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Sermon preached on Ephesians 6:23-24 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 10/25/2026 in Petaluma, CA. This week’s message considered Paul’s closing benedictions to the Ephesians.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Today, we come to the end of Ephesians and close out our sermon series on it. In typical Pauline fashion, he ends with a benediction. Remember, that a benediction is a word of blessing. Paul likes to open and close his letters with such. Back in chapter 1, verse 2, he opened with his common “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now, he ends with essentially a double benediction, as verse 23 and 24 are both put in the form of a benediction. Our worship services follow this example, with an opening and closing blessing. Now, in verse 23 Paul makes clear who such blessing ultimately comes from. It’s from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, as a minister of Christ, prays and bestows such blessing upon God’s people.
Now, I do want us to recognize something notable here. Paul switches into the third person when he utters these closing blessings. In all of Paul’s 13 epistles, this is the only one that he does that in. Now, of course, while it’s possible that Paul just decided to incorporate some variation, I suspect he was being more intentional than that. Paul has made it very clear to these Gentile Ephesians that God has saved them into being a part of something bigger than themselves. They have been united with all those who believe and love Jesus our savior. The blessings they are to enjoy in Christ is something all the church enjoys together. All God’s people look to God for peace, purity, and unity together as the body of Christ.
And so, Paul’s switch to the third person, may be a way for Paul to try to connect his closing blessings with the rest of his epistle he just wrote. In that same spirit, I can’t help but consider all these blessings in light of what Paul has just wrote about. You will notice that the three main blessing Paul bestows here are peace, love, and grace. Those have certainly been significant themes in this letter. So, I will have us spend some time thinking about these three things as a way to summarize what we’ve studied in Ephesians. Thus, our sermon’s three points will be peace, love, and grace, in that order. Let’s dig in.
First, Paul’s blessing calls for peace to be bestowed. The word for peace is placed emphatically in the benediction by being placed at the very beginning. It doesn’t say, “May God the Father and Christ Jesus grant you peace.” No, it starts with , “Peace.” That draws our attention right away to this blessing.
Now, it is true that a blessing of peace is so very common back then and still today. Yet, what a major theme for Paul in this epistle. And by immediately adding that this is peace “to the brothers”, it especially brings to mind this theme. Remember, chapters 4 through 6 made the point that Gentile Christians have been united together with Jewish Christians through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the middle of that, Paul explained how it was this glorious mystery finally revealed, not just that God would bring salvation to Gentiles, but that he would unite those elect Gentiles together with the elect Israelites into one united body that is in peace. By saying this peace belongs to the brothers reminds them and us that these Christians from various ethnic backgrounds are now family, spiritually kin in Christ.
Let me further draw your attention to what we studied. Back in chapter 2:14, Paul said that Jesus himself is our peace. He said Jesus broke down the hostility wall that divided God’s people from the heathen nations. Paul describes in 2:17 how the gospel preaches peace to both those who are far off and those who are near. The Israelites who had grown up among God’s people were those that were “near” and that the Gentiles who had been separated from God’s people where those that were “far”. But whether near or far, what both sides needed was peace with God. Jesus reconciled us to the Father by atoning for our sin and putting away our guilt by his death at the cross. Paul made clear that the real hostility that needed to be dealt with is that between God and man. But that is what Jesus did in his life, death, and resurrection. So then, whomever comes to Jesus in faith comes to know peace with God. Once we have peace with God, then that means we have come into peace with all those who know God, whether they were previously near or far.
What a message we need today. Today, there is yet so much hostility in this world, trying to divide and separate peoples based on outward differences. This especially the case in matters of race and ethnicity. The world is out there trying to pit the races against each other. You could also see hostility among other categories such as people of different socioeconomic classes. Yet, while the world lacks peace, this is not to be the case in the church of Jesus Christ. That’s what Paul went on to say in chapter 4. In 4:36, he called us to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, saying there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. Being united to Christ through faith means we are united together with each other through faith. Finding peace with God through Christ means that we have peace with each other through Christ. This is what we have in Jesus. And so that is what Paul bestows upon us in this benediction.
