Walking Worthy

Sunday, September 22nd

Ephesians 4:1-6

Aaron Campbell

In today’s passage we come to the hinge point of this letter.  We transition from the new society to the new standards which are expected of it. ...From what God has done, to what we must be and do...from mind-stretching theology to its down-to-earth, concrete implications in everyday living.  (Stott)

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Verse 1 - Pointing back to chapters 1-3, calling us to live accordingly

Verse 2 - Some specific attributes of living in a worth manner

Verse 3-6 - Exclamation point on unity in the church, based in the Trinity

Vs 1 - That ‘therefore’ is looking back to all that has been covered in the first three chapters. 

It’s looking back to our God and Father who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.  He predestined us in love for adoption thru Jesus Christ according tho the purpose of His will. 

It’s looking back on the redemption we have through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.  The ‘therefore’ is there to remind us that we have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, and have been given the riches of His glorious inheritance, as well as the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe.  We are to remember that though we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places.  

This ‘therefore’ is pointing us to the reality that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 

Furthermore, it is there to remind us what we have looked at the last several weeks - that “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”.  And together has made us into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.  He has revealed to us the amazing mystery of God now revealed that Jews and Gentiles together are to fulfill His purposes as His people.  Jews and Gentiles, black and white, men and women, rich and poor, engineers and artists, Clemson fans and SC fans - there is to be now no division, but together we are all to display the manifold wisdom of God as fellow recipients of the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

This is something that wasn’t revealed in ages past, but is now to be the testimony of the church, lived out by the church, displayed to the world and even to the rulers in heavenly realms that find greater purposes to give God glory for what they see displayed in us!  That’s why Paul prayed for his readers that we would be rooted and grounded in love, strengthened with power through His Spirit, comprehending the breadth, length, width, and depth of the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, and be filled with all the fullness of God.  Of course, such a prayer could only be prayed to the God who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think and is therefore worthy of all the glory for the church throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.  THAT is what the ‘therefore’ is there for.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  Paul reminds them of their position, but doesn’t want them to be content with their position.  He wants to bring them to total transformation.  Therefore - because all of these glorious truths are real...live like it!  Show it!  Walk in a manner worthy of such a calling! 

Living in a manner worthy of our calling is not the same as "earning" our calling - Saving Private Ryan illustration

There is a huge difference between walking in a worthy manner and “being worthy”.  We will never be able to be worthy in the sense that we deserve the calling we have. But we are to live in such a way that we reflect that calling, and that is what we are called to do in this passage.  We cannot earn our calling.  What we have, has been given to us - it is a gift and it is free!  In light of that, we choose to live in such a way that reflects the grandness of the gift we have received.

By placing his imprisonment in proximity with a worthy life he is also saying loud and clear - this is worth it!  No regrets!  Exchanging my freedom for what I have in Christ - No Contest!  So he calls his readers to a life that reflects the worth, the value, the greatness of what we have been given in Christ.  What in this life compares with the glory of the riches of our inheritance with Christ?  There is no contest!  There will be no regrets for the life lived where His worth is central.  Do you believe that?  Does your life reflect that?  Is there something He is bringing to mind even now that you are aware does not reflect that?  Don’t be content with your position, embrace the transformation He is holding out for you!

I want to skip ahead to verses 4-6.  Because in these verses he amplifies the call to unity for all the church.  It isn’t a new theme for this letter.  The last chapter and a half have been highlighting the eternal purposes of God in uniting Jew and Gentile within the church, demolishing the dividing wall of hostility so that His multifaceted wisdom might be on display as He makes us both His trophies and ministers of reconciliation - Our unity is a big deal in His cosmic plan.  Enough that Paul decides to punctuate it again in verses 4-6 with an exclamation point!

He writes: 4 There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The oneness and unity of the church is important to God!  Not only is our unity important, it is rooted in the unity of God himself. In fact, because it is rooted in God (not in us or our strength and ability), our unity is as certain and indestructible as the unity of God Himself.  This passage clearly proclaims: There is ONE body...one hope, one faith, one baptism.  And each of these things are linked to a particular person of the Trinity, who are themselves three yet One.

