Jesus was to be loved with undying love

JESUS WAS TO BE LOVED WITH UNDYING LOVE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all who loveour Lord
Jesus Christ with an undying love.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Notes OfA True Christian
Ephesians 6:24
W.F. Adeney
This benediction differs from the benedictions with which all other Epistles of
St. Paul close in one respect, viz, while on every other occasionthe second
person is used, here the blessing is describedin the third person. Elsewhere we
read, "Grace be to you," etc. Here and here only we read, "Grace be with all
them," etc. This variation is in keeping with the catholic characterof tire
whole Epistle, which is much concernedwith the unity of the Church. It is a
rebuke to the narrowness of Christians who care only for the prosperity of
their own community, and even labor to win adherents from other Christian
denominations or regard the prosperity of neighboring congregationswith the
jealousyof a tradesman for a rival shop-keeper. How miserably low, narrow,
worldly and unchrist-like is the competitive Christianity of our day! St. Paul
prays for a blessing on all true Christians. In doing so he describes the
essentialcharacterofsuch men: they "love our Lord Jesus Christin
uncorruptness." The question has been so much abused and misunderstood

that it is quite as important to point out what is not requisite as what is
requisite.
I. WHAT THINGS ARE NOT REQUISITE IN MEN IN ORDER THAT
THEY MAY BE REGARDED AS TRUE CHRISTIANS.
1. External badges of unity. We need not speak the same shibboleth, practice
the same external habits, etc. The testis internal.
2. Agreementin theologicalopinion. Men may love the Lord Jesus Christ
while they differ profoundly on many points of doctrine.
3. Uniformity of ritual. Love may express itself in various voices, from the
shouting hallelujahs of a crowd of streetrevivalists to the elaborate anthem of
a cathedralchoir. If the love is there we have all that is essential.
4. Unity of Church order. Equal love for Christ may be found in Churches
that observe the greatestvariety of discipline. The proud bigotry of orthodoxy
will have to be greatly humbled when many a despisedsectaryproves his right
to a higher place in the marriage feastbecause he has possesseda warmer love
for his Lord.
II. WHAT IS REQUISITE IN ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE TO BE
REGARDED AS TRUE CHRISTIANS. To "leave our Lord Jesus Christ in
uncorruptness."
1. The first essentialis personalattachment to Christ. Our assentto a creed,
diligent performance of devotional exercises,and connectionwith a Church
fellowship count just for nothing if we are not in living relation to Christ.

What think ye of Jesus? How does your soul's affectionregard him? These are
the primary questions.
2. This attachment is to be one of love. A cold devotion of conscientious but
heartless duty will not suffice. Happily, Christ does inspire love in his disciples
by his wonderful loveableness, his love to them, his greatsacrifice of himself.
3. This love must be uncorrupted. A corrupted love is one that is loweredby
selfishthoughts. If we only love for what we are to receive our love is, of
course, worthless. If, therefore, we only turn to Christ in selfish anxiety to be
delivered from trouble to secure certain benefits, if this be the secretofour
apparent warmth of devotion, the thing is a mockery. They love in
uncorruptness who love purely, unreservedly, simply. The idea also implies a
permanence of devotion. It is not a mere passing emotion, stirred, perhaps by
a sentimental hymn, but a deep, strong affectionthat outlasts time and
persists through all our varying moods, and shows itselfin action, and, when
occasionrequires, in sacrifice. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christin sincerity. -
Ephesians 6:24
Grace and love
J. Pulsford.
(J. Pulsford.)
Love for Christ
R. W. Dale, LL. D.

1. Love for Christ is the common life of all true Christians. In whatever else
they differ from eachother, in their creeds, in their modes of worship, in some
of their conceptions of how the Divine life in man is originated, how it should
be disciplined, and how it is manifested, they are alike in this: they all love the
Lord Jesus Christ. The controversies and divisions of Christendom have gone
a long way towards destroying the unity of the Church; but in love for Christ
all Christians are one.
2. And love for Christ is immortal. The religious passionwhich is createdby
sensuous excitements, whetherthese excitements are addressedto the eye or
to the ear, whether they heat the blood or intoxicate the imagination, is
transitory. It has in it the elements of corruption. But true love for Christ is
rooted in all that is deepestand divinest in human nature. It is immortal, for it
belongs to that immortal life which comes to us by the inspiration of the Spirit
of God. It will not decay with the decayof physical vigour. It will triumph
over death; and will revealthe fulness of its strength, and the intensity of its
fervour in those endless ages whichwe hope to spend with Christ in glory.
(R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
Benedictionto those who love Jesus
J. Lathrop, D. D.
I. CONSIDERON WHAT ACCOUNTS CHRIST IS ENTITLED TO OUR
LOVE.
1. He is a Divine Person.
2. His mediatorial offices entitle Him to our love. A sense ofour wants adds
worth to an objectsuited to relieve them. Jesus is such a Saviour as we need.

3. Christ is an objectof our love on accountof His kindness to us.
II. SINCERITYIS AN ESSENTIALQUALIFICATION OF OUR LOVE TO
CHRIST.
1. Our love to Christ must be real, not pretended.
2. Our love to Christ must be universal; it must respectHis whole character.
3. Sincere love to Christ is supreme.
4. Sincere love is persevering.
5. True love to Christ is active. Not a cold and indolent opinion of Him; but
such a sensible regard to Him as interests the heart, and influences the life.
III. HOW SINCERE LOVE TO CHRIST WILL DISCOVER ITSELF.
1. It will make us careful to please Him.
2. This holy principle will be accompaniedwith humility.
3. If we love Christ, we will follow His steps, and walk as He walked.

4. Our love to Him will animate us to promote His interest, and oppose His
enemies.
5. This principle will express itselfin a devout attendance on His ordinances,
especiallythe Holy Communion, the Sacramentof His love.
6. Love to Christ will make us long for His reappearing.
IV. THE BENEDICTIONCONNECTEDWITHTHIS TEMPER.It is called
"grace"- a term of large and glorious import. It comprehends all the
blessings which the gospelreveals to the sons of men, and promises to the
faithful in Christ.
1. One greatprivilege containedin this grace is justification before God.
2. Another privilege is the presence ofthe Divine Spirit.
3. They who love Christ have free access to the throne of grace, anda promise
that they shall be heard and acceptedthere.
4. They who love Christ in sincerity will receive the gift of a happy
immortality.
(J. Lathrop, D. D.)

Christian catholicity
J. Burns, D. D.
I. THE CHARACTERS DESCRIBED.
1. The object of their love "The Lord Jesus Christ."
(1)Lord, Said to be "Lord of all."
(2)Jesus. This signifies "Saviour," and it was given to Him on accountof His
mission and work.
(3)Christ. Signifies "Anointed." The anointed Saviour. The Christ predicted,
promised, expected, at length revealed.
2. The nature of their love - "Love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Here is
the affectionand the kind of affection. Now, love to Christ -
(1)Is always the result of faith in His love to us.
(2)Love to Christ is always an evident emotion.
(3)Is sincere. It may be rendered "uncorrupted," without alloy.It means real,
in opposition to pretended love - intense, in opposition to languid - constant, in
opposition to vacillating.

II. THE AFFECTIONATEPRAYER EXPRESSED.
1. All the saints of the Lord Jesus require this grace. None independent of it.
2. The grace is provided for all the disciples of Jesus. "Outof His fulness have
we all," etc.
3. We should seek sincerelyin prayer that all may possessit. And that for the
following reasons:-
(1)All who love, etc., are loved of Godand chosenof Him.
(2)They are all our brethren and sisters in Christ.
(3)We are in circumstances ofcommon need and dependence.
(4)We have all one Spirit.
(5)We are destined to one common inheritance.Application:
1. We see the true nature of apostolicalChristianity. A religion of love.

2. We perceive the unhappy influences of sectarianism.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The powerof love
H. W. Beecher.
resumeofthe whole of what he had said before.
1. This love to Christ, as a greatsoul-force, accomplishesthat which is
indispensable to the whole ripening of the human soul - namely, whatever
unites it in vital sympathy to God. The human soul, without personalunion
with God, is sunless and summerless, and cannever blossomnor ripen. To
bring this lowerorder in creationup to a Divine union, so that it shall make
the leapfrom the animal to the spiritual sphere, from the lowerto the higher
condition, is the one problem of history. It cannot be done by reason, although
reasonis largelysubordinated, and is auxiliary. But the reason, dominant, can
never bring the soul into vital union with God. Neithercan this be done by
conscience. Conscience has power:but not the power to create sympathy. No
man will be joined to God by conscience;contrariwise, men will, more likely,
by mere conscience,whichexcites fear, be driven awayfrom God. It cannot,
either, be done by awe and reverence, which are adjuncts, but which, while
they give toning and shadow to the higher feelings, give them no solarheat.
They tend to lower and humble the soul; not to inspire and elevate it. They
have their place among other feelings. Neitherhave they found God, nor have
they ever led a soul to find Him - still less to join Him. Love, as a disposition,
as a constantmood, has a welding powerwhich can bring the soul to God, and
fix it there. Finding Him, it can bring the soul into communion with Him, so
that there shall be a personal connectionbetweenthe Divine nature and the
human nature. Love, then, is the one interpreter betweenGodand man.

