August 23, 2026 | Lorain Labor Sheet
EPHESIANS 6:19-24 (NKJV)
 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 
22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.                                             
Ephesians Chapter 6 -- Notes and Cross-references
Eph 6:191 utterance                                                                                            
Or, word, speech, expression.
Eph 6:192c mystery  -   Eph. 1:9
The mystery of the gospel is Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose (5:32). See Rom. 16:25 and note 3.
Rom 16:253e mystery  -   1 Cor. 2:1, 7; 4:1; Eph. 1:9; 3:3, 9; 6:19; Col. 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3
The mystery of God, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages, is mainly of two aspects: the mystery of God, which is Christ (Col. 2:2), who is in the believers (Col. 1:26-27) as their life and their everything that they may become the members of His Body; and the mystery of Christ, which is the church as His Body (Eph. 3:4-6) to express His fullness (Eph. 1:22-23). Therefore, Christ and the church are the great mystery (Eph. 5:32).
Eph 6:201a ambassador  -   2 Cor. 5:20
An ambassador is one sent by a particular authority to contact certain people. Here this word implies that the apostle was one who was sent by God, the highest authority in the universe, to contact certain people.
Eph 6:202b chain  -   Col. 4:3; Phil. 1:13; 2 Tim. 1:16; Acts 21:33; 26:29; 28:20
A coupling chain, a chain that bound the prisoner to his guard.
Eph 6:212 make
This kind of fellowship is necessary and beautiful. Today such a loving concern between the apostles and the churches needs to be restored.
Eph 6:231a Peace  -   Eph. 1:2; Gal. 6:16; 2 Thes. 3:16; 1 Pet. 5:14
In the beginning of the book the apostle’s greeting is first with grace as the enjoyment and then with peace as the result of the enjoyment (1:2). But in the conclusion the elements are presented vice versa, progressing from the result, peace, to the enjoyment, grace. After we have come into peace, we still need grace, indicating that our experience is from grace to grace.
Eph 6:232b love  -   Gal. 5:6
The reason the apostle inserted love between peace and grace is that the only way we can be kept in a situation of peace is by continually enjoying the Lord in love. Paul realized that love is crucial. He spoke of love in relation to peace and grace, indicating thereby that love is needed to preserve us in a condition of peace.
Love with faith is the means by which we partake of and experience Christ (1 Tim. 1:14). Faith is for receiving Him (John 1:12), and love is for enjoying Him (John 14:23). Here it is not faith and love nor love and faith, but love with faith. This indicates that we need faith as a match and support for our love. Love with faith is needed. This is the conclusion of the book on the church. The church needs to enjoy Christ in love with faith, which operates through love (Gal. 5:6). Love comes from God to us, and faith goes from us to God. By means of this traffic of love and faith, peace remains our portion. We are kept in peace by the coming of God’s love to us and by the going of our faith to Him. This traffic also keeps us in the continual supply of grace, in the enjoyment of the Lord (v. 24).
Eph 6:233 from
Love is from God; it originates with God, not with us. Eventually, however, God’s love becomes our love. God’s love for us becomes our love for Him.
Eph 6:241a Grace  -   Eph. 1:2; 2:5
Grace is needed for us to live a church life that fulfills God’s eternal purpose and solves God’s problem with His enemy.
Eph 6:242b love  -   cf. 1 Cor. 16:22
The enjoyment of the Lord as grace is with those who love Him. In this book the phrase in love, which is rich in feeling, is used repeatedly (1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2). Later, the church in Ephesus was rebuked by the Lord because she had lost her first love toward Him (Rev. 2:4). One of the main points revealed in this book is that the church, which is the Body of Christ, is also the bride of Christ, Christ’s wife. With the Body, the emphasis is on taking Christ as life; with the wife, the emphasis is on loving Christ. Therefore, this book emphasizes and also concludes with our love toward the Lord. The church in Ephesus, the recipient of this Epistle, failed in the matter of loving the Lord. Such a failure became the source of and main reason for the failure of the church throughout the ages (Rev. 2 - 3).
