Living Worthy of Your Call Attention: As you well know, we have been working our way through the book of Ephesians. In the first three chapters Paul is bringing his readers with him on a theological journey into some of the most profound truths in scripture. He talks of the plan of salvation that was put into place and how God and humanity can be unified through the blood of Jesus Christ, and then how through the reestablishment of the relationship between God and man, Christians are unified regardless of race or social standing. If we look back over the past two sermons I have preached through Ephesians, we see the call for unity, and we then see the call to be yielded to God. Now, after all of that deep theology and doctrine, Paul seems to pause and catch his breath When he begins to write once more, he begins with therefore. It s like he is saying to his readers, You have heard all of this theology, so therefore you need to live it out. You need, to live your life worthy of your calling. Bridging Sentences: If you have your bibles this morning, I d like to invite you to turn with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 4. We have heard a lot of theology so far in Ephesians, and now Paul is ready to show us how to practically live according to what he has taught. So, if you have found your passage I d like to begin reading in Ephesians chapter 4 starting with verse 1 and ending with verse six. Again, that's Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 1
May God bless the reading of Hid word this morning. Textual Idea statement: Paul wrote to the Ephesians to teach them how to live worthy of their calling. And so what I would like to talk to you about this morning, is that Sermon Idea statement: God wants us to live worthy of our calling. Interrogative: So what is our calling, and what does it mean to live worthy of it? Transition: Well, this morning I d like to look at three things that answer this question. 1) Our calling, 2) How to walk worthy of that calling, and 3) Why we should walk worthy of that calling. Point 1: Our calling. V. 1 A. We are called out from the world. a. As Christians, we are saved by grace through faith, in the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:7 says that, if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. As long as we walk in the biblical knowledge that we have, we are considered Christians. To willfully sin would be to go against what light we do have, and so we would no longer be in proper fellowship with God. It is through this cleansing of sin, and unity with other Christians, that we are called out of the world. No more are we to remain in sin, in fact Romans six says that we are dead to sin. So, not only are called out of the world, but sin no longer has any power over us. Unless we are willing to say that Romans six is false or that it contradicts the rest of scripture, then we have to say that Romans six is true. 2
That means that as a Christian who is walking in all the you have, you are cleansed from sin entirely. This deadness to sin, lies at the very heart of our call out from the world. We are called out of sin and into a life of Unity and Yieldedness to God and now we see that we are supposed to live in such a way that shows that not only are we called out of the world, but all of its power over us has been broken. We are called to be more than conquerors. We have to get beyond just salvation and realize that true surrender to God, looks like living according to how He wants, and God wants us to live worthy of our calling. Transition statement: So, if our calling is separation from the world, and Unity with God and each other through yielding ourselves to Him, then how do we live in such a way that we can say that we are walking worthy of that noble calling? Well, in verses 2 and 3 let s look at how Paul clearly shows us what we are supposed to do. Point 2: How to live worthy of our calling. V. 2-3 A. If we look at V. 2, we see that it says, with all humility and gentleness, a. Think with me if you would, of the engine of a car. For a motor, three things are necessary if it will run smoothly. 1) Oil, 2) Tolerance, and 3) Coolant. Oil is used in the motor to reduce friction caused by the rubbing of moving parts against each other. As the different pistons pump and parts move and turn, invariably the different parts would rub together. Whenever they rub against 3
each other, there is a buildup of heat. The way that you counteract this buildup of heat, is by adding oil. When oil is added, it spreads out between the different parts of the engine in order to make sure that they don't actually touch. So naturally, when the parts don t touch there is less wear and tear and the motor can continue to function properly. In the life of a Christian, Gentleness and humility are just like oil. When you are gentle and humble, other Christians can be moving very differently than how you move, but we don t have to experience friction. If how we act towards people is buffered with gentleness, then we won t be constantly damaging and hurting everyone around us. If we would bathe our ego in humility, we would be less likely to become overheated by Jealousy or sense threats where there are none. Are you so consumed by what other people think of you, that it seems like everyone is out to get you? Maybe you feel like you are a intelligent person surrounded by idiots. Whether or not you realize it, those things hurt people around you and cause friction. If people don t want to be around you because you constantly hurt others and lash out, you hinder the church. Another thing that is contrary to scripture is dominance. Do you always have to be right, or in charge? I know myself personally, I have to be really careful with this because I have a forward personality that can come across as very offensive. Thank God for people in my life who consistently 4
remind me that the desire to exert Dominance, is the polar opposite of being humble and gentle. Too much dominance, and all other movement slows or stops, and the life of the church wanes. Let s treat people like we would want to be treated, and be gentle with people. Let s also be humble and pull back sometimes, and be an encouragement to others rather than a hindrance. Gentle humility is the first way that scripture shows us how to walk worthy of our calling. B. Let s move on to the second part of V.2, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. a. The metal parts of a motor are made with enormous precision. Each piece is made slightly smaller than the space that it will be in so that it has the freedom to move. If the part were the same size as the space around it, the part wouldn t be able to move, and the motor s function would be compromised. This space is called tolerance. The relationships that we have, they also have tolerance. It s called patience, and it allows a certain amount of space around a person so that he or she can have freedom of movement. A church or fellowship without tolerance is an association without movement. It does not function or produce. It is frozen and lifeless. In the family of God, there is a need for patient tolerance if we're to assure the free movement of God s people to live worthy of their calling. 5
