Ephesians 6:24

Ephesians 6:24. Grace, lit, ‘the grace,' the grace of God in Christ (comp. the usual benediction).

With all them that love, etc. The reference here seems to be to all Christians; comp. the anathema in 1 Corinthians 16:22.

In incorruption, not, ‘in sincerity,' which forms an anti-climax, not ‘in eternity' for which another expression would be used. It qualifies ‘love,' defining its element or manner, and indicating its character as ‘perennial, immutable, and incorruptible' (Ellicott).

The best authorities omit the word ‘Amen.' In the received text, ‘Amen' occurs at the close of nearly every book of the New Testament. It is rarely genuine; the scribes would naturally add it. The subscription ‘written from Rome unto the Ephesians by Tychicus,' like all the others, is a later addition, though in this case probably correct, which is rarely the case.

This wish differs from all other Pauline benedictions in its definition of Christians, a definition that forms a fitting close to an Epistle having as its theme ‘the Church in Christ Jesus,' since this Church is made up of ‘them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.' Extensively, the Church is not bounded by those external limits necessarily established by ecclesiastical organizations, nor by those logical ones as necessarily defined by detailed dogmatic statement. Still less is it confined by the empirical partition walls set up by morbid and fanatical, or spasmodic and mystical religionism. The empire of love is wider than all these. Intensively, however, this definition opposes the view that the Church can dwell in the region of indifferentism, ignorance, doubt, or unbelief. Her characteristic is love, love for the one living Object, ‘the Lord Jesus Christ.' And love for Him who is the Truth seeks to know Him better; to see Him as He is. Speculative doubt about His Person may not drive away love, but it certainly does not promote it. Mere ‘sincerity' is not sufficient; the love must move in a sphere, partake of a character, which is ‘perennial, immutable, incorruptible,' and Christ's grace alone can produce such a love. Those who possess it are ‘in Christ,' of His Body, which, like the Head, shall, in the fuller and higher sense, live and love ‘in incorruption,' through the same ‘grace.' Gerlach well says: ‘The grace which is the cause of our love to Christ, becomes at the same time the reward of our love to Him: all may be hoped from Him, if one loves Him; all feared, if one does not love Him.'