2. Love, also, is the one facile harmonizer of the internal discords of the
human soul. It induces an atmosphere in us in which all feelings find their
summer and so their ripeness.
3. Love is the only experience which keeps the soul always in a relation of
sympathy and of harmony with one's fellows;and so it is the truest principle
of society. If societyeverrises out of its lower passions andentanglements into
a pure and joyous condition, it will be by the inspiration of a Divine love. This
alone will enable it to convert knowledge to benefit.
4. Love is almostthe only prophetic power of the soul. It is the chief principle
that inspires hope of immortality. No man ever loved his wife, and buried her,
saying, with any composure, "There is no immortality for her." No man ever
bore his child to the grave, though it were one that he could carry in the palm
of his hand, that everything in his nature did not rise up, and say, "Let me
find it again." No man ever proudly loved a heroic father, and consentedthat
that father should go to extinction. The flame of love, once shining, no one can
endure to believe will ever go out. Love, therefore, teaches the soul to long for,
and to believe in, a better land. If you think that in this diverse but brief
exposition of the power of love, I have transcendedgoodreason, listenand see
whether I have equalled the declarations ofScripture on the same subject. If
you think I have been extravagant, is not the apostle more extravagant? (1
Corinthians 13.)Upon all, then, who have learned this sacredsecret;upon all
who have been scholars to Christianity and to the Lord Jesus Christ, and have
learned to love Christ in perpetuity, permanently - upon all these, "grace,"
from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and grace from all
Christian men, in godly fellowship. "Grace be with all them that love our
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity!" Grace be upon all theologians that tend to
create love;upon all services that tend to inspire love; upon all organizations
that tend to promote love. No grace upon anything else. Thatwhich does not
touch love does not touch any. thing religious which is worth our
consideration- certainly not worth our suffering for. Violent attacks are made

on men, in order to change them; but that is not the bestway to change them,
nor to bring them into a redeeming spirit of love. Little wilt be done in this
world to change men by controversy. We must make that chief in us, and in
the Church, which we believe to be chief in Christianity - namely, the spirit of
love. We must intensify this feeling. If we would return toward it, we must
reform by it. We must produce an atmosphere, we must create a public
sentiment, such that churches will feel the superiority of love over
organization, and ordinance, and doctrine.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Love to Christ
J. H. Evans, M. A.
1. If a man be very dear to me, I love to be with him. It is not enough that I
behold the window where he sometimes appears;I want to see him. What are
ordinances but the lattices - the windows through which Christ makes Himself
known, and is seenby His saints and disciples? You read the Word of God; it
is God's appointed way of finding Him. You hear the Word of God; it is God's
appointed medium for seeing Him. You bend the knee in prayer; it is God's
appointed medium for meeting Him. Then I would say, you "love the Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity," because nothing short of Himself will ever satisfy
your souls.
2. If by any unkindness to a dear friend we have causedhim to withdraw from
us, so that we see his face no more for a time, we searchafter him, and we
cannot resttill we have found him. My dear hearers, see the Church of God,
as discoveredin the fifth chapter of that precious book - the Song of Solomon
of Solomon. "I opened to my Beloved;but my Belovedhad withdrawn
Himself, and was gone;my soul failed when He spake;I sought Him, but I
could not find Him; I calledHim, but He gave me no answer." Butshe went
on seeking Him till she found Him. She did not give over her search, till she
was enabled to say, in the third verse of the next chapter - "My Belovedis

mine: He feedeth among the lilies." True love cannotrest till it has found. We
go to our family devotions, we seek the Lord in secretprayer, we mingle with
the saints of God, but we cannotfind rest till we have found Him.
3. Observe again:if I have a dear and beloved friend, I love his likeness.
Although it maybe but a poor and feeble likeness, withmany failures in it, yet
there may be something about it which reminds me of him; and I love it
because I love him. So do I love the saints of God. It is but a poor likeness - a
faint resemblance;yet I see Christ in it. I see something of His meekness,
tenderness, and love in it: and though it be but a poor picture, it reminds me
of Him; and I love it for His sake. It is the true principle of brotherly love.
4. I am conscious ofthis principle too; that if I have a dear and beloved friend,
I am concernedthat others shall love him, and speak and think well of him;
and that their hearts should be drawn out towards him. And so it is with the
children of God. Observe in the first of John, that no soonerhad Andrew
heard the mighty call, than he searchedafter Simon; and no soonerhad Philip
heard it, than he searchedafter Nathanael. It marks out a principle, and
exhibits the truth of what I am now speaking of. Ye parents that hear me,
could ye but see in your dear child the breaking down of its proud heart, the
humiliation of spirit, and withdrawment to prayer; could ye but see that
beloved friend bow before God, it would be more to you than a thousand
worlds.
(J. H. Evans, M. A.)
An apostolic conclusion
Passavant.

I. That peace whichcomes down from God's heaven alone upon our earth,
into our hearts.
II. That love, which is pure, holy, Divine.
III. That faith, which, inseparable from love, living and active through it, born
of God, alone is pleasing to God, alone gives to GodHis glory, alone exalts the
soul to Him.
IV. That grace, through which, first and alone, there comes to us all true,
eternal, blessedgood, continuing ours out of pure mercy and unto eternity.
(Passavant.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(24) Grace be with all them . . .—The salutation, “Grace be with you,” in
various forms, is, as St. Paul himself says in 2Thessalonians3:17, “the token,”
or characteristic signature, in every one of his Epistles, written with his own
hand. It may be noted that it is not found in the Epistles of St. James, St.
Peter, St. Jude and St. John, and that it is found in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Here, however, it is at once generaland conditional, “to all them who love the
Lord Jesus Christ.” So in 1Corinthians 16:22, “If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.”
In sincerity.—The original is far stronger, “in incorruptibility,” a word
usually applied to the immortality of heaven(as in Romans 2:7; 1Corinthians
15:42;1Corinthians 15:50;1Corinthians 15:53-54;2Timothy 1:10); only here
and in Titus 2:7, applied to human characteron earth. Here it evidently

means “with a love immortal and imperishable,” incapable either of
corruption or of decay, a foretaste of the eternal communion in heaven.
MacLaren's Expositions
EPHESIANS
THE WIDE RANGE OF GOD’S GRACE
Ephesians 6:24In turning to the greatwords which I have read as a text, I ask
you to mark their width and their simplicity. They are wide; they follow a
very comprehensive benediction, with which, so to speak, they are concentric.
But they sweepa wider circle. The former verse says, ‘Peacebe to the
brethren.’ But beyond the brethren in these Asiatic churches {as a kind of
circular letter to whom this epistle was probably sent} there rises before the
mind of the Apostle a greatmultitude, in every nation, and they share in his
love, and in the promise and the prayer of my text. Mark its simplicity:
everything is brought down to its most generalexpression. All the
qualifications for receiving the divine gift are gatheredup in one-love. All the
variety of the divine gifts is summed up in that one comprehensive expression-
’grace.’
I. So then, note, first, the comprehensive designationof the recipients of grace.
They are ‘all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.’ Little need be
said explanatory of the force of this generalexpression. We usually find that
where Scripture reduces the whole qualification for the receptionof the divine

gift, and the conditions which unite to Jesus Christ, to one, it is faith, not love,
that is chosen. But here the Apostle takes the process atthe secondstage,and
instead of emphasising the faith which is the first step, he dwells upon the love
which is its uniform consequence.This love rests upon the faith in Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Then note the solemnfulness of the designations ofthe objectof this faith-
born love. ‘Jesus Christ our Lord’-the name of His humanity; the name of His
office;the designationof His dominion. He is Jesus the Man. Jesus is the
Christ, the Fulfiller of all prophecy; the flowerof all previous revelation; the
Anointed of Godwith the fulness of His Divine Spirit as Prophet, Priest, and
King. Jesus Christ is the Lord-which, at the lowest, expresses sovereignty, and
if regard be had to the Apostolic usage, expresses something more, even
participation in Deity. And it is this whole Christ, the Jesus, the Christ, the
Lord; the love to whom, built upon the faith in Him in all these aspects and
characteristics, constitutes the true unity of the true Church.
That Church is not built upon a creed, but it is built upon a whole Christ, and
not a maimed one. And so we must have a love which answers to all those
sides of that greatrevealedcharacter, and is warm with human love to Jesus;
and is trustful with confiding love to the Christ; and is lowly with obedient
love to the Lord. And I venture to go a step further, and say,-andis devout
with adoring love to the eternal Son of the Father. This is the Apostle’s
definition of what makes a Christian: Faith that grasps the whole Christ and
love that therefore flows to Him. It binds all who possess itinto one great
unity. As againsta spurious liberalism which calls them Christians who lay
hold of a fragment of the one entire and perfect chrysolite, we must insist that
a Christian is one who knows Jesus, who knows Christ, who knows the Lord,
and who loves Him in all these aspects. Only we must remember, too, that
many a time a man’s heart outruns his creed, and that many a soul glows with
truer, deeper, more saving devotion and trust to a Christ whom the intellect
imperfectly apprehends, than are realisedby unloving hearts that are

associatedwith clearerheads. Orchids grow in rich men’s greenhouses,
fastenedto a bit of stick, and they spread a fairer blossomthat lasts longer
than many a plant that is rooted in a more fertile soil. Let us be thankful for
the blessedinconsistencies whichknit some to the Christ who is more to them
than they know.
There is also here laid down for us the greatprinciple, as againstall
narrowness and all externalism, and all so-calledecclesiasticism, thatto be
joined to Jesus Christis the one condition which brings a man into the blessed
unity of the Church. Now it seems to me that, howeverthey may be to be
lamented on other grounds, and they are to be lamented on many, the
existence ofdiverse Churches does not necessarilyinterfere with this deep-
seatedand central unity. There is a greatdeal said to-day about the reunion of
Christendom, by which is meant the destruction of existing communions and
the formation of a wider one. I do not believe, and I suppose you do not, that
our existing ecclesiasticalorganisations are the final form of the Church of the
living God. But let us remember that the two things are by no means
contradictory, the belief in, and the realising of, the essentialunity of the
Church, and the existence ofdiverse communions. You will see on the side of
many a Cumberland hill a greatstretch of limestone with clefts a foot or two
deep in it-there are flowers in the clefts, by the bye-but go down a couple of
yards and the divisions have all disappeared, and the base-rock stretches
continuously. The separations are superficial;the unity is fundamental. Do
not let us play into the hands of people whose only notion of unity is that of a
mechanicaljuxtaposition held togetherby some formula or orders; but let us
recognise thatthe true unity is in the presence ofJesus Christ in the midst,
and in the common graspof Him by us all.
There is a well-knownhymn which was originally intended as a High Church
manifesto, which thrusts at us Nonconformists whenit sings:

