Ephesians 6:19–22

Last of all comes activity for others, just as before there was dependence for ourselves… What a gracious way to encourage and strengthen believers! It gives them a sense of the value of their prayers, both in God's sight and in fellowship with the most blessed apostle God ever gave the church. … He felt his own need and the need of the work.

No doubt, as an apostle of Christ, he was in one sense independent of their prayers… But he felt two things too deeply: the reality of his own weakness, and the blessing of spiritual fellowship. So he valued with all his heart every genuine expression of sympathy towards him.

Great servant of God though he was, he wanted the prayers of others who were not so great as he was. But he asked for prayer with one aim. Not that he might be let out of prison and his circumstances made easier, but that he might finish his ministry in full, even as a prisoner.

It is beautiful to see the apostle here. He does not rely on having been filled again and again with the Spirit for special testimony. He asks instead that, now as always, he may magnify Christ in his body with all boldness… Notice that he does not ask them to pray that he may be filled with the Spirit, but that he may speak the Word with boldness.

It was not good news with a plain and obvious meaning, as in earlier days — the keeping of promises that belonged to the age or ages of this world. It was the mystery that none of this world's rulers knew, or they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

When he was free he thought of himself more as an ambassador of the Gospel, urging people to be reconciled. Now, as a prisoner, he sees himself as an ambassador of the mystery — the mystery he opened up briefly in the earlier part of the letter. It is called "the mystery of the Gospel" because the one springs out of the other and follows on from it. If we do not understand the Gospel, we cannot understand the mystery.

We learn from this that a particular spiritual gift is not enough to make Christian ministry prosper. Much more is needed. The deep distrust of himself that always stayed with this chosen vessel of God's grace was, in fact, what kept him morally safe… By the phrase "mystery of the Gospel" we are to understand the full teaching of the grace of God in the calling of the Church, which is the most striking display of that grace.

Paul wanted to keep on with this precious ministry, so he asked the saints to pray. He knew well that the enemy would be glad to silence this wonderful truth. In these last days the truth of the mystery is so little known among God's people. Should there not be constant prayer to God that this precious truth may be announced with boldness in the power of the Spirit?

A Christian of Asia who accompanied Paul on his last visit to Jerusalem. The apostle sent him from Rome to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. After Paul's release, he sent him to Ephesus again. Paul describes him as a beloved brother, a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord. So he was the kind of man Paul could send with confidence on these missions to encourage the saints.

Tychicus carried the letter addressed to the Colossians. It was written to correct the evils which had arisen in that church, and to warn them against the wicked doctrines being spread among them. Onesimus the slave carried that beautiful little letter addressed to his master Philemon. And at the same time when Tychicus and Onesimus left Rome, Paul handed to Tychicus the letter to the Ephesians. Never before and never after were such weighty and blessed documents entrusted to human messengers.

There is a temptation to give Ephesians the same date... But I think the visit of Tychicus to Ephesus was a separate one, made at a time when Timothy was not with the apostle at Rome. Timothy is not joined with Paul in the opening address, as he likely would have been if the letter had been written at the same time as Colossians.

Writing to the saints at Ephesus, he describes Tychicus as "a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord" (see also Colossians 4:7). That is no small verdict, above all when we remember that the Holy Spirit inspired it. And it was a remarkable mercy to the aged apostle to have, at this moment, such a servant to send on his behalf to Ephesus.

The service of God can be entrusted only to faithful men. If they are not faithful, how can they be qualified as leaders? So Paul, like Nehemiah, surrounded himself with servants of Christ who had been tested and found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:17; Colossians 4:7, 9; 1 Timothy 1:12).

Walking in full affection himself, he counted on people caring for him; walking as Paul did, this is taken for granted. Here, and in his letter to the saints at Colossae, he speaks of having sent Tychicus to declare his state — so that they might know his affairs, and how he was doing. We also, if we walk in the love of the Spirit, can always count on others being interested in our "affairs." In the world it would be pride to suppose others are anxious about our concerns. But the saint knows the love of the Spirit in the saints, and counts on it.

The mission of Tychicus was not only to deliver this letter safely. Through the presence of a faithful minister in the Lord, the saints at Ephesus were to enjoy a double comfort. They would hear a fuller account of Paul's affairs from the mouth of one who had just left him. They would also have his own ministry in the gospel while he stayed among them. The language of these two verses is interesting, too. It shows the broad distinction between what the apostle wrote under the direct inspiration of God, and what he might say to his brothers by word of mouth through a familiar messenger. No doubt they listened eagerly to what Tychicus might say about Paul and his fellow believers at Rome. But his letter was of another kind of interest. In reading that, they read the word of God.

He himself walked in full affection, so he counted on people caring for him. Anyone walking as Paul did takes this for granted. Here too (vv. 21, 22), and in writing to the believers at Colosse, he says he has sent Tychicus to tell them how he is — "that you may know my affairs, and how I do." He takes their love for granted. We also, if we walk in the love of the Spirit, can always count on others caring about our "affairs." In the world it would be pride to think that others were anxious about our concerns. But the believer knows the love of the Spirit in fellow believers, and counts on it.

He counted on their love — not only in their prayers for him, but in their wanting to know how he was doing… What a contrast to the spirit of men is the mighty, gracious working of divine love in the heart! It counts on the tender concern of believers for the man who served and loved them in the Lord. Man, left to himself, would either be cold and hard, or would fear that people would call him vain, as if his affairs could interest anyone else. But Christ changes everything for the hearts of those who have received Him.

This is where the letter really ends. He simply adds a few words about himself and his own affairs, which he counts on the believers to care about. So Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell them everything of this kind. And he has sent him not simply so that they would know his affairs, but so that their own hearts would be encouraged.

Then he tells them that he is sending Tychicus, "that he may encourage your hearts." Oh, if we could be like that! — in prison, yet able to comfort others… That is just like Paul: sending a cheering word from a prison in Rome to the believers at Ephesus. What cannot the Spirit of God work?

Here is a worker who gave Paul nothing but cause for gratitude. Writing to the believers at Ephesus, he describes Tychicus as "a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord" (see also Colossians 4:7). That is no small verdict, and we should remember that the Holy Spirit inspired it. It was a rare mercy for the aged Apostle to have such a servant to send to Ephesus on his behalf at this moment.

It is beautiful to see how tender his care is for the feelings of believers. He counts on their affection. He sends a man who would help them grow in their souls, and who would also meet their anxious longing for news about his own position and circumstances… The personal messages and greetings, so beautiful in some of the letters, are missing here. Tychicus himself probably carried them.