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Therefore (3767)(oun)
is a term of conclusion. In context, Paul is saying that you
Gentiles have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You were once
spiritually dead in your sins but are now alive in Christ. You once were
far off from Christ, country (citizenship), covenants of promise, hope
and God, but now you have been brought near by the blood of Christ, Who
is your peace and Who has broken down the enmity between you and the
Jews, making you both into one body or one new man, both now being
reconciled to God because Christ put to death the enmity on the Cross.
Furthermore you are no longer strangers and aliens, but are in the
family of God, are a building of God, a holy Temple of God and a
dwelling of God. Not to mention that you are fellow heirs, fellow
members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise. And besides all
these spiritual blessings, I have prayed for you to be enlightened to
these truths and to be empowered by the Spirit. So you have the truth
and you have the power. Now walk worthy of this high calling in
Christ Jesus!
Therefore
marks the transition from positional to practical truth, from principle
to practice. Right practice must always be based on right principle. It
is impossible to have a Christian life–style without knowing the
realities of the life that Christ has provided.
Someone has said
that at this juncture Paul turns from from the credenda of the things to
be believed to the agenda of the things to be done.
Belief always
precedes behavior. The Christian life is not based on ignorance but
knowledge, and the better we understand Bible doctrine, the easier it is
to obey Bible duties. When people say, “Don’t talk to me about
doctrine—just let me live my Christian life!” they are revealing their
ignorance of the way the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer.
We must think
rightly if we are to act appropriately.
On the other hand
if we think wrongly, our actions will end up being wrong no matter how
sincere our wrong thinking!
Ephesians 1-3
describes how God sees us in Christ and Ephesians 4-6, how the world
should see Christ in us.
Ruth Paxson
puts it this way...
Ephesians I-III has given us a
revelation of our wealth in Christ. Wealth is never to be hoarded, but
rather kept in circulation, that it may minister to the needs of all.
The wealth of the Christian should be manifest in his walk. This
revelation of divine truth becomes fruitful only as it is transmuted
into life. Revelation must eventuate into realization; illumination into
application.
One of the brightest converts of a
Gospel Mission had become a backslider. In an interview with him, he
thought he would gladden my heart by telling me that he believed
everything in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. The only reply
that seemed applicable was, "If you believe it, then why do you not live
it?" When a friend was speaking to the prisoners in Sing Sing prison,
one prisoner said to her very boastfully, "I would have you know that I
did not come in here as these other fellows did. I came in here a
Christian." My friend quietly replied, "I am very sorry that being a
Christian did not keep you out of here." The more we know the truth and
believe it, the greater is our responsibility to live it. Head knowledge
must become heart experience. Consistency in his daily walk should be
the vital concern of the Christian.
Ephesians I-III tells us how God sees
us in Christ in the heavenlies; IV-VI, how men should see Christ in us
on earth. They unfold with crystal clearness the sevenfold walk of the
Christian which is the divine standard for every Christian's life. (The
Wealth Walk and Warfare of the Christian. Page 85. Revell Publishing)
Warren Wiersbe
observes that...
All of Paul’s letters contain a
beautiful balance between doctrine and duty, and Ephesians is the
perfect example. The first three chapters deal with doctrine, our riches
in Christ, while the last three chapters explain duty, our
responsibilities in Christ. The key word in this last half of the book
is walk (Eph 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15), while the key idea in the first half
is wealth. In these last three chapters, Paul admonishes us to walk in
unity (Eph. 4:1-6), purity (Eph 4:17-5:17), harmony (Eph. 5:18–6:9), and
victory (Eph 6:10-24). These four “walks” perfectly parallel the
basic doctrines Paul has taught us in the first three chapters. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
Therefore
walk the talk, beloved Gentiles! Below is the same idea in summary
fashion...
BEFORE
FORMERLY
FAR OFF |
AFTER
BROUGHT NEAR
BY BLOOD OF CHRIST (CROSS) |
Dead in trespasses and sins
Slaves to...
The world, the flesh, the devil |
Alive with Christ
Raised with Christ
Seated with Christ |
Separated from Christ
No country
No covenants
No hope
No God |
Enmity abolished
One new man
Reconciled to each other
Reconciled to God
Access to God |
Strangers
and
Aliens |
Fellow Citizens
Family of God
Temple of God
Dwelling of God |
In Paul's
benediction which immediately precedes this verse he writes...
"To Him be the glory in
the church..." (see note
Ephesians 3:21)
And then he
immediately implores the church to walk worthy of their calling. Clearly
these are related ideas because when believers walk worthy they fulfill
one of their purposes as recorded in the Sermon on the Mount to...
