Ephesians 6:23 - Peace, and Love with Faith

Todaywe come to Ephesians 6:23, where the Apostle Paul finishes this letter with abeautiful blessing: “Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from Godthe Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” First,Paul speaks about “peace to the brethren”. Earlier in the letter,remember in Ephesians 2:13-17, the Apostle Paul wrote about this: “But nowin Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the bloodof Christ. For He Himself is our peace... And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off andto those who were near.” Jesus Christ Himself is our peace. Remember,this peace comes in two ways as far as the believer is concerned. First, wehave “peace with God”. Romans 5:1 says: “Therefore being justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Also inEphesians 2:8-9 we read: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and thatnot of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man shouldboast.” We are justified. We are made right before a holy God. We have aright standing before Him. We are without guilt, without shame, and without theburden of sin when we stand before God. Why? Because we have peace with God byfaith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Thenthere is another kind of peace. As believers we can experience the “peace ofGod”. Philippians 4:6 says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything byprayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known toGod; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guardyour hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This is the peace of God thatcomes when we commit and yield everything we are facing—our circumstances, oursituations, and our lives—to the Lord Jesus Christ. We give it over to Him. Thenin Philippians 4:9, Paul says: “And the God of peace will be with you.” Whenwe do the things Paul instructed the believers in Philippi to do—when wemeditate on the right things and live according to the truth—then we can havethe confidence and assurance that the God of peace is with us. Myfriend, peace comes first. After that, notice Paul mentions “love with faith”.Three powerful words: peace, love, and faith. Faith and love belongtogether. Love is the source, and faith is the strength that sustains theChristian life. Love reaches down from God to us. Faith reaches up from us toGod. Love provides everything we need. Faith takes hold of what God hasprovided. Throughout this book, the Apostle Paul repeatedly emphasizes thesetruths. We are saved by faith, and then we are called by faith to walk in love,just as Christ loved us. Noticealso something very important: these blessings come from God the Father and theLord Jesus Christ. Every spiritual blessing originates with God. Peace does notcome from circumstances. Love does not come from human effort alone. Faith isnot something we produce in our own strength. These gifts flow from ourrelationship with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is thesource. Jesus is the source of every spiritual blessing. Itis remarkable that the Apostle Paul was writing these words while sitting in aRoman prison. From a worldly perspective, his circumstances looked verydiscouraging. Yet Paul spoke about peace, love, and faith. Why? Because hisconfidence and his joy were not rooted in his surroundings. They were rooted inthe unchanging character of God. Ohmy friend, that is the same way it should be for us today. No matter what weface in life, our peace, our love, and our faith come from the Lord Himself andfrom our daily relationship with Him. As we dive into His Word, as we take timeto meditate on who He is and what He is doing for us right now—“ever living tomake intercession for us”—we can experience that peace.  Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful, peaceful day.