There is one body because there is only one Spirit.  There is one hope belonging to our call - one faith, one baptism, because there is only one Lord.  There is one Christian family because there is one God and Father.  The one Father creates the one family.  The one Lord creates the one faith, hope, and baptism.  And the one Spirit creates and inhabits the one body.

In verse 3, we are also called to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”...(NAS - “preserve”) Clearly it already exists - but we are to maintain it - How does this work?

The ‘one’s spoken of in verses 4-6 are an invisible reality.  In other words, since the birth of the church a couple thousand years ago up through our present day and on to the day that Christ calls His Bride home - there is only ONE church, ONE body.  There is only one saving faith and one hope for mankind.  There is only one baptism - whereby Christ cleanses us and baptizes us in His Holy Spirit, making us one of His own.  This is true for all time, and every location.  

Sadly, that reality often remains invisible to the church itself, to the watching world, and even I imagine, to the angels and hosts of heaven...because reflecting our ‘oneness’ hasn’t exactly been the greatest strength of the church throughout history or in our present day.  Our call to maintain the unity of the Spirit is a call to reflect that invisible reality of our Oneness in Christ visibly by how we relate with one another.  It exists already - eternally, indestructibly - but we are called to pursue it and preserve it and showcase it to the glory of the God who is One. 

Illustration of disintegrating family - still a family even if they aren't relating like it!

When I say visibly, I’m not referring to a plastic smile that pretends everything is good.  But, what are your relationships with others in this local body?  We are united with believers past, present, and future all around the globe.  But we are called to reflect that union with those we are in relationship at this time - in this place.

Is there someone you avoid?  Are you harboring bitterness or unforgiveness toward anyone in this body?  Is there anyone you share “prayer requests” about that would cause the person with whom you are sharing to look down on that person?  Are you tempted to complain about someone that serves alongside you for not pulling their weight, or someone in CG who monopolizes the discussion, or someone under your care because they tend to be exhausting or overly dramatic, or someone in a leadership role because they aren’t doing things the way that your former pastor did or the way you would if your were a CGL?

How is that indestructible one-ness reflected in your relationships and in your heart?  Do you consider others more important than yourself?  Is this call any different than Jesus highlighting the two greatest commands - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself?  Maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace isn’t easy or automatic...but it is worth it!

There are some specific put-ons we are commended to in verse 2 that enable us to maintain and reflect the unity of God Himself.  2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”

Not till Jesus Christ came was a true humility recognized.  For He humbled Himself, which is really saying something!  God the Son left heaven, unbroken fellowship with the Father, and unceasing worship from the heavenly hosts to be born as one of us...and spend His first night in an animal trough.  Though He inspired the words penned by Moses and David and Isaiah, He patiently bore with the misguided questions of His disciples and the accusations of the scribes and pharisees.  At His command legions of angels stood at the ready to do His bidding, yet He allowed His enemies to capture Him, unjustly try Him, and viciously crucify them...even while it was His sustaining power that gave them breath and life every moment they were doing it.  He created the heavens and the earth out of nothing.  He spoke and the wind and waves listened, the dead came to life, and demons fled.  Yet He did not defend Himself.  Co-equal, co-eternal with God the Father, He made Himself nothing for us as one of us.  He sweat great drops of blood in agony of the approaching cross, yet resolutely determined that His Father’s will, “not mine be done.”  He was humble.

Humility is essential to unity.  Pride is behind all discord.  Every conflict in the history of the world (from Cain killing Abel to the current conflict in Syria to what was boiling over in the back seat of your car on the way to church this morning) can be traced back to a lack of humility. We NEED humility. As a church walking through multiple transitions and big decisions right now ranging from what mission will define us and how we carry it out to how we affiliate ourselves and partner with others - we need humility. As a church that is filled with people who have different backgrounds and experiences and preferences about each of those issues as well just about every other issue... we need humility.  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We need grace -and we need humility!  As leaders, we need humility. As families, as CGs, as individuals, we need humility. May God help us to be a humble people.  As a church called to reflect a God who is One, we need humility.

