The duty of prayer.
We are not to regard prayer as a seventh weapon, but rather as exhibiting the spirit in which the Divine armor is to be assumed and the warfare carried on. It is easy to see the intimate relation existing, between prayer and each individual part of the Christian's armor.
1. It is to be prayer of all kinds—public and private, oral and mental, formal and ejaculatory.
2. It is to be spiritual prayer: "In the Spirit;" for" He makes intercession for the saints with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26). We must "pray in the Holy Ghost" (Jud Ephesians 1:20).
3. It is to be persevering prayer: "At all times; at every suitable season. We must cultivate an habitual frame of prayer.
4. It is to be watchful prayer: "Watching thereunto." We must watch against watchlessness, watch for occasions of prayer, watch for answers to prayer.
5. It is to be intercessory prayer: "For all saints." It is most comprehensive in its character. It is based on the communion of saints. We have every heavenly motive for continuing in prayer. We have no ground to expect blessing without it (Ezekiel 36:37). It is a means of getting all blessings, temporal, and spiritual (Matthew 7:7; Matthew 21:22; James 1:5). It is in itself the most heavenly duty we can perform (Philippians 3:20).—T.C.
Prayer for an ambassador in bonds.
The apostle feels his need of the prayers of the saints, because he has a true appreciation of the difficulty and importance of his work.
I. THE BLESSING HE ASKS FOR. It is no temporal blessing, not even release from imprisonment that he might more widely preach the gospel. It is simply that "utterance might be given to him" to preach the mystery of the gospel with boldness. This implies:
II. A DOUBLE ARGUMENT TO BESPEAK AN AFFECTIONATE INTEREST IN THEIR PRAYERS.
"For which I am an ambassador in bonds."
1. He was an ambassador. The apostle never forgets the dignity of his office. He knows he is the representative of a great King, though he is immured in Roman prisons. Ministers are Christ's ambassadors. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
2. He was an ambassador in bonds. The ambassadors of earthly sovereigns come with pomp and splendor. Their persons are sacred and inviolable; to touch them is to declare war. But this ambassador of Christ is in prison and afflicted. Brave ambassador in bonds! He is worthy of the prayers of the saints.—T.C.
The errand of Tychicus to Ephesus.
The apostle showed his affectionate concern for the Church at Ephesus, not only by writing them an Epistle, but in dispatching a minister to inform them concerning his condition and labors as a prisoner, and to comfort their hearts under their various trials. It was a great mark of love and confidence to send a messenger so far, for Ephesus was many hundred miles distant from Rome.
I. THE MESSENGER WAS TYCHICUS. We know little of him except what is told in several passages of Scripture. "Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus" (2 Timothy 4:12), probably in reference to this very mission. He was an Asiatic, who remained faithful to the apostle amidst many desertions (Acts 20:4); "a faithful minister in the Lord;" as well as "a beloved brother" of the apostle—one thoroughly acquainted with all his affairs, and quite in harmony with all his aims. How powerfully the apostle influenced all the Churches by his chosen messengers! They reflected his feelings, they intensified the impression made by his direct labors, they perpetuated the cordial relationship which bound him to all the Churches.
II. THE DESIGN OF HIS JOURNEY. It was twofold.
1. To acquaint the Ephesians with his circumstances as a prisoner at Rome. There were many things in that imprisonment that the Ephesians would be anxious to know, besides the state of his health and spirits. They would like to know what facilities he still enjoyed for pro-securing his labors, even as a prisoner; how the gospel was spreading in the great capital of the world; how the Judaic party was affecting his legitimate influence as an apostle; and what were the prospects of his release from imprisonment.
2. To comfort the Ephesians, not merely by minute oral information respecting these matters, but by the higher lessons of the gospel. As a faithful minister in the Lord, Tychicus was capable of doing great service in explaining and enforcing the lessons of affliction. It is the business of ministers to comfort the hearts of believers, who, whether at Ephesus or elsewhere, may suffer from persecution, from Satan's temptations, from spiritual deadness. It is a poor state of the Church when she is without such comforters.—T.C.
Double apostolic blessing.
The apostle ends the Epistle by a blessing addressed first to the brethren at Ephesus, and secondly to all true lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. BLESSING TO THE BROTHERHOOD.
1. Peace. This is not mere concord—"the peace to which they were called in one body,"—but everything that is implied in the favor of God, repose of spirit under the sprinklings of the blood of Christ, a continuous flow of spiritual blessings.
2. Love with faith. That is, a love joined to faith, not love and faith as two distinct blessings. Their faith was an actually existing fact; the apostle desired that love should be there, as at once the characteristic and the discoverer of faith.
3. The full blessing is ascribed to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All the graces spring from Father and Son in the power of the Holy Spirit; for God the Father is at once the God of peace and the God of love, and Jesus is our very Peace, in whom is fullness of grace and love.
II. BLESSING TO ALL TRUE LOVERS OF CHRIST. The Epistle ends, as it begins, with grace and peace. The apostle implores God's favor upon all who love Christ in sincerity.
1. Christ is worthy of our love. He ought to be the supreme Object of our love, because of the loveliness of his character, because of his boundless love to his people, because of his work as our Mediator.
2. The love of Christ is a test of our religion. He who loves him has found grace in God's sight, and will stand high in the Divine favor. If we love him not, we are anathema; for we love not God, we love not man, we love not ourselves. If we love him, we have a grace of the Spirit, and we shall value his gospel, his Word, his cause, his people, and we shall delight in his presence.
3. The love must be sincere, free from those elements of decay or change that would work its destruction. It must be without hypocrisy, not in word only, but in deed and in truth.
4. The apostle wishes grace to all such lovers of Christ, so that they might have fresh discoveries of his love, a fuller enjoyment of his person, and a larger supply of all spiritual gifts. Amen.—T.C.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR