Calvary Road Baptist Church

“TYCHICUS”

Ephesians 6.21-22 

The great Apostle Paul is in a Roman prison. Despite facing imminent death by crucifixion or beheading, it can be observed by reading his letter to the Ephesians that Paul’s only concern as he faces the possibility of death is faithful service to His Lord and Master to the very end. Would that we should have that mindset.

How fitting it is, then, that we find in Ephesians 6.21-22 reference to a servant of God named Tychicus, the man chosen to hand-carry Paul’s letter to its destination. You folks may remember the emphasis I placed on Paul’s selection of the courier to deliver his letter to the Romans. That, of course, was Phebe. I think you will also benefit from meeting this man, Tychicus.

I think it is fitting that the apostle introduces his readers to Tychicus at the end of a letter that prepares Church members for faithful service to God in the face of intense spiritual opposition for a reason. Think for a moment.

How unsuitable would it have been for Paul to have written, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a letter designed to spur Christian readers on to new heights in their Christian lives, only to have the letter delivered by a messenger who fell short of the goals and aspirations of the letter he carried to its destination? You want the courier’s life to fit the message he carries. Amen?

As we prepare to look at our text, let us remember what Paul knew to be true from Proverbs: 

“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint,” 

Proverbs 25.19. Was Paul in the midst of a time of trouble? He was in prison on appeal and facing possible execution. By most people’s standards, he was in a time of trouble. That so, there can be no doubt as to the quality and the character of the man Paul would choose to deliver his letter to the Ephesian Christians.

My text is Ephesians 6.21-22, where Paul explains to the Ephesian congregation of his decision to send Tychicus with that important letter: 

21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:

22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. 

Three descriptions of this man:

First, Tychicus, the representative. Tychicus did not make this journey as an independent Christian, engaged in something like the freelance Christianity so common to 21st century evangelical Christians. There are two ways in which we see that this man was very much the representative of another. First, we see Tychicus described. And what a description of this man Paul has written. Tychicus is “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord.” How significant it is that Paul praises the man as “a beloved brother,” in light of two things: #1 In Ephesians 1.4 Paul points out that God has chosen believers in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. So, when Paul refers to Tychicus as “beloved,” do not think he makes use of this description lightly. This man sent by Paul is an object of God’s love. But more than beloved, Tychicus is a “beloved brother.” Quite a statement for a Jewish Christian of that era to make.

Remember, one of the things God used Paul to disclose to the small but rapidly growing community of Christians was the strange-sounding idea of Jewish believers and Gentile believers having equal standing before God as people who are redeemed by the blood of Christ. Illustrating that great truth is the fact that both Jews and Gentiles become one new man in Christ in the Church congregation, Ephesians 2.16. Therefore, since both Jews and Gentiles who come to Christ by faith become God’s children by the new birth, those same Jews and Gentiles also become brothers in Christ. Paul’s reference to the Gentile Christian named Tychicus being his “beloved brother,” recognizes all of these great realities. And how much would this present generation benefit from the reconciliation of such diverse groups by the blood of Christ? As well, what sorrow might have been avoided by so many past generations had they applied this reconciliation by the blood of Christ reality to their situation.

Now notice the second way in which Tychicus is described by Paul. Not only is he “a beloved brother,” but he is also shown to be a “faithful minister in the Lord.” Amazing. Faithful to serve God is what this letter is all about. Perfecting people for the work of the ministry, equipping Church members for effective service, is what apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers have been called of God to do in local Church ministry. So, we have here a man who is what most Christians ought to be striving to be, faithful, and has already been trained, presumably by Paul, to function in ministry as Church members are supposed to be trained to function. What else could you want in a guy? He’s a “faithful minister in the Lord.” Remember, “in Him,” and “in Christ,” and “in the Lord,” are particularly significant phrases in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. “In Christ” or “in the Lord” refers to the sphere of influence every genuinely saved person lives in, which is dominated by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His realm. What an incredible description of this representative.

Not only is Tychicus described, he is delegated. Verse 22 reads, “Whom I have sent unto you.” Again, let me state that Tychicus was not on some half-cocked evangelical do-your-own-thing mission. He was sent by Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, the sent one of the Son of God to do something for him that was very important. He represented Paul. So, why did Paul delegate Tychicus? He delegated Tychicus because, as they say, he was tied up and couldn’t go himself. The bottom line was, he needed a representative, and Paul’s description of the man showed that he, indeed, was the man for the job.

