Tuesday, July 31, 2018 - Ephesians, Chapter 6:22 

The Encouragement of a Believer to Fellow Believers, Pt. 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB2z8dV7Qm4

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

5. The Encouragement, vs. 21-24.  Eph 6:22, “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.”

In this passage, Paul reemphasizes Tychicus’ mission. In the English translation it begins with “I have sent him to you.” Yet, in the Greek it begins with the Relative Accusative Pronoun HOS that means, “whom,” referring to Tychicus.

Then we have the Aorist, Active, Indicative, 1^st Person, Singular of PEMPO that means, “send,” and in the 1^st Person Aorist for simple past tense, it means, “I have sent.” In the Greek, this word is used for “sending” people, such as messengers, as Tychicus is. Therefore, he was an ambassador for Paul, or more importantly, for the Lord Jesus Christ.

“To you,” is the Preposition PROS, “to,” with the direct object Accusative, 2^nd Person, Plural, Pronoun of HUMEIS once again for, “you all.” So, we translate this, “to you all.” Combined we have, “Whom I have sent to you all.” Paul is saying that he has sent Tychicus to the body of Christ in Asia Minor.

Then, to go along with the “purpose clause” of vs. 21,” Paul states, “for this very purpose,” which is the Preposition EIS, “for,” the Personal Pronoun AUTOS, “same,” and the Demonstrative Adjective HOUTOS, “this thing,” that means, “for this same thing.” It is an idiom to reiterate what Paul noted in vs. 21, and why he has sent Tychicus to them.

Paul then reiterates why he is sending Tychicus, “so that you may know about us,” which this time is a HINA of Result clause. It begins with HINA, “so that,” and then we have a synonym of OIDA, along with the cognate of GNORIZO from vs. 21, which is the verb GINOSKO, γινώσκω in the Aorist, Active, Subjunctive. It means, “to know, become aware, perceive, understand, or be conscious of.”

This is the Culminative Aorist Tense that views the entirety of the action from the point of completion. In other words, once Tychicus gives them the report on Paul’s condition, they will know it. The Active Voice, the congregations will have this information. The Subjunctive Mood, is for the HINA of Result clause, where they will know about Paul’s situation as a result of Tychicus’ report.

The information these believers have is expanded beyond just Paul as it will be “about us,” that is, Paul and his companion’s present circumstances. In the Greek it is the Genitive of, HO PERI, “about or concerning,” EGO in the 1^st Person, Plural. Literally, it is, “the about / concerning us.” PERI is also used to refer to the reason an action occurs. It supports the HINA clause to tell us why Paul sent Tychicus.

Then we have an addition to the HINA of Result clause, “and that he may comfort your hearts,” which is KAI PARAKALEO HO KARDIA HUMEIS. This time we do not have HINA for “that.” But, it is added because of the Coordinating Conjunction KAI, “and.” KAI continues the HINA of Result clause and adds this last result.

“He may comfort,” is the Greek verb PARAKALEO, παρακαλέω in the Present, Active, Subjunctive, 3^rd Person, Singular. The word comes from the same Greek term from which we get one of the names for the Holy Spirit, PARACLETE. It means, “to call for, exhort, or encourage.” We noted this word in Eph 4:1, where Paul was “imploring or exhorting” them to “walk in a manner worthy of their calling.” Here, it is used in its third use in the Greek, “the act of exhorting or encouraging,” as in Acts 16:40; 20:2.

Acts 16:40, “They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.”

Acts 20:2, “When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece.”

The 3^rd Person Singular refers to Tychicus delivering the report on Paul’s condition to the churches. The Customary Present tense is for an ongoing that the hearers of Tychicus’ message will be comforted continually. The Active voice, Tychicus comforts them by his report. The Subjunctive mood, continues the Result clause. As a result of his report, they are comforted continually.

The ones to be comforted by the report of Tychicus, is seen in the last words, “your hearts,” HO KARDIA HUMEIS. More specifically, the place of this comforting is the heart of their souls, the right lobe, KARDIA.

Paul did not want them to be down trodden by the news about him or the rumors they might have heard. He wanted them to hear firsthand what was going on and instead be encouraged by what they heard, even in his persecutions, trials, and tribulation, because they were all for “Christ’s sake,” as he operated under his Royal Ambassadorship, just as Tychicus was.

Notice the principle here: To be comforted in the heart of your soul, you need knowledge or information. This was a report on Paul and his companion’s outward and inward state. It was information about their welfare. When we are able to share that with others they can be comforted within their soul. In today’s society where speedy travel from one part of the world to another is commonplace, and messages can be sent around the world instantaneously through email or texting, it is hard to appreciate the importance of this comment. Traveling from Rome to Asia Minor was perilous, and took many days. In addition, Tychicus traveled with Onesimus, Col 4:9, on this journey. Onesimus was a slave who had run away from his master, see the book of Philemon. Many slaves were killed for doing much less than Onesimus had done. By being with this slave, Tychicus was endangering his own life as well. Traveling the great distance from Rome to Asia Minor and placing his life in danger paled into insignificance when compared with his mission of reporting the welfare of Paul and his team, and of encouraging the believers of the Church.

Principles:

1. As Royal Ambassadors for Christ, whatever our earthly situation might be, it should pale in comparison to the mission we have of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Even in Paul’s case, when death stood constantly before his eyes, he did not fear death nor have anxiety about his situation. It did not prevent him from encouraging even the most distant churches.

2. What a great ministry Tychicus had. He was doing what every witness-missionary-preacher-evangelist desires to do, he spreads the Word and encourages the saints. As Royal Ambassadors, it is also our job to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and encourage our fellow believers.

3. We are not fighting the battle alone. There are other believers who stand with us in the fight, and we ought to be careful to encourage one another in this battle.

4. Paul encouraged the Church through another; Tychicus was an encouragement to Paul, Acts 20:4, and Paul sent Tychicus to the churches to be an encouragement to them. Your desired encouragement for others does not

have to come directly through you. You can ask others to deliver encouragement on your behalf.

5. Paul was not the type who kept his affairs to himself. He wanted the people of God to know:

  a. What God was doing.

  b. How their prayers were being answered.

  c. What Satan was doing to oppose the work.

We too, should be sharing our situations with others in these regards to encourage them.

6. Paul’s motive was not selfish. He was not trying to get something out of them. He only had their best interests at heart, and deeply cared for and was concerned about their well-being. What are your motives in sharing information? They should be based on your love for others and their well-being.

7. The brotherly love exhibited in the early church is the undertone of all of Paul’s epistles. Paul had a real love and concern for the brethren. All of our communications, (written, verbal, and bodily), should express a real love and concern we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and those lost in this world.

8. It is a great encouragement to be a part of the Royal Family of God! Encouraging one another is so important whether we are talking about a family, a person, a ministry, or a church. The real question is what role are you playing, building up or tearing down?

Nowhere in the NT do we find an isolated believer. Christians are like sheep; they flock together. The church is an army and the soldiers need to stand together and fight together. The “individual contributor Christian” is not walking in God’s Plan. As the poet said, “Birds of a feather, flock together.” To be in the body of Christ is to gather together, eat together (take in Bible Doctrine together), and fight together.

Heb 10:25, “Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Heb 3:13, “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Rom 1:12, “That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.”

2 Cor 1:7, “And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”

Acts 14:22, “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God".”

1 Thes 3:2, “And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith.”

1 Thes 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. ¹⁴We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

Titus 2:4, “So that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children.”

Isa 35:3-4, “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. ⁴Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.”