Bite 89: From Ephesians 6 What is There to Do in Chains?

Here at the End

What could possibly be learned from these last few verses, right? Paul is saying “buh-bye” so what could there be of use here? As I’m asking questions of the text, I think quite a bit, actually. Let’s consider some of these questions in a minute.

Volunteering Has Been Eliminated

We are at the year anniversary of Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve when my privilege of volunteering at our local soup kitchen was revoked. After about 8 years of baking for the food-challenged in our community, the door was locked on me. And everyone else who volunteered, but I’m the one I noticed the most.

So now I have no purpose, no use. For a year now, what I thought was my outlet for ministry has been closed. What good am I? Many people have been afraid and they’ve listened to the government about keeping distance and disengaging from friends, family, neighbors and placing themselves in what amounts to house arrest. How can there be any ministry or propagation of gospel truths in this environment? What I know is, “Hey Hungry Person! Here is a home-baked cookie because Jesus loves you.” I have no other outlets for reaching anyone.

Or do I?

The Problem of Evil

I don’t have a succinct explanation for the problem of evil right now, though I am currently studying this in philosophy and expect to reach some kind of suitable working conclusion. Not there yet though. Regardless of whether or not I can explain why there is evil, I know there is. I know there is because I’ve lived through some. Chances are good that you have too. What I know beyond doubt is that God did not cause the evil to come upon me; he allowed what I could bear.

Along those same lines, he sustains me and he comforts me. Yes, him personally. How do I know? He told me so in the scriptures. Which, at the outset, I don’t presuppose as being God’s Word (neither should you), but based on apologetics, I have reasons for knowing God’s Word is the only source of truth. If you’re interested in that scientific path of logic arriving at certainty, ask me! I’d love to tell you about it.

As well as truth from the scripture, there is experiential evidence from my life that God only allows what I can bear and that he sustains and comforts me. My experience on its own only proves that I believe that God does this. Coupled with the truth found in inerrant scripture, it is a rubber-meets-the-road data set that might make truth more relatable for you.

Testimony

From an abusive childhood where I counted the days from age 10 until I could legally leave at 18, to racing into marriage at 19 when all could’ve gone wrong, to church women trying to squish me into their religious boxes, to having children go off the rails all over the place, to this present panic-demic with which everyone is familiar. There have been seemingly soul-crushing events and seasons in my life.

Obviously I’m leaving out a lot of details, but the main point is that God has been my comfort from some of my earliest memories of when my parents sent me to church. Trinity Lutheran church in Bellingham, WA told my tiny 4 year old self, “God is your ever-present friend.” Well, that sounded good. I didn’t have any friends since I lived by myself in the store room of a restaurant where I needed to be quiet all day. Or else.

So began my journey with my God: “Kristi, he’s your ever-present friend.” And he has been. Through the dark days and the ink-y black nights. What good have those trials been? I’ve experienced the comfort of my God. Because God is love, he gave me my husband who has been my best friend and protector for over 30 years. Someone with whom I’ve been able to slog through the mud of life. And also because God is love, he allows me to slog through that mud in order to experience his mercy and comfort.

There is Purpose in the Pain

After experiencing God’s mercy and comfort, I now get to have as my current ministry the privilege of walking alongside some women with whom I’ve become friends under the most unlikely circumstances. They have kids who are off the rails in similar ways that mine have been. Do I have advice for how to deal with them? Nope. How can anyone know how to handle irrational? But I do have encouragement for Moms living next to surly teens. Mainly it consists of, “Mom, you aren’t nuts.”

Purpose in the pain? Ministry of comfort. Proclaimer of the grace of God. But I’m getting ahead of myself. You’re wondering what all this has to do with Ephesians 6:21-24. Let’s chat about my process and what I learned from Paul before I get to my heart realizations.

Emissary Sent

We know from Paul’s last statement in Ephesians 6:20 that he is an ambassador in chains. Now he explains that he sent his brother Tychicus to the recipients for a two-pronged reason: information about how they are and that the recipients may be encouraged (Ephesians 6:22). Any questions arise in your mind as you look at that? Let’s think for a minute. Anything? I’ll wait if you want a minute to jot some notes down for yourself.

