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EPHESIANS: LIVING IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR HIGH CALLING

Part II: Walking Worthy Of Our High Calling In Christ, Ephesians 4:1-6:20

A. Walking Worthy Of Our Calling With Fellow Believers

(Ephesians 4:1-6)

I. Introduction

A. Having extensively written about the high calling we believers in Christ have in our Lord, clarifying the great extent to which God's grace in Christ has been administered in our behalf in Ephesians 1:1-3:21, Paul applied that truth to the Christian walk in Ephesians 4:1-6:20.

B. In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul presented the first realm of walking worthy of our high calling, that of relating to fellows believers in the Church. We view this passage for our insight and application (as follows):

II. Walking Worthy Of Our Calling With Fellow Believers, Ephesians 4:1-6.

A. In view of the great expression of God's unmerited favor, His grace, in saving and positioning us in Jesus Christ, we believers in Christ have an enormous responsibility to live lives that glorify God, Ephesians 4:1.

B. Paul thus explained how we are to relate to other believers in living such lives in Ephesians 4:2-3:

1. We believers need to live with all "lowliness" (KJV), or tapeinophrosune, "humility," Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 812; Ephesians 4:2a.

2. We believers need to live with "meekness" (KJV), or prautes, "gentleness," Ibid., p. 705-706; Eph. 4:2b.

3. We believers need to live with "longsuffering" (KJV), or makrothumia, "forbearance, patience" toward one another, Ibid., p. 489; Ephesians 4:2c.

4. We believers need to be "forbearing" (KJV), or anecho, "putting up with, bearing with" (participle) one another (Ibid., p. 65), doing so in love, Ephesians 4:2d.

5. We believers then need to be "endeavoring" (KJV), or spoudazo, "making every effort" (Ibid., p. 771) to keep the henotes, "unity" (Ibid., p. 267) of the Holy Spirit produced when God in Ephesians 2:15-16 made of Jew and Gentile in Christ a "new man" (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 633), doing so in the bond "that consists in peace" created by God, Ephesians 4:3 with 2:17.

C. Clarifying how necessary it is for us believers in Christ to live this way, Paul explained the depth of the spiritual unity we believers have in Christ in the spiritual realm in Ephesians 4:4-6 (as follows):

1. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since there is One spiritual Body, the Church, Eph. 4:4a.

2. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since there is One Holy Spirit Who is in us all, Eph. 4:4b.

3. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since we were all called to one hope when God called us by the Gospel of Christ, the hope of our future with God, Ephesians 4:4c; 1 Peter 1:3; 3:15; Ibid.

4. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since we have one Lord Jesus, Eph 4:5a; 1:22-23; Ibid.

5. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since we have one "subjective faith which is exercised by all Christians in Christ their Lord (cf. Col. 2:7)," Ephesians 4:5b; Ibid.

6. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since we have one "Spirit baptism" by which we were all placed into the Body of Christ, be we Jew or Gentile, 1 Corinthians 12:13 with Ephesians 4:5c; 2:15.

7. We must live trying to be unified in the Church since we have one God and Father of all Who is over all, through all and in all believers in Christ, Ephesians 4:6; Ibid. [Note: the context argues strongly that God the Father is the Father of all believers in the true Church, not that He is Father of "all mankind," Ibid.]

D. In explaining how necessary it is for believers to live in unity with one another, Paul explained how (1) the Triune Godhead is spiritually involved with every believer in the Church (Eph. 4:5a,b; 4:5c and 4:6) and that (2) he began to mention the Persons of the Trinity with the Holy Spirit, not with God the Father, for Paul was discussing the unity produced by the Holy Spirit and would later discuss the spiritual gifts provided by the Spirit in Ephesians 4:7-13, Ibid. The Spirit of God thus has a very important practical role in the Church.

Lesson: In view of God's extensive work in great grace for us who believe in Christ for salvation, we are obligated before the Lord to live worthy of our high calling in Christ. Such a life first involves relating to fellow believers in all humility, gentleness and forbearance as we make every effort to preserve the practical unity of the body in alignment with our spiritual unity created by the Holy Spirit. The very spiritual relationship of the Church to the Triune God and to the Church's foundational truths of one Body, One Spirit, one hope, One Lord, one faith, one Spirit baptism and One God the Father of all, in all and through us all also demands this effort of practical unity.

Application: May we believers realize how God's grace toward us calls for us to make every effort to be unified.