6:23
“Peace be to the brothers.” Let’s say a few words about translations here. Some translations will have “brothers and sisters”, and the ESV (which has “brothers”) has a footnote saying it refers to brothers and sisters. Some people get very het up about gender neutral language, on both sides. My own view is that it is best to stick with the original, but in places like this where it quite clearly applies to both men and women I am not overly concerned if a translation puts “brothers and sisters”. But there are places where gender is very important and adds meaning (and not just in “contentious” places). The Message has “Goodbye friends”, and I think that overly familiar language loses something of the original meaning.
Anyway, back to the passage! The point is that God the Father and Jesus Christ send peace and love towards us. We do well to remember that.
6:24
The final verse expresses the complete trustworthiness of the Lord’s love. We dwell in the midst of God’s love, that is the environment that we live in. There may be many storms going on around us, but we are anchored in God’s love. It is also another pointer to the divinity of Chris, that He is the final word in the letter.
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