"Let your light shine before men in
such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father who is in heaven. (See note
Matthew 5:16)
In other words
when a formerly godless, hopeless, Christless idol worshiping
Gentile walks worthy of their calling it testifies that there is a God
and in this way gives Him glory. The world then receives a proper
opinion of our great God and Father when they see His good works in and
through His family members, His children.
Ruth Paxson
explains therefore this way...
Therefore" does not indicate the
commencement of something altogether new, but rather the consequence of
what has preceded. Here it does not present a change of thought, but a
call to prove the reality of our wealth through the rightness of our
walk. "To turn from the doctrinal to the practical is not a break or a
breach. There is no divorcement between Christian doctrine and Christian
doing." The condition of the Christian must harmonize with his position.
Being in Christ he should grow up into Christ. (Ibid)
Lloyd-Jones
considers the therefore as an introduction to sanctification
writing that the great doctrinal truths in chapters 1-3...
are things that promote
sanctification, that encourage sanctification, and give us motives for
sanctification; but they are not sanctification itself. (Lloyd-Jones,
D. M. Exposition of Ephesians in 8 Vol. Baker Book
or
Logos Version)
John Eadie
writes that...
But doctrine has been expounded ere
duty is enforced. Instructions as to change of spiritual relation
precede exhortations as to change of life. It is in vain to tell the
dead man to rise and walk, till the principle of animation be restored.
One must be a child of God before he can be a servant of God. Pardon and
purity, faith and holiness, are indissolubly united. Ethics therefore
follow theology. And now the apostle first proceeds to enjoin the
possession of such graces as promote and sustain the unity of the
church, the members of which are “rooted and grounded in love”—a
unity which, as he is anxious to show, is quite compatible with variety
of gift, office, and station... The retrospective ou\n refers us to the
preceding paragraph—Christian privilege or calling being so rich and
full, and his prayer for them being so fervent and extensive. (John
Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)
Barnes
explains the therefore this way...
"Such being your exalted privileges;
since God has done so much for you; since he has revealed for you such a
glorious system; since he has bestowed on you the honour of calling you
into his kingdom, and making you partakers of his mercy, I entreat you
to live in accordance with these elevated privileges, and to show your
sense of his goodness by devoting your all to his service."
(Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary)
As William
MacDonald writes...
The position into which grace has
lifted us was the dominant theme up to now. From here on it will be the
practical outworking of that position. Our exalted standing in Christ
calls for corresponding godly conduct. So it is true that Ephesians
moves from the heavenlies in chapters 1-3, to the local church, to the
home, and to general society in chapters 4-6. As Stott has pointed out,
these closing chapters teach that “we must cultivate unity in the
church, purity in our personal lives, harmony in our homes and stability
in our combat with the powers of evil.” (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
I - here
Paul clearly testifies he is the author of this letter.
Prisoner (1198)
(desmios from desméo = bind from desmos = bind,
chain) is a captive or one who is bound or who is in bonds. Paul became
the Lord’s prisoner on the road to Damascus and never sought to be free
of that divine imprisonment. He may be reminding his readers of his
imprisonment to present them a realistic picture of what he was willing
to go through to “walk worthy” as a model to them, and what it might
cost them to walk worthy.
Compare
Ephesians 3:1
For this reason I, Paul, the
prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles
John Eadie
comments that Paul's...
writing to them while he was in
chains proved the deep interest he took in them and in their spiritual
welfare—showed them that his faith in Jesus, and his love to His cause,
were not shaken by persecution—that the iron which lay upon his limb had
not entered into his soul—and that his apostolic prerogative was as
intact, his pastoral anxiety as powerful, and his relation to the Lord
as close and tender as when on his visit to them he disputed in the
school of Tyrannus, or uttered his solemn and pathetic valediction to
their elders at Miletus. Letters inspired by love in a dungeon might
also have a greater charm than his oral address. (John Eadie, D., LL.D.
The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)
MacArthur
writes that...
By mentioning his imprisonment he
gently reminds his readers that he knows the worthy Christian walk can
be costly and that he has paid considerable cost himself because of his
obedience to the Lord. He would not ask them to walk in a way in which
he had not himself walked or pay a price that he himself was not willing
to pay. His present physical circumstance seemed extremely negative from
a human perspective, but Paul wanted his readers to know that this did
not change his commitment to or his confidence in the Lord. (MacArthur,
J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)
McGee
comments that Paul...
is a “prisoner of the Lord.” He is a
prisoner because of his position in Christ. Isn’t it interesting that
Paul can be seated in the heavenlies in Christ and can also be seated in
a prison because he was a witness for Christ to the Gentiles? (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
Theodoret
comments that...
