Ephesians 4:1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
The purpose for the verses above is found in these two verses.
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
This helps remind us of our identity in this world. The unsaved think they have it, but they don’t. The Apostle Paul was used by the Holy Spirit to describe what it means to be a Christian in such a simple way. These are fundamentals. Being a born again believer has many blessings. Our position—we have a place in the kingdom and a place in the family of God; we have a home in heaven.
There is also the vocation of being a Christian. A vocation is what you do. You might be trained as an electrician, carpenter, nurse or be in business. You’re trained in your vocation and it’s what you do. As Christians we have a duty; it’s our vocation for everyday living. When a person walks, he is moving. God wants us to be active Christians. Don’t substitute activity for spirituality. What spiritual activity do we do in our public and private worship? We are to let our Christianity show. It’s an honorable vocation in God’s eyes. The world view may be opposed to us, but it is what God honors. He’s with people who are with him.
How do we serve? Verse 1 says we are followers of God. As our Father we are to follow God just like we listened to our parents as they led and guided us as children. People want to feel self-empowerment yet they do some silly things. There is a new show coming out called Dating Naked. People walk around naked and meet new people. One girl who participated said she felt so empowered after she did it. It’s a new low. As Christians we are to openly walk as followers of God. We are to follow his leading, his example, his character, and his rule. The Bible is our rule of faith. If people are going to be so open with their wickedness, how much bolder do we need to be walking openly as a follower of God. We may ruffle some feathers, but God is counting on us. In a world that takes off its clothes, let’s keep ours on. In a world that curses like a sailor, let’s keep our talk clean. Let’s stand for right and against wrong as defined by God. Now is the time to walk it.
Verse 2 says we are to walk in love and humility with a burning love for the lost. We are not higher or better. We may be stronger in some areas than others are, but we are weaker in some areas too. Reach out and help others. Walk humbly before God and each other. Don’t confront the world in self-righteousness but in humility and love.
Verse 3 says we are to walk in unity. This is our endeavor. It’s what we strive for daily as we walk in humility and love. The world strives to be one toward issues and sin, in the way they think and act. Secular society wants to look, talk, and live a certain way. People follow Hollywood and the fashion world. They’ll spend a fortune to do so and still go to hell. We are to endeavor to keep unity of spirit. We can be “churchy” but God wants genuine Christians. He wants spiritual people who live it, walk it, and talk it. There is only one type of Christian; we’re all to be that same type—saved by the blood, born again, Bible believing, Bible practicing. We can make a difference when we do.
Ten to twenty years ago producers wouldn’t have put out television shows like we see now. We live in a day when decency is peculiar. The Bible tells us that we are to be a peculiar people to the world. That’s just the way God wants it. He wants his people to be in one mind, one accord, serving in one way under one standard. Let’s act and move as one.
Walk as followers. Walk in humility and love. Walk in unity. Then we’ll be worthy of the vocation to which we are called.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 