Grace and Peace Part 2: Ephesians 6:21-23

Key Scriptures: Ephesians 6:21–24

Paul’s Final Words: A Pastor’s Heart Across the Miles

“But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may 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 those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.”

It has been months since we first heard the words “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul has spent the entire letter pouring out the riches of the gospel—election, redemption, the mystery of the church, the call to walk worthy, the armor of God. Almost nothing has been about himself. In a world where most of our communication is self-centered, that should strike us as strange. Paul saves every inch of the page for their good. Then he deliberately sends a trusted brother so the Ephesians will not only know how he is, but so their hearts will be comforted. This is pastoral love that refuses to abandon the flock.

The Image of God—And What the Fall Did to It

When God made mankind, He did something unique. He put His image in us. The Hebrew word is tselem. It does not mean we are little gods. It means God endowed us with attributes that reflect Him: wisdom, righteousness, holiness, the capacity for real relationship, moral reasoning, and the ability to deny ourselves for a higher good.

You will never see a wolf on a diet. Animals live by instinct. We were made for more. But Adam fell, and we fell with him. The image was not erased—it was marred, defaced, corrupted. Scripture does not soften the language:

• “Like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct…” (2 Peter 2:12)
• “Man in his pomp… is like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:12)
• Nebuchadnezzar driven out to eat grass like cattle, hair like eagles’ feathers, nails like birds’ claws (Daniel 4)
• “Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5)

The fall turns image-bearers into something beastly. We snap at kindness. We growl at the gospel. We treat one another as animals to be used or discarded. That is Satan’s masterpiece.

Dignity Remains—Even in the Ruins

Yet the image is only marred, not destroyed. Because of that, every human being still carries a dignity God Himself assigned. The drunk who mocks you, the neighbor who slams the door, the coworker who ridicules your faith—they are not animals to be written off. They are image-bearers in desperate need of the God who can restore what sin has ruined.

There is an important distinction here. Sinners outside the church are strays who need rescuing. False teachers are wolves. Toward the lost we must have compassion. Toward those who deliberately twist the truth and prey on the flock we must have vigilance. Paul does not send Tychicus to comfort the hearts of false teachers. He sends him to the true brethren.

Restored Through Christ, the Perfect Image

How is the image restored? Through Jesus.

He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is what we were supposed to be—and more. He is God the Son in human flesh.

In union with Him we are being conformed to His image:

• “Predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29)
• “We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49)
• “Being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
• “The new self… is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9–10)

This is not instantaneous. It is a lifelong washing by the Spirit. The old self—with its snarling instincts—is being put off. The new self is being put on. Compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and forgiveness begin to rise where anger, malice, and self-centeredness once ruled.

Remember Nebuchadnezzar. The king who became a beast was restored. His reason returned. He lifted his eyes to heaven and praised the Most High. That is a picture of what Christ does for every one of us.

What This Means for Us Right Now

Church, consider the sins of the brothers and sisters sitting near you—and forgive them before they ask. When they are prideful, when they are foolish, when they stray, they need to know they come back not to a judge, but to mercy.

The world hates forgiveness. It hates second chances. It hates mercy. You need to be willing to be hated for the right reasons.

A few weeks ago, Roy’s Bakery was picketed because he employs people who need second chances—some still serving sentences who are allowed to work there. The world cannot stand that kind of grace. Yet Christ calls us to give forgiveness seventy times seven, to tell the woman who had an abortion that God can forgive her, to tell the person who left a legalistic tradition that they do not need any mediator but Jesus.

You are called to be a means of grace. Be patient when others are angry. Be the peacemaker in their conflicts. Do not flinch when they lash out. Celebrate every step toward Christ. Like the cheese at the end of the maze in Skinner’s experiment, let your joy in the gospel be the pull—not your criticism of how slow they are to find it.