notes

Main point summary

Conduct your lives in a manner that shows the worth of your calling by maintaining the unity of the Spirit because there is only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father.

Bracket

NT

Ephesians 4:1-6

esv

nasb

na28

mine

net

niv

I therefore, m a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to n walk in a manner worthy of o the calling

Therefore I, a the prisoner of the Lord, b implore you to c walk in a manner worthy of the d calling

Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, 1 urge you to live 2 worthily of the calling

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling

to which you have been called,

with which you have been e called,

ἧς ἐκλήθητε,

with which you have been called, 3

you have received.

ideaexplanation

with all p humility

with all a humility

μετὰ πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης

with all humility

Be completely humble

and q gentleness,

and gentleness,

καὶ πραΰτητος,

and gentleness, 4

and gentle;

progression

with r patience,

with patience,

μετὰ μακροθυμίας,

with patience,

be patient,

s bearing with one another in love,

showing tolerance for one another b in love,

ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων ἐν ἀγάπῃ,

bearing with 5 one another in love,

bearing with one another in love.

eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in t the bond of peace.

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the a bond of peace.

σπουδάζοντες τηρεῖν τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης•

making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

actionmanner

There is u one body

There is a one body

Ἓν σῶμα

There is one body

There is one body

and v one Spirit—

and one Spirit,

καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα,

and one Spirit,

and one Spirit,

series

just as you were called to the one w hope that belongs to your call—

just as also you were called in one b hope of your calling;

καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως ὑμῶν•

just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling,

just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

comparison

x one Lord,

a one Lord,

εἷς κύριος,

one Lord,

one Lord,

y one faith,

one faith,

μία πίστις,

one faith,

one faith,

z one baptism,

one baptism,

ἓν βάπτισμα,

one baptism,

one baptism;

a one God and Father of all,

one God and Father of all

εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων,

one God and Father of all,

one God and Father of all,

b who is over all

a who is over all

ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων

who is over all

who is over all

and through all

and through all

καὶ διὰ πάντων

and through all

and through all

and in all.

and in all.

καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν.

and in all.

and in all.

ground

na28

discourse

Introduction

What is the proper response to the glorious redemption that we have in Christ provided for by God, and applied to us by the Spirit? Ephesians 3:21 tells us, namely worship. Biblical orthodoxy will always lead to biblical doxology. Right doctrine, right worship. But it doesn't stop there. It will also lead to biblical orthopraxy, right practice. If Romans 12 is the big therefore of the book of Romans, Ephesians 4 is the big therefore of Ephesians that talks about how we are to live in light of the marvelous and immeasurable grace of God in the gospel. That is, how does one live a life that is founded on grace.

