“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”
Our text comprises the last two verses in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. It is Paul’s closing blessing, for lack of a better word, upon Ephesian believers. Today, we would say that he “pulled out all of the stops” in closing the letter. He used four of the most indispensable words in the Bible – peace, love, faith and grace. I have written and preached on these words in my preaching, teaching and writing ministries. As I read these two verses this morning, it occurred to me, no doubt from the urging of the Holy Spirit, that we can’t stress these words enough in our lives and in our fellowship within the church. Paul wrote, “peace to the brethren…” This was not just a nice way to close the letter to the Ephesian church, for peace is an indispensable quality for our lives and for our relationships with other people. Jesus stressed peace in His earthly ministry. Two verses from John’s gospel come to mind. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” In John 16:33, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Peace in our hearts and peace with each other were important to Jesus and they should be important to us as well. Psalm 34:14 gives us some good advice about peace: “Seek peace and pursue it…” That is a reference to peace within and peace with others. It is interesting that Paul put “love” and “faith” together. There is a good reason for that – they belong together. The Greek word that is translated love here is agape (Ah-gah-pay). If you are a regular reader of the Couch Potato site, you have seen this several times before. It is God’s kind of love – sacrificial love, as portrayed in John 3:16. It is also used in the “Great Love Chapter” 1 Corinthians 13. In verse 2b of this text, Paul wrote about love and faith: “And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love (agape) I am nothing.” Faith is important to us, because as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace through faith are you saved…” Love and faith come to us as gifts of God. Read this carefully: “Peace be to the brethren, and love and faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The kind of love and faith written about here is not of human derivation. They are derived from “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We need to examine our minds and hearts and do an inventory of both faith and love. Faith is important because it causes us to trust God completely in all aspect of our lives. Love is important because it causes us to live in good relationship with God and our fellowmen. The last indispensable word dealt with in this text is the important word “grace.” Without God’s grace none of us could be saved. The Bible plainly says that all people are sinners. It even shows us the sins of its most important people like David, Moses and Peter. Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited favor.” We can’t earn salvation, but we can have it because of God’s unmerited favor. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are you saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any (person) should boast.” We can be saved for all eternity because of the unfailing grace of God. We can never brag about what we did to be saved, but we can brag about what Jesus did through grace on the cross for us that allows us to be saved. That’s why Paul wrote, “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Galatians 6:14) I trust that I have demonstrated for you that peace, love and faith and grace are indispensable in your life. Make sure that they are in your life and that you practice them in your life. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
chip harper
12/15/2014 11:43:58 pm
Thanks
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