There’s a second item related to the sending of this man. There is the reason. By reason, I mean besides the obvious reason of hand-carrying the Ephesian letter. There is a two-pronged logic that explains why Paul sent Tychicus (a preacher who was on his Church-planting team), rather than sending a faithful Christian who was not a preacher, but who could have done just as good a job hand-carrying the letter. If carrying the letter was all that was required, such as when Paul sent Phoebe to Rome with that epistle, any number of others might have been assigned. But there were some pastoral tasks that needed to be done by Tychicus upon his arrival, that only a God-called preacher would be enabled by God and skilled at doing.

First, there was the need to communicate information. Verse 21 is where Paul tells his readers that Tychicus would “make known unto you all things.” You might think to yourself, “So, why did Paul need to send a preacher like Tychicus to do that? I can relate information. I can tell people what I have observed. I have a good memory.” No doubt. But so much of what we see, and what we learn, and what we remember to communicate to others, is greatly influenced by our relationship to the those we are observing.

Take a mother and father who observe the goings-on in a teenager’s life. Though they both observe the same physical events taking place in that child’s life, their takes on it are influenced by who they are and what position they hold in that person’s life. So it is with a preacher. When you are called to the Gospel ministry, as Tychicus was, your experiences of life and your calling make you look at everything differently. So, Paul wanted some things communicated to his beloved Ephesian friends. But he wanted those things communicated by someone as much like him as was possible. Someone with a pastor’s heart. Someone with a pastor’s eye for certain kinds of detail. That’s one reason Tychicus was the man for the job.

Second, verse 22, “that he might comfort your hearts.” The word “comfort,” the Greek future tense verb parakalá½³sῃ, is also found in Second Timothy 4.2 as the word “exhort.” There, Paul directed Timothy to use God’s Word, through the vehicle of preaching, to exhort, to comfort, with all long-suffering and doctrine. Paul sent this missionary team member, Tychicus, the preacher, Tychicus, to Ephesus for the purpose of “comforting” the hearts of the Ephesian Church members. But that doesn’t mean Tychicus was sent to sit down and pat the backs of people’s hands and say, “There, there. It will be all right.” Not at all. Tychicus was sent by Paul to preach God’s Word to them, and to show them how Paul’s situation, his “plight” if you will, fit into God’s overall plan of the ages, and that Paul should be an example of how to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. That’s comforting the heart, beloved, not sympathetic “There, theres.”

The final item related to sending this man of God to serve them is the result. What was Paul after? What was his immediate goal in sending Tychicus? Two things seem to stand out: First, he wanted those people to know his affairs. Verse 21, “But that ye may know my affairs.” Second, he wanted those people to know their affairs. Verse 22, “that ye might know our affairs.” These two phrases appear to be identical, but there is a significant difference. In verse 21, Paul wanted the Ephesians to know what was going on with him personally. What was Paul doing? What was going to happen to Paul? Would he live, or would he die? What were his spirits like? But in verse 22, Paul indicates that he wanted the Ephesians to know “our affairs,” the affairs of both Paul and those who were with him. That is, what is the state of affairs of those who are on the cutting edge of evangelism and service to God? Such things the Ephesians must know if they are to fulfill Paul’s desire and plea to pray for him as his hour of greatest trial and opportunity approached.

So you see, it was a heavy burden of responsibility that Tychicus bore on his shoulders. He had a great deal more to do than just carry a scroll on a boat from Rome to Ephesus. He was a vital link between the point man named Paul and the prayer warriors who would hold up his arms in prayer like Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses in the battle against the Amalekites.[1] Tychicus was a man every Christian would do well to emulate. He had many virtues. Experienced in the ministry, wonderfully used by God, a sidekick, and companion of the Apostle Paul. He was a trusted ally and fellow-servant of God.

How would you describe the essence of what made Tychicus what he was? Two things: He was beloved of God. He was faithful to serve. Ask yourself, “Am I truly beloved of God? Am I faithful to serve?”

Before you formulate your answer, I would like you to reflect on something. Have you ever had a close look at the Southern California brand of Christianity? I mean, have you ever taken a really good, hard look? If you have, then you’ve noticed, like I have noticed, like others in our congregation have noticed, that there are few around that are like Tychicus.

Why do you suppose, since we are now so much better educated since we are now so much more intellectually sophisticated since we are now so much more demographically enlightened since we are now so much more technologically advanced, that we don’t have hardly any Tychicus-like servants of God in our midst?

How about you? Are you like Tychicus? If not, why aren’t you like Tychicus? Here was a man who might have done any number of things with his life. But he served God. I’m not suggesting that you call yourself into the ministry. Only God calls men to be missionaries and pastors and evangelists. But I am asking you what’s happening in your life right now in service to God?

How long have you been attending Church? How many times have you heard God’s Word preached? Are you yet a person who can be shown to others to be beloved of God and a faithful servant of God? Can anyone rightly say of you, “Look at how much God loves him. And look at how much he loves God”?

