The reality that we are now a part of shapes the way that we should live.
Eph. 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
The letter to the Ephesians can be split into two distinct halves. First, in chapters 1-3, Paul excitedly shares with the Ephesian church about the heavenly reality that Jews and Gentiles are now all united in Christ. Secondly, in chapters 4-6, Paul really gets into the application of this heavenly reality; now that Jews and Gentiles are united in Christ, how then ought we to live?
We see this turn toward application in the first sentence of chapter 4: “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” This one sentence could be a summary for the following three chapters! Now that we have been brought into God’s family, now that we have been brought from death to live, now that we have been united in Jesus… we should live a life worthy of this new reality.
Paul spends three whole chapters going into what this actually looks like. But from these six verses, it is important for us to understand that the reality that we are now a part of shapes the way that we should live. It’s not the other way around – we can’t do anything to earn this! Jesus has brought us into his family through no merit of our own (Eph 1:4-5). It is purely by the gift of grace that we are saved (Eph 2:4-5). And so, now that we are part of this new reality, we need to strive to reflect this new reality in the way that we live; to live worthy lives in response to the lavish grace that we have been shown by our loving Father. These are lives that should be characterised by humility, gentleness, patience, and maintaining unity through the bond of peace we have through the Spirit.
What can you do differently this week to seek to live a life that is worthy of this new reality God has brought you into?
Prayer: Father God,
Thank you so much for the lavish grace that you have shown me in bringing me into your family. Please help me to be continually in awe of this grace, and help me to give my whole life in service to you. I pray that you will help me to continually grow in humility, gentleness, patience and peacefulness, that I might live a life worthy of the wonderful calling you have given me in your son Jesus. Amen.
A song to listen to: This Life I Live Emu Music
Nick Woodward
Living Church Creek Road
