Latin-American Reformed Seminary Ephesians

May 2018

Lecture 19
Ephesians 6: 21-24

Intro.

- For the past

o Six months
 We have been
 Soaking/marinating
o In this letter
 Of the Apostle Paul
 To the Ephesian
Church.
- It is a letter
o As we have noted
 That has as its primary aim,
 The formation
o Of a distinctly
 Christian identity
 In its readers.
- Paul’s goal
o His aim
 In writing this letter
 Is to help his readers
o See and understand
 How the Gospel
 Of Jesus Christ
 Transforms
 And informs
 The life of the
believer.

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- What Paul wants us to see

o Is that
 The Gospel
 Is not just about
o What happens to us
 When we die,
 But it is also
 About what happens to us
o As we live
 In the here and now.

o When we come to Christ

 We don’t just change
 What happens to us
o In the life to come,
 We change
 What happens to us
o In this life.
 How we relate to this
world
 Is totally
transformed,
 As we are
redefined
 By our
relationship to
God.

- The Gospel had had

o A tremendous impact

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 On the city of Ephesus.

o Seemingly
 From the moment
 That Paul arrived in that city
o The Gospel had both
 An amazing reception
 And had sparked
 Tremendous
hostility.
- Right
o At the beginning
 Of this series
 We noted
o That Ephesus
 Was a prominent city
 In Asia Minor
 (today’s
Turkey)
o It sat
 On the confluence of
 Several key trade routes
 And just like
 Modern day
o Centers of trade and industry
 Ephesus grew to
become
 An important
cultural center.
o It was a city
 That was important
 And prominent

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o Economically,
 Educationally
 And politically,
 Standing alongside
 The likes
o Of Alexandria in Egypt
 In terms of its cultural
influence.
- It was the Atlanta or the New York
o Of its day:
 A city which grew and developed
 Primarily because of its
o Economic importance
 But which then
o Became a focal point
 For culture and
education.
- However,
o The most famous landmark
 In Ephesus
 Was not a bank/treasury
o Like in Ancient Petra,
 Or a library
o Like in Alexandria.
- What stood at the heart
o Of Ephesus
 And dominated life there
 Was the Temple of Artemis:
o An enormous structure
supported by
 100 columns.

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o It was the largest building

 In the Greek world
 And it housed
o An image of the goddess
 Which
 It was claimed,
o Had
fallen
from
heaven.
- And this city,
o This cultural, economic, political, religious city
 Had been overturned by the Gospel
 When Paul arrived there
o In the mid-50s AD
 During his third
missionary journey.

- Luke, in Acts 19,

o Tells us of the breadth
 Of Paul’s ministry in that city
 When he writes
 That over the course
o Of Paul’s two years
 In the city
 “all the
residents of
Asia heard the
word of the
Lord, both Jews
and Greeks.”

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- But more impressive

o Was the depth
 To which Paul’s preaching
 Reached,
 Striking his hearers
o In their hearts.
- It was seen positively
o In the magicians
 Bringing their books together
 And burning them publicly.
 Books that Acts 19: 19 tells us
o Were valued at fifty thousand
pieces of silver (approx.. $6
million)
o Confronted by Christ
 In the proclamation of the Gospel
 These pagan magicians,
o Gave it all up,
o Publicly, dramatically
 To lay hold of Christ.
- But it was also seen negatively
o In the silversmiths
 Who started a riot
 In protest against
o Paul’s preaching.
o These men
 Whose main trade
 Was little idols of Artemis
 Though not convinced
o By Paul’s preaching,

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 These men
 Knew enough
o To understand
o That if this Gospel takes root
 In this city
 Then Artemis will not
be worshiped
 And their main
source of
income would
be cut off.
- And so
o They sparked a riot
 That threw the whole city into confusion
 And “for about two hours [the crowd]
all cried with one voice ‘Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!’”

