEV that instead of the phrase the grace of God of the NIV used the phrase God’s care.
The Greek word translated “grace” can mean practical application of good will so means “gift” or “favor” or “generosity.” It is in this sense that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 16:3:
Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
The meaning of “favor” or “generosity” for the Greek word translated “grace” is intended in 2 Corinthians 8:6:
So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.
The phrase act of grace is work of generosity, as it is rendered in the NEB.
The Greek word translated “grace” can refer to exceptional effect produced by generosity. This effect refers to that which is produced by divine beneficence which goes beyond that associated with a specific Christian’s status. It is in this sense that grace is used in 2 Corinthians 8:1:
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
Grace in this passage refers to God’s action in the lives of the Christians in Macedonia that caused them to be generous toward others.
The Greek word translated “grace” may mean “thanks, gratitude” as a response to generosity one receives. It is in this sense that the word is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
We have noted the various meanings of the Greek word translated “grace” in Ephesians 6:24, so in what sense is it used in our passage? It is in the sense of “blessing” or “divine favor.” Therefore, you should pray for God’s blessing or divine favor to be shown to your fellow believers.
The blessing or divine favor the apostle wished in his benediction is for the kind of persons who are continually devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ as described in the clause to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. The description who love is translated from a present tense of a Greek participle that here describes the action that characterize those described with the word all. The word “love” is translated from a Greek word (agapaō) that may mean “to cherish, have affection, love” as the word is used for proper attitude of a husband towards the wife in Ephesians 5:25:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
The word may mean “to prove one’s love”, as it is used in 1 John 3:18:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
In this passage, the instruction is to prove one’s love not with words but by action. In Ephesians 6:24 the word is used in the sense of being devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ as evident in action. For it is difficult to understand how a person could show affection or even cherish the Lord Jesus Christ since He is invisible to us. Thus, those who love Jesus Christ are the individuals who are devoted to Him as evident in their actions. We are saying that those who love the Lord Jesus although technically refers to those who are believers but here they are those who are devoted to Him in the sense of continually learning His word and obeying it. This explanation is in keeping with what Jesus said about loving Him in John 14:21:
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
There you have it! No one who does not continually learn and obey the teaching of Jesus Christ can claim to love Him. You may sing “Oh how I love Jesus” until you are blue in the face but that does not mean that you love Him. There is only one way to show that you love Him; it is by continually learning His word and obeying it. Only those who do this that the apostle wished blessing or divine favor.
The apostle was not content with his description of those who are the recipients of the blessing or divine favor that he wished as those who continually love the Lord Jesus Christ so he added one more qualifier. This qualifier is given in the last phrase with an undying love of Ephesians 6:24 although literally the Greek reads in immortality. This is because the word “undying” is translated from a Greek word (aphtharsia) used in the Greek NT only by Apostle Paul in his epistles that refers to the state of not being subject to decay/interruption and so means “incorruptibility, immortality”, as it is used to describe the resurrection body or resurrected state in 1 Corinthians 15:53:
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
In our passage of Ephesians 6:24, the word may mean either “unceasing” or “immortality” although some suggest “sincerity” that is not supported by any usage of the Greek word. In all the other occurrences of the word in the NT, the meaning is that of “immortality, incorruptibility” implying that it is this meaning that is intended in our passage. The problem is to determine what the word is associated in our passage. There are three possibilities. It could be associated with grace or with Jesus Christ or with the Greek participle that literally reads who are loving. The association of the word with Jesus Christ means that Jesus Christ is described as immortal which is true but it is unlikely to be what the apostle had in mind because he had already implied in verse 23 that He is God. Thus, the word is used either to describe grace so that the apostle wished grace that is eternal to those he wrote this epistle or the word can be associated with those who love the Lord Jesus. This association leads to at least two interpretations. It could mean that those who love the Lord are described as having undying love as in the NIV and many English versions reflect or that they are those who are in the sphere of immortality. It is difficult to describe those who love the Lord as having a love that is undying although possible but it is easier to describe them as those who are at the present time in the sphere of immortality. Therefore, we believe that the apostle gave further description of those he wished God’s divine favor and blessing as those who are already in the sphere of immortality although they are still in this planet. This notwithstanding, we should emphasize that it is important that believer’s love for Christ be continuous. Hence, the question you should ask yourself is if you are one of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ continuously in the sense of learning His word and obeying it. Anyway, if you expect the divine favor or blessing that the apostle wished at the end of his epistle you should do all within you to be a person that can be described as someone who loves the Lord continuously not merely the fact that you are a believer in Christ.
In any case, with this benediction, the apostle ended his epistle to the Ephesians. Thus, as we end the epistle we should remember that the overall theme is God’s mystery in Christ and exhortation to live as Christians. Consequently, you should strive to live your life as a Christian considering the spiritual blessings of election, adoption, and redemption or forgiveness of sins that you have received. Live as one who has received divine blessings!
01/06/17