Ephesians chapter 4, and I'll read verses 1 through 6. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Amen. You may be seated. I know I've mentioned this a number of times before and some of you were there at the service where Eric Tucker, who we then supported as a missionary to Mexico, gave a Wednesday evening sermon, a mini-sermon, and he talked about a very basic topic, but that is the difference between the indicatives and the imperatives. The indicatives, what God has done for you in Jesus Christ, and the imperative, what God, because He has called you, what God now calls you to do. And it was, as I say, a very simple talk on a Wednesday evening, but a very memorable talk. Sometimes there are just those sermons you remember, and that was probably 25 years ago or so. And almost every book of Paul has a section where we say it's the indicatives, and then it's followed by a section where we say it's the imperatives. Now, it's not maybe a simple as that, but that is the basic pattern that we see, sometimes though the order is reversed. The book of Titus would be an example where it seems Paul gives the imperatives first and then the indicatives come later. Now, we should not think, oh, it's this boring doctrine that comes first and then the exciting application that comes next. Paul's application is deeply theological. And we can say, the indicatives also call us to think and to act. So, the challenge always is we think and act like we are Christians. Now, there is a change, though, that we can say in terms of this letter as we start with chapter 4. There's a sense where we could say chapter 4 verse 1 is the center of the entire book of Ephesians. It brings together this entire beautiful book. Look again at that first verse. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. That will be our focus. You would walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. And that word calling brings together everything in chapters 1 through 3. And the verb walk is, you can say, the summary command for the rest of Ephesians. It's the dominant verb, certainly, between chapter 4, verse 1, and then if you look at the end of chapter 5, or towards the end of chapter 5, everything is structured around this verb to be walking. This is how we are to conduct ourselves. Now focus, if you would, on Ephesians 4, just verses 1 through 6. In my Bible, they make up one paragraph, one section, but you can see there's two parts to it. Verses 1 through 3, the walk worthy of your calling up to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. and then three verses, verses four through six, this unity is based on this deep theological oneness. Seven times you have the word one in verses four through six. Well, as I studied, as I started to write the sermon, I realized verses one through three would be sufficient, so that will be our focus, and Lord willing, next week we'll look at verses four through six, but we focus then just on verses one through three. Walk worthy of your calling. walk worthy of your calling. In Sunday school, about two years ago or so, we were studying the life of Martin Luther and the Reformation. As Luther recovered the gospel, as he started to preach the gospel, then he also realized people needed to live according to the gospel. The gospel had to be recovered first. But people also needed encouragement to live according to the truth of the gospel. We see that, I think, not in the same way, but we see that in the life of Paul. He has proclaimed the glorious truth of our salvation, and now he pleads for his readers to now live according to this truth. Now, the Christian faith is not a cult. There are groups that live, you might say, on the outside, these very holy lives. Everything is this top-down directed service. The pastor of the church, or maybe it's someone else, they're basically the dictator. They tell everybody what to do. I was reading about a church in Indiana. Basically, you couldn't move your furniture unless you got the permission of the pastor. That was maybe a slight exaggeration, but not too much. So there are these cults, churches that are almost like cults, and everything is this dominant, this dominant figure tells basically everybody how to live. That's not the Christian life, right? We're not to live by fear, slavery. It's not that men dictate every little detail of your life, tell you you can do this, you can't do this. No, we have to live According to the gospel, we have to live in obedience to God's truth. Klein Snodgrass says this, Christianity is God-directed, Christ-defined, other-orientated religion. God-directed, Christ-defined, other-orientated religion. We see that especially in verses 1 through 3, don't we? Now, the reality is we have this precious truth. The reality is so often as Christians we fail. in living as we are called. But we have the beautiful truth, so many beautiful buildings throughout this nation, beautiful church buildings. The reality is so often Christians do not live as they should. And as you look at these opening verses, what Paul is writing here, he's writing these things because this is not natural for us, right? He would not have to plead if these things came natural. Right? So these, this description of how we are to live, we can say, this is not the natural