“What the world counted ignominy, he
counts the highest honor, and he glories in his bonds for Christ, more
than a king in his diadem.”
Of the Lord
- not of Rome (which was the reality). But Paul walked not by sight
(seeing Roman prison) but by faith (seeing His risen Lord) and with an
eternal purpose, for he knew that his tribulations were not wasted but
were for the sake of the Gentiles. This divine purpose gave him an
eternal perspective on his afflictions.
This description
is literally not "of the Lord" but "in the Lord". S
Lewis Johnson explains that...
In the Greek text, it is not “of” but
“in,” so he speaks of himself as the prisoner in the Lord. In other
words, it is his relationship of vital communion to the Lord Jesus
Christ that lends authority to what he is saying. He’s a prisoner
alright, but he’s a prisoner in the Lord. So what he says is to be
regarded as coming from someone who is in vital union with the Lord
Jesus Christ.
One of the ancient church fathers
said, “He glories in his chains more than a king in his diadem.” Paul
had reason in the chains in which he found himself, because he was in
those chains because of his testimony for Jesus Christ. A man has a
perfect right to glory in the marks that mark him out as one who belongs
to the Lord Jesus Christ, if it is because of his relationship to the
Lord. But of course if he suffers merely because he has been out of the
will of God or has done something foolish, and as a Christian at the
same time, then he has no right to glory in the things that have
happened to him. Peter tells us that we ought to suffer as Christians in
our suffering. So, the Apostle speaks of himself as a prisoner in the
Lord. (Unity
of the Body)
I implore you
- I beseech you continually. I beg you continually. I am earnestly
asking you. He is urging them in order to stimulate them to begin the
process of progressive, step by step (like walking), sanctification
(growth in holiness), growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. He is saying in essence that truth demands an
appropriate response. In other words a true understanding of Christian
doctrine should stimulate a desire to live a holy life, the character of
that life he will outline in these next 3 chapters.
Are you living
in the light of the of the unfathomable riches of Christ which you are
learning that you possess from your study in Ephesians? Are these great
truths in Ephesians making any perceptible difference in your Christian
life? If not, why not?
The truths about
our heavenly position and possession are wonderful but Paul wants
to make sure that these believers are not so heavenly minded that they
are no earthly good to God and His work!
McGee makes
an interesting observation of the flow of these first six verses writing
that...
In his discussion of this walk of the
believer, Paul speaks first to the individual. The individual is to walk
in lowliness and meekness. Then he widens out to the entire church,
which is one body and one spirit. Finally, he brings this passage to a
great, tremendous crescendo, which pictures the eminence and
transcendence of God. (Ibid)
Implore (3870
) (parakaleo from
para = side of + kaléo = call) means literally to call one
alongside to help or give aid and conveys an intense feeling and strong
desire. Because a person can be called alongside
for many purposes, the word has a wide range of meanings. They include
to entreat, appeal to, summon, comfort, exhort, or encourage.
In this context parakaleo is not simply a request but a plea, an
imploring or begging. The idea of implore is to beg earnestly or
even desperately. Interestingly, the English word implore is from
the Latin implorare meaning to "invoke with tears"! Paul wants
the Gentile believers to be all they can be in Christ.
Parakaleo
conveys a sense of warmth and personal concern but at the same time a
sense of urgency. God could have inspired Paul to write this as a
command, but instead is is presented as an entreaty, because God desires
a grateful surrender of our will.
The
present tense
indicates that Paul that this was a lifestyle or mindset to continually
come alongside these Gentiles, for he knew that was the call on his
life. It is notable that Paul does not issue a command to walk worthy
but based on the glorious truths that have brought them from far off to
near he gently and tenderly appeals to them in the language of grace.
Regarding
implore (beseech) Ruth Paxson writes...
Oh! the intensity of desire and the
deep sense of responsibility which the aged apostle writes into that
word "beseech!" He has already given them a marvellous revelation of
their heavenly calling. Now with equal clarity he would show their
responsibility for a corresponding conduct. It would well repay you to
make a study of such words and phrases as "therefore," "wherefore,"
"for," "that," "as," "so," "let," "be ye," "be not ye," "see then," in
Ephesians to see how Paul's appeals are always made on the ground of
one's condition corresponding with one's position. "Ye are" --
"therefore be ye" -- is invariably the basis of Paul's appeal. (Ibid.