Questions in My Mind

The first thing that I ask the text is why is Paul using plural pronouns here? That means there are other Christians that the audience would know and that would mean that perhaps I know them, since by extension I’m part of the ancient audience. Who are they? Did they write anything that would tell me how Paul is and what he’s doing?

Grammar isn’t completely useless, you see. One grammatical question and it leads to other questions. Now I ask myself the question ‘how do I find any more information about this time period and these people?’ Do you have any ideas?

Tools we have in our tool box include investigating cross references, seeing where else Tychicus is mentioned in scripture, and don’t forget we have this nifty companion letter in Colossians. Do you remember that we talked about the fact that Paul wrote these two letters at the same time? Which doesn’t mean they are precisely the same but do have aspects that illuminate each letter. Carbon copies would not be useful anyway, would they?

The Adventure I Chose

Bible study is a little like the choose-your-own-adventure books that were around when I was a kid. We aren’t having different adventures in Bible study, but there are a few routes that will lead to the information we’re seeking. Let’s save that discussion for the end.

The route I took was to check out Colossians first. Let me show you my notes and in that way you can better see my progression of investigation.

If you scroll through my notes there chronicling my adventure through the scriptures you’ll see the path I took to gather information.

Principles I Followed

The stickies have the details, which are useful for me in my study but may not mean anything to you. This is why I’m excited you’re willing to hang and chat with me: if you learn principles, you can explore on your own and God will teach you from his Word himself rather than using another person to do the channeling of teaching. Devotionals have their place, but personal study does too. It’s better if you know some nuts and bolts of how-to.

Some items on this list are principles (personal pronouns, for example) and some are details deduced from what I read in the scripture (repetition about Tychicus’s purpose).

• There is a companion letter. What does Paul reveal there?
• Repetition that Tychicus was sent to inform and encourage (Colossians 4).
• Observe that there are others with Paul (clues to the plural pronouns).
• Luke is nearby and he wrote about a 1/4 of the NT. Check out his writings.
• Use a map of missionary journeys to see where Paul traveled and in what order.
• Skimming Luke’s writing to find where Paul pops up and see his trouble really starts in Acts 21.
• At the end of Acts, summary of what Paul did for what tradition considers the last two years of his life on earth.

Are there any principles or tools that you can implement in your study? As I say when I’m teaching people to mountain bike, pick just one concept to start with. Keep it simple and see where one idea leads. When it seems less intimidating, add another. When developing any skill, you won’t learn or implement everything all at once so relax and take it a Bite at a time.

Overview of What I Learned

Perhaps you are a better student than I am and you can remember what you’ve seen before. I’ve looked at maps of Paul’s missionary journeys for my whole Christian life and I can’t keep it in my head his routes for each of the trips. Maybe if I went to the Holy Lands myself, I’d have some frame of reference and the information would mean more. Until I can further research that possibility, I will continue to pull up the maps in Logos and refresh my memory.

Looking at the maps, I gathered that Paul traveled through Asia (the region this letter was targeting specifically) for both his second and third trips. Subsequent to those journeys, he returned to Jerusalem where he was arrested and Paul’s life gets even more dramatic. Beginning in Acts 21, our friend Doctor Luke chronicled the account specifically for whoever Theophilus was and by extension, us.

Fast forward through all kinds of adventure and peril (Acts 22-28), until Paul reaches his destination, Rome. Answering the questions Tychicus was to answer, namely how is Paul and what is he doing, Luke reveals in summary form:

Acts 28:30–31 (ESV)
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, 
and welcomed all who came to him, 
31 proclaiming the kingdom of God 
and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ 
with all boldness and without hindrance.

Prayer Request Answered

I’ve been over this material a few times now: I study, I take notes, I prioritize for what I want to talk to you about, I meet with you and share. What I keep bumping into and marveling about is Paul’s prayer request which we looked at last time. Do you remember any of what he asked for? I’ll bring it here for you to see.

Ephesians 6:18–20 (ESV)
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, 
making supplication for all the saints, 
19 and also for me, that words may be given to me 
in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, 
that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

As you read through those verses, did you catch what Paul requests? The root word found in both instances of the word “bold” are the same. And what did Luke say about what Paul was up to in Rome in Acts 28:30? He was busy ministering to whoever would show up on his doorstep. How? Boldly.