‘We are not divided,
All one body we.’
And oddly enough, but significantly too, it has found its way into all our
Nonconformisthymn-books, and we, ‘the sects,’are singing it, with perhaps a
nobler conceptionof what the oneness ofthe body, and the unity of the
Church is, than the writer of the words had. ‘We are not divided,’ though we
be organisedapart. ‘All one body we,’ for we all partake of that one bread,
and the unifying principle is a common love to the one Jesus Christ our Lord.
II. Mark the impartial sweepof the divine gifts.
My text is a benediction, or a prayer; but it is also a prophecy, or a statement,
of the inevitable and uniform results of love to Jesus Christ. The grace will
follow that love, necessarilyand certainly, and the lovers will getthe gift of
God because their love has brought them into living contactwith Jesus Christ;
and His life will flow over into theirs. I need not remind you that the word
‘grace’in Scripture means, first of all, the condescending love of God to
inferiors, to sinners, to those who deservedsomething else;and, secondly, the
whole fulness of blessing and gift that follow upon that love. And, says Paul,
these greatgifts from heaven, the one gift in which all are comprised, will
surely follow the opening of the heart in love to Jesus Christ.
Ah, brethren! God’s grace makes uncommonly short work of ecclesiastical
distinctions. The great river flows through territories that upon men’s maps

are painted in different colours, and of which the inhabitants speak in
different tongues. The Rhine laves the pine-trees of Switzerland, and the vines
of Germany, and the willows of Holland; and God’s grace flows through all
places where the men that love Him do dwell. It rises, as it were, right over the
barriers that they have built betweeneachother. The little pools on the sea-
shore are separate whenthe tide is out, but when it comes up it fills all the
pot-holes that the pebbles have made, and unifies them in one greatflashing,
dancing mass;and so God’s grace comes to all that love Him, and confirms
their unity.
Surely that is the true test of a living Church. ‘When Barnabas came, and saw
the grace ofGod, he was glad.’ It was not what he had expected, but he was
open to conviction. The Church where he saw it had been very irregularly
constituted; it had no orders and no sacraments, andhad been set a-going by
the spontaneous efforts of private Christians, and he came to look into the
facts. He askedfor nothing more when he saw that the converts had the life
within them. And so we, with all our faults-and God forbid that I should seem
to minimise these-withall our faults, we poor Nonconformists, leftto the
uncovenanted mercies, have our share of that gift of grace as truly, and, if our
love be deeper, more abundantly, than the Churches that are blessedwith
orders and sacraments, and an ‘unbroken historicalcontinuity.’ And when we
are unchurched for our lack of these, let us fall back upon St. Augustine’s
‘Where Christ is, there the Church is’; and believe that to us, even to us also,
the promise is fulfilled, ‘Lo! I am with you always, even to the end of the
world.’
III. Lastly, note the width to which our sympathies should go.
The Apostle sends out his desires and prayers so as to encircle the same area
as the grace ofGod covers and as His love enfolds. And we are bound to do
the same.

I am not going to talk about organic unity. The age for making new
denominations is, I suppose, about over. I do not think that any sane man
would contemplate starting a new Church nowadays. The rebound from the
iron rigidity of a mechanicalunity that took place at the Reformation
naturally led to the multiplication of communities, eachof which laid hold of
something that to it seemedimportant. The folly of ecclesiasticalrulers who
insisted upon non-essentials lays the guilt of the schism at their doors, and not
at the doors of the minority who could not, in conscience,acceptthat which
never should have been insisted upon as a condition. But whilst we must all
feel that power is lost, and much evil ensues from the isolation, such as it is, of
the various Churches, yet we must remember that re-union is a slow process;
that an atmosphere springs up round eachbody which is a very subtle, but
none the less a very powerful, force, and that it will take a very, very long time
to overcome the difficulties and to bring about any reconstructionon a large
scale. Butwhy should there be three PresbyterianChurches in Scotland, with
the same creed, confessions offaith, and ecclesiasticalconstitution? Why
should there be half a dozen Methodist bodies in England, of whom
substantially the same thing may be said? Will it always pass the wit of man
for Congregationalists andBaptists to be one body, without the sacrifice of
conviction upon either side? Surely no! You young men may see these fair
days; men like me can only hope that they will come and do a little, such as
may be possible in a brief space, to help them on.
Putting aside, then, all these largerquestions, I want, in a sentence or two, to
insist with you upon the duty that lies on us all, and which every one of us may
bear a share in discharging. There ought to be a far deeper consciousness of
our fundamental unity. They talk a greatdeal about ‘the rivalries of jarring
sects.’I believe that is such an enormous exaggerationthat it is an untruth.
There is rivalry, but you know as well as I do that, shabby and shameful as it
is, it is a kind of commercialrivalry betweencontiguous places ofworship, be
they chapels or churches, be they buildings belonging to the same or to
different denominations. I, for my part, after a pretty long experience now,

have seenso little of that said bitter rivalry betweenthe Nonconformistsects,
as sects, that to me it is all but non-existent. And I believe the most of us
ministers, going about amongstthe various communities, could say the same
thing. But in the face of a cultivated England laughing at your creedof Jesus,
the Christ, the Lord; and in the face of a strange and puerile recrudescence of
sacerdotalismand sacramentarianism, which shoves a priest and a rite into
the place where Christ should stand, it becomes us Nonconformists who
believe that we know a more excellentway to stand shoulder to shoulder, and
show that the unities that bind us are far more than the diversities that
separate.
It becomes us, too, to further conjoint action in socialmatters. Thank Godwe
are beginning to stir in that direction in Manchester-notbefore it was time.
And I beseechyouprofessing Christians, of all Evangelicalcommunions, to
help in bringing Christian motives and principles to bear on the discussionof
socialand municipal and economicalconditions in this greatcity of ours.
And there surely ought to be more concertthan we have had in aggressive
work;that we should a little more take accountof eachother’s action in
regulating our own; and that we should not have the scandal, which we too
often have allowedto exist, of overlapping one another in such a fashion as
that rivalry and mere trade competition is almostinevitable.
These are very humble, prosaic suggestions, but they would go a long way, if
they were observed, to sweetenour own tempers, and to make visible to the
world our true unity. Let us all seek to widen our sympathies as widely as
Christ’s grace flows;to count none strangers whom He counts friends; to
discipline ourselves to feel that we are girded with that electric chain which
makes all who graspit one, and sends the same keenthrill through them all. If
a circle were a mile in diameter, and its circumference were dotted with many
separate points, how much nearer eachof these would be if it were moved

inwards, on a straight line, closerto the centre, so as to make a circle a foot
across.The nearerwe come to the One Lord, in love, communion, and
likeness, the nearer shall we be to one another.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
6:19-24 The gospelwas a mystery till made knownby Divine revelation; and it
is the work of Christ's ministers to declare it. The best and most eminent
ministers need the prayers of believers. Those particularly should be prayed
for, who are exposedto greathardships and perils in their work. Peacebe to
the brethren, and love with faith. By peace, understand all manner of peace;
peace with God, peace ofconscience, peaceamong themselves. And the grace
of the Spirit, producing faith and love, and every grace. Thesehe desires for
those in whom they were already begun. And all grace and blessings come to
the saints from God, through Jesus Christour Lord. Grace, that is, the favour
of God; and all good, spiritual and temporal, which is from it, is and shall be
with all those who thus love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and with them
only.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Grace be, ... - note, Romans 16:20.
That love our Lord Jesus Christ - see the notes on 1 Corinthians 16:22.
In sincerity - Margin, "with incorruption." With a pure heart; without
dissembling; without hypocrisy. There could not be a more appropriate close
of the Epistle than such a wish; there will be nothing more needful for us
when we come to the close oflife than the consciousnessthatwe love the Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity. To writer and reader may this be equally the
inestimable consolationthen! Better, far better then will be the evidence of
such sincere love, than all the wealth which toil cangain, all the honors which
the world can bestow - than the most splendid mansion, or the widestfame.
The subscription to this Epistle, like those affixed to the other epistles, is of no
authority, but in this instance there is every reasonto believe that it is correct.
Compare notes at the end of the Epistle to the Romans and 1 Corinthians.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
24. Contrastthe malediction on all who love Him not (1Co 16:22).
in sincerity—Greek, "inincorruption," that is, not as English Version, but
"with an immortal (constant) love" [Wahl]. Compare "that which is not
corruptible" (1Pe 3:4). Nota fleeting, earthly love, but a spiritual and eternal
one [Alford]. Contrast Col2:22, worldly things "which perish with the using."
Compare 1Co 9:25, "corruptible … incorruptible crown." "Purely," "holily"
[Estius], without the corruption of sin (See on [2377]1Co 3:17;2Pe 1:4; Jude
10). Where the Lord Jesus has a true believer, there I have a brother [Bishop
M'ikwaine]. He who is goodenough for Christ, is goodenough for me [R.
Hall]. The differences of opinion among real Christians are comparatively
small, and show that they are not following one another like silly sheep, each
trusting the one before him. Their agreementin the main, while showing their
independence as witnesses by differing in non-essentials, canonly be
accountedfor by their being all in the right direction (Ac 15:8, 9; 1Co 1:2;
12:3).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
This is more extensive than the former, he prays here for all true believers
every where.
In sincerity; or, with incorruption, i.e. so as that nothing can draw them off
from the love of Christ, and so it implies constancyas wellas sincerity.
Written from Rome unto the Ephesians by Tychicus.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ,.... Christis the object
of love, and a lovely objecthe is: he is to be loved because ofthe loveliness of
his person, and the transcendent excellenciesthatare in him; because ofhis
suitableness and fulness as a Saviour; and because ofhis great love shown to
his church and people; and because ofthe relations he stands in to them, and
the communion they have with him: love to Christ is a grace of the Spirit, and
is in all believers;and though it is imperfect, and sometimes cold, it will abide
for ever; it ought to be universal and superlative; all of Christ is to be loved,
and he is to be loved above all: and it shows itselfin a value for his Gospel,
and the truths of it; in an esteemof his ordinances, and a regardto his
commands; in parting with all for Christ, when called for; and in bearing all
for his sake;in a well pleasedness in his company and presence, and in a
concernfor his absence, andin an uneasiness until he is enjoyed again: it
should be fervent, and constant, and cordial, and, as here said,
in sincerity; from the heart, and with all the heart, and without hypocrisy; not
in word only, but in deed and in truth; which appears when he is loved, as
before observed: and the apostle wishes "grace" to all such sincere and hearty
lovers of him; by which may be meant a fresh discovery of the free grace, love,
and favour of God in Christ to them; and a fresh supply of grace from the
fulness of it in Christ; and a largermeasure of the grace ofthe Spirit to carry
on the goodwork begun in them; as wellas a continuation of the Gospelof the
grace ofGod with them, and an increase of spiritual gifts. Grace may be
connectedwith the word translated "sincerity", and be rendered "grace with
incorruption": or incorruptible grace, as true grace is an incorruptible seed;
or "grace with immortality": and so the apostle wishes not only for grace
here, but for eternalhappiness and glory hereafter;and then closes the epistle
with an Amen, as a confirmation and asseverationofthe truth of the doctrines
containedin it, and as expressive ofhis earnestdesire that the several
petitions in it might be granted, and of his faith and confidence that they
would be fulfilled.
The subscription,