Page 86)
Parakaleo
is the same verb Paul uses in the beginning of his practical
exhortations in Romans 12 writing...
I urge (parakaleo) you
therefore (Paul uses "therefore" just as in Eph 4:1 to draw his
reader's attention back to the preceding glorious truths), brethren, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is
good and acceptable and perfect. (see notes
Romans 12:1;
Romans 12:2)
(Comment: Note also that
Romans 12:2
parallels Paul's call in Ephesians 4:1 to "walk in a manner worthy of
the calling...")
The English word
"encourage" means “with heart” To encourage in a sense is to give them
new heart. Shallow sympathy makes people feel worse-true spiritual
encouragement makes them feel better. It brings out the best in people.)
The Prisoner of the Lord
The great Apostle called himself
"The prisoner of the Lord;"
He was not held by Roman chains
Nor kept in Caesar's ward;
Constrained by love alone,
By cords of kindness bound,
The bondslave of the living Christ,
True liberty he found.
Oh, happy those who see
In poverty and pain,
In weakness and in toil,
Their Father's golden chain;
Who feel no prison walls
Though shut in narrow ways,
And though in darkness fettered fast
Can still rejoice and praise;
From sin's dread bondage bought,
They own their Master's ward,
They bear the brand of Christ,
Blest prisoners of the Lord!
--Annie Johnson Flint
TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF
THE CALLING WITH WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED: axios peripatesai
(AAN) tes kleseos es eklethete, (2PAPI):
(Ep 4:17; 5:2; Genesis 5:24;
17:1; Acts 9:31; Philippians 1:27; 3:17,18; Colossians 1:10; 4:12;
1Thessalonians 2:12; 4:1,2; Titus 2:10; Hebrews 13:21) (Ep 4:4; Romans
8:28, 29, 30; Philippians 3:14; 2Thessalonians 1:11; 2Timothy 1:9;
Hebrews 3:1; 1Peter 3:9; 5:10; 2Peter 1:3)
Eadie
writes that...
Their calling, so high, so holy, and
so authoritative, and which had come to them in such power, was to be
honored by a walk in perfect correspondence with its origin and spirit,
its claims and destiny. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to
the Ephesians)
Walk worthy
- is a call to walk on a plane commensurate with our heavenly
position in Christ and our possession of every spiritual
blessing in Christ. Our walk have an "equal weight" with the truth in
chapters 1-3. Our calling and our conduct should be in balance. We do
not become Christians by living the Christian life; rather, we are
exhorted to live the Christian life because we are Christians, that our
lives may measure up to our position in Christ. Paul's call for a
worthy walk resonates throughout his epistles. The point is that it
is not enough to just know the truth, but we must live it out...
Philippians 1:27
(note) Only
conduct (peripateo) yourselves in a manner worthy (axios) of
the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain
absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with
one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Comment:
Paul is exhorting the church at Philippi to live their lives like what
they are -- citizens of heaven -- [see
Phil 3:17
below] so their conduct in a sense "weighs as much as" the gospel they
preach and the faith they profess. In other words, they are to see to it
that they practice what they preach, that their experience measures up
to their new standing as children of the King. We do not behave (or
conduct ourselves in a certain way) in order to go to heaven, as though
we could be saved by our good works, but we conduct ourselves because
our names are already written in heaven, and our citizenship is in
heaven.)
Philippians 3:17
(note) Brethren,
join in following my example, and observe those who walk
(peripateo) according to the pattern you have in us.
3:18
For many walk
(peripateo), of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,
3:19
whose end is
destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their
shame, who set their minds on earthly things.
Colossians 1:9
(note) For this
reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray
for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
1:10
so that you may walk
(peripateo) in a manner worthy (axios) of the Lord, to please Him
in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
1Thessalonians 2:11
(note) just as you know
how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a
father would his own children, 12 so that you may walk
(peripateo) in a manner worthy (axios) of the God who calls you
into His own kingdom and glory.
|
A WORTHY WALK |
|
Ephesians 4:1 |
Walk |
Worthy |
|
Ephesians 5:2 |
In love |
As Christ |
|
Ephesians 5:14 |
Careful |
As Wise Men |
To Walk (4043)
(peripateo
[word study]
from peri = about,
around + pateo = walk, tread) (Click
word study on
peripateo)
means literally to go here and there or to tread all around.
Most NT uses are
figurative referring to the daily conduct of one's life or how they
order their behavior or pass their life.
In the figurative
sense then peripateo refers to one's habitual way or direction of
life, and so to their life-style.
In simple terms to walk in the
Christian life pictures (1) activity and (2) an advance step by step.
