“Amen”

How often do any of us think about the word “Amen?” It’s the word that we say at the end of a prayer, but do we ever think of its meaning, much less its significance? This word, which is often overlooked, or even ignored, is actually extremely significant.

Amen is merely a transliteration of the Hebrew āmēn. One purpose of the word is to confirm a statement and could be translated in various ways: “so, be it,” “so it is,” “there you have it,” and so forth. But another use of the word was originally one of response by the listeners or readers who were present when truth was given. One Greek authority tells us that a certain custom, which passed from the synagogue to the Christian assemblies, was that when someone closed a solemn prayer, others present responded with Amen and thus made all that was said their own.

How thrilling this is! Can you say Amen to the marvelous truths of prayer, the attitudes, the approach, and the appeal?  Can you say Amen to that wondrous ascription of praise as God makes His power work in us?

What’s more, can you say Amen to the many, MANY marvelous truths of Ephesians? Can you say Amen to the fact that the true Christian Believer is “a saint” (1:1), to God’s greatest blessings of “grace” and “peace” (1:2), to our “election” and “adoption” (1:4-6), “to our redemption” and “forgiveness” (1:7-12), to our “knowledge,” “wisdom,” “insight,” and inheritance” (1:13-14), to the reality of absolute “Truth” (1:13), to the privilege of prayer (1:16-23), to the blessings of true “enlightenment” (1:18) and powerful living (1:19), to the deliverance from total sinfulness through God’s mercy, love, and grace (2:1-5), to the fact that God is constantly working in us and through us (2:10), and to much MUCH more?

As this first half of Ephesians closes, and as we say Amen to it, we are not only confirming it, but we are responding to it by realizing that it is our very own possession. In short, by saying “Amen,” we are saying, “All this is mine.”

All the doctrinal truth of Ephesians 1‑3 sets the stage for the practical truth of Ephesians 4‑6. It is in chapters 4‑6 that we will see the great responsibilities we have as Christians, and if we can’t say Amen now in chapters 1‑3, we will certainly not be able to say it in chapters 4‑6. If we can’t say Amen to our riches in Christ, we certainly won’t be able to say it to our responsibilities in Christ. Oh, may we say with the Apostle Paul, AMEN!