Live a Life Worthy of your Call
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)
For three chapters Paul has been unfolding the eternal purposes of God being worked out in history. Through Jesus Christ and by His death and resurrection God is creating something entirely new, not just a new life for individuals for a new society. Paul sees an alienated humanity being reconciled, a fractured humanity being united, even a new humanity being created.
Now we move on from the new society to the new standards which are expected of it. Paul turns from exposition to exhortation, from what God has done (indicative) to what we must be and do (imperative), from doctrine to duty.
‘As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you …’ (4:1). He has taught them and he has prayed for them (1:15-23; 3:14-19); now he makes his appeal. Instruction, intercession and exhortation work best in this order. Paul describes himself as ‘a prisoner for the Lord.’ He is both a prisoner of Christ and a prisoner for Christ, bound by chains of love and chains of iron.
‘I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received’ (4:1). The new society God is calling into being has two characteristics. First, it is ‘one’ people, composed equally of Jews and Gentiles, the single family of God. Secondly, it is a ‘holy’ people, distinct from the secular world, set apart (as Israel was in Old Testament days) to belong to God. Because God’s people are called to be one people, they must manifest their unity, and because they are called to be a holy people, they must manifest their purity. Unity and purity are two fundamental features of a life worthy of the church’s divine calling. Paul will now treat the unity of the church in 4:1-16 and the purity of the church in 4:17 – 5:21.
Unity. Are there any Christians you would not want to meet, let alone talk to? Regardless of the reasons for how you feel, is there continuing unforgiveness towards them? We obviously can’t change what happened in the past but we can take steps to stop it affecting our future. Forgiveness is a decision before it ever becomes a feeling. When we decide to forgive, the feelings of forgiveness soon follow. Forgive, just as God forgave you.
Purity. We’re all on a journey into purity. None of us has arrived. The great need is to be sure we haven’t stopped walking or worse still, lost ground. The Holy Spirit, because He is ‘holy,’ can and will do everything we let Him, in helping us pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down, and keep moving. Ask Him for His help. He won’t disappoint.
As a prisoner of the Lord I plead with you to walk holy, in a way that is suitable to your high rank, given to you in your divine calling Ephesians 4:1 (The Passion Translation)