bent. What is natural is me, what I want to do, when I want to do it. So again, we're not part of a cult, but there's the need for encouragement, sometimes rebuke, sometimes discipline. That does take place in the context of a local church. Paul is not giving all the details here in these opening verses. We can say, this is the foundation. This is how we are all to live. Let's look at verse 1. Paul reminds us again, he is not a free man. He is a prisoner. He is a prisoner not of Rome. He's a prisoner of the Lord. In that sense, he is the freest of all men. He's a prisoner of the Lord. And I think he mentions that, remember he mentions that in chapter 3, 1, for this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. I think there's a sense where he mentions that he's a prisoner. He has suffered for the truth. Now, he's also an apostle, but he has suffered and he has a right. in that sense, to say, hey, I'm living for the reality of the gospel. He has a right to give this charge to his readers and to us. John Calvin's comments on this text were very rich, and he says, the Apostle's prison is more truly venerable than the splendid retinue that's all the people who would surround kings along with their triumphal chariots. The Apostle Paul's prison is more beautiful, more venerable than all the things that kings enjoy. He's a prisoner of the Lord. Now notice this verb, beseech. As I studied this passage, I noted these are beautiful words. The translation of the New King James, it's a beautiful translation, but the verbs tend to be verbs we don't use today. When was the last time you used the verb beseech? Newer versions have urge, which I suppose is good. Strongly urge may be better. It's difficult, in a sense, to capture Paul's passion here. He's not pounding the pulpit, but he is giving a strong charge. And these are not tips to a better life. This is the call of a holy God. And so there's a strength that comes with these commands. There is an urgency Paul has as he writes this letter. So, beseech or strongly urge, exhort maybe a possible translation, walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Now, the verb walk is a very common verb in the New Testament. To walk worthy, I think, is only found here. And if you look at the book of Ephesians, go back to chapter 2 and verse 2, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Later in chapter 5, Paul will use the verb walk several times. We are to walk as children of light. We are called to walk in love. We are to walk with wisdom. We are not to be fools, but wise. Chapter 5, verse 2, 8, and 15. Notice the grammar here is correct. We are to walk worthy of the calling. It's not walk worthily. I suppose you could translate it that way, but it's walk worthy of the calling. The word worthy is connected with our calling. I think that's important. This is not about paying God back. This is not about your own self-righteousness. You're to walk in terms of the way that God has called you. Has God called you by His grace? Has the blood of Jesus Christ been shed for you? Have you been given now a hope? Have you been given promises far greater than just the things of this world? Has God called you? Then live in a way. that reflects His sovereign and gracious call in your life. And notice here, the instruction of Scripture is not that we just be nice, kind, little people. Yes, we are to be kind, we are to be gracious, but never separate the command. from the foundation, God's undeserved grace, the blood of Jesus Christ, the working of the Holy Spirit. I think there's a tendency to sometimes maybe forget chapters 1 through 3 as we get to chapter 4. We cannot do that. Everything in chapters 1 through 3 is still with us as we get now to chapter 4. Never forget the calling. Live in terms of that calling. Now, what would you say, in verses 2 and 3, what would you say is Paul's focus, the focus of Paul's instruction? I think we could say, he's explaining in verses 2 and 3 what it means to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. He's explaining that, and we could say this, it would seem that the focus is especially on others. I think that's true. It must, however, begin with our attitude before God. Yes, there's a focus on others, but I think we are to say it begins with our attitude before God, and then it does lead to how we treat other people, if you are not first humbled before God. then it doesn't matter, in a sense, your exterior actions. You know, there are people who, you might say, they're very humble people, but they're still rebels before God. They have not yet been humbled before God. On the exterior, oh, they're nice people, but you have to be first humbled before God. Yes, then we are to live in humility before other people. And the reason why I emphasize that is what we read in Philippians 2.8. The greatest humility is not just before men, is it? Philippians 2.8, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Our Lord humbled himself. Before whom? Before the Father. Who did he obey? It wasn't other men. He obeyed the call of the Father. So humility, as we begin with this list, it has to begin with our attitude before God. And then, yes, it does lead to our attitude before others. If you look at different translations, they vary. in terms of how they