C. Finally, let s move on to V. 3 which says, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. a. A byproduct of a motors function is heat, created by two things: Friction, which we just talked about, and the exploding fuel within the cylinders. When this heat builds up, there is a very real danger because if this heat were not removed, the engine would be destroyed. In modern vehicles, this problem is avoided when a liquid coolant called antifreeze, is channeled through the motor in special chambers. Heat is transferred to the coolant where it is pumped into the radiator so that the heat can be radiated away. The everyday workings of the church can cause a relational heat that will detract from unity. There is a serious need for this heat to be transferred away so that the activity of the church can continue unhindered. Peace can diffuse a tense moment or a potential conflict. It can correct misunderstanding or soothe a bruised ego. Unless the church allows the free-flowing presence of God s spirit to bathe it with His peace, it will burn out as a result of its own function and inner conflict. Basically, the best way that I know to apply this practically, is just to choose your battles. That seems really simple on the surface, but the reality is that most stuff really just doesn't matter. And chances are, if it does matter, God is more than capable in handling it. It s not our job to fix everyone, just to love them. If you want to preserve the unity through peace, then let 6
them see Jesus through you. Treat them how you want to be treated, and pray for them. Peace is the third way that scripture shows us how to walk worthy of our calling. Transition statement: Now that we have looked at the three ways that Paul shows us how to live worthy of our calling, let s look at why we should do that. Point 3: Why we should live worthy of our calling. V. 4-6 A. Let s look together at V. 4, There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; a. In this context, the focus is on the church as the unified body of Christ. It is not surprising, then, that he begins by saying, there is one body. Paul creates this metaphor of the church as the body of Christ. The church as the body of Christ is a major theme throughout many of his letters. This discussion of the one body leads him to declare that there is one spirit. b. Ephesians 2:18 says that it was in and by the one spirit that believers now have access to the father. So, to say that it was one spirit that incorporated believers into one body, was a foreign concept to the people of Ephesus. Ephesus was a city that was running rampant with spirit worship, and so they would have been familiar with many, many spirits. One such spirit that shows up in some Greek magical texts, was a category of Helper Spirits that were known as paredroi. The Greeks really believed that the paredroi helped with lots of 7
different tasks including eating and sleeping with you as well as bestowing gifts and powers upon however had supposedly summoned it. And this is just one such example, so for the Ephesians, becoming a Christian meant renouncing all of these spirits and confessing their allegiance to this one spirit alone. c. In doing this, they were brought into the family of God, and would inherit eternal life in heaven with Jesus. They looked in anticipation for this one hope as Paul calls it. When he puts all three of these things together, body, spirit, and hope, it puts the focus on their calling, as providing their incorporation into the one body through the one spirit, which gave them eternal hope. So for us today, the first reason that we have to walk worthy of our calling, is that our calling unifies us together as a church, in the power of the Holy Spirit. B. In V. 5 we see, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, a. Just like how the Ephesians had many spirits, they also had many different gods. Chief among these was the god Artemis. Now Paul is reminding them here, that Jesus is not simply another god, but that He is the One True God. Part of why they were supposed to live worthy of their calling, was because the one who called them, was the only true God. After reminding them of this, Paul continues by mentioning the one faith. 8
b. At this time, there were many little Christian churches spread out over the world and so Paul is reminding them all that regardless of where they were from or what culture they were in, the Gospel was the same. There was a core faith that was true regardless of where you were from or what church you were a part of. Jesus Christ s death, burial, and Resurrection were true no matter what, and the only way to get to heaven was through Him. There was only one faith involved in being a Christian. After his discussion on faith, Paul mentions one baptism. c. This probably refers to water baptism and not just the experience of the baptism in the spirit. Paul commonly mentions baptism as the ritual that symbolized identification with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Paul also uses baptism to refer to the work of the spirit in joining every individual believer to the body of Christ in 1 Cor. 12:13 which says, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. When Paul speaks in Ephesians about the one baptism, he is probably referring to both the act of baptism, as well as all it symbolizes. Therefore, the one baptism is a sign of unity with Christ and with one another. So for us today, we can see that the second reason for living 9
worthy of our calling is that we are called by the One True God who offers a relationship with us through faith in His son. C. Finally, if we look at V. 6, we see that it says, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. a. Here Paul brings forward once again, the fact that there is only one God. However, He is not only a God, but He is also our father. This reminds us of the fact that we can have a personal relationship with Him through His son Jesus. So why should we live worthy of our calling? Because we are called to Unity and separation from the world by the one true God, who is all powerful, all knowing, who permeates everything and will never allow any needless pain or suffering to happen. He is all loving and merciful while at the same time being perfectly just. As this scripture says, He is above all, through all, and in all. So lets gather these three reasons together to answer the question of why we should live worthy of our call. We should live worthy of our calling, because we are called into unity by the one true God, through faith in His son and in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit who unifies us together as one body of believers. The way that can maintain that unity, is through our 1) gentle humility, 2) our patient tolerance, and 3) our peace with one another. 10
Transition statement: We can live worthy of our calling this morning. Visualization: As we draw to a close this morning, I just wonder how many here know that you haven t been living worthy of God s calling? Maybe you speak the truth, but not in love. Maybe those around you are hurt by your lack of patience with them. Maybe God is showing you that the reason there always seems to be conflict is because you don t know when to rest in the peace of God, and allow Him to orchestrate things. I don t know what it is, but I do know that these things are not suggestions. They are commands for all of us to follow and I just want to appeal to you by letting you know that if there are any of these three things that you are lacking, you are personally hindering the work of God in the church. So as we close together in prayer, I d just encourage you to search your heart this morning and ask God to show you what you need to change or give to Him, because truly by God s grace, every single one of us here can live worthy of God s calling. 11