In order to be like Tychicus, you have to go through what Tychicus went through. I’m not referring to being beaten and tortured. I’m referring to seeing in his life certain things that God wants in the lives of all who know Christ.

You see, the steps to becoming a man like Tychicus are discernible and discreet. Let’s start from where the man was as Paul wrote about him in Ephesians 6.21-22, and work backward to the beginning. With Tychicus, as with anyone who ends up being like him, beloved of God and a faithful minister in the Lord, in whatever area of service, there are four discernible features in that individual’s personal history: 

First, THERE IS CONSISTENCY 

Tychicus was a consistent man. By consistent, I mean that he was faithful. But faithfulness is not often understood by folks these days. Some people think a person is faithful because he attends Sunday morning services on a regular basis. Others think a person is faithful because he gives $50 a week to the Lord while making $1000 a week. That’s not faithfulness. Neither is that Christian consistency.

Faithfulness, consistency, is doing everything you are expected to do, and doing it without missing a beat, and then doing extra. Tychicus was the kind of man who, if he did not show up at Church on Sunday evening, everyone who knew him would get concerned for him, knowing that only a serious problem would succeed in keeping him from his appointed place of ministry.

Two other things about faithfulness for you:

First, God is faithful. Were you aware of that? Faithful is something God is. 

And there are other verses. Do you realize that faithfulness is what is called a communicable attribute of God? Faithfulness is an attribute of God that He bestows upon His Own children. Has He bestowed that attribute on you? Do you want Him to bestow that attribute on you?

Second, God’s servants are faithful. Look through God’s Word on your own sometime. Read the Gospels and see the Lord Jesus Christ’s descriptions of a faithful servant. You will be surprised. Then read through the rest of the New Testament and take note of all the men and women who are described as faithful.[2] There’s Abraham, and Tychicus, and Paul, Silvanus, and others. You can look up the entire memberships of first this Church and then that Church described as faithful.[3] Not only are the servants of God described as faithful, they are expected to be faithful. First Corinthians 4.2 declares that faithfulness is required. Second Timothy 2.2 shows us that unless a man is faithful he cannot be trained for the ministry. But how is it that a child of God acquires this attribute of God? First Corinthians 7.25: 

“Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” 

God, in His mercy, must give you faithfulness. And He does give faithfulness to you if you’re saved. Yet, in this day in which we live, people sometimes get mad at you when you try to prod them and encourage them and provoke them to be faithful to God. Don’t get mad at someone who is trying to provoke you to godliness. 

YES, TYCHICUS WAS FAITHFUL. HE WAS CONSISTENT. BUT BEFORE HE WAS CONSISTENT, HE WAS CONSECRATED 

Consecration is another concept that is often lost on modern-day so-called Christians. Hymn #365 in our hymnal is entitled I Am Thine O Lord. The second verse of that marvelous song begins with these words: “Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, By the power of grace divine.” The very next sentence in that second verse explains what Fanny Crosby meant by consecration. “Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in Thine.” Fanny Crosby, that famous hymn-writer of the 19th century, knew that consecration referred to being devoted wholly to the Lord. Want to know why Tychicus was consistent? He was consecrated. Want to know why someone is not consistent? He is not consecrated. That individual is not wholly devoted to God. Look at this matter of consecration from two Biblical perspectives:

First, Paul’s call for consecration in Romans 12.1-2: 

1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Paul’s call for consecration is based upon everything he has written up to this point in his letter to the Romans. Based upon mankind’s sin in the sight of God, based upon the justification that God provides to sinners through faith in Christ, based upon God’s keeping power to preserve saved people from the lures and enticements and power of sin all the way to heaven, and based upon God’s faithful work to fulfill His promises to Israel. In short, based upon God’s faithfulness to the faithless, we are called upon to devote ourselves to serving Him. Both our bodies and our minds are to be placed at God’s disposal. That, my friends, is consecration.

Second, Peter’s call for consecration in Second Peter 1.2-8: 

2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

So many today, misread and misunderstand Paul’s call for consecration and think that consecration is a once for all time occurrence. It is not. You do not come forward in a Church service or spend all night lying on your daddy’s grave and get up from where you are forever changed. Consecration, devoting yourself to God’s plan and purpose for your life, is something you must commit yourself to and recommit yourself to each and every day. It’s hard work. Peter tells us that God has given to saved people everything we need to be godly. He has made many promises to us, and He will certainly keep those promises. But notice our responsibility as saved people. It’s found in a single word in verse 5. The word is “diligence,” the Greek word being spoudá½µ, and means “haste, effort.”[4] This word should lay to rest forever the notion that God’s plan after you are saved is for you to relax your way through the Christian life, that you are supposed to just stroll along. Consecration is devoting yourself to God. But devoting yourself, body and mind, to God is hard work. It’s tough. No wonder people who are not consecrated are not consistent. 