- Whichever way you look at it

o The Gospel
 Turned Ephesus upside down,
 And it had been immediately clear
 To all who heard the gospel
o Whether they embraced it
 Like the magicians
o Or kicked against it
 Like the silversmiths
 It had been immediately clear
o That this Gospel changes
everything:

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 That when we come to

Christ
 Nothing can
remain the
same.

- And in this letter

o Which Paul writes to the church
 That had taken root
 In that city,
o He essentially follows up
 On that same theme
 And spells out for his readers
o The dynamics that underpin
 That transformation.
- And over the past six months
o We have paid particular attention
 To the distinct logic
 That runs through
o This letter.
o There is a distinct
 Reasoning
 That flows through this letter
o As Paul begins
 With the grand truths
of Christianity:
 That when we come to
Christ
 We are given
new life,

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 Raised from the

grave of our sin
o And
given
life in
Christ
 Moved from
being the
subjects of
God’s wrath
 To being the
subjects of His
love.
- Moving from that grand foundation
o Paul has narrowed that in
 And focused
 On how that bears
o On the specifics of life
o Paul has been moving
 From the blunt-force implications
 Of the Gospel
o That had appeared at Ephesus,
 And has been
 Moving down into
o The minutiae and details
 Of everyday life.
- In one sense
o It is easy to see
 That the claims of Christ
 Mean that
o Christianity cannot peacefully

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 Coexist with other

religions
 Cannot peacefully
 Coexist with
Artemis,
 Or any other
so-called gods.
- Its easy to see that –
o Even people
 Who don’t accept the claims of Christ
 (like the silversmiths)
o Understand enough
 To know that if Christ is
Who He says He is,
 Then then He must
 Have exclusive
loyalty.
o You don’t need to know
 A lot about Christianity
 To know that Christ
o Is a King
 Who will not share His
glory with another.

- But what Paul has done

o Throughout this letter
 Is show us
 How that has implications
o For all of life
 Especially

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 For how we
interact with
one another.
o Paul has
 Led us by the hand
 Down a logical path
o In which he has
o Funneled down,
o Narrowed in
 On the mundanities of
life.

- And at the core of it all

o Has been the ethic
 Of ch. 5 v. 21
 “submit to one another out of reverence
for Christ.”

- In that verse –
o In just 5 words in Greek –
 Paul encapsulates
 The entire Christian worldview:
o Our reverence for Christ –
 Our understanding of
all that He has done for
us:
 Our
understanding
of the holiness
and

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righteousness
of God
 Our
understanding
of the depth of
our sin
 Our un-holiness
 Our un-
righteousness
 And our
understanding
of we unholy
wretches are
united with a
holy God
 Through the
work of Christ
alone
 That understanding
 That nothing in
our hands we
bring,
 Simply to
Christ’s Cross
we cling
o Paul says that that
 Reverence for that
 Compels us to a
radically
humility

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 A fundamental
self-
forgetfulness
 That manifests
itself in a
mutual
submission.
- One of Paul’s main points
o In this letter
 Is to show us
 How humbling the Gospel is,
 How it eradicates pride
o And destroys the desire
 For supremacy over our
fellow man
 And frees us
o To a life of joyful service
 Intentionally seeking
 To do good to
those around
us.
- So,
o Racism
 Is put away (ch. 2)
o There is a trans-categorical unity
 Within the church –
 No favoritism
o To the rich and the powerful
 Or to the poor and
dependent,
o But each seeking

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 To care for one

another.
o It means
 That the paradigm
 For understanding marriage
o Is transformed:
 Instead of cultural
understandings of the
role of husband and
wife
 which either
tend to assert
dominance for
husband or
wife
 or an
egalitarianism
that removes
any distinction
whatsoever,
 Instead of that Paul has
shown us how our
reverence for Christ
 Leads to an
understanding
of distinct but
complementary
roles for
husband and
wife,

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 Each seeking
and prioritizing
the other’s
good,
o It means
 That the paradigm for parenting
 Is changed,
o And the combativeness is
removed:
 The child no longer
seeking to assert
themselves over against
their parents
 And the parents
(especially the fathers)
 No longer
seeking to
dominate their
children,
 But instead
nurture them
with the
primary
objective of
seeking God
(not us)
glorified in their
lives.
o It means
 That the relationship of slaves and masters
 Is transformed.