Eph 6:243c incorruptibility  -   cf. 2 Tim. 1:10
For the proper church life we need to love the Lord in incorruptibility, that is, in and according to all the crucial things revealed and taught in the six chapters of this book, such as the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, the economy of God’s mystery, the oneness of the Spirit, reality and grace, light and love, and the items of God’s armor, all of which are incorruptible. For the sake of the church, our love toward the Lord must be in these incorruptible things.
LIFE-STUDY OF EPHESIANS MESSAGE SIXTY-SIX
Concerning the Apostle
That Utterance May Be Given to Him 
In verse 19 Paul continues, "And on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel." The Greek word rendered utterance also means word, speech, expression. Paul was asking the believers to pray that the word would be given to him. He desired to open his mouth with boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel. Paul needed both the word and the boldness to declare it.
The mystery of the gospel is Christ and the church for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose. Some Christians preach a gospel in which there is no mystery. But Paul declared the mystery of the gospel. This mystery implies the entire New Testament economy. Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. Both Christ and the church are for God's economy, which also is a mystery. All these mysteries are related to the gospel.
I believe that the Lord intends for a gospel preaching atmosphere to be developed in all the local churches. Pray for such an atmosphere to become prevailing. In our gospel meetings we must do more than sing and tell others that Christ can meet their need for satisfaction. On the contrary, we need to give full messages on the high things concerning God's economy. Let us tell the unbelievers of God's eternal intention. Do not underestimate their ability to understand. They may understand much more than you expect. Surely this kind of gospel preaching will draw unbelievers to the Lord.
In our gospel meetings we need to both preach and teach. We should teach in a preaching atmosphere. Surely the saints will want to bring their relatives and friends to this kind of meeting. Our burden is to make known the mystery of the gospel. Pray about this. Pray that the Lord will give us utterance and open our mouths with boldness to teach and to preach the mystery of the gospel. We all need to declare the gospel in this uplifted way.
That He May Speak Boldly
In verse 20 Paul goes on to say, "On the behalf of which I am an ambassador in a chain, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Paul was an ambassador on behalf of the gospel. An ambassador is one sent by a particular authority to contact certain people. Paul considered himself an ambassador sent by God; he was one sent by the highest authority in the universe. However, he was an ambassador in a chain. The Greek word for chain is a term for the coupling chain, a chain which bound the prisoner to his guard. Paul's desire was that in this coupling chain he might speak boldly. Although Paul was chained to the one who guarded him, he nevertheless desired to speak boldly, as he ought to speak.
LIFE-STUDY OF EPHESIANS MESSAGE SIXTY-SEVEN
RECOMMENDING TYCHICUS
In verses 19 and 20 Paul asks the saints to pray on his behalf. Then in verse 21 he goes on to say, "But that you also may know what concerns me, what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make all things known to you." This indicates that, on the one hand, Paul needed the saints to pray for him, but, on the other hand, he had a real concern for the saints and sent Tychicus to them both to bring them information regarding him and also to comfort their hearts (v. 22).
This indicates that there was an excellent relationship with good fellowship between Paul and the saints in Ephesus. It also points out the need for a go-between such as Tychicus. The apostle, the believers, and Tychicus were one. Firstly, Paul set an example by asking the believers to pray for him. Then he sent Tychicus to them to bring them information concerning him and to comfort them. How sweet and beautiful this is! Although we rarely practice this today, we should endeavor to have such a practice. We need this kind of fellowship.
Tychicus was not sent to carry on a great work. On the contrary, his task was to inform the saints about Paul's situation and to comfort their hearts. Although in the time of Paul, there were no modern means of transportation, such as steamers or airplanes, he had Tychicus make the long journey from Rome to Asia Minor just to visit the saints on his behalf. The goal of this long journey was fellowship between the apostle and the saints. This is so important that it is recorded in the Word of God. The apostle was concerned for the church, and the church was concerned for the apostle. Therefore, Tychicus was sent from Rome to Asia Minor for the purpose of fellowship. In the Lord's recovery today, such a loving concern between the apostles and the churches needs to be restored. We need this concern, not to carry out a commission or do a work, but to have the necessary and proper fellowship. Today there also is the need for messengers to visit the churches to relay information and to encourage the saints.
