Walk Worthy

Context

The first words of verse one are, I urge you therefore.

In light of the profound theological, christological, doxological content of chapters 1-3, Paul turns his focus to the believers’ conduct. Our conduct must be in response to what God has done through Christ.

Walking Worthy (1-3)

Paul’s exhortation’s credibility (1)

The ESV’s translation reads a prisoner for the Lord.

The LSB’s translation reads, the prisoner in the Lord.

I think the ESV’s translation captures what Paul is saying here given the context. Paul is imprisoned because of his commitment to obeying the Lord’s call on his life. This underscores his credibility as one who may issue the encouragement to walk worthy.

Remember what Paul said earlier about his afflictions:

Ephesians 3:13 ESV

13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Paul’s afflictions are for the glory of his readers, so Paul’s exhortation here can be understood to be issued from his authority as a prisoner in the Lord and is intended for their benefit.

Paul’s exhortation to consistency (1b)

I therefore,… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

Recalls:

Ephesians 2:2 ESV

2 in which you once walked, 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—

&

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Before we are regenerated we walked in disobedience. Now, as regenerated people, we are rightly exhorted to walk in the good works that God has prepared beforehand.

And what we will see is that the good works involve not only deeds but also behavior and character (v. 3).

Calling

To get at what Paul is talking about when he references the Ephesian’s calling, we want to trace it back to what he said earlier in the epistle:

Ephesians 1:16–18 ESV

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Here, Paul is praying that believers would know the hope of his calling. So, we see a connection between hope and calling. Thinking through this connection, we can understand Paul’s encouragement here to share the one hope of Christ.

This shows up again a few verses down:

Ephesians 4:4 ESV

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

What all believers have in common is they are called by God to share in the hope in their common hope in Christ. And this hope is connected to the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.

Believers are not responsible to be called. Notice in verse 1 the calling of Christians is passive. BUT, Christians are responsible to live in a manner worthy of that calling.

Walking worthy is our response to the reception of God’s gift to us. It is no more an effort to secure and keep God’s favor than smiling and saying thank you to someone who gives us a birthday gift is an effort protect the gift from being taken back.

Paul’s exhortation to godly character (2)

It quickly becomes clear that there is a connection between the calling believers have received and their character. And when Paul talks about character, that is connected to how we interact with others.

The character traits listed in verse 2 are:

humility

gentleness

patience

bearing with one another (enduring)

love

Are these qualities masculine?

1. Pietism (The Historical Movement)

Pietism was a 17th-century movement within Lutheranism (led by figures like Philipp Jakob Spener) that emphasized personal holiness and a "living faith."

The Focus: It was a reaction against "dead orthodoxy"—the idea that you could have all your doctrine correct but have a cold, dead heart.

The Goal: It emphasized individual devotion, Bible study, prayer, and a "heart-felt" relationship with Jesus.

The Legacy: It birthed the modern missionary movement and heavily influenced John Wesley and the Great Awakening. Historically, it is a positive term for those who value the internal life of the soul.

2. "Pietistic" (The Modern Criticism)

In the recent "Theo-bro" or "New Right" circles, calling a leader "pietistic" is a way of saying they are politically irrelevant or culturally weak. When critics call someone like John Piper or Tim Keller "pietistic," they usually mean:

Privacy over Public Square: They accuse the leader of caring only about the private heart and the local church, while "surrendering" the culture, the government, and the law to the secular left.

Avoidance of Conflict: A "pietistic" man is seen as someone who focuses so much on being "gentle and lowly" that he refuses to fight "cultural dragons."

Dualism: Critics argue that "pietistic" Christianity creates a false divide where God rules the heart, but the world is left to its own devices.

The Roman world did not value these traits. To display these qualities was to display weakness and could even become fatal in the course of battle.

One commentator noted that Epictetus (epuk-teetus, a Greek philosopher who lived part of his life as a slave in Rome) included humility in a vice list.

I suggest that to possess and display these traits is to display a dependence on God.

Now, there is a purpose to these traits. Displaying these qualities is the result of being called and necessary to our walking worthy of that calling, but the next verse describes the telos or purpose of walking this way.

the unity of the Spirit, as is stated in verse 3 is essential to the maturing of the body of Christ and humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and love are crucial to this goal.

To put it more simply, the unity of the Spirit is lived out by embracing Christ-like characteristics.

Paul’s exhortation to unity (3)

Ephesians 4:3 ESV

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

Peace between Jew and Gentile has been achieved through the blood of Christ.

Christ is our peace, making the two groups one

Ephesians 2:14–17 ESV

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

And this new unity is filled by the Spirit, who dwells within the newly unified people.

Ephesians 2:18 ESV

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So, in verse 3, Paul is exhorting believers to conduct themselves in light of the spiritual reality already established among them.

What is true of the church is that we are unified because we have been united by the redemptive work of Christ. But the church has been issued a command to make every effort to foster and strengthen this unity.

Notice in verse 3 that the unity of the Sprit is kept through the or in the bond of peace. Paul uses the word bond two other times in Colossians:

Colossians 2:19 ESV

19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Here it is used to describe the parts of the body being held together.

Colossians 3:14 ESV

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Here, Paul uses it to describe the bringing together various entities into a unified relationship.

And our bond is one of peace (end of verse 3). Peace is the prerequisite for unity. Now, we shouldn’t mistake unity for the absence of disagreement. Husbands and wives disagree. Friends disagree. People part of the same church can disagree. What’s the key to maintaining unity is these situations?

A commitment to walking worthy of the calling to which we have been called. And we will be committed to this as we deeply understand that calling itself.