Ephesians 4:1-6
Written By: Alexander Rico
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 longsuffering, 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. (Ephesians 4:1-6, NKJV)
As we continue our study here of the book of Ephesians, we suddenly feel a change of direction, don’t we? In the first section of this book, chapters 1-3, we were examining the great mystery of salvation. Now, we begin to look at our behaviors and how they should change as a result from the doctrine or message taught to us through the first portion of this book. Unlike in other books, however, I think it is interesting to point out that our lives in the Lord are not compared to a run or even a motionless position. Nope, we see here Paul tells us, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” (Ephesians 4:1, NKJV). We are called to walk, but not just to walk, but to walk worthy of this calling. That we should press to live lives that are matching those of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How can we do this? Well, Paul lays out a few of the very attributes that Jesus had while here on earth, “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,” (Ephesians 4:2, NKJV). Now, trust me, these things do not come easily; however, with time and determination we can begin to mold ourselves into what Christ desires for each of us to be. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can live these lives 24-7 without any problems. Let us go through each one and expound upon their meaning here. Paul tells us that we need to be lowly. In other words, placing others before the needs of ourselves; I always tell the leaders back at Cornerstone Christian Club in Victorville, California that I love to see them at our dinner functions serving others before they serve themselves. Despite the fact that they may be quite hungry, or tired, they serve before they can serve themselves. Christ never placed Himself as this person who needed to be served; He always served others before Himself (Philippians 2:5-8). He never thought of Himself as someone of great importance, and neither should we. We should consider ourselves small.
Next, we see gentleness or meekness. Oh, an attribute that can be quite difficult, I know. This means to do things without arguing, bickering, or even resisting. I remember, a time when I was little. My mom had asked me to do something, and rather than doing it, I resisted and argued and made the situation become much more than it really should have. As a Christian today, I still have this problem at times, but if I desire to truly be Christ-like, I will really press hard to do the work needed on myself to change that section of my life so that it is pleasing to Him.
Thirdly, and finally, we see here the words forbearing and longsuffering. This is something that we would really have to have humility in order to have these attributes. These words mean basically how we deal with problems between others and ourselves. It can also mean how as the Matthew Henry Concise Commentary places it, “being patient with the shortcomings of others. Often we ask God to be patient with our own failings, and yet do not exercise the same type of patience ourselves.” We are very good at this, aren’t we? We ask God to forgive us of our sins, daily; and, yet we ourselves are easy to give up on someone because they continue to fail. I know, there are times during my time in ministry when I have wanted to say “get rid of them!” However, when I see this, I understand that God has shown an immense amount of mercy upon me, and thus should I not also show this to them?
Paul tells us in verse 3 that we should be, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3, NKJV) We should be trying to make every single effort to keep the body together, and maintain the unity in the Spirit. A bond of peace and a love for one another keeps the unity in the body of Christ. Why? Well, Paul gives to us this answer through verse 4, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling,” (NKJV) I like the way that New Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Testament puts this verse, “The two are conjoined because the oneness of the body is based upon the reality of being indwelt by the one Spirit.” Note the Trinity in this passage: the Spirit in this verse, Christ in 4:5, and the Father in 4:6. The Holy Spirit is the common portion of all Christians (2:18, 20) and gives to the church its true oneness. Through the Spirit, we are now united in one universal body. Christ’s true body (all Christians from all ages) is already united under one Head (Christ), but that unity is not yet visible. After Christ returns, the unity of his church will be fully visible (John 17:21-23; Col. 3:4). One Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Notice here though that baptism and faith are placed together. Baptism we know to be the outward showing of the inward change (a symbol of change).
Paul closes out this passage with an interesting phrase, “who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:6, NKJV) In closing allow me to share with you what I read in the New Commentary, ” above all – pertaining to God’s supremacy. through all – pertaining to God’s pervasiveness. in you all – pertaining to God’s immanence.” What this verse is saying is that God dwells, as mentioned in the other chapters, in each of us, as His holy temple, through His Spirit and special grace.
Do you have God dwelling within you? Do you know that if you were to die today, that you would go to heaven and not spend an eternity separated from the Father, God? If you answered no to that question; then, please do not close out this study without first making that commitment to Him. If you would like to accept the gift of life that God gave to us through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ; then, please make that decision today to follow Him for the rest of your life it will not be one that you will regret. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13, NKJV) Sure, I am not going to lie, the road ahead will be bumpy; however, it will be a great blessing that you nor anyone else could ever experience on this world. If you’d like to accept Christ today; then, by all means please join me in this simple prayer asking Jesus into your heart, mind, and soul.
Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God, and I believe that you died on that cross for me. I ask now, please forgive me of my sins. Thank-you that you loved me enough to even think of me as your child and still give me this gift of life despite my sinful life. I accept your sacrifice and trust you with my entire life. I hand it over to you. Thank-you. In your precious name I pray, amen.
If you prayed that prayer along with me, I’d like to announce that today, the moment you accepted Christ into your life the Bible says, “[…] there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner represents.” (Luke 15:10) Just like that, you are forgiven and are adopted into God’s family. Though, there are steps to continue in maintaining your relationship with the Lord. These being:
- Read the Bible- This is God’s love letter to you. It also provides us with a foundation for relationships with others, and tells us about attitudes, motivation and truth. It is important to know, and enlist the principles in the Bible into your life, they keep you on the right way and allow us to make sound judgments concerning people and doctrine.
- Pray- In any relationship communication is important, priority factor. God desires to communicate with each of us. Prayer is not just a forum for requests. God wants to hear our feelings, hurts, ambitions and joys. Through this he is able to change and refine those parts of us that need it.
- Fellowship- Get plugged into a church or local group that studies the bible. As we begin to share with others what we have learned from the Bible and prayer, we encourage others to grow and ourselves. Fellowship as God planned it is not a clique or special club designed for gossip. We must be careful to keep our conversations with others honest. It’s best described as a fire. One coal alone dies down quickly, but a mound of coals burn white hot, just as one Christian alone will struggle to stay ‘on fire’, while a group together keeps each other hot.
- \Witness- “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). Jesus gave this as a command, not an option. God has chosen all Christians to be agents of His gospel. We are either missionaries or mission fields. That does not mean that everyone should travel to different countries, but it does mean that no matter where go we should be prepared in life and in word to be ambassadors for Christ. “Pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:19)
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