In the Body of Christ we need much more traffic. The sending of Tychicus by the Apostle Paul to a local church created a kind of traffic. Traffic strengthens a country. Consider the impact of all the highways the federal government has built. These are the veins of the prosperity of the United States. Traffic, even across great stretches of open land, results in mutual supply and improvement. When I was growing up, just to travel the distance from our little village to Chefoo was a whole day's journey on foot. We had to make preparations the day before, then leave very early in the morning to get there by evening. It was such an effort to go just that distance that many people spent their whole lives in that village without ever going to Chefoo. It is traffic that has made the United States prosperous. In addition to the highways, the airlines with so many cross-country flights have increased the prosperity of this nation.
The more traffic among the churches, the better. Whenever we meet together, there is traffic. Without it, the churches are isolated. If we stay away from the meetings and meet together with just a few in our homes, the traffic is cut off. This is a subtlety of the enemy to cut the veins. When the blood flow is cut off, the result is death. However, by the proper traffic among the saints and between the churches, life multiplies. Therefore, we need to pay attention to Paul's word concerning this matter in the last chapter of Ephesians.
In speaking of Tychicus, Paul recommends him as a "beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord." As a faithful servant in the Lord, Tychicus was a ministering servant. We have pointed out that he was sent to make all things known to the saints and to comfort their hearts.
 BLESSING
 Peace and Love
Verses 23 and 24 are Paul's blessing: "Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption." In the opening of the book, the apostle's greeting is with grace first as the enjoyment and then peace as the result of the enjoyment (1:2). But at the conclusion it is the other way around, from the result, which is in peace, to the enjoyment of grace. 
In his opening word Paul spoke only of grace and peace. In his concluding word, he not only changes the order of grace and peace, but also mentions "love with faith." It is important to see why grace and peace are reversed and why love with faith was included. We have seen that grace is the enjoyment of the Lord and that peace is the result of this enjoyment. This book opens with grace, with the enjoyment of the Lord Himself as our life, life supply, and everything to us. But eventually this Epistle brings us into peace. However, after we have come into peace, we still need grace. We enter into peace through grace. Now as we are enjoying peace, we need more grace. This is grace upon grace. It also indicates that our experience is from grace to grace.
But why is love inserted between peace and grace? No other epistle written by Paul has such an insertion The reason for this insertion is that the only way we can be kept in a situation of peace is by continually enjoying the Lord in love. The phrase "in love" is used six times in this book (1:4; 3:17; 4:2, 15, 16; 5:2). This connects this Epistle to Christ's word to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7. There the Lord rebukes the church because she left her first love (v. 4). The problem with the church at Ephesus was not the lack of works or knowledge, but the loss of the first love. Because Paul realized that love is crucial, he spoke of love in relation to peace and grace, indicating thereby that love is needed to preserve us in a condition of peace.
This love is from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This indicates that love does not originate with us; it originates with God. Eventually, however, God's love becomes our love. This is the reason Paul speaks, in verse 24, of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ. God's love to us becomes our love for Him. Peace is maintained by this kind of love. By living in the intimacy of God's presence, love comes to us. Then this love returns to the Lord and becomes our love for Him. By this traffic of love, peace is maintained, and we are preserved in the enjoyment of grace. This is the reason Paul speaks of peace, love, and grace.
Notice that in verse 23 Paul uses the phrase "love with faith." Here, in contrast to 1 Timothy 1:14, he does not speak of love and faith. Love and faith are the two means by which we partake of Christ and experience Him. Faith is related to our receiving of Christ (John 1:12), and love is related to our enjoying Him (John 14:23). In the Gospel of John we are firstly told to believe in the Son in order to have eternal life (3:15). To believe in the Lord Jesus is to receive Him. The Gospel of John also emphasizes love. In chapter twenty-one the Lord asks Peter concerning his love for Him (vv. 15-17). Furthermore, in John 14:23 the Lord speaks of the Father and the Son making an abode with the one who loves the Lord Jesus. Therefore, by faith we receive the Lord Jesus and by love we enjoy Him. For this reason, in 1 Timothy 1:14 Paul puts faith and love together.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul also speaks of faith and love. In this verse he encourages the saints to put on "the breastplate of faith and love." Comparing this verse to Ephesians 6:14, we see that there are two kinds of breastplates, the one for our daily living and the other for fighting. For our daily living we need the breastplate of faith and love. Faith and love are both tender; they are signified in the Bible by the breasts. Such tender parts of our being, our spiritual breasts, need to be covered with the breastplate. By means of the breastplate, our faith and love, which are necessary for a proper Christian life, are preserved. The breastplate of righteousness in 6:14, on the contrary, is for fighting. Whenever we take part in spiritual warfare, our conscience must be protected from Satan's accusation by the breastplate of righteousness.
