November 20 2025

Thursday November 20

“Walk Worthy of the Calling”

Ephesians 4:1-3

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.

Today we're moving on to a new chapter, Ephesians 4. As we look at this chapter, we actually are beginning a new section of the book of Ephesians. The first three chapters of Ephesians dealt with doctrine, with knowledge, primarily our position in Christ. The key word was the wealth that we have already in Jesus Christ.

I think it's interesting that in the Old Testament, God would say to the nation of Israel, if you obey me, I will bless you. But here in the New Testament, in all Paul's epistles, God is basically saying to the believers, now that I have blessed you, “therefore”, now walk in me, walk in my love. Live for me like you should. So we see the first three chapters are doctrinal where the last three chapters of Ephesians are duty. God gives us the doctrine, the knowledge first. What we now know about our position in Christ and in His body, the church, we  should apply these truths to our lives in a practical way everyday. Some Christians say, "It doesn't matter what I believe, just as long as I live right." My friend, it does matter what you believe because what you believe determines what your walk will be. Jesus said, "From out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks".

You might remember in my introduction to the book of Ephesians I gave each chapter a different title:  In the first chapter, we talked about knowing Jesus. In the second chapter, living Jesus. We are in Christ, He is in us. Then in the third chapter we've been talking about is loving Jesus. This chapter reveals to us the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ, and the unity we have in it because of God’s mercy and love we love Jesus and expressing that love by loving others.  Chapter four is talking Jesus. Chapter five, walking Jesus and the last chapter is standing Jesus.

The first three chapters are about our wealth, our riches in Christ while the last three have to do with our walk in Jesus Christ. In chapters 4 through 6, we will see the word walk will appear several times. We are told to “walk worthy of the calling” (4:1); “walk in love” (5:2); “walk as children of Light” (5:8); “walk circumspectly” (carefully) (5:15).

Paul uses two important words in the first verse of chapter 4. The first is “therefore”, and the second is “beseech”. “I therefore a prisoner of the Lord beseech you”. “I therefore”, by that He means what I have already said before, based what I've said before concerning the knowledge the wealth and riches you have in Christ. Paul uses this same reasoning in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In the first 11 chapters of Romans, Paul basically gave us the doctrine of salvation. Then in chapter 12, he exhorts us to now live a sacrificial life for Christ, which in the only reasonable thing to do because of His love and sacrifice He made for us! We first know Christ, then we begin to live Christ, to love Christ, now we are to walk Christ. This is so important.

In Ephesians 4 we see this walk that Paul is writing about to us to have is a walk in unity. Walk worthy of the calling to which you are called. How? “In lowliness and gentleness and longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.” Paul is asking us to walk in unity (4:1-6, walk in purity (4:7-5:17), walk with harmony (5:18-6:9), and in walk in victory (6:10-24).

Again, the main idea in these first sixteen verses in Ephesians 4 is the unity of believers in Christ. This is simply the practical application of the doctrine taught in the first half of the letter: God is building a body, a temple. He has reconciled Jews and Gentiles to Himself in Christ. The oneness of believers in Christ is already a spiritual reality. Our responsibility is to guard, protect, and preserve that unity.

God has given us such a marvelous calling in Christ; now it is our responsibility to live up to that calling.

May the Lord help us to do that today!

God bless!