How do you bring a really epic letter to a close?Paul ends this letter that's rich in love with a blessing that's rich in love.Will the Ephesians keep walking in love incorruptible?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might!Paul’s coming in to land this epic letter with a reminder that whilst the powers have been defeated, there is still a battle, and we’ve not been left defenceless.

Ephesians 6: 5-9“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”Any time slaves are mentioned, immediately battle lines are drawn. The accusation is often thrown at Paul that he endorses slavery, and for that reason people write off the Bible. But that’s reading Paul completely wrongly, and we need to learn to read him rightly! He’s a man outside of and ahead of his culture, because he’s actually speaking the kingdom of God into his culture and ours!

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”One of the key demonstrations of lives filled with the fullness of God by the Holy Spirit is mutual submission - moving towards the good of the other person, often at cost to ourselves.How does this apply in the often complex but powerfully formative relationship between parents and children?

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”The commands to wives and husbands both flow from Spirit-filled submission to one another. Yet these words of Paul’s have been taken out of context and weaponised in ways that would likely have Paul saying, “Wow, I didn’t see that misunderstanding coming!”And tragically, it has produced marriages that look nothing like this beautiful picture of “moving towards the good of the other person over your own.”

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”Submit. This is a word that has a host of negative connotations. But what if it shows us the most Christ-like, cross-shaped way that we can live?

“Be careful, then, how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” In other words, don’t be stupid! For Paul, this is quite black and white - there are dumb ways to live and a wise way to live.In a world that is often very subjective, what does it look like to live as wise people?

“Let there be light… The people walking in darkness have seen a great light… I will make you a light to the nations… In him was life and that life was the light of humanity… They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light.”Throughout the Bible story, light is a huge theme. Paul picks up on this in Ephesians 5. And having this built this whole picture of our new identity in Jesus, he says something quite surprising:“You are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”What does it mean that we are light? How do we walk as children of light?

Paul's whole driver in Ephesians is "This is who you now are in Christ!"Now if this is true, your whole direction of travel is going to be different. You've got a new way to walk, a way that shows the world what God is like.And since God is love, what does walking in love look like?

"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit"This phrase can be a real source of misunderstanding, and can cause us to get so many wrong ideas about God.The bottom line, though, is that even in his grieving, we see that God is far kinder than we can imagine!