Ephesians 4:1-16
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I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 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.
Walk worthily of your calling
Walk worthily of your calling
chapter 1-3 was doctrinal, the set of beliefs held by the church, now Paul gets to the practical application of these beliefs. This is what we believe, therefore, this is how we should respond if we truly believe what we say we believe.
This is how we walk the talk
prisoner—bond servant—willing prisoner bc of God’s amazing plan, the grace extended him and the multi-dimensional love of God, based on all I’ve just taught, doctrine, this is how you apply or what it should look like.
Great to study and know doctrine, but if we don’t apply it, if our heart hasn’t been stirred and captivated by the God who has done all this, if it doesn’t overflow with gratitude, then we may not believe it as much as we think we do.
Listen to what James says
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-
Paul’s desire is for every proclaiming believer to mature into the likeness of Christ.
walk—a slow daily lifestyle. Lead a life that is worthy.
manner worthy—if you sacrificed a sum of money to help get someone out of debt, what would you expect in return?
By God sacrificing Jesus, what would you think He’d expect in return?
step by step, moment by moment, decision by decision, follow Jesus, life in a way the honors God, honors the life you’ve been given as you were rescued from the immanent death that awaited. If fact in chapt 3 we were already dead and God woke us so we could believe.
worthy of your calling—as a follower of Jesus what is our calling? Is is to become a bondservant of Christ? Yes it is
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
1 Corinthians 7
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
So what is our calling? To be an image bearer of God, to honor and glorify Him with this life. So how do we do that?
It starts with humility, not pride, comes with gentleness and patience, bearing with one another in love. Dealing with one another in love, the easy and the difficult.
Eager to maintain peace, not discord, thru the unity of the Spirit. This comes by focusing on what we have in common, not what we don’t. Paul will list the most important things the believers have in common.
The one section
The one section
Ephesians 4:4-
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
One body—the church, the body of Christ. This is an exclusive statement that is inclusive. Meaning that there is only one body of Christ, not many, the other religions are not the one and only true body of Jesus, Only Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father but by me. It doesn’t matter what part of the body you are, just that you realize you are part of the body and need to work for the best of the body and do your part as a functioning member of the body. The one body is also formed by a diverse people.
One Spirit—the promised Holy Spirit that Paul wrote about in chapter 1
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:
All believers have the same Holy Spirit, how can this not unify us? So why is there so much division within the Church, I won’t talk of the differences within some denominations, but we can focus on the big 4, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, and Presbyterian, why even 4? This is where man has gotten involved and emphasized one minor issue over another, or maybe a major issue. It is a failure to maintain the bond of peace through the unity of the Spirit. The unity is from the fact that all were sinners on this side of the cross and all are saved by grace through faith on the other.
One hope—the hope in Jesus as the way the truth and the life, the only way to the Father, the only way for us to have forgiveness of our sins, the resurrection of our bodies, life eternal in heaven with Jesus.
One Lord—Jesus, one master, one leader, one way to live.
One faith—faith, hope, trust. The faith given to us by God and the faith in the same Lord and Savior, Jesus.
One baptism—the joining with us in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the public proclamation of our faith, and the symbolic action of dying to this life and rising to new life in Christ.
One God and Father—of all, who is over all and through all and in all. One creator God, one who we can now call Father, and Jesus His Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the trinity.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until 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, so 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from 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.
Ephesians 4:11-
Gifts to His people, the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry and for the building up of the body.
The gifts are the people, to each other and for each other
apostles, sent ones on a mission with a message.
prophets, speak the word of God boldly
evangelists, evangelion, missionaries, speakers of the Good News.
pastors and teachers, or shepherds and teachers, carers of the flock of God, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and so must these shepherds be. Both are to help care for and help grow the believers so they can fulfill their duties in the church.