TYCHICUS WAS CONSISTENT. BUT THAT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS CONSECRATED. BUT WHY WAS HE A CONSECRATED MAN? BECAUSE HE WAS A CONVERTED MAN 

Let’s make sure we all know what is meant by the word “converted.” There are two words in the Greek New Testament that are important to your understanding of conversion. First, there is the word strá½³fw. The word literally means “to turn,” such as when the Lord Jesus Christ turned to talk to the two disciples who followed Him in John 1.38. But when the word is used to describe a spiritual turning, such as in John 12.40, this turning is not something you do, but rather something which is done to you by God: 

“He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” 

The second word is ἐpistrá½³fw. Instead of meaning “to turn,” as the word strá½³fw means, the addition of the prefix alters the word to mean “to turn about,” or “to turn around.” But just as with the first word, when referring to a spiritual turn around the Word of God shows that “conversion” is something that is done to you, not something you do to or for yourself. Example: In Acts 3.19, we see that the repentant sinner, the sinner who has a change of mind about the Lord Jesus Christ and comes to Him by faith, is converted, is turned about, is turned around spiritually. So, to be “converted” does not mean you turn yourself around. To be converted means you have been turned around by God.

Now, let us make sure we know how someone is converted. There can be no doubt in God’s Word that conversion is something that happens to the person who is saved. As the word “saved” refers to being delivered, or to being rescued, the word “converted” has to do with the direction you are headed being completely turned around. That understood, be careful not to confuse conversion with reformation. Reformation refers to turning yourself around and is not a work of God. Reformation is something you do. Conversion is something God does to you. A sinner is converted when he or she has a change of mind about his sins and his sinfulness (which is repentance) and, knowing that he can do nothing to save himself, takes the Lord Jesus Christ at His Word, trusts the Lord Jesus Christ to wash him clean in the shed blood of Christ and forgive his sins. Conversion occurs as a consequence of repentance and faith. Repentance (metá½±noia) refers to the turning away of the mind and heart from sin to Christ, with faith referring to trusting Christ.[5] When a sinner comes to Jesus Christ by faith, trusting Jesus Christ to save his soul, with genuine repentance being implicit with saving faith, that trusting sinner is then converted. 

ONLY TRULY CONVERTED INDIVIDUALS BECOME CONSECRATED INDIVIDUALS, JUST AS ONLY CONSECRATED INDIVIDUALS BECOME CONSISTENT INDIVIDUALS. BUT IT IS JUST AS TRUE THAT ONLY CONVICTED INDIVIDUALS BECOME CONVERTED INDIVIDUALS 

Not all convicted sinners are converted. There are many sinners who sit under the sound of the Gospel, who are convicted of their sins, but who do not trust Jesus.

But every sinner who does trust Jesus Christ is someone who has been convicted by the Holy Spirit of God. 

All of this process of dealing with sinners about sin and salvation through Jesus Christ is the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. So, whether you are a fully convicted sinner who feels the full and oppressive weight of sin and condemnation bearing down upon you, or you are a sinner who is only now finding your interest in spiritual things being aroused, you are being dealt with by the Holy Spirit of God. 

The Bible shows that a person, any individual, like Tychicus, beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, must be consistent to merit such a description as he received. But it’s consecration that begets consistency, and it’s conversion that leads to consecration, and conviction is what precedes conversion.

Sometimes conviction occurs quickly. Sometimes conviction is a very gradual process. Understand, where you sit, that conviction is no guarantee of conversion. Judas Iscariot felt so bad about his betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he was not saved. He was never converted.

Perhaps you have not been saved. Maybe that is why you are not consistent. Perhaps that is why there is no real consecration in your life. You’ve never really devoted yourself to serving God, not really.

If that be the case, my friend, it is likely that you are one of the many who were convicted but who were never converted, not really. If you had been converted, by this time, you would be like Tychicus. By this time.

Perhaps you and I need to talk. Rather than you convincing yourself that you practice your own brand of Christianity, it could be that you have no Christianity at all, because you don’t really have Christ.

__________

[1] Exodus 17.8-13

[2] 1 Corinthians 4.17, 25; Galatians 3.9; Ephesians 6.21; Colossians 1.7; 4.7, 9; 1 Timothy 1.12; Hebrews 3.5; 1 Peter 5.12; Revelation 2.13

[3] Ephesians 1.1; Colossians 1.2

[4] Fritz Rienecker & Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Regency Reference Library, 1980), page 769.

[5] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), pages 640-641.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church