And we know why we need it bestowed. Yes, on paper we have this peace. Yet, as Paul said, we need to be eager to maintain and promote that peace. We saw that Satan is out to steal that peace from us. He wants to set us at odds with God again and sow division in the body of Christ. So, this benediction reminds us that we need to strive for such peace. Yet, this benediction does something far more wonderful than command us to peace. It tells us that God is the one who gives us peace. It calls us to look to him for this peace that we so very much need. What a blessing, indeed!
Let’s turn next to our second point. Paul’s blessing calls for love to be bestowed, love accompanied with faith. Grammatically, this blessing is also saying this is being bestowed on the brothers, like the peace. The brethren need not only God’s peace but God’s love. Let us appreciate that God’s love is something we first personally come to know and enjoy, and then something that in turn we give to others, especially to the brothers. Again, this is what Paul taught in this epistle. Ephesians 2:4 reminded us that we as God’s elect were saved because of the great love with which God loved us. Likewise, Paul prayed for the Ephesians in 3:19 that they would grow in knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. The Christian is saved because of God’s love shown in Christ. When we first became a believer, we began to personally know that love in our hearts. And as we grow, God continues to make his love known to us. It’s beyond words and Paul highlights it in the benediction.
And yet, this love is not just that we would know God’s love for us in Christ. It includes that we would then love others, especially the saints. As John said, we love because he first loved us. The greatest commandment is that we would reciprocate that love we’ve received with a love for God and a love for Christ. That love for Christ is highlighted in verse 24 as a way to describe Christians in general, that we love Christ with an incorruptible love. The second greatest commandment is that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul described that in a different way in Ephesians 5:2. There, he said we are to walk in love. He described walking in love in various ways, but it especially included how we were to properly treat our neighbor as summarized in the laws about loving neighbor that you find in the Ten Commandments.
And so, while Paul would have God’s love move us to love him and others in general, there is especially an emphasis in this epistle to love our fellow Christians. This is brought out by the fact that Paul here not only calls for love, but love “with faith”. He wants us not only to have love but love accompanied with our Christian faith. That faith informs our love. It’s our faith that tells us of our special connection with our fellow saints, and tells us why we should especially love them. This very connection of love and faith is brought out at the start of the letter, in 1:15. Paul describes the Ephesians as people that both have faith in Christ and love for all the saints. As our love is joined with our Christian faith, we are especially encouraged to love our fellow Christians.
This relates to our first point. The peace and unity we have as Christians, even though we come from different backgrounds, all the more calls us to have a special love for one another. And as this benediction implies, this is not just about loving the Christians in your local church, but a love for all Christians, everywhere. This is exactly what Paul drove home in chapter 4, connecting love and peace there. Ephesians 4:2-3, Paul wrote urging them “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” We are to bear with our fellow Christians in love. Because we love each other, we learn to put up with each other.
How wonderfully real that statement is. It won’t always be easy to love your fellow Christians. This pairs with the application from our point about peace. You will need love to keep the peace when conflict brews. You will need love to turn the other cheek, to be meek and merciful, to go the extra mile, and to be a peacemaker. Likewise, we are called to love all the saints, and some of them will be very different than us. We have a unity in Christ, but they might otherwise live very differently, think very differently, value things differently, etc. Love will rejoice in what you have in common and respect the other amidst differences. Love will also be concerned for the wellbeing of each other, spiritually, physical, and in whatever needs are there. Christian love looks to share in each other’s troubles and help as we are able.