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o Even there
 In the most difficult and
complicated
relationship
o Even there
 The gospel comes to
bear
 And out of
reverence for
Christ
 The Christian
slave is
compelled to
seek the good
and welfare of
his master
 And the
Christian
master is
compelled to
seek the good
and welfare of
his slave.
- Throughout it all
o Paul has been showing us
 That what allegiance
 To Christ
o Means
 In our daily lives,

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o Is
 Ultimately
 That our lives now
o Are characterized
 By a fundamental
humility
 A fundamental self-
forgetfulness
 That makes us a
servant of all.

I. What does it say?

- And now
o As Paul brings his letter to close
 He gives a prime example
 Of everything that he has just said.

- The main body of his letter

o Concludes at verse 20
 And here
 He gives us these final few verses
o That, at first reading,
 Can just appear
 To be little
more than
housekeeping.
- Seemingly little more
o That a word
 Of introduction/commendation
 Of the messenger
 Who had carried this letter

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o From Paul in prison

 In Rome
 To this congregation,
 And a benediction.
- It is one
o Of these passages
 That we can skim over.
 The substance of the letter
o Concluded
 In v. 20
 And we can easily
 Skip over these
final few
verses.

- But what is important to see

o As we end this letter
 Is that Tychicus is mentioned here
 Not simply an accident of form
o (Paul introducing his mailman
to the congregation)
 But instead Tychicus is mentioned here
o Because he is,
 In many ways,
 A living model
 Before the
Ephesians
 Of the way of
life
 That Paul has
just outlined.

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- Now Tychicus
o Is probably
 Not a name that you are familiar with.

- If someone asked you

o To name a hero of the New Testament
 A main character of the New Testament,
 You would list Paul, probably first,
o Peter, Matthew, Timothy
 Maybe Barnabas and
Mark.
- But I don’t think very many
o Would name Tychicus.
 And that’s a shame
 Because
 When we look into it
o Tychicus
 Is one of these
extraordinary ordinary
characters
 Who were
 In many ways,
vital to the
ministry of the
imprisoned
apostle.

- We first read of Tychicus

o In Acts 20
 When he originally joined
 With Paul,

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o In Acts 20 we read (following Paul on his third

missionary journey)
 “After the uproar ceased [i.e the riot in Ephesus
led by the silversmiths] , Paul sent for the
disciples, and after encouraging them, he said
farewell and departed for Macedonia.
 When he had gone through those
regions and had given them much
encouragement, he came to Greece.
o There he spent three months,
and when a plot was made
against him by the Jews as he
was about to set sail for Syria,
he decided to return through
Macedonia.
 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus,
accompanied him;
o and of the Thessalonians,
Aristarchus and Secundus;
o and Gaius of Derbe, and
Timothy;
o and the Asians, Tychicus and
Trophimus.” (Acts 20:1–6)
 As Paul continues on his third missionary
journey around the Agean Sea
 (Greece/Turkey)
o Tychicus is mentioned
 As being part of his
entourage.
 And we know from Acts
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 And Paul’s
separation from
Barnabas and
Mark
 That he wasn’t
in to carrying
dead weight.
o Tychicus’ inclusion in Acts 20
 By itself tells us of his
character:
 A trustworthy
and able part
 Of Paul’s team.

- But Tychicus
o Was not just one among many.

- Tychicus was one of two men

o That Paul had selected
 To relieve Titus
 In Crete
 So that he could come
o And join him at Nicopolis,
o A man apparently deemed worthy and capable enough
 To pastor the church in Crete
 A place that Paul describes in Titus 1: 13
o As full of liars, evil beasts and
lazy gluttons.