We see this
figurative use of peripateo throughout Paul's letters...
and (Abraham) the father of
circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also
follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he
had while uncircumcised. (Ro 4:12-note)
Comment: Although peripateo is not used
Ro 4:12 clearly illustrates
the essential dynamic of the spiritual life which is pictured as a
walk.
Therefore we have been buried with
Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from
the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk
(peripateo) in newness (a brand new life heretofore unknown,
"resurrection life" in resurrection power enabled by the indwelling
Spirit of the living God) of life. (Ro 6:4-note)
for we walk by faith, not by sight (2Cor
5:7)
Comment: Although we cannot
see Christ visibly today, we can live by faith in the reality of His
presence in us and the certainty of all His promises concerning our
future
Paul is saying
conduct your life in a manner consistent with (worthy of) your glorious
position as a member of the body of Christ (your calling).
Peripateo used i
n
a good sense by Luke describes Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of
John the Baptist, as being
“righteous in the sight of God,
walking (peripateo) blamelessly in all the commandments and
requirements of the Lord” (Lu
1:6).
In contrast,
earlier (Ep 2:2-
see note)
Paul referred to the lifestyle of unbelievers and in this same chapter
counsels the Ephesian believers to
walk no longer just as the
Gentiles (in context a description of all the unsaved) also walk,
in the futility of their mind (see note
Ephesians 4:17).
In Colossians 1:10
Paul prayed for the saints to be filled with a knowledge of God's will
in all spiritual wisdom, which the specific practical purpose that they
would...
walk in
a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects bearing fruit
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (see note
Colossians 1:10)
The concept of a
Christian's walk that matches our Christian talk is reiterated throughout the last 3 application rich chapters of Ephesians...
Ephesians 5:1
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
5:2 and walk in love, just as
Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a
sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (See
note Ephesians 5:2)
Ephesians 5:8
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord;
walk as children of light
(See note
Ephesians 5:8)
Ephesians 5:15
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as
wise,
5:16
making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (See note
Ephesians 5:16)
In Colossians 4
Paul uses peripateo charging the saints to
Conduct
(command to continually -
present imperative)
yourselves with wisdom (living prudently and with discretion) toward
outsiders (non-Christians, whether Jew or Gentile), making the most of
the opportunity (present
tense
- continually seizing, redeeming or
buying up the opportunity). (see note
Colossians 4:5)
Ruth Paxson explains that...
Before making this appeal Paul has shown them what is their high
calling. How could they be expected to walk worthily without knowing
what their calling was? Yet this is the mistake which many Christians
make. They know that they are not living as they ought, and they try to
mend their ways and improve their manner of living without having
knowledge of the divine standard and its requirements. They try to "be"
(See notes
Ephesians 4:32;
Ephesians 5:1), before they "know what" (See note
Ephesians 1:18). There is
tremendous danger in some present-day movements that ignore or even
discard doctrine and place emphasis primarily, or even solely, upon
experience. Such experiences are as untrustworthy and unacceptable to
the Lord as the premises upon which they are built.
"Therefore -- walk." To walk indicates motion. There are many
words that indicate motion, such as leap, run, float, drift, creep, but
you cannot substitute one of them for the word "walk." To walk implies
purpose, starting for a goal; progress, steadily advancing step by step;
perseverance, keeping on until the goal is reached. Walking stands for
steady, sustained motion, and involves the action of the mind in the
decision to start; of the heart in the desire to continue, and of the
will in the determination to arrive.
Then what does to "walk" mean in relation to the Christian's
life? The whole course of his daily living; his habitual conduct before
men; his life lived out in the open. (Ibid. Page 86)
J Vernon McGee
explains that
"Walking is not a balloon ascension.
A great many people think the Christian life is some great, overwhelming
experience and you take off like a rocket going out into space. That’s
not where you live the Christian life. Rather, it is in your home, in
your office, in the schoolroom, on the street. The way you get around in
this life is to walk. You are to walk in Christ. God grant that you and
I might be joined to Him in our daily walk."...
(Dr McGee adds that here in Ephesians 4:1) Paul begs us to walk worthy
of the gospel. People may not be telling you this, but they are
evaluating whether you are a real child of God through faith in Christ.
The only way they can tell is by your walk. It’s not so much how
you walk as it is where you walk!..
We have previously told the incident of a man handing out tracts, a
ministry, by the way, that takes much prayer and intelligence. A black
man who could neither read nor write was handed a tract. He asked, “What
is this?” When he was told it was a tract, he said, “Well I can’t
read it; so I’ll watch your tracks.” That was the greatest short
sermon this Christian could ever have had preached to him. Someone was
watching his tracks.
(McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
(Bolding added)
S Lewis Johnson writes...
There’s an old story about St.
Francis of Assisi, who one morning said to the disciples that he was
responsible for training, let’s go down into the village from the
monastery and preach. And, according to this ancient story, St. Francis
went out with a group of young men, they walked down from the monastery
into the village, they walked through the streets of the village, they
made contact with a number of people, primarily about the things of
ordinary life. They walked up and down the few streets of the village,
finally walked out of the village. Walked to the next little community
and then finally made their way back to the monastery when one of the
young men said, “But, sir, you said we were going down to the village
and preach.” And he is reported to have said, “That’s exactly what we
did. We went down to preach. My sons, it is of no use that we walk
anywhere to preach unless we preach as walk.” He was trying to make the
point that in our daily life, we preach. (Unity
of One Body)
Ray Stedman
simplifies the idea of the Christian walk in works God prepared
beforehand writing that...
"a walk, of course, merely consists
of two simple steps, repeated over and over again. It is not a
complicated thing. In the same way, the Christian life is a matter of
taking two steps, one step after another. Then you are beginning to
walk. Those two steps follow in this passage. Paul describes them as,
"Put off the old man" (see note on
Ephesians 4:22
where "self" in NAS is "man" in KJV) and "put on the new
self." (see note
Ephesians 4:24
then read
Eph 4:25
4:26;
4:27;
4:28;
4:29;
4:30;
4:31;
4:32 for what the walk of
the "new man" looks like) Then repeat them. That is all. Keep walking
through every day like that. That is how Scripture exhorts us to live."
(Click
for full text of
True Human Potential)
Paul wants his readers to clearly understand that the
purpose of correct knowledge is right conduct --not smarter
sinners but saved sinners more like their Savior. The ultimate goal of
all
inductive Bible study is
life transformation!
As the well known
Evangelist D. L. Moody once said,
“Every Bible should be bound in
shoe-leather.”
In a manner worthy (516)
(axios from
axios [514]
= having the weight of another) means weighing as much as, of
like value, worth as much. It means having the weight of another thing
and so being of like value or worth as much. Worthy (axios) is literally
"bringing up the other beam of the scales" and hence indicates
equivalence. In other words axios
has the root meaning of balancing the scales—what is on one side of the
scale should be equal in weight to what is on the other side. By
extension, the word came to be applied to anything that was expected to
correspond to something else. A person worthy of his pay was one whose
day’s work corresponded to his day’s wages. True grace in the
heart must show itself by true goodness in the life. Walk is on
one side and calling on the other side of the "scales".
WALK
CALLING
Paul is saying in
essence, I implore you to let your walk be balanced by your calling. He
is exhorting them to demonstrate a balance between their profession and
their practice.
Your conduct should "balance the scales" the other
side of the scale being Christ's life and His unfathomable riches! It's a high calling but is to be
our goal and is our potential since the Spirit of Christ is in us to
strengthen our inner man for such a supernatural walk. There is no way a
man or woman can "balance the scales" in their own strength or
self efforts.
In the context of Ephesians which emphasizes Jew and
Gentile in one body, to walk worthy entails both groups behaving in a
united way despite their racial differences.
Ruth Paxson writes that...
The characteristics of a worthy walk are given in Eph 4:1-6:9... But
here let us consider briefly the Godward and the manward aspects of such
a walk. God has already determined both its starting point and its goal,
and the road over which the walk is to be made. His starting point is
Ephesians 1:4, His goal is
Ephesians 5:27, and His
path of travel is 5:18. God has determined that we shall "walk even as
he walked" (1John 2:6). God's goal for every Christian is complete
conformity to the image of His Son, and He would have every step in our
walk bring us that much nearer to the goal.
Such a walk requires on the manward side fullest co-operation with God
(See notes
Philippians 2:12;
2:13). It demands a
set purpose, a steady progress, and a strong perseverance. The Christian
must resolutely purpose to "put off the old man," (see notes
Ephesians 4:22;
compare
Colossians 3:8;
3:9) and to "put on
the new man" (see notes
Ephesians 4:24; compare
Colossians 3:10);
he must not be content without a step-by-step growth "up into him in all
things"; and be must keep steadily on his course without faltering or
fainting in spite of all opposition by not "giving place to the devil,"
or "grieving the Spirit," (see notes
Ephesians 4:30) but rather
by being filled with the Spirit and empowered by Him (see note
Ephesians 5:22).
