Year Two, October 28

Walk in a Manner Worthy of the Calling to Which You Have Been Called1

Paul was far from being ashamed of being locked up in a jail like a criminal. He again calls himself “a prisoner for the Lord,” using it like a first-class title of honor. To suffer for him who suffered to the death for us is a joy too strong for words.2 Paul uses the fact that he was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel as a reason why the Ephesians should listen to what he had to say.

  

Ephesians 4:1-8; 11-32

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

True believers are one. Christ has established only one church. He brought it to life with only one Holy Spirit. He gave it only one person to hope in. The Lord is the only Head of the church; she does not have two Lords. Jesus has revealed only one faith and commanded only one baptism. Therefore, believers should be eager to maintain unity and work to promote the good of the whole church.

7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”

11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (All of the ascension gifts were given for the building up of the Lord’s one church, not for the establishing of many denominations. His best gifts are holy people, qualified for various gracious works. And these people are to work within the church to help each believer mature. When this takes place, the whole body of the faithful will experience spiritual improvement.) 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (We are now part of a new body of which the Lord Jesus is the head. We can no longer act the way we used to, which would completely contradict our new profession of faith. Our old evil ways must now be hated and holiness aimed for. Is it that way with us?)

25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, (We may be angry at wrong, without sinning as a result. But if our anger includes selfish resentment, it is always sinful. And if it lives longer than a day, it cannot be justified. One of the hardest things in the world is to be angry and not to sin.) 27and give no opportunity to the devil.

28Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (The cure for dishonesty is honest work and the remedy for a tendency to steal from others is to learn to share with them.) 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Do we always remember this? Are not some jokes that are commonly heard very far from building up?) 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Let this be written and posted in our bedrooms and practiced in every room in the house. Then our home will be like heaven.)

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¹ Ephesians 4:1

² Acts 5:41, The apostles “left the presence of the council [of the Pharisees], rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name [of Jesus].”