Paul concludes his letter to the saints at Ephesus with these words:
“But that you may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen” (Ephesians 6:21-24).
His desire for the saints is that they will be adorned with Peace, Love with Faith, and Grace, but there was a real enemy of the gospel of Christ and its good consequences of Peace, Love with Faith, and Grace at Ephesus, alive and well at Ephesus, and the enemy was racism. Racism is sin, especially when it is found in the family of God. Racism is diametrically opposed to Christianity. For when sinners from different races are saved from their sins and rescued from God’s wrath by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, they are ALL adopted into the SAME family. They become brothers and sisters in Christ. They belong to THE Church (1:22), they are part of THE Temple (2:21) that God is building. They are THE Bride of Christ (5:22), as well members of THE Family of God (3:15), and THE Body of Christ (4:12). Therefore since all that sincerely love the Lord Jesus Christ are one in Christ, it is impossible for racism to exist in Christianity, unless some within the family are tempted and led into this sin. And this was the case at Ephesus.
Paul meets the sin of racism head on in chapters 2 and 3. He calls upon the saints to repent of the divisions that racism has created between Jew vs Gentile believers, and to embrace the oneness of God’s family, temple, bride, family, and body. In order to understand the oneness that is the result of salvation, believers must embrace God’s Wisdom as revealed in holy scripture. And in order to live a Good life that will demonstrate oneness in the Body of Christ, believers must submit to the scriptures and walk as children of light. What does Paul say about wisdom and good works in Ephesians?
Wisdom: Wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective. What is God’s plan of salvation? Are Christians in the dark about God’s wide, marvelous plan of salvation? Is it too wide, high, deep and broad for us to understand? Yes it is, unless God graciously reveals this wonderful plan, and He has! Chapter 1:8-10; 17-19; 3:3-7, 9-11. The LORD is saving sinners from all walks of life with all of their differences, and he is making from them ONE man, body, temple, church, family, bride. IN Christ racism cannot exist, and brothers and sisters we must not give it one inch in our understanding of Christianity. We must stress our oneness in Christ so much, that the seed of racism will not sprout. If for some reason it does spring up among us, then we must root it out quickly with wisdom.
Good Works: Sinners are not saved by good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches us that we are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone, for God’s glory alone, unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. When Christ sets a sinner free from his bondage to sin, He also sets him free to walk as a Christian should walk. That means, among other things, that he should “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love: endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That means that we put off the old man, and put on the new man. We live a life of truth, hard work, and wholesome conversation. We put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. We strive to build a good marriage, a good family, and a good workplace, that honors Christ and manifests to the ungodly the mystery of God in saving sinners. And we are to be good soldiers, who fight the good fight of faith. We arm ourselves with Truth, Righteousness, The Gospel, Faith, Salvation, The Word of God and immerse ourselves in Prayer for boldness to declare the gospel of Christ. This is the good life, this is how Christians live. When the ungodly see us living such a life, no one will be able to point the finger of accusation at us, and accuse us of racism.
Brothers and sisters, I adjure you to read, study, memorize, and meditate on the book of Ephesians in order to be a Wise and Good Christian, especially in the evil day that we are living.