Exposition

Walk Worthy of the Calling(vv. 1) In Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. This is the main point of Ephesians 4:1-16. We can even say that this is the main point of the entire list of ethical teachings of this letter. But before we try and answer the question of how are we to do that, let's ask first the following questions: What is the meaning of "to walk"? What is the meaning of "worthy of the calling"? To Walk First, what does Paul meant by the verb "to walk"(περιπατῆσαι)? We can get an idea of what it means by going back in Ephesians 2:1-3 and see how Paul used the same word there. Before our conversion, we, according to Paul, "were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked(περιεπατήσατε), following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." Walking here refers to how we live. It refers to our lifestyle or how we conduct our lives. So before Christ, our way of living is described as following three things, the course the world, the prince of the power of the air and the passions of our flesh. But after our conversion, and in light of our new identity in Christ, Paul urges us to walk, that is, to conduct our lives differently from the way we were before. This is not just some list to obey but habits to be lived out. Just as our former walk of life was informed by our old identity, namely dead sinners, prior to conversion, the conduct of our lives now must be informed by our new identity in Christ. Worthy of the Calling Second, what is the meaning of the phrase "worthy of the calling"? Does "worthy" here means "deserving"? That is, walk in such a way that would show you are worthy of the calling. I don't think that's what Paul is saying here. It is not as though Paul is urging us to strive to be worthy nor to show that we are worthy of our calling. That's totally opposite to what he's been telling us from chapters 1-3. We have nothing in us to commend ourselves to God, that's why Paul constantly reminds us of God's power, mercy, love and grace. We are unworthy, and can't strive to be worthy. So if that's not it, what does it mean then? When Paul says, walk in a manner worthy of the calling, he means, live a life that shows or call attention to the worth of the calling. Paul is not saying show your value, but show the value of your calling. But you should ask, where can we see that in the Bible? First, we can see this in how Paul begins this chapter. In verse 1 he starts off with a conjunction "therefore". This means that this exhortation and all the ethical commands that follow find their foundation or basis, or ground in chapters 1-3. Paul has been telling us the greatness, grandness and glory of our calling and salvation in Christ. This means that our calling is of great worth and value, but more than that, it shows ultimately, not our worth but God's worth. That's why Paul starts and end with blessing and praising God, because He alone is worthy. So in light of that, it doesn't make any sense for Paul to urge us to make ourselves or show that we worthy of our calling. Second, we can also see this elsewhere in the New Testament. Let me point you to some passages that talks about being worthy of calling, worthy of the gospel, worthy of the Lord, worthy of God, worthy of the kingdom. Because virtually these are all the same thing. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Notice two things here, (1) God is the one making us worthy. Which presupposes that we are unworthy and we can't strive to be worthy. (2) The purpose of making us worthy is not to show our worth but Christ's worth. It says, "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Of course we are glorified in him, but this is in so far as we're in him. Also this glory is just a result of God making us worthy. Philippians 1:27, "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Again, this doesn't mean we ought to show that we are worthy or deserving of the gospel. The clue here is in the purpose of this command. It is so that Paul may hear that they are standing firm in unity for the faith of the gospel. It says "for the faith of the gospel". It means that the faith of the gospel or the gospel itself deserves something from us, and not that we deserve something from the gospel. In other words, the worth and value of the gospel expects from us a kind of lifestyle that befits it. 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 "For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." Obviously no one is worthy of God in the sense that we deserve God's favor. Instead, this means to live as to show that God is worthy of thanksgiving and praise precisely because he called us into his kingdom and glory. One last clue as to the meaning of "worth" or "worthy" is in Matthew 3:8 where John the Baptist says, "Bear fruit worthy of repentance." Surely this can't mean that you should bear fruit in order to become worthy of repentance. Rather it means bear fruit that befits the value of repentance. That is, if you say you're sorry, and yet not doing anything that shows you're really sorry, instead you keep on repeating the same sin, you are in some sense diminishing the significance of the word "sorry". You're saying that repentance is of no value. Here's one way to illustrate what Paul is saying: Imagine you're in a museum. There are many artworks but not all of them are equally beautiful or worth viewing. And you don't have enough time to look at all of them. So you have to choose what you deemed as most beautiful, right? And when you're in front of that artwork, will you say "Oh how what I sight! I'm worthy to see this majestic painting"? No, you will not say that. What you will say and ought to say is that the artwork is worth the time that you have. The artwork is deserving to be viewed. That painting deserves your attention and so you're willing to give your time. So when Paul says, conduct your lives worthy of the calling, he means, live a life that would show the value, the worth, the grandness of our calling. Show its Worth By Maintaining Unity( vv. 2-3 ) Now, there are many ways to show the worth of our calling or the worth of the gospel as taught in scriptures. Being willing to die for the sake of the gospel is one of them. Being able to say with Paul in Philippians 3:8 that we count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. But here Paul gave one of the ways, namely Christian unity. We can see this in verses 2-3, "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." These are five ways you would say. I guess you can say that. But we can see a progression of thought here towards unity, making it the main thing. The first two modifiers are prepositional phrases, "with humility and gentleness/meekness" and "with patience". Then the last two are participles, "bearing with one another" and "being diligent to maintain the unity of the Spirit". With Humility and Meekness The worth and greatness of our calling makes people humble or lowly. When a person is proud and calls attention to himself, he's basically saying that he is more worthy to be heard and seen than the gospel. But if you really saw the highness of our calling, you will not say "look to me", you will say "look to the gospel". And the attitude characterized by a lowly person is that of gentleness and meekness. With Patience Now patience is a result being lowly and meek. A person made humble by sight and experience of God's grace and mercy see himself as unworthy of any good from others. And so he will not be demanding to be served by others. He will not cut lines because of impatience, thinking that he doesn't deserve to wait in line. Bearing with One Another And patience will result in forbearance. This means that in the church, there are times that you will be hurt by someone. Or that there are people who are hard to be with. Most of the time we are that person. But a patient person will endure one another. This endurance is not the hypocritical kind. This forbearing is rooted in love. Being Diligent to Maintain Unity Now notice, all of the traits Paul mentioned are necessary if we are to maintain unity. We don't call for unity to perfect people. The call for unity is for imperfect and diverse people. That's why we need humility, meekness and gentleness, patience and forbearance. Without them we will devour one another. Another thing worth mentioning is that though we are responsible for having these qualities, and for maintaining the unity, this unity is brought forth by the Spirit. It is a unity of the Spirit. Just as humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance in love are but a fruit of the Spirit, unity also finds its source in the Spirit. Remember that in Ephesians 2:22 that we are a temple built by the Spirit. We are already reconciled to one another and to God, so the call to unity is a call to show that we are now reconciled in Christ Jesus, who is our peace. Christ is the bond of peace that holds us together. How then maintaining the unity of the Spirit shows the worth of our calling? Here's how, if we say, I don't like to be one with my brothers and sisters, it's like saying that what Christ did to reconcile us in one body is not worth it. In other words, the death of Christ that bought our oneness, is of no value to us. But Christ's atoning death is of infinite value. And it does accomplish what it suppose to do, namely to reconcile us to God and to reconcile us to one another. So when we strive to maintain this unity, we are not becoming more worthy of our calling, rather we are showing that our calling which includes being united in one body is worthy. It is of great value. Therefore let us not tarnish this great calling to which God called us by being proud, rude, impatient, retaliatory and divided people. Show its great value by being lowly, gentle, patient, forbearing and as result we will show that the unity that Christ died for is a reality worth having.