"19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."
Ephesians 6:19-24
The second point to note in these verses is how Paul describes himself in 20. He calls himself 'an ambassador in bonds'. This striking word is used only twice in the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 5:20 (which see) and here. The word 'ambassador' in the Greek is 'presbutes', from the verb 'presbeuein' meaning 'to be older or oldest', 'to take the place of others', 'to take precedence by right of seniority', and thus 'to be an ambassador'. The idea of seniority leads inevitably to the concept of authority. It is a responsible post. And, significantly, in both places where it occurs, it is the verb that is used, not the noun. This indicates two things: firstly, activity - the job is no 'sinecure'; and secondly it is not the office, but the duty, that is stressed. There is no thought of resting on one's laurels here, but a getting on with the job. And the ambassador's job is to represent his sovereign, or government. It is his representative capacity that gives him his authority and position. He is nothing in himself. One thinks of the analogy of the Lord High Commissioner at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. For the brief spell in May, the Lord High Commissioner ranks next to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Rothesay, and before the rest of the Royal Family, and before all the dukes of the realm. He may be nothing in himself, but in the office he bears this position of authority and power. Not only so: an ambassador speaks not in his own name but on behalf of his sovereign whose deputy he is. One of the implications of this is that there is necessarily a 'givenness' about his message. And this is especially true in the Christian ambassador. He is not at liberty to alter or modify the message he bears, or tone it down in any way, but rather he must hand it over as given. When one thinks of the way Paul describes his mission as an apostle in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff, 'I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture,' it becomes very clear how he understood his ambassadorship. Please God we also shall be true to this understanding of our calling!