Grace with All Those Who Love Our Lord Jesus Christ in Incorruption
This traffic will also keep us in grace, in the enjoyment of the Lord. In verse 24 Paul says, "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption." Grace is needed for us to live a church life that fulfills God's eternal purpose and solves God's problem with His enemy. The enjoyment of the Lord as grace is to those who love Him. For the proper church life we need to love the Lord in incorruption, that is, in a condition which is incorruptible. Our love for the Lord must be incorruptible, immortal, and imperishable. Such a love is genuine and sincere.
The way Paul composed the writing of the blessing in these verses is significant. Here, at the conclusion of this Epistle, we have been brought into peace. We remain in this condition of peace by the love which is from God with the faith which is from us. By this traffic of love with faith we have a continual supply of grace. Hallelujah for peace, for love with faith, and for grace!
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:19
In seeking the prayers of the Ephesians, Paul acknowledged the necessity of boldness and freedom of speech in making known the mystery of the gospel. The gospel, a profound revelation known only through divine intervention, requires plain and fearless proclamation. Despite his own abilities, Paul recognized the significance of supplication and humbly entreated for utterance and courage. Through their prayers, he sought the ability to speak openly, faithfully, and with unwavering conviction in order to confront unbelievers and defend the profound truths of the gospel
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:20
An ambassador in chains, a contradiction of norms, yet a reason for earnest prayers. The captive ambassador's chains emphasize the need for boldness in proclaiming the mystery of the gospel. Paul, in his imprisonment, seeks not release but the ability to speak with courage, embracing his role as an ambassador despite being bound. His example reminds us to fearlessly declare the truth, unreserved and undeterred, embodying the sacred duty of an ambassador of Christ.
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:21
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, was sent by Paul to the Ephesians so that they may know about his affairs and how he was faring. As a minister in the Lord, Tychicus was well-known and trusted, making his statements about Paul's situation more believable. Despite facing the constant reality of death, Paul's care for the churches remained unwavering. Tychicus, a faithful minister in the Lord, would faithfully relay all things concerning Paul, providing the Ephesians with valuable information and fostering a sense of unity among believers.
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:22
The apostle Paul, driven by his genuine concern for the churches, dispatched a messenger to provide vital updates and comfort. These letters, carried by the messenger, were not only a source of consolation but also strengthened the believers with invaluable information and encouragement. Through this act of communication and fellowship, the church found solace in times of trials and tribulations. Paul's desire to keep the believers informed about his circumstances and offer support exemplified the importance of sharing information and providing comfort in the wider Christian fellowship.
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:23
Peace from God is the kind of peace that is being described, a peace that comes directly from Him. Along with this peace, the apostle also prays for love accompanied by faith, emphasizing the importance of both love and faith in the Christian life. The Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are regarded as co-authors of this peace and love. This wish for peace and love with faith expresses the apostle's deep love and affection for the brethren, and he asks for these blessings knowing that they are gifts from God, bestowed upon us through Christ.
Biblego.org- Eph. 6:24
May all who love our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed with the incorruptible grace. This love is not merely fleeting or earthly, but rather a spiritual and eternal one. It dwells in the realm of incorruptibility, without any mixture of corrupt affections. It unites believers as brothers and sisters in Christ, extending beyond the boundaries of external organizations. This love is produced by Christ's grace alone, and it moves us to love all of Christ and love Him above all.