Are we marked more by gratitude or critique?  Are we quick to encourage others?  Do you assume you are the exception when Paul says in 1 Cor 1 “Remember your calling brothers: not many of you were wise or powerful or of noble birth - but God chose the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong, He chose the low and despised in the world...” Do you think that is everyone else’s resume, but not yours?  Those are church-killers, friends.  They are testimony-extinguishers.  God has a lot at stake for His people and His reputation, so He opposes the proud.  May He give us grace to be humble.

Gentleness or Meekness - The word was used of domesticated animals.  So it is not a synonym for ‘weakness’.  The ox is not weak, but it can be gentle. In order to be considered gentle first you must have strength or power. A baby is not gentle, a baby is weak. Dad needs to be gentle with the baby because if he uses his strength unbridled he would harm his child. Just like the greatest displays of humility can only come from those who have the most legitimate claims to greatness, those possessing the greatest strength and power are the ones capable of the greatest gentleness.  Gentleness is a characteristic of the strong - whose strength is under control.

Jesus described Himself as ‘gentle and lowly of heart’.  Our great position in Him should produce a lowly disposition in us.  Humility and gentleness should flow from our great calling. Pastors have real authority which the church is told to obey, but we are not to lord it over the flock. Men are never to allow physical strength to equal domination in the home, instead husbands are instructed to love their wives and live with them in understanding way as weaker vessel, and to not exasperate their children. Likewise, those with strong personalities shouldn't drown out the quiet or sheepish, and those with strong opinions shouldn't domineer the indecisive.  Those with strong faith must not exercise their liberties in ways that cause those with weak faith to stumble. Gentleness - strength that is under control - like humility, is essential for our unity. Our great blessings and privileges are not for the purpose of placing us in a superior position to anyone else, but to give us tools and gifts by which to care for and bless those around us.  Like our Savior who came not be served but to serve, and laid His life down as a ransom for many; our heavenly status in Him calls us to gently bear with, serve, and restore those He places us with.

With patience, bearing with one another in love...
Again, we need to look to Christ as the ultimate example of patience and bearing with others in love.  His ministry was defined by this, as is the entire record of His dealings with His people!  The fact that human history didn’t end in the Garden when Adam and Eve fell is a testament to His patience.  That the flood was only a one-time occurrence is because He was patient and bearing with us. Despite Israel constantly complaining against the Lord and going astray, He brought them back to Himself time and time again.  The only reason He became one of us is so that He could forevermore, make a way to bear with us through His death on the cross.

What does it look like for you to be patient with those around you?  Who is God calling you to bear with in love, the way He has patiently born with you? 

Because God is One, unity is an eternal reality which must be the ongoing commitment of His Body, even though we currently live it out imperfectly.  The call is worth the effort, writes the apostle from prison.  What is it worth to us?  How is He calling us to display one-ness?  How can you reflect humility and gentleness and patience in your relationships and in this current season in order to display the bond of peace we share?

Redeeming Grace Church - walk in a manner worthy of our name and the One who made it a reality!

___________________

Are you able to see the distinction between "walking in a manner worthy" and "being worthy" (or "earning it")?  How do you do at walking that out day by day?

How is that indestructible one-ness reflected in your relationships and in your heart?  

Do you consider others more important than yourself?  

Are you marked more by gratitude or critique?  

Are you quick to encourage others?  

In what ways is God calling you to be gentle (using your areas of personal strength under greater control)?  

What does it look like for you to be patient with those around you?  

Who is God calling you to bear with in love, the way He has patiently born with you?  

How does God's humility, gentleness, patience, and ability to bear with you in love motivate you to reflect Him?

How does God's humility, gentleness, patience, and ability to bear with you in love comfort you when you've failed to reflect Him?