Ephesians 4:1-6 says,...
Today's verses are Ephesians 4:1-6, which read,
v.1-3 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There are a lot of great things to point out in the passage this morning. First, Paul reminds them of his current position in prison but he is there because of his walk with the Lord. Your walk with the Lord might take you places you thought you would never be but if you are walking with the Lord, no matter where you are He is with you.
Second, the word "walk" is used many times to mean your daily conduct. Paul is saying, "make sure that your daily conduct" includes these things and then he gives a shortened version of the list of the fruit of the Spirit.
Third, they did not have a word for "humility" in the Latin or Greek. Many believe that this word was created by the Christians or maybe even Paul himself to describe the nature of Christ that we are to follow. I don't feel alone now with making up words when I can't find one to meet my needs.
Fourth, then comes the list of humility, gentleness, patience, showing tolerance in love, and preserving the unity of the Spirit. If I am going to be humble then I need to be gentle and patience. That humility will be played out by me acting out in love toward others who are different than myself and doing this firmly holding onto the core of who Jesus is and what He said. One of the functions of the Spirit is to remind us of the truth given by Jesus to act out in the present.
v.4-6 - There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Many believe this was a common creed spoken by the early Christians when they meet together. The key word is "one."
One body is the church which are those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
One Spirit is given to those who believe to guide and comfort.
One hope of your calling is that which you were called into. God called you to be a part of His family.
One Lord is Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him.
One faith is that which is given by God through His grace through the cross of Christ.
One baptism is an immersion in this faith that we have received.
One God and Father ties the Trinity together again with the Spirit in verse 4 and the Lord Jesus in verse 5 and God the Father in verse 6. The aspect of God given here is His sovereignty. He is over all and through all and in all.
This is the unity that we walk in. We live out our daily conduct in light of these truths given to us by God. Our actions of humility toward others is with these in clear view of our lives. Just be reminded that these seemingly quiet and tame views could land you in jail and our present example is Paul himself.
"Lord, thank You for continuing to guide us and presenting us with the reminders of who You are and who we are in You. Thank You for guiding us in our daily walk to be a reflection of You and to speak and act of the 'ones' given in this passage. May we know that wherever it takes us, You are with us and we can continue to walk this way no matter where that is. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.1-3 - Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There are a lot of great things to point out in the passage this morning. First, Paul reminds them of his current position in prison but he is there because of his walk with the Lord. Your walk with the Lord might take you places you thought you would never be but if you are walking with the Lord, no matter where you are He is with you.
Second, the word "walk" is used many times to mean your daily conduct. Paul is saying, "make sure that your daily conduct" includes these things and then he gives a shortened version of the list of the fruit of the Spirit.
Third, they did not have a word for "humility" in the Latin or Greek. Many believe that this word was created by the Christians or maybe even Paul himself to describe the nature of Christ that we are to follow. I don't feel alone now with making up words when I can't find one to meet my needs.
Fourth, then comes the list of humility, gentleness, patience, showing tolerance in love, and preserving the unity of the Spirit. If I am going to be humble then I need to be gentle and patience. That humility will be played out by me acting out in love toward others who are different than myself and doing this firmly holding onto the core of who Jesus is and what He said. One of the functions of the Spirit is to remind us of the truth given by Jesus to act out in the present.
v.4-6 - There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Many believe this was a common creed spoken by the early Christians when they meet together. The key word is "one."
One body is the church which are those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
One Spirit is given to those who believe to guide and comfort.
One hope of your calling is that which you were called into. God called you to be a part of His family.
One Lord is Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him.
One faith is that which is given by God through His grace through the cross of Christ.
One baptism is an immersion in this faith that we have received.
One God and Father ties the Trinity together again with the Spirit in verse 4 and the Lord Jesus in verse 5 and God the Father in verse 6. The aspect of God given here is His sovereignty. He is over all and through all and in all.
This is the unity that we walk in. We live out our daily conduct in light of these truths given to us by God. Our actions of humility toward others is with these in clear view of our lives. Just be reminded that these seemingly quiet and tame views could land you in jail and our present example is Paul himself.
"Lord, thank You for continuing to guide us and presenting us with the reminders of who You are and who we are in You. Thank You for guiding us in our daily walk to be a reflection of You and to speak and act of the 'ones' given in this passage. May we know that wherever it takes us, You are with us and we can continue to walk this way no matter where that is. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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