We have been studying through the book of Ephesians
and in the first three chapters we have found the blessings which God
has bestowed upon us in Jesus Christ:
We
are the chosen ones, adopted into God’s family, forgiven, redeemed, and
sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our
eyes have been opened to the reality that we have hope, spiritual riches,
and mighty power because we are in Christ.
Being
“in Christ” we have spiritual authority in prayer, we have become brothers
and sisters with all the saints, and we are the dwelling place of God!
We
have been dedicated to God as His Temple and we are strengthened with
His might, filled with His love, and filled with all the fullness of
God!
All
of that is awesome! But now … what are we supposed to with this
great Presence of God which is in our life? Well … in Ephesians
chapter four the Apostle Paul tells us!
Eph 5
1 I, therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness,
with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The
Apostle Paul calls our commitment to Christ as walking
worthy. For some, giving back to God in the measure
of our blessing sounds as exciting as making car payments. But
why do we make car payments? Because we have a vehicle that we
“fell in love” with and we just had to have it. But remember
the excitement and the dream of that car? It’s still there, but
now we have to maintain it! And you have to keep making the payments!
Walking
worthy of God is so much better! We have been given an exceedingly
great treasure which isn’t wearing out; shouldn’t we show appreciation
for that great gift and give back to the Giver? All of us have
heard stories of successful singers, musicians, movie stars, and sports
figures that have had a lot of recognition, made a lot of money, and
then they end up wasting their lives on drugs and wild living. It
seems such a waste.
But
the reality is we have all been given precious gifts!
7 But to each
one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
All
of us have been given the gift of life! I have
met some who havehad severe accidents and lived … and afterward exclaimed
that God apparently had a reason for them to still be here. Well
yes … He has a reason for all of us! All of us have talents
and abilities which are to be freely given to others to bless them. While
we bless them we are a blessing to
God!
So
let’s examine the idea of walking worthy. First of all, Walking
worthy calls for us to Walk Together In Unity.
3 … keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Our
first allegiance belongs to Christ but our second allegiance belongs
to those who are in Christ. We must realize there is only one Church,
produced by one Spirit, one hope, one Lord and His name is Jesus, one
faith, one baptism, and one God who is our Father. Our separate
fellowships and denominations are not an enhancement to the gospel but
a distraction!
Know
this: The power of God is amplified
when brothers and sisters walk together in unity. It is
for this reason that Satan does all he can to distract believers from
walking together as one. For some it is a
lack of knowledge that causes them unconcern about seeking fellowship
and walking in unity with other Christians. For some the distraction
is their own personal fulfillment which
keeps them from seeking out fellowship with other believers. For
some, Satan has them bound in sinful
habits which would exclude them from seeking fellowship with other
believers. Some have broken fellowship due
to anger, resentments, pride, selfishness, and other personal problems.
If
we are going to walk worthy of Christ, our first step is to walk in unity
with other believers. Whatever is hindering you from doing that
… is hindering the power of God in the world! Walk worthy by walking
in unity.
Ephesians
4, verses 11 through 16 gives the outline of how to walk in unity.
11 And He Himself
gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping
of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ,
13 till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ;
14 that we should
no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness
of deceitful plotting,15 but, speaking
the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the
head — Christ —
16 from whom
the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,
according to the effective working by which every part does its share,
causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Leadership
has the responsibility of training and equipping the rest of the Body
of Christ for the work of ministry. Some people think the pastor
is to be doing the work of the ministry … but that isn’t what the Bible
teaches! A good pastor is training and equipping the saints so
they can do the work of the ministry! That the work God called
me to do!
God’s
goal for the Church is that we all be encouraged, unified, taught, and
matured until we look like, act
like, and talk like Christ Himself! When we reach the
point where we are able to encourage one another in love, then
we can begin to give the gift in us that builds up the Body of
Christ … the Church!
By
the design of God, the Church is to be the most loving, wholesome,
joyful, encouraging place in the entire world. The sound coming
from the sanctuary of our churches should be laughter as we pray for
one another and give help to one another! This is to be a transforming
place as we help each other become more than conquerors in Christ Jesus!
Giving
back to God calls for us to Walk
Worthy … and to Walk
in Unity! Walking Worthy also calls for us to Walk
in the Light.
17 This I say,
therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk
as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because
of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart;
19 who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have
not so learned Christ,
22 (therefore)
put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed
in the spirit of your mind,
24 and … put
on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness
and holiness.
25 Therefore,
put away lying …
26 … do not let
the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who
stole steal no longer,
29 Let no corrupt
word proceed out of your mouth … and do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God ...
31 Let all bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with
all malice.
32 And be kind
to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God
in Christ forgave you.
5:3 But fornication
and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among
you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish
talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving
of thanks.
5 For this you
know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is
an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
8 For you were
once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children
of light …
Most
of this has no need of further explanation. Paul has given a pointed
word to us: Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t stay angry, speak only
those words which edify and build up, and don’t get involved in immoral
conduct or conversations. When we walk worthy of the love
of Christ it becomes our desire to change our behavior, our conduct,
and our conversations!
After
all that Christ did for us … isn’t that a simple request from Him? Plus,
His request from us is for our good! When we walk worthy of Christ
our lives are blessed, we experience the love of God, and we are encouraged
and strengthened! Walking
worthy is the best way to live!
A
true story is told of Mahatma Gandhi, a respected leader in modern
history. A Hindu, Ghandi nevertheless admired Jesus and often quoted
from the Sermon on the Mount. Once when the missionary E. Stanley Jones
met with Ghandi he asked him, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the
words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject
becoming his follower?"
Ghandi
replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ.
It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Ghandi
had met too many Christians who did not walk worthy. Are you
one of those? Is it time for you make a change in the way you
walk?
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