Because God’s calling has elevated each of us as His children to a status far above what we deserve, we must treat our brothers and sisters with the same mercy He has shown us.
I. Second Imperative in Ephesians: “Walk in a manner worthy of your calling…” (4:1)
“In speaking of a lifestyle that is worthy of the gospel, Paul is not suggesting that we merit the grace of God. The reverse is the truth – it is God’s grace that produces the new lifestyle. In this context worthy means ‘fitting’ or ‘appropriate.’ In Christ we are called to a new lifestyle that reflects our new family name – we are ‘Christ’s-ones.’ Our lives are to give practical expression and visible illustration to the power and reality of God’s grace in us.”—S. Ferguson, Let’s Study Ephesians
II. What characterizes a “walk” that is worthy of our “calling”? (4:2-3)
1. Humility, lowliness of mind
“At every stage of…Christian discipleship, pride is our greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend.”—John Stott
“Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.”—C.J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness
“[Pride always] searches for something that will give it a sense of worth, a sense of specialness and a sense of purpose and builds on that… It is always drawing attention to itself – it does so every single day. It is always making us think about how we look and how we are treated… It is incredibly busy trying to fill the emptiness. And it is incredibly busy doing two things in particular – comparing and boasting.”—Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, p.15-19
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If every one else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.”—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.96
“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him… He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.99
2. Patience and loving forbearance toward each other’s weaknesses.
3. Diligent effort to preserve our unity as believers.
“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” —Rupertus Meldenius
III. The Depth and Breadth of Our Unity as Christians (4:4-6)
“There can be only one Christian family, only one Christian faith…and only one Christian body, because there is only one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit… Is there only one God? Then he has only one church.”—Stott, The Message of Ephesians, 151
Application:
• How much weight does “God’s calling” have in the way you think about your life?
• How does it shape your conduct toward your brothers and sisters here at SGC who have received exactly the same calling as you?