written from Rome to the Ephesians by Tychicus, seems to be right; for that
this epistle is written to the Ephesians, the inscription shows;and that it was
written when the apostle was atRome, appears from Ephesians 3:1; and that
it was sent by Tychicus, seems very likely from Ephesians 6:21.
Geneva Study Bible
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ{m} in sincerity.
Amen. <<To the Ephesians written from Rome, by Tychicus.>>
(m) Or to immortality, to life everlasting.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Ephesians 6:24. While Paul has in Ephesians 6:23 expressedhis wish of
blessing for the readers (τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς), he now annexes thereto a further
such generalwish, namely, for all who love Christ imperishably, just as at 1
Corinthians 16:22 he takes up into the closing wishan ἀνάθεμα upon all those
who do not love Christ.
ἡ χάρις] the grace κατʼἐξοχήν, i.e. the grace ofGod in Christ. Comp.
Colossians 4:18;1 Timothy 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:22; Titus 3:15. In the conclusion
of other Epistles: the grace of Christ, Romans 16:20;Romans 16:24; 1
Corinthians 16:23; 2 Corinthians 13:13;Galatians 6:18; Php 4:23; 1
Thessalonians 5:28;2 Thessalonians 3:18;Phil. 25.
ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ]belongs neither to Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν (Wetstein: “Christum
immortalem et gloriosum, non humilem,” etc.;see also Reiners in Wolf and
Semler), nor to ἡ χάρις (“favor immortalis,” Castalio, Drusius;comp. Piscator

and Michaelis, who take ἐν as equivalent to σύν, while the latter supposes a
reference to deniers of the resurrection!), nor yet to the sit to be supplied after
ἡ χάρις, as is held, after Beza (who, however, took ἐν for εἰς) and Bengel,
recently by Matthies (“that grace with all … may be in eternity;” comp.
Baumgarten-Crusius), Harless (according to whom ἐν denotes the element in
which the χάρις manifests itself, and ἀφθαρσ. is all imperishable being,
whether appearing in this life or in eternity), Bleek, and Olshausen, which last
supposes a breviloquentia for ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσιν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ, i.e. ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
But, in oppositionto Matthies, it may be urged that the purely temporal
notion eternity (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα)is foistedupon the word imperishableness;and
in opposition to Harless, that the abstractnotion imperishableness is
transmuted into the concrete notion of imperishable being, which is not the
meaning of ἀφθαρσ., even in 2 Timothy 1:10 (but imperishableness in
abstracto), and that ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ, insteadof adding, in accordance withits
emphatic position, a very weighty and important element, would express
something which is self-evident, namely, that according to the wish of the
apostle the grace might display itself not ἐν φθαρτοῖς (1 Peter1:18), but ἐν
ἀφθάρτοις;the breviloquentia, lastly, assumedby Olshausenis, although
ἀφθαρσ. in itself might be equivalent to ζωὴ αἰώνιος (see Grimm, Handb. p.
60), a pure invention, the sense ofwhich Paul would have expressedby εἰς
ἀφθαρσίαν. The right connectionis the usual one, namely, with ἀγαπώντων.
And in accordancewith this, we have to explain it: who love the Lord in
imperishableness, i.e. so that their love does not pass away, in which case ἐν
expresses the manner. Comp. the concluding wish Titus 3:15, where ἐν πίστει
is in like manner to be combined with φιλοῦντας. Others, following the same
connection, have understood the sinceritas either of the love itself (Pelagius,
Anselm, Calvin, Calovius, and others) or of the disposition and the life in
general(Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Erasmus, Flacius, Estius,
Zeger, Grotius: “significaturis, qui nulla vi, nullis precibus, nullis illecebris se
corrumpi, i.e. a recto abduci, patitur,” and others, including Wieseler), but
againstthis Beza has already with reasonurged the linguistic usage;for
uncorruptedness is not ἀφθαρσία (not even in Wis 6:18-19), but ἀφθορία
(Titus 2:7) and ἀδιαφθορία(Wetstein, II. p. 373). On ἀφθαρσία,
imperishableness (at 1 Corinthians 15:42; 1 Corinthians 15:52, it is in
accordancewith the context speciallyincorruptibility), comp. Plut. Arist. 6;

Romans 2:7; 1 Corinthians 9:25; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 1:10; Wis 2:23;
Wis 6:18 f.; 4Ma 9:22; 4Ma 17:12.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Ephesians 6:24. ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντωντὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ. [ἀμήν]:Grace be with all them that love our
Lord Jesus Christ in uncorruptness. As in Colossians, the three Pastoral
Epistles, and also in Hebrews, we have here ἡ χάρις, “the grace,”the grace
beside which there is none other, the grace ofGod in Christ of which
Christians have experience. In the closing benedictions of Cor., Gal., Philip.,
Thess., Philem. (as also in Rev.), we have the fuller form ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, or ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶνἸησοῦ Χριστοῦ; also in Romans
according to the TR, the verse, however, being deleted by the bestcritics. The
former benediction was for the brethren, probably those in the Asiatic
Churches. This secondbenediction is of widest scope—forall those who love
Christ. The difficulty is with the unusual expressionἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ, both as to
its sense and its connection. The noun ἀφθαρσία is used in Plutarch of τὸ
θεῖομ (Arist., c. 6), in Philo of the κόσμος (De incorr. Mundi, § 11), in the LXX
and the Apocr. of immortality (Wis 2:23; Wis 6:19; 4Ma 17:12). In the NT it is
found, in addition to the present passage, in Romans 2:7 of the “incorruption”
which goes with the glory and honour of the future; in 1 Corinthians 15:42; 1
Corinthians 15:50; 1 Corinthians 15:53-54, ofthe “incorruption” of the
resurrection-body; in 2 Timothy 1:10, of the life and “incorruption” brought
to light by Christ. The occurrence in Titus 2:10 must be discounted in view of
the adverse diplomatic evidence. The Pauline use, therefore, is in favour of the
idea of “incorruption,” “imperishableness,”the quality of the changelessand
undecaying; and that as belonging to the future in contrastwith the present
condition of things. There is nothing, therefore, to bear out the sense of
sincerity adopted by Chrys., the AV, the Bish.; cf. Tynd., “in pureness”;Cov.
Test., “sincerely”;Cov. Cran., “unfeignedly”. This would be expressedby
ἀφθορία orsome similar term (cf. Titus 2:7). Nor canit be simply identified
with all imperishable being in this life or in the other (Bleek, Olsh., Matthies,
etc.); nor yet againwith ἐν ἀφθάρτοις onthe analogyof ἐν ʼπουρανίοις, as if it
describedthe sphere of the ἀγάπη. There remains the qualitative sense of
“imperishableness” (Mey., Ell., Alf., Abb., and most), which best suits

linguistic use, the sense of the adj. ἄφθαρτος (cf. Romans 1:23; 1 Corinthians
9:25; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Peter1:4; 1 Peter1:23; 1 Peter
3:4), and the application here in connectionwith the grace of love. The ἐν,
therefore, is not to be looselydealt with, as if = εἰς (Beza, as if it meant the
same as εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα), or διά (Theophy.), or ὑπέρ (Chrys.), or even μετά
(Theodor.);but has its proper force of the element of manner in which the
love is cherished. Further, the simplest and most obvious connectionis with
the ἀγαπώντων, as it is takenby most, including Chrys., Theod., and the other
Greek commentators. Some, however, connectthe phrase with ἡ χάρις, as =
“grace be with all in eternity” (Bez., Beng., Matthies), or, “in all imperishable
being” (Harl.), or as a short way of saying “grace be with all that they may
have eternal life” (Olsh.). This construction, though strongly advocated
recently by Von Soden, fails to give a clearand satisfactorysense,orone
wholly accordantwith the use of ἀφθαρσία;while there is againstit also the
fact that the defined noun and the defining phrase would be further apart
than is usual in benedictions. Still less reasonis there to connectthe phrase
immediately with τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν as if it describedChrist as
immortal (Wetst., etc.)—a constructionboth linguistically and grammatically
(in the absence ofτὸν before ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ)questionable. The phrase,
therefore, defines the way in which they love, or the element in which their
love has its being. It is a love that “knows neitherchange, diminution, nor
decay” (Ell.). The closing ἀμήνadded by the TR is found in [895]3[896][897]
[898][899], most cursives, Syr., Boh., etc.;but not in [900][901][902][903]
[904], 17, Arm., etc. It is omitted by LTTrWHRV.
[895]Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile
type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[896]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.

[897]Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.
[898]Codex Porphyrianus (sæc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collatedby
Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. Ephesians 2:13-16.
[899]Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collatedby Tischendorfand others.
[900]Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[901]Autograph of the original scribe of ‫.א‬
[902]Autograph of the original scribe of ‫.א‬
[903]Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in
photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[904]Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-LatinMS., at Dresden, edited
by Matthæi in 1791. Writtenby an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the
same volume as Codex Sangallensis(δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is
basedon the O.L. translation.
The subscription πρὸς Ἐφεσίους ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Ῥώμης διὰ Τυχικοῦ is omitted
by LTWH; while Treg. gives simply πρὸς Ἐφεσίους. Like the subscriptions
appended to Rom., Phil., and 2 Tim., it chronicles a view of the Epistle that is
easierto reconcile with factthan is the case with others (1 and 2 Thess., Tit.,

and espec. 1 Cor., Gal., 1 Tim.). In the oldest MSS. it is simply πρὸς Ἐφεσίους.
In the Versions, later MSS., and some of the Fathers it takes various longer
forms. The form representedin the TR and the AV is not older than
Euthalius, DeaconofAlexandria and Bishop of Sulca, who flourished perhaps
in the middle of the fifth century.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
24. Grace]Lit., “the grace.” So in the closing benedictions of Col., 1 Tim., 2
Tim., Tit., Heb. In Rom., Cor., Gal., Phil., Thess., Philem., Rev., the
benedictions are in the full form (or nearly so), “the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” The shorter form is very probably the epitome of the larger;“the
grace” is His grace. On the word “grace,”see note on Ephesians 1:2. It is
nothing less than God Himself in action, in His Son, by His Spirit, in the
salvationof man.
with all them that love, &c.]In this short clause, at once so broad and so deep
in its reference, so exclusive from one point of view, so inclusive from another,
we find the last expressionofthose greatideas of the Epistle, the local
Universality and spiritual Unity of the true, the truly believing and loving,
Church. All who answerthis description are, as a fact, in contactwith the
Fountain of Grace, andon all of them the Apostle invokes “grace forgrace”
(John 1:16), the successive andgrowing supplies of the gift of God.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ”:—the full name and style of the Objectof love is
given. In this lies the needful warning that the Object must be no creature of
the individual’s, or of the community’s, thought, but the Redeemerand King
of history and revelation.
in sincerity] Lit., (as R.V.,) in uncorruptness. The word is the same as that in
Romans 2:7 (A.V., “immortality”); 1 Corinthians 15:42;1 Corinthians 15:50;
1 Corinthians 15:53-54 (A.V., “incorruption”); 2 Timothy 1:10 (A.V.,

