Incorruptible Love
Ephesians 6:21-24 - "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. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."
Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians with a relatively normal closing when compared to his other letters. He is sending them Tychicus, whom Paul loved and trusted, to care for the church in Ephesus. Paul was careful about sending people to minister to churches in his absence because he cared deeply for the truth of the gospel. Paul not only knew Tychicus and called him a brother, but he also knew he would be a faithful minister of the gospel to the church in Ephesus. While in Ephesus, Tychicus would give the church an update on Paul and would minister to them as a shepherd. Paul, despite being imprisoned, was always focused on the well-being of the church.
The final couple of verses are a standard closing from Paul. He calls for peace and love to come upon the church through faith, which originates in God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Paul begins the letter in 1:2 with the word grace, and here it begins his final sentence in 6:24. Grace comes from God and those who have received it by faith act on it in love. The love of those called by God unto salvation is an unwavering love of God that withstands the trials faced in this life. The love a believer has for God endures trials and is strengthened by the believer's persevering faith in the Lord.
In summary, Paul's letter to the Ephesians focuses on the grace of God being revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us that we are to be unified in Christ and not divided by anything of the flesh. He also calls those of us who believe in the Lord to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. That message rings true to us today just as it did to the Ephesians in Paul's day.