- And he was the one whom Paul had entrusted to carry

o This letter to the Ephesians

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o As well as the letter to the Colossians,

 Being commended in Colossians 4: 7
 as he is here
o as “a beloved brother and
faithful minister and fellow
servant in the Lord.”

- As Paul wrote these letters

o To these congregations
 That he loved and cared for,
o As Paul sought to minister
 To them
 From his prison cell
o It was Tychicus that he singled
out to send
 With these letters.
o It was Tychicus
 Who stood before
these congregations
 And was
entrusted with
the initial
proclamation of
the Apostle’s
teaching.
o Tychicus was Paul’s
 Vicar –
 Standing in his
place
 And teaching
his doctrine.

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- But, perhaps,
o Tychicus’s character
 Is best revealed
 In the fact
o That it was he
 Who was entrusted
 With the safe
return of
Onesimus,
 The once
runaway but
now converted
slave.

- What all that means is that

o The picture
 That we get of Tychicus
 Is one
o That really holds him up
 As a model of
everything
 That Paul has
just said.

- Here is a man
o Who has understood
 The implications of the Gospel
 That he has gladly
o Given himself up
 To the service of the
church.

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- Here is a man
o Who has understood
 The implications of the Gospel
 For his life
o That he is willing
 To apparently give
everything up
 To be Paul’s
servant,
 To be with Paul
 In his
imprisonment
 To be Paul’s
messenger
 So that the
Apostle can still
minister to
these
congregations
that he loves.
- Here is a man
o Who has forgotten himself
 So that he can
 Out of reverence for Christ
o Submit to Paul
 Submit to these
Ephesians
 Submit to the
Colossians,
 And devote his life

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 To seeking their
welfare.
o This is a man
 Who is willing to
 Let goods and kindred go
o This mortal life also.
o A man
 Who so gets
 What Paul has been driving home in
this letter
o That he not only is given the
honor
 Of preaching it to these
Ephesians,
 But he also
 Is entrusted
o With brokering that tricky
relationship
 Between Onesimus and
Philemon,
 A man who Paul trusts
o To be able to walk
 Philemon through the
implications of the
gospel
 For that
relationship,
o And ensure
 That Onesiums is
welcomes back

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 (as Paul appeals in his

letter to Philemon)
 “no longer as a slave,
but more than a slave,
as a beloved brother.”
- Tychicus
o Is really
 A living illustration
 Of the way of life
 The worldview
o That Paul has expounded in this
letter.
 Ferguson: a working model of the truth he has
expounded and the lifestyle to which we are
called by the gospel.
o Before this congregation
 Reading this letter
 Stood a man
o Who embodied
 Everything that he read
aloud
 From the
Apostle.

II. What does it mean?

- And what that means
o Is that we can have confidence
 That this is doable.

- The life that Paul has been calling us to

o Will be hard.

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o That’s what we have been seeing

 Over the past couple of weeks
 Isn’t it?
o While there is a logic
 A reasonable-ness
 To what Paul has written,
 It is going to be hard to do,
o Not just because we are
fighting against our flesh
 But because there is a
devil who is actively
trying
 To tempt us
away from it.
- But in Tychicus
o We see
 That this is not the impossible dream.
 Depending upon the Holy Spirit
o Prayerfully
 Clothing ourselves with
the Gospel
 (vv 10-20)
 This is doable,
o This life is attainable.
- And so he stands
o At the end of this letter
 Not just as the messenger,
 Not just as Paul’s mail-man,
 But as a tremendous encouragement to
us
o We leave this letter,

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o Not downcast or struggling

 To see how we can put
this all into place,
 We leave it with Tychicus before us:
o A man
 Of dust and ashes and
full sin
 Just like you,
 But a man who has
o By the grace of God
 Made Christ
preeminent
 In all things.

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