“immortality”). The cognate adjective occurs Romans 1:23;1 Corinthians
9:25; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Peter1:4; 1 Peter1:23 (A.V., in eachcase,
“incorruptible” and so, practically, 1 Peter3:4); and 1 Timothy 1:17 (A.V.,
“immortal”)[41]. Thus the word tends always towards the spiritual and
eternal, as towards that which is in its ownnature free from elements of
decay. “In spiritual reality” would thus representa part, but only a part, of
the idea of the present phrase. The whole idea is far greaterin its scope. The
“love of our Lord Jesus Christ” in question here is a love living and moving
“in” the sphere and air, so to speak, of that which cannot die, and cannotlet
die. God Himself is its “environment,” as He lives and works in the regenerate
soul. It is a love which comes from, exists by, and leads to, the unseen and
eternal. “Thus only,” in Alford’s words, “is the word worthy to stand as the
crownand climax of this glorious Epistle.”
[41] The GenevanEnglish Version (1557)renders the words in the text here,
“to their immortalitie.” The preposition (“to”)cannot stand, but the noun
conveys part of the true meaning.
Amen] See note on Ephesians 3:21, above.—The evidence forthe omissionof
the word here is considerable, thoughnot overwhelming. The early Versions;
and the Fathers (in quotation), retain it, almost without exceptionin both
cases. Some very important MSS. omit it.—What reader will not supply it
from his ownspirit?
The Subscription
Written from Rome, &c.]Lit., (The Epistle) to (the) Ephesians was written
from Rome, by means of Tychicus.—Itmay safely be assumedthat no such
Subscription appeared in the originalMS. of the Epistle, and the question of
various forms has, accordingly, an antiquarian interest only. In the oldestGr.

MSS. the form is the same as that of the Title (see note there); To (the)
Ephesians. Old, but later, MSS., along with some early Versions and some
Fathers, read, exactly or nearly, as the A.V. Among other forms we find,
(Here) ends (the Epistle) to (the) Ephesians, (and) begins (that) to (the)
Colossians (sic), or, that to (the) Philippians.
The Subscriptions (to St Paul’s Epistles)in their longer form (as in the A.V.)
are ascribedto Euthalius, a bishop of the fifth century, and thus to a date later
than that of the earliestknownMSS. (See Scrivener’s Introduction to the
Criticism of the N. T., ed. 1883, p. 62.)
The Subscription here is obviously true to fact, (assuming the rightness of the
words “at Ephesus,” Ephesians 1:1). In this it resembles those appended to
Rom., Phil., 2 Tim. Other Subscriptions are either (1 Cor.; Galat.;1 Tim.)
contradictory to the contents of the respective Epistles, or (Thess.;Titus)
difficult to be reconciledwith them.
Additional Note (see p. 54)
The Rev. C. T. Wilson, M.A., of Jerusalem, has favoured the Editor with the
following remarks:
“The word ἀρραβὼν occurs in the colloquialArabic of Palestine, in the form
arraboon, and is frequently used … for the sum of money paid in advance to a
tradesman or artizan to seala bargain. It is also usedto signify a sum
depositedas a pledge for the fulfilment of a bargain. When engaging a
muleteer, it is usual to take a small sum from him as a pledge that he will be
forthcoming at the appointed time. The arraboonis forfeited if he fails.”
Bengel's Gnomen

Ephesians 6:24. Πάντων, with all) whether Jews orGentiles, in all Asia, etc.—
[108]ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ in incorruption, sincerity) construed with grace, viz. let it
be: comp. Ephesians 3:13, μὴ ἐκκακεῖν, notto faint, which is a proof of
sincerity (ἀφθαρσία, incorruption). Add 2 Timothy 1:10. We have its opposite,
Ephesians 4:22.—ἀφθαρσία implies health without any blemish, and its
continuance flowing from it. This is in consonancewith the whole sum of the
epistle; and thence ἀφθαρσία redounds to the love of believers towards Jesus
Christ
[108]Τῶν ἀγαπώντων, that love) See of how greatimportance is that love, 1
Corinthians 16:22.—V. g.
[109]Bengel, J. A. (1860). Vol. 4: Gnomon of the New Testament(M. E.
Bengel& J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (J. Bryce, Trans.)(61–118). Edinburgh: T&T
Clark.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 24. - Grace he with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in
incorruptibility. As grace was the first word, so it is the last(comp. Ephesians
1:2), not as denoting anything essentiallydifferent from the blessings invoked
in the preceding verse, but for variety, and in order that the favorite word
may be, both here and before, in the place of prominence. The expressionis
peculiar - love the Lord Jesus Christ ἐν ἀκαθαρσίᾳ. The worddenotes,
especiallyin Paul's usage, whatis unfading and- permanent. The love that
marks genuine Christians is not a passing gleam, like the morning cloud and
the early dew, but an abiding emotion. Nowhere canwe have a more vivid
idea of this incorruptible love than in the closing verses ofRomans 8, "I am
persuaded that neither death nor life," etc.

Vincent's Word Studies
In sincerity (ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ)
Rev., correctly, in incorruptness: who love Christ with an imperishable and
incorruptible love.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with
incorruptible love (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:e charis meta panton ton agaponton(PAPMPG)ton kurion hemon
Iesoun Christon en aphtharsia.
Amplified: Grace (God’s undeserved favor) be with all who love our Lord
Jesus Christ with undying and incorruptible [love]. Amen (so let it be).
(Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: May God's grace be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an
undying love. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Grace be with all those who sincerelylove our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: The grace be with all those who are loving our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity.
Young's Literal: The grace with all those loving our Lord Jesus Christ --
undecayingly! Amen.
GRACE BE WITH ALL THOSE: e charis meta panton:
1Corinthians 16:23; 2Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 4:18;2Timothy 4:22;
Titus 3:15; Hebrews 13:25
Ephesians 6 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Ephesians 6:21-24 - Wayne Barber
Ephesians 6:21-24 The Caring Church - StevenCole
Ephesians 6:18-24 Praying At All Times - John MacArthur
Paul ends the wayhe began - by pronouncing a blessing, which is his wayof
helping (exhorting, encouraging)the Ephesian "holy ones" (hagios)(and us
dear reader, beloved of God = 1Th1:4-note)to walk (peripateo) (Before Christ
= Ep 2:2-note; After Christ = 2Co5:17, Ep2:10-note, now In Christ = Ep 4:1-
note, Ep 4:17-note, Ep 5:2-note, Ep 5:8-note, Ep 5:15-note) in every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-note) that they (and
we) might truly (in this present earthly life, not just in eternity future) inherit
their inheritance in (union with, oneness of the new covenantwith) Christ (cp
Jesus'desire for us - Jn 10:10b).
Grace (5485)(charis [word study]) is a beneficentdisposition toward someone,
and specificallyin the Biblical context is God's attitude toward human beings

resulting in an outflow from His throne of grace (He 4:16-note) of His
inexhaustible kindness, favor, helpfulness, care, help, goodwill.
Grace - Charis is a jewelwhich "graces"the epistle of Ephesians 12 times in
12 verses - Eph 1:2,1:6,1:7,2:5,2:7,2:8,3:2,3:7,3:8,4:7,4:29,6:24.Andnotice that
grace is like "bookends" to Ephesians (Ep 1:2-note, Ep 6:24-note)
WHO LOVE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WITH INCORRUPTIBLE
LOVE: ton agaponton(PAPMPG)ton kurion hemon Iesoun Christon en
aphtharsia:
John 21:15, 16, 17; 1Corinthians 16:22
Matthew 22:37; 2Corinthians 8:8,12;Titus 2:7
Matthew 6:13; 28:20
Ephesians 6 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Ephesians 6:21-24 - Wayne Barber
Ephesians 6:21-24 The Caring Church - StevenCole
Ephesians 6:18-24 Praying At All Times - John MacArthur
Lord (master, owner)(2962)(kurios [wordstudy] from kuros = might or
power) has a variety of meanings/uses in the NT and therefore one must
carefully examine the context in order to discern which sense is intended by
the NT author. For example, some passages use kurios only as a common form
of polite address with no religious/spiritual meaning. The reader should also
be aware that in view of the factthat kurios is used over 9000 times in the
Septuagint (LXX) and over 700 times in the NT, this discussionof kurios at
best only "skims the surface" ofthis prodigious, precious word.

