A Life Worthy of the Calling
Thinking about Ephesians 4:1-3.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)
A Brief Introduction to Ephesians.
The letter of Ephesians is written “to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus” (1:1b). Paul wrote to them from prison (3:1; 4:1a).
In Ephesians, Paul speaks of the church as:
The Lord’s body, and the fullness of Him (Ephesians 1:22-23).
The household of God – the dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
How God’s many-sided wisdom is made known to all (Ephesians 3:10).
Where God receives glory by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:21).
Considering the significance of the church from these four passages, it’s no wonder that Paul urges Christians to live a life that is worthy of their calling by the gospel. He calls them to walk in unity.
How we live our lives is a reflection upon the glorious church of our Lord – which is a direct reflection upon God Himself.
Unity is not optional, nor is it something that just “happens” – it takes diligent effort.
The Walk Worthy of the Calling.
As one who is suffering persecution for the cause of Christ, Paul urges Christians to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
The “walk” that Paul refers to here is a reference to the way they lived their life – the entire life must be lived through the “filter” of the calling of the gospel.
Christianity is not just a “part” of our life – it is our whole life!
Paul actually says a lot about the Christian’s “walk” in Ephesians.
How we used to walk.
According to the path of this world, and we were bound for the same eternal destination as the rest of the world (Ephesians 2:2).
How we should not walk.
No longer walk like those who are alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:17-19).
How we should walk.
Walk in love, as Christ has loved us (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Walk in light, as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
Walk in wisdom, as those who understand the Lord’s will (Ephesians 5:15-17).
Christians have been called by the gospel of Christ for the glory of God (2 Thessalonians 2:14) – therefore, we must live a life - we must “walk” - worthy of this call.
The Mindset Worthy of the Calling.
Lowliness and Gentleness.
Lowliness has to do with how we think of ourselves in comparison to God and others – and it influences how we act (Philippians 2:3).
Gentleness, or meekness, has to do with how we respond to situations and circumstances in our life (1 Peter 3:15; James 1:21). It includes not only how we respond to others – but also how we respond to God’s Word.
Lowliness and gentleness are connected – they cannot be separated.
The mindset worthy of the calling of the gospel is one where pride and arrogance are absent from our lives.
We must be people who are unwilling to provoke others, and are not easily provoked or offended by others. We must be willing to endure wrongs done to us without seeking revenge.
Longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.
Longsuffering is closely related to mercy (1 Timothy 1:16). Longsuffering is a characteristic of God that we must strive to imitate in our own lives (2 Peter 3:9).
Just as God is longsuffering with our shortcomings – so we too must be longsuffering with the shortcomings of others.
Bearing with one another in love is closely related to being longsuffering. Notice that it is not just bearing (being patient) with each other, but it is doing so in love (agape, a decision, a sacrificial love that seeks the best for another) (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
The mindset worthy of the gospel’s call is one of merciful longsuffering and patience because we have chosen to love our brothers and sisters in Christ with a sacrificial love.
The Resolve Worthy of the Calling.
“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Endeavoring means “to be diligent, to make effort, to strive.” What are we striving for? To keep – or “to guard, to preserve, to keep watch upon.”
What is it we are striving to guard or preserve? The unity of the Spirit. This Greek word for unity is used only one other time and it is found in Ephesians 4:13 where it refers to the “unity of the faith.”
Unity does not just “happen” – it takes great effort.
As the next few verses mention(Ephesians 4:4-6), God has revealed the “platform” of unity through the Holy Spirit. We must keep a “close guard” on what God has revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:20-21).
We strive to keep guard over the unity of the Spirit “in the bond of peace.” Bond means “that which binds together, a band of union.”
This must be the “resolve worthy of the calling” for the Christian - to put forth great effort to keep our watch upon what God has revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in His word.
Are we walking as we should (in love, in light, in wisdom) or are we walking like the world?
Is our mindset one of lowliness and gentleness, longsuffering, and bearing with our brothers and sisters in love?
Are we striving to closely guard what God has revealed to us in the Spirit’s sword (Ephesians 6:18), the Word of God, in the bond of peace?
Making the commitment to walk worthy of the calling is essential to having unity in Christ, which is what Jesus wants (John 17:20-21).
It’s interesting that it tells us to add brotherly kindness to godliness and add charity to brotherly kindness!
Have you ever thought deeply on 2 Peter 1:7 and how we’re to add brotherly kindness to charity?