Paul made his list: ‘may I please have words for when I open my mouth and may I open it boldly?’ God always gives us what we need, so Paul received. Two sources: one a form of auto-biography and the other recording the facts of another’s life. Same adjective applied. I find that so encouraging to my prayer life.

Reflection

Earlier I was reflecting with you about evil, trials, suffering and God’s comfort. What do those experiences have to do with Ephesians 6:21-22? Well, for one thing, I thought my opportunity for ministry was eliminated. How can a basically uneducated, (mostly) empty-nesting homemaker have any place or use in this world in this political scenario?

I don’t know how, but God provided a ministry. Repeatedly I ask God, “what use am I?” He answers and provides a way to encourage two particular women. I get together with them, hug them, cry with them as I pray over them, love them as Christ would love them if he were here in bodily form. I get to fill up what is lacking in his sufferings (Colossians 1:24).

Before I studied this passage in Ephesians, I didn’t realize what God had done in positioning me with my quirks and foibles and history. I felt pointless and adrift. But no matter what shackles the world tries to use to restrain, God is bigger and stronger and has a plan in the midst of those shackles to use his servants to further his kingdom and minister to hurting people. Because God is love.

Surprising How God Works

You’d think under house arrest that a person (namely Paul) would have his ministry and usefulness grind to a halt, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you think that if Paul had enough faith and prayed hard enough that he would be able to get out of the suffering of being incarcerated? Couldn’t he do more ministry if he’d actually been able to travel to Spain and further the gospel in that region?

What if the purpose and plan of God doesn’t match up with what I think my ministry should be? If God gave me what I want, what I’d ask for, what was my plan and not his plan, that would be a curse and I would miss out on whatever his perfect plan is.

My request as I walk through my life is for opportunity to further the kingdom. To push back the darkness and let the light shine. I don’t know how I, being such a very insignificant person, can have such impact in the kingdom, but previous to Christ intersecting his life, Paul didn’t know what he would end up doing and suffering on account of the Good News either.

Wrap Up

To discuss our Bible Study Bite today, let me clarify the “choose your own adventure” idea. You do not get to choose your own adventure in scripture and find your own meanings. That is bad hermeneutics, my friend. And it is most definitely NOT what I’m talking about. There are no “deeper meanings” to be found in the sense that the Bible is some kind of wacky code or that there is some kind of numerology going on. If you are engaged in such activity, stop and repent of weak thinking. Don’t be lured by the charm of thinking you are smarter, more clever, or more observant than theologians over the centuries. As your friend who loves you, you’re not.

The adventure you may choose is how you go about understanding the meaning the author intended. Let me explain.

Remember how we had some tools we discussed at the beginning of our time together? There were three I listed: Tychicus, cross references, and the companion letter of Colossians. We can take these “adventures to choose” in turn. Well, we’ll try to take them in turn. There is some overlap between them possible.

Door #1: Tychicus

In order to choose the adventure of following Tychicus, you could look his name up in a dictionary or in a concordance to see all the places in scripture he appears.

Door #2: Cross References

Here is some of that overlap. If you look at his name in Ephesians 6:21, there is a superscripted letter indicating the editors of the Bible think some other verses pertain to that word.

Please forgive if this seems elementary, but as we spend time together here and there, I don’t know what you know. I’d rather err on the side of telling you what you know than have you wandering around without information and possibly feeling awkward about asking someone.

Door #3: Companion Letter of Colossians

Since this is the door I chose, you saw reasons for choosing this options and some possible results from going through this door. Examining the closing of this letter led me further into adventure because I followed paths of cross references in Colossians and I followed the path of Luke who chronicled concurrent events as well.

Just because you choose one door, doesn’t mean you’ve closed the door on other avenues of investigation.

Be Balanced

A principle of hermeneutics to keep in mind is that the Bible is not a collection of writings. The Bible is one cohesive unit with one narrative to reveal. There are times to stay local in what you are studying. That is to say that you don’t need to be darting from cross reference to cross reference all across the Bible all the time. Too much flitting results in a shallow understanding of the context at hand. Be grounded.

However, in order to get a fuller, more robust picture, investigating concurrent writings by the same human author or writings chronicling the time under investigation can be enlightening.

Thanks for studying with me today! If you’ve found anything helpful here, please like and subscribe. And if you know of other students of the Word, would you please share so we can all study and encourage each other with what we’re learning?