JESUS IS
LORD
In the NT Jesus is referred to as Lord (Kurios) more frequently than by any
other title. Therefore it behooves us to understand the truth concerning Jesus
as Lord and not allow ourselves to become side trackedin debate over so-
called"Lordship salvation". The indisputable Biblical facts are that faith in
Jesus saves andJesus is Lord. This confessionof"Jesus is Lord" became a
direct affront to the practice of emperor worship. Certain cities even built
temples for Caesar-worshipas was the case in Smyrna where the command
was to honor the emperor by confessing "Caesaris Lord". To declare "Jesus
is Lord" became a crime punishable by death, resulting in the martyrdom. I
think the first century believers understood "Lordship" in a way modern
believers would find it difficult to comprehend! (cp Jesus'"prophetic"
warning in Mt 10:22, 23, 24, 25 where "master" is kurios)
Lord is not merely a name that composesa title, but signifies a call to actionso
that every saint should willingly, reverently bow down to Jesus Christ. If
Christ is our Lord, we are to live under Him, consciously, continually
submitting our wills to him as His loyal, loving bondservants ("love slaves"),
always seeking firstHis Kingdom and His righteousness (Mt6:33-note).
According to this practicalworking "definition" beloved we all need to ask
ourselves "Is Jesus Christ my Lord?". "Do I arise eachday, acknowledges
this is the day the Lord hath made?" (Ps 118:24-note)"Do I surrender my
will to His will as I begin eachday?" (cp Ro 12:1-note, Ro 12:2-note)Beloved,
don't misunderstand. None of us have "arrived" in this area of Jesus as Lord
of our lives. And it is preciselyfor that reasonthat Petercommands us to
continually "grow (presentimperative) in the grace (unmerited favor, power
to live the supernatural, abundant life in Christ) and knowledge (not just
intellectual but transformational)of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To
Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2Pe 3:18-note)
So do not be discouraged. Don't"throw in the towel" as they say. Keep on

keeping on, pressing (continually = presenttense) "ontoward the goalfor the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Php 3:14-note)
Love (25) (agapao [wordstudy] relatedto noun agape - see word study)
describes the love God gives freely, sacrificiallyand unconditionally
regardless ofresponse -- love that goes outnot only to the lovable but to one’s
enemies or those that don't "deserve" it.
Note that the love Paul describes is for our Lord which He Himself said was
manifest by keeping His commandments (Jn 14:15), the greatestofwhich is to
love God and love others as ourselves (Mk 12:30, 31, 1Co 13:13). And so our
love for our Lord is demonstrated by our love for others. Can people see your
love for Jesus by the wayyou love others?
Agapao speaks especiallyoflove which is basedon choice, and thus is a matter
of will and action. Of this quality of love "Hollywood" has not one wit of a
clue for it is neither characterizedby eros or gushing sentimentality and
emotionality but represents unhesitating obedience to God's clearcommand
to love others as we love ourselves. Agape love is reflective of the actof one's
will which issues in a Spirit enabled desire to seek another's highestgood,
usually in the form of specific actions (see below). Since agape is
unconditional, this quality of divine-like love is given if it's not receivedor
returned (or ever worse "thrownback" into your face!)! Agape gives and give
and gives.
Agape love is not a suggestionbut a command from the Almighty to all
believers, who, enabled by the power of His Spirit, and activated by personal
choices ofone's will (not basedon one's feelings towardthe objectof one's
love) which works its way out in specific actions (See 1Co 13:4-note, 1Co 13:5,
6-note, 1Co 13:7, 8-note for a "Biblical" definition of love, an actionverb,

where you will note that all the actions are in the presenttense = as our
lifestyle! Are you as convictedas I am? Here's the question Godimmediately
brought to my mind [because I'm having great difficulty loving my rebellious
30 year old daughter!] Who is it that God has placed in your life today, right
now, that you are finding difficulty loving with agape "action"?Stoptrying
and start dying! (SEE CAVEAT BELOW)Die to self! [cp Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23 to
see how we become imitators of the love that characterizedour Lord - cp 1Pe
2:21-note] Die to any vain hope that you in the strength of your own flesh can
produce this most glorious fruit - see Paul's command which if heededsets us
on the road to producing agape love = Gal 5:16-note, Gal 5:17-note, Gal 5:22-
note, Gal5:23-note, Gal 5:24-note, Ga 5:25--note)(As a "rabbit trail" note
God's first use of love in Scripture - Ge 22:1,2. What did Abraham have to do
to his flesh in light of God's command? The Septuagint uses the cognate
agapetos forthe Hebrew 'ahab = love).
ONE CAVEAT REGARDING THE EXHORTATION - "STOP TRYING
AND START DYING" - This statement DOES NOT mean that we are to "Let
God and Let God" which is a false teaching (probably originating from the
Keswick Movement)!And so, as an example, the phrase "stop trying" means
stop trying to live the supernatural life in your natural strength, but in
dependence on the Spirit. So does this signify you will do nothing? Does this
signify you are a "passive participant" in your progressive sanctification? Of
course not! Paul was very clearthat while believers are totally dependent on
the Spirit of Christ to live a supernatural life, we are also totally responsible to
work out our salvation -- "So then, my beloved, just as you have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out (command in the present imperative - but even obeying this necessitates
the Spirit's enablement described in the next verse) your salvationwith fear
and trembling; 13 for (strategic "term of explanation") it is God who is at
work in you, both to will (desire) and to work *power)for His goodpleasure.
(Php 2:12+, Php 2:13NLT+).

Agape love speaks ofa love calledout of one’s heart by the preciousness ofthe
one loved, a love that impels one to sacrifice one’s selffor the benefit of the
objectloved. It is the love shownat Calvary. The prototype of this quality of
supernatural love is the Father's love for sinful men as manifest by the Son's
sacrifice onthe Cross.
Speaking to faithless IsraelGod speaks of coming days of restoration
declaring...
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;Therefore I have drawn you with
lovingkindness. (Jeremiah31:3)
In Romans Paul explains that even while we were helpless and ungodly, Christ
died for the ungodly adding...
But God demonstrates His own love towardus, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. (see note Romans 5:8)
John writes...
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sentHis Son to
be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
Incorruptible (861)(aphtharsia from a = not + phthartós = corruptible from
the verb phtheíro = to corrupt, shrivel, wither, spoil by any process, ruin ,
deprave, defile, destroy) is a state of not being subject to decayor death -
immortality, incorruptibility (state of being free from physical decay),

perpetuity. Aphtharsia defines the state of not being subjectto decay,
dissolution or interruption. It speaks ofan unending existence, ofthat which is
not capable of corruption. Aphtharsia indicates immunity to the decaythat
infects all of creation.
The idea is conveyedin our English phrase with an undying love.
MacArthur comments that this love incorruptible is...
the love that belongs to true believers; so Paul is really identifying the ones
who will receive grace as only those whose love is not temporary and thus
untrue but permanent and thus genuine! (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago:
Moody Press)
The Latin Vulgate translates aphtharsia as incorruptio.
Vine writes that aphtharsia is used
(a) of the resurrectionbody, 1Cor15:42, 50, 53, 54;
(b) of a condition associatedwith glory and honour and life, including perhaps
a moral significance, Ro 2:7; 2 Ti 1:10; this is wrongly translated
“immortality” in the AV;

(c) of love to Christ, that which is sincere and undiminishing, Eph 6:24 (Vine's
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New TestamentWords. 1996.
Nelson)
Freiberg says that aphtharsia in this verse...
has three possible alternatives:(1) as qualifying love unceasing, undying; (2)
as qualifying grace with incorruptibility, eternally; (3) as qualifying Christ
and Christians in immortal life (Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New
Testament.)
Aphtharsia is found only in the NT and is used 7 times...
Romans 2:7 (note) to those who by perseverancein doing goodseek forglory
and honor and immortality, eternallife;
1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrectionof the dead. It is sowna
perishable body, it is raisedan imperishable body...50 Now I saythis,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannotinherit the kingdom of God; nor does
the perishable inherit the imperishable...53 Forthis perishable must put on
the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality...54 But when this
perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on
immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Deathis
swallowedup in victory. (Comment: The resurrection body has undergone a
complete change as compared with the body of flesh like the plant from the
seed. It is related to it, but it is a different body of glory. Aphtharsia refers to
the incapacityof the new resurrectionbody to deteriorate or decay. This is a
quality, however, that our presentbodies do not have but will have in the
resurrection.)

Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a
love incorruptible.
2 Timothy 1:10 (note) but now has been revealedby the appearing of our
Savior Christ Jesus, who abolisheddeath, and brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel
Blaikie writes that "The expressionis peculiar—love the Lord Jesus Christin
incorruptible. The word denotes, especiallyin Paul’s usage, whatis unfading
and permanent. The love that marks genuine Christians is not a passing
gleam, like the morning cloud and the early dew, but an abiding emotion.
Nowhere canwe have a more vivid idea of this incorruptible love than in the
closing verses ofRo 8, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life,” etc. (The
Pulpit Commentary)
WAYNE BARBER
Ephesians 6:23-24:ONE LAST LOOK
by Dr. Wayne Barber
(Return to TOP of page)
Let’s just wrap it all up and make sure we have remembered what we have
learned in the book of Ephesians. Let’s read verses 23 and 24:

"Peace[in all of its aspects]be to the brethren, and love with faith [which is
the richestkind of love. Faith here means obedience, love with obedience.
That is the kind of love God wants]from God the Fatherand the Lord Jesus
Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love
incorruptible."
Now the ending of Ephesians 6:24 doesn’t quite convey what these two verses
are saying. When Paul says, "with a love incorruptible," it is better than that.
He is saying, "in incorruptibility." Let me explain that to you. The Apostle
Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians on the same high note that he started the
letter. In 1:3 he says that we have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ
Jesus. Now he says in verses 23 and 24 that there is peace, there is love and
there is grace. All three of these are incorruptible.
Try to understand what he is saying. Our bodies are corruptible. That is why
I Corinthians 15 says we must put on immorality or incorruptibility.
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put
on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the
imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come
about the saying that is written, "DEATHIS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
Paul is saying,
"Everything that God has given us in Jesus Christ is incorruptible. Nothing
can ever take awayfrom it. Nothing can ever happen to it. It is ours forever,
especiallythose who love the Lord Jesus Christ."

Nobody can take awayanything I have in Jesus Christ. If I love Him and do as
Ephesians has told me, I can appropriate every spiritual blessing that is mine
in Him and they will be mine forever and everand ever and ever. They are
incorruptible. Nobody can lay their hands on that which God has given me in
Jesus Christ.
Paul is writing this from prison, so he is probably sending another signal:
"They may take my life, but they can’t touch my Jesus in whom I have been
made complete and will live with foreverand ever and ever."
That is the way he closes the letter. He starts off with every spiritual blessing
in Jesus. He ends by saying every one of them canbe summed up in three
words: grace, peaceand love. They are incorruptible for all of eternity, and
those of us who love Him can draw from them daily and recognize them and
realize them in our life.
Someone in our congregationhas done a painting of their view of what
Ephesians is all about. It is a picture of Jesus putting the garment on one who
is kneeling before Him. He is standing in front of the cross. At the bottom of
the painting they put, "And put on the new nature." Think about the new life
that we have in Christ. I have had families come up to me and say,
"My kids caught on to Ephesians and they are asking us all the time, ‘What
garment do you have on? Do you have the new one on or do you have the old
one on? Just how are you living?’"