translate the words of verse two. As I say, the New King James Version, I think, is beautiful, though the words are not words we commonly use. When was the last time you used the word lowliness or gentleness? long-suffering, bearing with one another. These, unfortunately, maybe are words that are not as common in our vocabulary, but they're beautiful words, and they're very rich. We'll look at some of the meanings, but they're very rich just as you look at these English words. They're rich in meaning, and I think we can say these English words, their meanings are closely connected with the truth of Scripture. Our language has been shaped, thankfully, by Scripture, and we see that here. Let's begin with lowliness. Some translations have humility, but lowliness, that's a good word, isn't it? Various commentators point out that the noun lowliness was never used before the time of the New Testament. This is a word that the writers of Scripture put into use. Now, there was an adjective. The adjective had a bad meaning, though. It was not a virtue. And I think we can understand that. It took the gospel message to give lowliness the proper meaning. You see, before, lowliness had a bad meaning, to be like a slave, to be ignoble. But now, there's a proper context because of who Jesus is, what Jesus accomplished. So this is not weakness, this is submission to God. and a lowliness, a humility then before others. Here is maybe the most important verse in connection with this passage. It's Matthew 11, 29. Matthew 11, 29. It might be a cross-reference in your Bibles, but I say it's the most important connection with this passage. It's the words of Jesus himself. Matthew 11, 29, where Jesus says, take my yoke upon you. and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. and you will find rest for your souls." Same two words used here in Ephesians 4 and verse 2, just the order is switched. Jesus says, I am gentle and lowly in heart. Here this begins with lowliness and then it moves to gentleness. But you see, this is not weakness. This is our Lord. This is who our Lord is. We're called to follow Him in light of our calling as one with Christ. This is who we are to be. Lowly, then second, gentle, with gentleness. Again, this is not effeminate weakness. We can say this is a proper use of strength. Now, I found various definitions for this word gentleness. I'll share a couple of them. They're beautiful definitions. One is this, the quality of not being overly impressed by your own self-importance. The quality of not being overly impressed by your own self-importance. I like that, gentleness. Now, this word could also be translated meekness. meekness. Again, not weakness, but meekness. And we ask the question, who is the meekest person in the Old Testament Scriptures? It was Moses. That's the testimony. Moses was the meekest person Was Moses weak? Obviously not. Here's another great definition. What is meekness? The spirit of one who is so absorbed in seeking some worthy goal for the common good that he refuses to be deflected from it by slights, injuries, or insults directed at himself personally or indeed by any personal considerations of any kind. Meekness is, you know, God has called you to do something. And you bear up with all the injuries and slights because you know God has called you to live in this way. So meekness is a strength, but not a self-directed strength. It's a strength because you know the calling of the Lord. And so there's a gentleness. You do know how to use power because you know it's not about you. It's not about how important I am. It's about what has God called me to do. Gentleness flows out of knowing what you have been called by God to do. The third word, long-suffering. What a beautiful word in English. Long-suffering. There's two related definitions for this. It could be you endure under difficulty, under provocation. You endure under difficulty, under provocation. It can also be the flip side of this. You are slow in avenging wrong or retaliating when you are hurt by others. You're long-suffering, slow to get even. Then fourth, Bearing with one another in love, that could be translated putting up with each other, enduring each other. Again, do you see how realistic? Paul's view is of the Christian life. It's not a flattering view if you think about it. These words indicate, ah, this is not how we normally live, is it? And again, I found John Calvin's comments were so rich on this passage, and I think part of it was he knew the difficulty of ministry in Geneva. And John Calvin, of course, was far from perfect. He had a temper. He could be probably overbearing. But he was living in a very difficult time. The time of the Reformation was an incredible struggle. And so this passage, I think, really ministered to him and to the others. And you think of this, the Christian life, Christian ministry, life in a local church is rarely just one happy day, one happy smile after another. You know, when you put together your Christmas photo for the year, you hope everyone is smiling, looks nice in the picture. But you know, that is just one second of the year. Is the rest of your life like that smiling picture? Everyone getting along? Everyone happy? No, it's not. And we want to have that smiling picture as a church, but