Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near."
Text: Ephesians 2:17
A GLORIOUS MESSAGE OF PEACE
The message of “peace” may indeed be described as “glorious”. Its glory is derived from:-
1. God who gave it
2. Christ who made this peace possible
3. The monumental consequences:-
a) Reconciliation between God and man
b) Reconciliation between Jew and Gentile
Nothing short of the word “glorious” would be adequate to describe the peace that Christ wrought through His death on the cross of Calvary.
THE PREACHING OF THE MESSAGE OF PEACE
Paul made a very intriguing statement in this text. He actually proposed that Christ Himself came to “preach peace”. How do we understand this statement? We know for a fact that Christ personally did not preach the Gospel to the Ephesians.
1. Messengers of Christ
Those who proclaimed the message of peace must be regarded as valid representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. These carried His power and authority. Let us consider the text known as The Great Commission.
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age. Amen.”
MATTHEW 28:18-20
2. Ambassadors of Christ
In an even clearer text, Paul wrote about how we are ambassadors of Christ.
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God were pleading through us…”
2 CORINTHIANS 5:20
In a word of commendation to the Galatians when Paul went there to preach the Gospel of peace, he wrote,
“You did not despise or reject,
but you received me as an angel of God,
even as Christ Jesus.”
GALATIANS 4:14
The proclamation of the Gospel of peace has profound elements- imagine Christ speaking to us!