I think the accountability that Ephesians calls us to is very important to keep
in the forefront in the days ahead.
Turn to chapter 3 for one last look at Ephesians. When I go place to place I
try to start in 3:14. Why? Becausethe prayer of Paul in 3:14-21 is the hinge of
the whole book (click message). Itsums up everything in chapters 1, 2 and 3
and it sets up everything in chapters 4, 5 and 6. If you can graspthis prayer,
everything flows into it and out of it in the book of Ephesians. Paulsays in
Ephesians 3:14,
"Forthis reason, I bow my knees before the Father."
A LOW VIEW...
NOT OF SELF
BUT OF SALVATION
We alreadyknow how Paul starts his prayer back Ephesians 3:1. He is a man
who is overwhelmed with his salvation. People are telling us in these days that
the problem with the church is that we have a low view of self. No, we have a
low view of salvation, and because we have a low view of salvation, we have a
low view of Christ. We have a low view of God’s Word. "It won’t work in our
lives." "Jesus can’thelp me in my problems."
Paul has a high view of salvation. As a matter of fact, he has such a high view,
he tries to pray. He says in 3:1:

"Forthis reasonI, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you
Gentiles."
Then instead of starting his prayer, he takes another12 verses to talk about
the wonderof his salvationand how it was revealedto him. Then he comes
back in verse 14 and finishes his prayer.
To find out why he bows his knees before the Father you have to go back
Ephesians 2:19-22 where you discoverwhat this converted Jew is trying to say
to converted Gentiles over in Ephesus. He says in verses 19-22 (click message):
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens
with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the
foundation of the apostles andprophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the
corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted togetheris growing into
a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built togetherinto a
dwelling of God in the Spirit."
Let’s just milk this down. What is he saying? He is saying,
"Listen, all of you Gentile believers, you must understand that you are a part
of God’s household, a part of the Temple. You are the dwelling of Godon this
earth."
That is exciting, isn’t it?
"Do you mean to tell me God lives in me?"

He is telling the Ephesians,
"Hey, you have everything you need right now as believers resident within
you in the personof Jesus Christ whose Spirit lives in your heart. Every single
thing you could ever want or need is there in Jesus Christ. You are the
dwelling of God on this earth."
If I wore my hat inside the church and you walkedup to me and said,
"Take thathat off, you are in God’s house,"
what would I say back to you? I should say,
"This hat is not in God’s house, it is on God’s house."
Is that right? Is that correct? 1 Corinthians 6 says,
"19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is
in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 Foryou
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
"Do you mean to tell me God is in the church because we are?"

Well, He is omnipresent but in the sense ofHis Spirit, yes. He lives in us.
Wherever we go, God goes with us. He wants us to be conduits so that through
us He canreach out and touch the people who are around us. Paul says,
"You are the dwelling of God. You are the household of God. You have God
living in you. For this reasonI bow my knees before the Father."
Now the Godwho lives within us wants us to experience Him. He wants to
draw us into who He is. He is always working in our life. He is sovereign. He
never slumbers. He never sleeps. He is always up to something. We don’t have
to get in a meeting to decide what we can do and ask God to bless. No. We get
sensitive to Him and let Him draw us into what He is already doing. Look in
Ephesians 3:16. Paul starts making his requests. He says, "that He would
grant you."
First of all he wants us to experience His power. He continues, "according to
the riches of His glory." I hope you have noted all the times it said "according
to" when we went through this earlier. It is used over15 different times in the
book of Ephesians, and every time it is used it is significant. It is not out of, it
is according to. That automaticallydetermines a standard. If I were a rich
man and wanted to give you some money out of my wealth, I would give you
nothing but a token. A lot of people give that way. But if I wanted to give
according to, then whatever gift I gave you must somehow reflectwhat I have
to give out of. So "according to" determines a measure.
Paul says,
"Listen, you need to be strengthenedaccording to the riches of His glory."

Now what are the riches of His glory? Back in 1:3 we see,
"Blessedbe the God and Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessedus
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."
"You mean to tell me when I receivedJesus in my life, He is the First National
Bank of God and every spiritual blessing under heaven is resident in Him?"
That is exactly right. God wants us to know that. He wants us to know we lack
nothing on this planet for life and for godliness. SimonPeter used those
identical words. He said God has given us everything for life and for godliness.
It doesn’t matter whether it was outwardlife or inward life.
He says,
"to be strengthenedwith power through His Spirit in the inner man."
Therefore, we need to be strengthened, which means to be made mighty, with
power. The word "power" means ability that you don’t have. Ability that only
God has within you. "You mean the Spirit of Christ, who lives within me,
possesses allthe spiritual blessings I could ever want, hope for, ask for or even
think about?" That is right. I need to be strengthenedaccording to everything
I have that is in Jesus Christ.
Can I ask you a question? Are you living your life according to what you have
in Jesus or are you simply living out of some of what you have in Jesus

Christ? Where is the standard of your Christian life? The Apostle Paul is
concerned. You say,
"Well, I think I understand now what I have in Jesus Christ, but how do I tap
into what I have in Jesus Christ?"
It is one thing to know what you have, but it is another thing to be able to
draw it out. So in verse 17 Paul tells us how to do that. He says,
"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
"Do you mean to tell me that faith has something to do with me drawing out
what I have in Jesus Christ?"
That is right. To understand this phrase, you have to understand faith. What
is "faith"? Pistis. It means to be so persuadedby something that you are
willing to commit everything to it, to surrender to it and to obey it. You can
never separate faith and obedience.
"You mean to tell me that when I am willing to obey God, that obedience
begins to become that which draws out of Him everything that I have in
Him?"
That is exactly right. If I am not willing to obey Him in any room of my heart,
then automatically I am going to shut down the power that is already there in
Jesus Christ resident within my life.

The term "dwell" is the term that means to be at home. You know that. We
have studied it. To be at home means exactly that. I need to learn to
accommodate His presence.
Ephesians 5:10 says I am always seeking ways to please Him. We went
through the areas ofwhat the inner man is all about, which is the heart. We
lookedat our heart as if it was a huge house with different rooms.
We saw in Luke 9:47 the room of our thoughts.
"But Jesus, knowing whatthey were thinking in their heart, took a child and
stoodhim by His side"
We saw in Matthew 18:35 the room of our attitudes, which is forgiveness.
"So shall My heavenly Fatheralso do to you, if eachof you does not forgive
his brother from your heart."
We lookedoverat the room of our emotions in John 14:1,
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."
We lookedoverin 2 Corinthians and we saw the secretareas ofour heart. We
also saw the hidden motives of the heart. God wants every part of us. In other
words, He didn’t come into my heart to rent a room. He came in and

purchased the whole thing. His blood was shed to purchase the whole house. I
have no right to slam the door in His face.
But the Holy Spirit of God can be grieved as we saw in chapter 4. He is a
gentleman. When He comes into my life, He says,
"If you want Me here, then you accommodate Me. Make Me be at home. Give
over to Me every area of your life. As You are willing to give it and trust Me
and obey Me, then I am willing to strengthen you in the inner man with power
you never dreamed about."
God wants us to experience His power. Ephesians, you can’t forgive. Paul is
saying,
"Ephesians, youcan’t love. Ephesians, you can’t do the ministry. But
Ephesians, you can receive and let Goddo it in you. Godwill strengthen you.
God will enable you to love. God will enable you to forgive. God will enable
you to do what you couldn’t do before the Holy Spirit took up residence in
your life."
Do you want to experience the powerof God? Accommodate the presence of
God. That is the message ofEphesians. Accommodate Him in your life.
You may say,
"I have been treated so badly by some people in my life, I will never be able to
forgive."

Thank God, go on and make that confessionbecause thatconfessionhelps you
get one step closerto the fact that is right. You can’t. God never said you
could. He can and He always said He would. Be willing to admit to it.
Confessionis not for His benefit, it is for our benefit. We need to say,
"Lord, I am missing the mark. Lord, I am not measuring up. God, I can’t
measure up."
God will say,
"Thatis right. You can’t. Now bow before Me. Trust Me. Obey Me. I will
measure up inside you, letting Jesus be Jesus in your life."
Once you begin to experience the powerof God, you begin to experience the
passionof God.
There are two little Greek words that are translated "in order that." One of
them is found in verse 17 and one of them is found in verse 19. Verse 17 says,
"in order that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and
depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, thatyou
may be filled up to the all the fulness of God."
In other words, A comes before B.

"I want to understand the love of God. I want to know that God loves me. I
want to know that love for other people."
First of all, you’ve gotto learn to love Him. It is incredible. It is like a cycle.
You realize He loves you and you respond and begin to love Him. Then you
begin to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and the breadth
and the depth and the height of His love. Then you begin to experience for
yourself. The word "know" means to experience for yourself the love of
Christ. All of a sudden you begin to realize that God does love you. God is
loving you all the time. All of a sudden people start getting sweeterto you.
You go out to eat and order beans, but they give you peas and they are cold.
The Lord Jesus inside of you reaches out and loves the people who have to
deal with you and minister to you. Everywhere you go you exhibit love and
compassion. You begin to see the world that God sees. You talk about
missions and evangelism.
So many people get on my case andsay,
"You are not evangelistic."
I think I am as evangelistic as anybody who ever walked. I am looking at Step
One of evangelism, not just Step Two and Three. Mostof the people who
accuse me of not being evangelistic are people who think evangelismis
nothing more than sowing and reaping. Friend, before you canever sow and
before you can ever reap, you have to learn to cultivate the soil. You’ve gotto
learn to plow up the ground. Until my heart is cultivated before God, how in
the world can I cultivate somebodyelse’s? The quickestwayto evangelismis
not in the class which teaches youhow to pass out a tract. The quickest wayto
evangelismis getting the right response to God, loving God and surrendering

to God. Then God in you will show you the compassionofJesus. Thenyou
comprehend. Then you know for yourself what the love of God is. That is
evangelism. That is lifestyle. That is across the street. That is next door.
Evangelismis every moment of your life. It is every fiber of your being. It is
someone who loves Jesus and Jesus now is loving others through them
whereverthey are. It never stops and it goes onuntil Jesus comes again.
Paul says you have to accommodate the presence ofGod. Once you begin to
know the powerof Godyou see the way it is manifested is in the passionof
God, the love of Christ. Then the next thing you enter into is the potential of
God. That little "in order that" comes up againin the middle of verse 19,
"in order that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God."
In other words, that all of God can fill all of you. The word "fill" there means
to control. It doesn’t mean you are pouring something into something. It
means to dominate, to take over, to controlyour life. As a matter of fact, in
5:18 he says,
"be filled with the Spirit,"
He says be constantlybe being filled with the Spirit. Paul tells you how in
chapter 3. You can’t study chapter 5 without coming back to chapter 3. You
do it by giving Him absolute accommodationin every room of your heart.
When you do that you start tapping into that which only God can do in you,
not what you can do for God.