But how exceedingly difficult is such a walk! The old habits of life are
so binding; the worldly currents about us are so strong; the temptations
of the world, the flesh, and the devil are so subtle; the fear of being
considered peculiar is so gripping; the opportunity of fellowship with
spiritually-minded Christians is so limited. To maintain a steady,
sustained consistency in daily conduct is not an easy task. It is far
easier to float downstream with the tide of nominal Christianity; to
drift in the listlessness and lukewarmness of a worldly church; to creep
along as a spiritual babe, fed on the milk of elementary doctrines of
salvation; easier even to mount up with eagle's wing and soar to
spiritual heights of sudden inspiration on some spiritual Mount of
Transfiguration only to relapse into a backslidden condition when facing
the stern realities of Christian living in an unsympathetic atmosphere;
very much easier, even, to run, rising to some particular task such as
teaching a Bible class, or leading a meeting, or preaching a sermon,
than to practise consistently in the home, office, or social circle the
truth preached. A daily, consistent Christlike walk; no stagnancy, slump
or sloth -- how hard!
So the aged apostle devotes the very heart of this epistle to telling us
what a worthy walk is. Eight times he uses the word "walk." What shall
we do with this divine standard set for the Christian's walk? We may
reject it as impossible and impracticable, or we may receive it as
possible and livable and rejoice in it, as daily our faithful Father
enables us "to walk even as he walked" by the power of the divine
Spirit. Let us now consider the sevenfold walk of the Christian. (The
Wealth, Walk and Warfare of the Christian. Page 86-88).
Boice has a well reasoned discussion of
walking in a manner worthy writing that...
There are some Christians who are primarily intellectual in nature. They
love books, enjoy study, and delight in the exposition of the Bible’s
great doctrinal passages. This is a good thing. It is proper to love
doctrine and rejoice at what God has done for us in Christ. Paul himself
obviously did this; we can tell from the way he has unfolded his
doctrines in the first three chapters of this letter. But the
intellectual believer faces a great danger and often has a great
weakness as a result of failing to overcome the danger. He loves
doctrine so much that he stops with doctrine. He reads the first three
chapters of Ephesians and delights in them; but when he comes to chapter
4 he says, “Oh, the rest is just application. I know all about that.”
Then he skips ahead to the next doctrinal section and neglects what he
perhaps most needs to assimilate.
On the other hand, some Christians are primarily oriented to experience.
They thrive under the teaching found in the second half of this book.
They want to know about spiritual gifts and their own exercise of them.
They are excited about Paul’s teaching about the family and other such
things. This is “where it’s at” for them; they find the doctrinal
section dry and impractical.
But, you see, each of these is an error. Doctrine without practice leads
to bitter orthodoxy; it gives correctness of thought without the
practical vitality of the life of Christ. Practice without doctrine
leads to aberrations; it gives intensity of feeling, but it is feeling
apt to go off in any (and often a wrong) direction. What we need is
both, as Paul’s letters and the whole of Scripture teach us. We can
never attach too much importance to doctrine, for it is out of the
doctrines of God, man, and salvation that the direction and impetus for
the living of the Christian life spring. At the same time, we can never
attach too much importance to practice, for it is the result of doctrine
and proof of its divine nature. (Boice,
J. M.: Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary)
Calling
(2821)
(klesis
from kaléo = to call) means a call and was used for an
invitation to a banquet. In the context of Ephesians the calling is the
sovereign, saving calling of God to the Gentile resulting their receipt
of every spiritual blessing and their new position as fellow heirs,
fellow members of the body and as fellow partakers of the promise in
Christ Jesus.
Net Bible Note says that...
The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused
them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life
that conforms to their saved status before God.
(NET
Bible)
Calling places
The emphasis is upon what God has done, which is the point Paul has been
elaborating in the opening chapters of Ephesians. Because God has set
his hand upon us and called us, changing us from what we were into what
we have now become, we are to live as Christians in this world. (
Ibid)
Louw Nida
defines klesis as an
"urgent invitation to someone to
accept responsibilities for a particular task, implying a new
relationship to the one who does the calling; the station in life or
social role which one has." Vines defines klesis as "a calling,
is always used in NT of that calling the origin, nature and destiny of
which are heavenly (the idea of invitation being implied); it is used
esp of God's invitation to man to accept the benefits of salvation
."
(Louw,
J. P., & Nida, E. A. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based
on Semantic Domains. United Bible societies)
In the NT the
metaphorical meaning is that of an invitation by God to come into His
Kingdom with all the privileges of a Kingdom citizen...and with all the
responsibilities of such a citizen!
