I N D E X
If we have boldness before God (Eph. 3:12), shall we be fearful before man
whose breath is in his nostrils?  Yes, we may be; hence the value of
intercessory prayer for one another.
An Ambassador
`In behalf of which I am conducting an embassy in a chain' (Eph. 6:20
author's translation).
Speaking as a man, Paul had a passion for liberty.  One has only to read
Galatians to catch something of his burning spirit.  Yet he could rejoice in his
bonds, his prison, his chains, for after all they were the badges of highest
honour.  The figure of an ambassador provides a very apt illustration of the
distinctive spheres of administration given to the apostles Peter and Paul.  The
British ambassador in France, when dealing officially with Franco-British
affairs, speaks with all the authority of the Sovereign he represents.  If,
however, the ambassador to France should go to Germany, he would of course have
the individual's right of personal opinion, but he could no longer act in things
of state nor speak with delegated authority.  Peter, the ambassador of the Lord
to the circumcision, received power and authority which he exercised, but Peter
when dealing with the present interval of the Mystery confesses to things that
are hard to be understood, and realizes that they belong to the embassy of Paul,
and that he has no jurisdiction in that province (2 Pet. 3:15,16).  Paul was the
apostle to the Gentiles.  To him had been granted the dispensation of the grace
of God to the Gentiles.  He was an ambassador in a chain, and when he spoke as
the ambassador of Christ, he spoke with full authority.
My affairs and how I do
It is one thing, however, to pray with a purely doctrinal interest; it is
another to pray because of acquaintance with actual needs.  When the reader
takes up a printed page, his mental image of the writer may be far removed from
reality.  How can intelligent prayer therefore be offered?  The apostle felt
this need, and adds to his request for prayer the means for information.  Yet
once again, let us observe the delicacy of his method.  Here is no harrowing
list of details of prison life, no list of privations and hardships, no pose,
for we know from his own words that he felt a fool when compelled in sheer
defence to appear boastful.  What he does is to give an intimation to those who
were desirous of this intelligent fellowship, that the necessary information
could be obtained from Tychicus.  That this was no casual mission to fulfil we
may gather from the character of the man who received it:
`Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord' (Eph.
6:21).
`Tychicus ... who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and
fellowservant in the Lord' (Col. 4:7).
`Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus' (2 Tim. 4:12).
The last reference is comforting.  Demas had forsaken Paul.  All in Asia
had left him, but Tychicus remained faithful.  Tychicus and Trophimus are
mentioned in Acts 20:4, and Trophimus was an Ephesian (Acts 21:29).  Both
Tychicus and Trophimus therefore are connected with Ephesus, and this is a
strong argument in favour of the retention of the word `Ephesus' in verse 1 of
this epistle.  If the epistle had been written to the saints that are, as some
have suggested, to whom would Tychicus convey the message concerning the
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