Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
A Manner Worthy of the Calling
All throughout the New Testament, we, who are in Christ
Jesus by God-ordained and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, are being
encouraged strongly to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy (suitable,
fitting) of the calling to which we have been called in Christ Jesus.
And we are called to holiness, righteousness, purity,
uprightness, truth, freedom from slavery to sin, fellowship with Christ,
according to his purpose, for his service, and to obedience to Jesus Christ our
Lord and our Savior.
And we are to do this with all humility (self-denial) and
gentleness (gentle strength) which expresses power with reserve (meekness). But
meekness is not weakness. Jesus was meek but he was not weak. So, this involves
actions and speaking which are under the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
And we are to do this with patience (self-control,
steadfastness), bearing (suffering, enduring) with one another in love. And
this love centers in moral preference. It prefers what God prefers, which is
what is holy, righteous, pure, honest, and upright. So, love does no willful harm
to its neighbor.
And in all of this we are to be eager to maintain the unity
of the SPIRIT in the bond of peace. So, this is not unity with humanism or with
man’s plans and reasonings. This is unity with God and with his will and
purpose for our lives. So, we never make compromises with truth to have unity
with others.
Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
No Longer Walk As
When Jesus Christ died on that cross for us it was so that
we could die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. So, when
we believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded faith, we are crucified with
Christ in death to sin and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in
him.
We are delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can now
become slaves of God and of his righteousness. For, Jesus gave his blood for us
to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we will now honor God with our
lives, and so we will live for him and no longer for ourselves.
So, if we died with Christ to sin, and if we were raised
with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness, how can we live in sin any longer? We are not! For,
if we continue to live in sin, making sin our practice, we will die in our
sins.
So, daily we are to be dying to sin and self and putting on
Christ and his righteousness. We are to be walking according to the Spirit and
no longer living according to the flesh. We are not to live like we did before
we believed in Jesus because Jesus set us free from our lives of sin.
So, we are to no longer give ourselves over to sensuality,
sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, slander/gossip, greed, impurity,
and idolatry. These sins (and more) are no longer to be a part of our lives.
Now we are to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon
return.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co
5:15; Tit 2:11-14; Gal 5:16-21; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]
Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV
“But that is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The Truth in Jesus Christ
This (referring to the previous verses) is not the way you
should have learned Christ. But it is the way many people today are learning
Christ. For, they are being taught that a mere profession of faith in Jesus
Christ is enough to save them from their sins and to guarantee them heaven as
their eternal destiny, regardless of how they live their lives.
But the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that we are to put
off our old self. We are to die with Christ to sin. And this involves
repentance, which is a turning away from our former way of living for sin and
self to now following Jesus Christ with our lives. Repentance is a spiritual
U-Turn in our life path.
We are to put off our old self, which belongs to our FORMER
way of life, because it is corrupt through deceitful desires. And this is the
whole purpose for why Jesus died on that cross. It was to deliver us out of our
former lives of living in sin to now living to Christ and to his righteousness.
And it is our Lord Jesus and his Spirit who renew us in the
spirit of our minds, but we have a part in that, too. We can’t be renewed if we
don’t want to be renewed, or if we choose to hold on to the corruption that is
in our minds. We must put off that corruption and put on righteous living.
And this isn’t just about putting off our old lives, but we
have to put on our new lives in Jesus, too, which are created to be like God in
true righteousness and holiness. Jesus frees us from the old lives of sin, and
he renews us in our minds, and he gives us the new lives in Christ Jesus, but
we must apply to our lives what he has provided for us.
Mighty in Power
An Original Work / June 17, 2019
Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;
Mighty in power, His name we honor.
He’s our refuge from all evil.
God our righteous, He’s our fill.
He satisfies us with all His blessings.
We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.
Glory and honor, praise to the Father,
Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.
He delivered us from all sin
So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.
He purifies us. His love will guide us.
He is beside us, holy and righteous.
Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,
Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.
He gives courage to be bold in
Witnessing for Jesus Christ.
He teaches all things about our Savior.
New life in Jesus, we found His favor.
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