Ephesians 6:23-24

“Peace be to the whole community [literally” to the brothers”] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now we come to the very end of the letter, a blessing upon the people of the church.

The translation by the New Revised Standard Version of the Greek word for “brothers” as community is a bit of a stretch for this usually quite literal translation. I think that it detracts from the personal nature of the christian community. Most translations keep with “brothers”, or, as with the New Living Translation, “ dear brothers and sisters.” I think that the NLT catches best the sense of affection that Paul has for these beloved christians.

Paul prays for peace for the faith community. This is the traditional Hebrew blessing, “shalom”, which means peace and much more. He started the letter with an invocation for grace and peace, and he now concludes it with similar but not identical words.

If the church were to take seriously all of the promises and commandments in Ephesians, it would thrive in the peace of the Lord.

To the blessing of peace, he adds the phrase “ love with faith”. The two qualities of the love of God and faith In God are closely intertwined in practice. We cannot know the love of God without faith in Him, but, as we grow in our experience of love, our faith also grows. The two are, in reality, impossible to separate.

These qualities - peace, love, and faith - come as gifts from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We often think of faith as something that we do, but even faith Comes as gift (see 1 Corinthians 12:9).

Grace is a traditional Greek greeting. When Paul writes “grace and peace”, as he does in many of his epistles, he combines both Greek and Hebrew traditions, signalling the unity of Jew and Gentile in the New Covenant.

Paul is praying grace for all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word translated “ undying” means incorruptible, and is used in two ways in the New Testament. It can mean eternal in the sense that death cannot overcome something and cause it to decay. It also has the sense of pure or morally incorruptible.

In both senses of the word, love for Jesus is eternal and incorruptible. Loving Jesus Christ will last forever as it will carry on beyond the grave and into heaven. Pure love for Christ also brings a kind of Innocence in which we cannot be diverted from our true focus in Him .

Key points in these verses:

• We can experience peace,love and faith as gifts from the Lord

• Our love for Jesus can be everlasting and pure