Let us now turn to our third point. Paul’s blessing in verse 24 calls for grace to be bestowed. Grace can be defined as the unmerited favor God gives to us. Again, this was another major theme in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. Remember how in chapter 1, it began with that long sentence about all the benefits of our salvation, and it described that in terms of grace. He said in 1:6-7 that our salvation is according to the riches of God’s grace and thus to the praise of his glorious grace. Paul repeated this point in chapter 2. That’s where he said that, before we were saved, we were dead in sin, but then God made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved through faith. In case it wasn’t clear, it even explains what grace is all about when it says that our salvation is “not a result of works, so that no one may boast”. So, it is God’s grace why we became a Christian in the first place. Our salvation is ultimately the unmerited favor of God. We had merited hell, but God sent Jesus to save us by grace, so we could have eternal life as God’s gift to us. This is another thing that unites us with all Christians. There is no Christian that earned their standing before God. Each of us is a debtor to God’s mercy. None of us can claim something above the other. It is by grace we all stand, and so it is by grace that God’s people stand together on Christ, our firm foundation and solid rock.
But God’s grace is not only something God gives to save us. Remember, Ephesians has also talked about how God gives each of us a measure of grace to be used in serving one another in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” It goes on to explain in 4:16 how that grace is so we can each function as different parts of the body of Christ, and as we each work properly in that role, are growing together unto spiritual maturity and building the church up in love. That section again brings grace, love, and peace all together. In the peace we have in Christ Jesus, we use the grace God has given us to build each other up, working in love for the wellbeing on one another. Paul himself described his own ministry to them in these very terms in Ephesians 3:2. There, Paul described his ministry as a “stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you”. We look at Paul and think he is very gifted, but what we should recognize is that those gifts were a measure of grace that God had given to him. Such grace, Paul seeks to bestow upon them in this benediction. Such grace to serve is something we can and should continue to seek even after becoming a Christian. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13-14, Christians continue to desire greater spiritual gifts of grace, yet always in the context of love, in how we can help one another grow in Christ.
Let me pause for some application. As you seek continued grace from God, are you looking for how you can use it to bless others? If Paul can refer to such grace as a stewardship, what does that look like for you? What grace has God given to you and how are you using it to give to others? Let us not get spiritually fat on God’s blessings but share them with one another. Look around and see that your fellow Christians have needs. To show them grace is to think of how you can give to them in some way or another. Maybe it is a prayer that you pray for them. Maybe it is a word of encouragement. Maybe you have a Scripture come to mind that you think they need to hear. Maybe it is some act of service that you help them in some practical need. Maybe its visiting them when they need a friend. As we receive God’s grace, it calls us to be rich in grace toward others, especially our fellow saints.
Beyond the grace we receive in this life, let us especially appreciate that Paul’s blessing of grace looks forward to our blessed hope. In Ephesians 2:7, Paul talked about how in the coming ages God will show us the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. God’s grace is not just a past and present reality for us. We look forward to the future when God will graciously usher us into the blessed age to come. Then we will know an even fuller measure of the grand, prodigious grace of God toward us. Indeed, we will need his grace to persevere until that day of Christ’s return. This too, is why we need this benediction of grace as Paul here gives.
Now, we already briefly noted that in verse 24 Paul describes the recipients of this benediction as those who love Jesus. This is another way to describe the Christian. We are not only those who believe in Jesus, we are also those who have come to love him. Verse 24 really emphasizes the kind of love we have for Christ when it describes it as a love incorruptible. The word there is often translated as immortality, a word that Paul elsewhere uses to describe our final estate in the age to come. At the resurrection, our bodies will be transformed and will no longer be subjected to decay or death. Yet, Paul here uses this colorful language to describe the Christian’s love for Jesus. Indeed, may our love for our Lord be undying, unfading, and never pass away. For this too, we look for God’s grace that we would love Jesus with such love, for he is worthy of it.
Friends, do you love Jesus? Do you love him as your Lord and Savior? If you do, then you have already begun to receive grace, love, and peace in him. If so, then you have already become a part of the family of God’s people. That means Paul’s benediction here is not just for these Ephesians, it is also for you. Grace, love with faith, and peace are yours in Christ Jesus. And if you are not yet in Christ, it is not too late. Repent of your sins. Turn unto him in faith. Set your heart to love Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you do that right now, then you too will have begun to receive grace, love, and peace along with all the saints.
So then Trinity OPC, receive then the Lord’s benediction. Peace be to you, brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