If we start living that way, what will the church be like? Ephesians 4:1-2 we
see it in the way we behave towards one another. It says,
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling with which you have been called."
The word "worthy" means live up to the standard which Godsays you can
live up to. In other words, give a proper estimate as to what salvationis by the
way you live. It is a set of scales.If you have this in your life, then live that
way and balance it out. Measure up. Make sure the intrinsic value of your
salvationis determining how you walk as a believer.
Then he shows you how it will happen in a congregation. With humility you
will have a proper attitude towards yourself, and with gentleness,you will
have a proper attitude towards God. With patience you will have a proper
attitude towards others. Then he says, "showing forbearanceto one anotherin
love." What does "forbearance"mean? If you add humility, gentleness and
patience together, the result is forbearance. It means that you and I will be
able to stand up againsteachother. It is the idea of leaning up againsteach
other and holding eachother up. In other words when things go wrong, when
you have a problem, when someone has provokedyou or insulted you, thank
God that you have humility and gentleness and patience and you don’t have to
react. We can pray for eachother and stand up with eachother and hold each
other up. We don’t divide just because there is a problem. We don’t divide
just because there are things going on. We have Jesus living in us. Jesus will
take us to and through whatever circumstances we everhave to encounter.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (click message)shows us doctrinally how we believe. There
are sevendoctrines. I have said over and over again there are some people
who can foolyou because they are so sincere and they cry and they talk about

Jesus. You had better check out what they believe because their devotion to
God has gotto directly stem and flow from their doctrine. If a person is
doctrinally wrong, his devotion is somewhere offcenter. It doesn’t matter how
sincere he is. He can be sincerely wrong.
Ephesians 4:7-16 (click message)describeshow we are being built together
into the body of Christ. It talks about eachone working out of their gift. It
talks about the gifted men who God has sent. Why? So that the whole body
can grow up into the stature and fullness of Christ.
Then almost as if Paul says,
"You know, I am not sure you are getting this. Let me change gears here for a
second."
In verse 22 he says,
"in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is
being corrupted in accordancewith the lusts of deceit."
Then in verse 24 he says, "and put on the new self." What he is talking about
is a lifestyle. He is not talking about the old man that is dead. He is saying,
"Listen, live differently because the old man is dead. Live differently because
the Spirit of God now lives in your life."

What is the difference in wearing the old garment and wearing the new
garment? I don’t want you to forgetthis. What does it look like to wearthe
wrong garment? When you get up some morning and you don’t want to be
filled with the Spirit of God, how does God look at you? How do you look
when you come to church and argue all the way to church and don’t make it
right with one another before you walk in? How do you look when somebody
provokes you and you reactto them with angerand bitterness and talk them
down? We’ve got to understand how stupid it looks for us to wearthe wrong
garment. Paul says when you are strengthened in the inner man, you will have
the right garment on.
Now, when you have the new garment on, you live differently than when you
wearthe old garment. Remember that. Live like you know how you canlive.
How is it when you wearthe new garment? Ephesians 4:25 and following tells
us to lay aside falsehoodor the lie and tell the truth:
"speak truth, eachone of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one
another."
When you put the new garment on, you can’t lie. If you put the old one on you
will lie in a minute and you will always protect yourself. You will be
constantly hiding behind whateverit is that is said to you. On one side you
have nothing to hide. God already knows it. You are transparent. You can
admit it and tell the truth when you are wearing the right garment.
Ephesians 4:26 (click message)says,
"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger."

The secondword for "anger" there is a provocation of anger." "Anger" is not
the same word as the word used for "angry." The first word simply means be
angry. It is a sense of angerwhen anger is right. In the new garment it will
always be aimed at the right thing, the sin. In the old garment it will be aimed
at the wrong thing, the person. So, when you see something in our societythat
is wrong and you want to take a stand againstit, you had better make sure
which garment you have on because the angerof man never accomplishes the
righteousness ofGod. You don’t attack people. You attack the problem. You
love the people. Always love the people.
Verse 27 reads,
"and do not give the devil an opportunity."
He will try to divide the body by putting on the wrong garment.
Verse 28 continues,
"Let him who steals stealno longer; but rather let him labor, performing with
his ownhands what is good, in order that he may have something to share
with him who has need."
In other words, the new garment gives and the old garment takes. Verse 29
says,
"Let no unwholesome word proceedfrom your mouth."

The word "unwholesome" means rotten. If you have a rotten apple in a
barrel, it is going to rot the whole bunch. It goes on to say,
"but only such a word as is goodfor edification."
The word "edification" means to build a house. Suppose somebody calls you
on the phone and wants to be negative about a brother or a sister. The
moment they open their mouth and start becoming that waysay, "Phew,
something is rotten on this phone. That smells like the old garment to me. I
can’t talk to you any more." Hang it up. You don’t need to be a part of that.
Wearthat new garment. Make sure you are wearing the right garment.
Paul goes onin verse 30,
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God."
Verse 31 is the cesspoolofthe old garment. Verse 32 is the well-spring of the
new garment.
Then Paul comes into chapter 5 (click message)and says,
"Therefore be imitators of God, as belovedchildren."
Mime it. Don’t talk it, walk it. Then he says don’t become immoral. Don’t
even talk about immorality. Don’t even let it be named among you.

He comes on down in Ephesians 5:11 (click message)and says,
"And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but insteadeven
expose them."
In verse 18 he says, "but be filled with the Spirit," as you learn to walk wise in
a perverse generation. Further on down in the chapter he says that is going to
affectyour family. Wives will submit to their husbands. Husbands will love
their wives as Christ loved the church. He comes into chapter 6 and says
children who are filled with the Spirit of God and are wearing the right
garment will even obey their parents.
Then in Ephesians 6:5-9 (click message)Paultalks about the work place. In
verse 10 he begins to close the book.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might."
What did he mean by that? He simply means,
"I have been spending five and a half chapters trying to tell you this. Be
strong in the Lord. You are not strong in yourself. You are strong in the Lord
and the strength of His might."
He tells you very clearly that the garment of Ephesians 4:24-6:9 is the armor
in 6:10-18. The garment and the armor. The armor is nothing more than the
underlying attitudes that cause you to wearthat garment, that new lifestyle.

That is all it is. Your loins are girded about with truth. You wearthe
breastplate of righteousness. Your feetare shod with the preparation of the
gospelof peace. You take up the shield of faith which is an intention to obey
God at all costs. He goes onand says in verse 17 that the helmet of salvationis
the hope that we base everything on and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of
God.
Standing firm is the first thing you have to do in wearing this garment.
Secondlyhe says in Ephesians 6:18, you have to pray at all times in the Spirit.
You see, you can’t pray in the Spirit until you are filled by the Spirit. But you
can’t just stand, you’ve got to pray something. The two have to go together.
As you stand, you will pray and the Holy Spirit will lead you in prayer.
Then Paul finishes the book. He says,
"Remembereverything you have in Jesus Christ is incorruptible. Nobody can
take it from you. You didn’t getless than somebody else got. You got the same
thing they got. Now, live out of it and let your life be seento be a life worthy of
your calling."
Do you know what that says to me? There are a lot of people, including myself
some days, that are not living worthy of their calling. We need to be held
accountable to that. A wife needs to look at her husband sometime in love and
ask, "Whichgarment do you have on?" A husband should ask that of his wife.
We need to start holding eachother accountable for the way we live because
we have been given everything for life and for godliness. It is incorruptible
and it is there. All we have to do is learn to appropriate that in our life.

That is Ephesians in a nutshell. No pop test. No final exam. I guess the final
exam is to see how it has changedour lives. How we live is determined on
whether or not we just read it or whether or not we have receivedthe Word
into our lives. I love the painting of the man kneeling and Christ putting the
garment on him. You don’t really put the garment on. You purpose in your
heart to obey Christ, and He puts the garment on you. It is Him and His
righteousness lived out through your life. That is the book of Ephesians.
Somebody askedme,
"If you could only have one book of the Bible from now on until Jesus comes
back, what would it be?"
I said,
"Give me Ephesians. Thatis all I need."
It is salvation from God’s view down to me so that I can understand it and
appropriate it in my life.
Let me ask you a question. What garment have you been wearing? The way
you live on the outside is a picture of what is going on on the inside. If I am
being strengthened in the inner man, the outer garment will be a witness and
a testimony to others that there is a power biggerthan myself in the person
who lives in my life

CALVIN
Verse 24
24.Gracebe with all. The meaning is, “MayGod continue to bestow his favor
on all who love Jesus Christ with a pure conscience!” The Greek word, which
I follow Erasmus in translating sincerity, ( ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ,) signifies literally
uncorruptedness, which deserves attentionon accountof the beauty of the
metaphor. Paul intended to state indirectly, that, when the heart of man is
free from all hypocrisy, it will be free from all corruption. This prayer
conveys to us the instruction, that the only way of enjoying the light of the
Divine countenance is to love sincerelyGod’s ownSon, in whom his love
toward us has been declaredand confirmed. But let there be no hypocrisy; for
most men, while they are not unwilling to make some professions ofreligion,
entertain exceedinglylow notions of Christ, and worship him with pretended
homage. I wish there were not so many instances in the present day to prove
that Paul’s admonition, to love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity is as
necessaryas ever.
Verse 24
24. πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντων. This phrase is unique in St Paul, 1 Corinthians
16:22 εἴ τις οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν κύριον is a solitary and partial parallel. Our love for
God and His claim on our love are referred to from time to time and so is
Christ’s love for us, but our love for our Lord is only mentioned in the
Epistles besides these two passagesin 1 Peter1:8. It is fitting howeverthat the
boundless vision of His love for us which St Paul unfolded in Ephesians 3:19
should find this answering echo at the close. In St John’s Gospelour Lord
speaks ofit in John 14:15; John 14:21;John 14:23, John 15:9 f., John 16:27,
John 21:15 f.

Jesus was to be loved with undying love

Jesus was to be loved with undying love

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