The Westminster Shorter Catechism explains
calling this way...
"Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby convincing us of
our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ,
and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus
Christ freely offered to us in the gospel."
Here "klesis"
refers to the divine call by which Christians are introduced into the
privileges of the gospel. God’s invitation (klesis) to man to
accept the benefits of His salvation is what this calling is all about,
particularly in the gospels. It is God’s first act in the application of
redemption according to His eternal purpose (Ro
8:28). A distinction is made between God’s calling and
men’s acceptance of it (Mt
20:16).
Hoehner adds that...
“The
calling” refers not only to believers’ salvation (cf. see notes
Romans 1:5;
1:6; 1Cor 1:9) but
also to their union in one body. Therefore a Christian’s conduct
concerns both his personal life and his responsibility to other
believers in the church. (Walvoord,
J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor).
The called
are those who have been summoned by God...called...
(the following phrases are meant to be read as one long sentence which
gives a Biblical statement regarding calling)...
"according to His purpose" (Ro 8:28-note)
to salvation (Ro 8:30-note),
"saints by calling" (1Cor
1:2),
"both Jews and Greeks" (1Cor
1:24),
having been called "with a holy" (2Ti
1:9-note),
"heavenly calling" (Heb
3:1-
note)
"out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1Pe
2:9-note)
"by grace"
(Gal 1:6)
"not from
among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles" (Ro 9:24-note)
through the "gospel" that we "may gain the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ" (2Th 2:14)
and be brought "into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord"
(1Cor 1:9)
and return in triumph "with Him" at the end of this age (Re
17:14-
note).
God's
great doctrine of our calling should cause all the "called of Jesus
Christ" to exclaim "Glory!"
Spurgeon
makes the distinction between
"general" and "special" calling writing that...
"By the word "calling" in
Scripture, we understand two things—one, the general call,
which in the preaching of the gospel is given to every creature under
heaven; the second call (that which is here intended) is the special
call—which we call the effectual call, whereby God secretly,
in the use of means, by the irresistible power of his Holy Spirit, calls
out of mankind a certain number, whom he himself hath before elected,
calling them from their sins to become righteous, from
their death in trespasses and sins to
become living spiritual men, and from their worldly pursuits to become
the lovers of Jesus Christ."
Have Been Called
(2564)
(kaleo) means to speak to another in order to bring them nearer,
either physically or in a personal relationship. The Gentile believers
were supernaturally called into the kingdom of God and its requisite
duties, privileges, and bliss in this world and the world to come.
The
passive voice is the divine
passive, for it was God Who called them from far off and brought them
near through the Cross of His Son.
Who are
the called? In the New Testament, they are those who have heard.
The Lord Jesus made it clear when He said,
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me” (Jn
10:27).
If you
are following someone or something else, you haven’t heard Him, you are
not one of His sheep. The ones who hear and follow Him are the
called
ones.
Let’s not argue about election. It is as simple as this: He
calls,
and you answer. If you have answered, you are among the elect, one of
“the called of Jesus Christ.”
Paul
assures the Roman Christians that they are
called ones.
In the writings of both Paul & Peter when they mention "called" ("call",
"calling", etc), the reference is to an "effectual"
call, that is a call which is answered and thus "the called" equates
essentially with those who are "the chosen" or "the elect".
Note
that the Gospels use the term "called"
differently -- in (Mt
22:1-13,14) many were "called" to the "wedding feast" but few
were "chosen", so in the gospels the term "call..." was not synonymous
with an effectual call to salvation.
John MacArthur has a
helpful note explaining that in Matthew 22,
"The call spoken of...is sometimes
referred to as the “general call” (or the “external” call)—a summons to
repentance and faith that is inherent in the gospel message. This call
extends to all who hear the gospel. “Many” hear it; “few” respond...
Those who respond are the “chosen,” the elect. In the Pauline writings,
the word “call” usually refers to God’s irresistible calling extended to
the elect alone (Ro
8:30)—known as the
“effectual call” (or the “internal” call). The effectual call is the
supernatural drawing of God which Jesus speaks of in John 6:44. Here (in
Matthew's gospel) a general call is in view, and this call extends to
all who hear the gospel—this call is the great “whosoever will” of the
gospel (cf. Rev 22:17, Ro 10:13). Here, then, is the proper balance between
human
responsibility and divine sovereignty:
the “called” who reject the invitation do so willingly, and therefore
their exclusion from the kingdom is perfectly just. The “chosen” enter
the kingdom only because of the grace of God in choosing and drawing
them." (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word Pub)