we know that's generally not the reality, is it? So we're called to live lowliness, gentleness, long-suffering, now bearing or putting up with each other, but not doing this with a frown, but in love. Enduring in love. Colossians 3.13 is the parallel here. Bearing with one another, same verb. Bearing with one another, forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. We have to put up with each other, but not out of, oh, I have to do this, but in love. That's the call. And you say, that's not natural. Yes, it's not natural. It may even seem it's hypocritical. Well, that's the call of God's Word. Love is not this natural, flowing feeling. It's how am I to treat this person? How would the Holy Spirit direct me to deal with this situation? Then, number five here in terms of this description, endeavoring, making every effort, striving to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul was a prisoner at times. He had been handcuffed, chained. And the word bond could mean the handcuff, that which keeps you bound to another person. So here it's the unity of the Spirit. The bond is to be what? Peace. In other places, it's called love, Colossians 3.14. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Here, it's the bond of peace. And we observe, very important, we don't create unity. It's the Spirit that brings unity. Our job, our gift is to guard it. to keep it, to do everything possible to keep this unity of the Spirit in the bonds. The things that keep us together should be peace, should be love. John Calvin wrote here, Oh, were this thought deeply impressed upon our minds, that we are subject to a law which no more permits the children of God to differ among themselves than the kingdom of heaven to be divided, how earnestly we should cultivate brotherly kindness, how should we dread every kind of animosity if we duly reflected that all who separate us from brethren estrange us from the kingdom of God. Well, verses 4 through 6 continue with this great theme of unity. And Lord willing, this will be our focus next week. But let's, again, just reflect on verses 1 through 3 again. I'm going to read verse 1. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." Don't lose sight of the calling that you have been given. That's the richness of chapters 1 through 3. This is the glory of the gospel. And if you think of this, if Jesus humbled himself to die on the cross, how can we not humble ourselves as we treat others, right? You'll never outgive what you've been given, you'll never out-humble the Lord Jesus Christ. He humbled himself to die. What is God calling you to do in terms of others? One of the things I've been reflecting on, preaching through Romans on Wednesdays, I'm in 2 Timothy on Tuesdays, there's a lot of repetition in Scripture. This is not the only passage. My point is this. This is not some secret. No, this is just part of the beautiful flow of Scripture. And you can find, as I say, in Colossians or in other parts of Scripture, in Peter's writings, in John, you find the same thing. There is a lot of repetition in Scripture, isn't there? Parenting is very repetitive. How many times do you tell your children to do something? Life is very repetitive, isn't it? We get up, we do the same thing. So what we find here, again, this is not some secret, it's just part of the beautiful flow of God's Word. But we should ask, because we are in Ephesians 4, we're not in Colossians or 2 Timothy here, we should ask, as I read this passage, and I pray you will give attention to this passage after this service has ended, but think, how does this passage particularly direct me? Are there situations where this text may be calling even for repentance, where you are convicted by God's truth, where there needs to be confession, where there needs to be forgiveness even? You know, Satan loves to either twist God's truth or to get us to live as hypocrites. Two-fold. Either twist God's truth, get God's people to live as hypocrites. So we need to hold tightly to God's truth. We need to walk worthy of the calling that God has sovereignly and graciously given to us. For his glory, we pray. Let us pray. O Lord, we thank you. Your word, it is a sword that divides us, it cuts us up, it divides joint and marrow, it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart. So you know us, your Word diagnoses us, so we want to hold on to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we pray, we want to live as we have been called. to consider His blood shed for us. Now, how must I live? If the Holy Spirit has been given to me, how must I live? O Lord, especially as we deal with each other, let us be directed by the Spirit. Let us be directed by Your precious truth. Lord, you must work in this local church. You must work in our families, all the different situations that we could bring before you. We plead for your mercy. We ask, be gracious to this local body. We pray this all For your glory and honor, it is in the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, we pray. Amen. Since 1965, the Church of Christian Liberty has sought to proclaim God's word faithfully. God has also given us a calling in Christian education. We invite you to learn more about our church and our educational ministries. Please visit ChristianLiberty.com.