I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Ephesians 4:1
These are tremendous and forceful words of encouragement and motivation. The word “walk” signifies a person’s day-to-day behavior. It’s a Christian’s conduct. A person’s vocation is his calling in Christ (John 10:2-3).
This is our “heavenly calling” as the writer of Hebrews described it (Heb 3:1). In Romans, Paul termed it the “calling of God” (11:29), and in Philippians he expressed it as “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (3:14). It is viewed in the second epistle to Timothy as a “holy calling” (1:9).
The term “worthy” in the text is an adverb of manner, meaning in a manner worthy of. Paul uses it this way in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, “That you walk worthy of God, who has called you unto his kingdom and glory.” The word originally referred to a weight on the scales that brought up the beam. Thus, it was worthy, or equal with what it was being compared to. The thought is that a Christian’s life is to be a life of such weight and significance that it shows a call by God. Believers are to back up their talk with their walk because one’s walk speaks louder than their talk talks.
The epistles of Paul have a two-fold thrust. First there is the solid, unshakeable foundation of doctrine, showing our position in Christ. “Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ…In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:3, 7). Second, we are exhorted to practice the truth of our position in Christ day after day. As the foundation of a building is of primary importance, so it is necessary that a person build his Christian life on infallible biblical truth. Jude 1:20-21 states, “But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
It is essential that the believer practice what he believes. the apostle John concurred: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:16). A Christian must back up his convictions with a consistent lifestyle. The Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they professed a faith that they didn’t possess. “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matt. 23:28).
While the believer isn’t saved by good works, salvation results in good works. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8—10). And Titus 3:8 adds, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that you affirm constantly that they which have believed in might be careful to maintain good works. These things are profitable unto all men.”
A Christian’s situation in life must relate to his standing in Christ if he wants to know and experience the full blessing of God. Uprightness in life will be blessed by the Lord. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory to them who walk uprightly” (Psa. 84:11).
It is an amazing truth that as a believer walks in the light, he enjoys fellowship with God. First John 1:7 reads, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.” The word translated “one with another” is a reciprocal pronoun, and it refers to the believer’s fellowship with God. What condescending grace that allows the creature to walk with the Creator. The sinner who is saved, justified, and cleansed can fellowship with the Savior.
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