Eph 4:2 | KingComments | STEP | . The word “therefore” indicates the beginning of a new section. This word is the transition from the primarily doctrinal part to the more practical part. In more of his letters Paul uses the word ‘therefore’ for a transition ( ; ). What matters is that we now put into practice the teaching of the first part of the letter. We are addressed to our responsibility. As important as knowledge is, its purpose is to have its effect in your life and mine. Paul implores his readers to walk “in a manner worthy of the calling” with which they have been called. If you want to heed what Paul implores, you should know what is meant by this calling. We already came across this word ‘calling’ in chapter 1 ( ). There it is about our personal blessings. It is not about that calling here. The calling here has to do with what we have read in chapter 2. There we saw that we, together with all saints, have become one body and one house. It is our calling to put that into practice. In other letters Paul also speaks about ‘to walk worthy’. Just as in the letter to the Ephesians Paul’s imploring to walk worthy there also connects to the teaching given in that letter. To the Philippians Paul says in his letter to them: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” ( ). In that letter he writes about his defense of the gospel and the fellowship the Philippians, he wished, should have therein with him. He desires that their conduct in daily life will be in accordance with that. In Colossians 1 the prayer of Paul is focused on encouraging the Colossians that they “will walk worthy of the Lord” ( ). That meets the purpose of the letter, namely, to focus the hearts of the Colossians on the glorified Lord as the Head of the church. In 1 Thessalonians 2 it is that the believers “would walk in a manner worthy of God” ( ). In that letter our eyes are focused on the future when God will establish His kingdom. Paul implores there that we as believers show God’s government, that will soon be visible on the earth, already now in our lives. It is remarkable that Paul starts this chapter with almost the same words as the previous one. But, as you have seen there, after those opening words he first had to speak in some kind of parenthesis about “the mystery of Christ” ( ). In chapter 4 he picks up the thread with almost the same words. That stresses once more that chapter 4 connects to chapter 2. Because of that you also understand that the calling has to do with what has been brought forward in the last part of chapter 2. In the following verses you will see confirmed that it is our calling to keep the unity of the church as body and house. You will surely remember that the unity relates to what Jew and Gentile became together . In the church the distinction between both has disappeared. That was preached by Paul and as a result he became a prisoner. Presenting himself as a prisoner must have made his appeal to the believers more urgent to heed his admonition. Take notice that he didn’t see himself as a prisoner of Caesar. Neither did he scold the Jews who handed him over, as if it was their fault. No, he saw himself as “the prisoner of the Lord”. The Lord, to Whom he had dedicated his life and service, directed his life. Paul knew he was in His hand. He would have never landed in prison if the Lord had not allowed that. And when the Lord allows something, He surely has wise purposes. That was the reason Paul had the peace and confidence to adapt himself to the circumstances in which he finds himself. In the same way you and I can learn to look at circumstances and situations in which we may be involved and how to deal with them. . After his imploring to walk worthy of the calling, he describes in in what mind this walk should take place. The mind of such a person will be expressed in: all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. The purpose that should be achieved is to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The different characteristics of that unity are summarized in the . The first characteristic is “humility”. Humility doesn’t mean that you think bad about yourself or always speak about your own insignificance. If that was the case, then you yourself are still the center. Humility means that you don’t talk about yourself at all. It indicates the condition of your heart. You are not the one who is important but the Lord and His own are important. It is not about your honor but about His honor. He, who is really humble, has learnt to renounce himself and to look upon the Lord. Your own person is only really in the background when the Lord comes to the fore. Humility effaces itself to make Christ to be everything. This is how every good communication between believers starts. That’s why ‘all humility’ is first mentioned. After humility, follows “gentleness”. Just as we have to learn to be humble, we also must learn to be gentle. Therefore our urges and pride need to be judged: our own ‘I’ must be held in death; that means in the death that Christ died, for there we – there I – died. It took Moses forty years before he was ready for that. In those forty years he changed from an irascible man to a humble man (cf. with ). After that change he could be used by God to lead His people. He who is humble will be no threat to anyone; he who is gentle doesn’t feel himself threatened by anyone. This was perfectly present in the Lord. He could say: “I am gentle and humble in heart” ( ). He was it, always. That’s why He could precede that phrase by saying ”learn from Me”. We are not humble and gentle by nature, but we can become like that if we want to learn from Him. His offer to learn from Him is still applicable. Now it can be the case that you by God’s grace have made progress in the classroom of the Lord. But you still have to deal with your brothers and sisters. You may then notice that there are some who want to assert themselves, which can cause that others feel threatened by that and irascibly react to that. How do you have to deal with that? You must learn to deal with that “with patience”. ‘Patience’ or ‘longsuffering’ means ‘to bear for a long time’, that you can put up with your brother or sister for a very long time. So it is about dealing with patience toward your fellow-believer, male or female, by being humble and gentle. There is a danger that you show this attitude, but that you have the feeling that you’re better than the other. You may have the attitude of someone that has achieved a lofty status, from which you may look down at others who are not that far yet, with contempt. Paul is aware of that danger and therefore adds that we should bear each other in love. You should realize that the three features mentioned, can only flourish when they are rooted in love. Love enables one to bear the other in love, who has not yet fully developed, just as you are not perfect yet. To see what love does and how it works, you can read 1 Corinthians 13 ( ). The features of love mentioned there are those of God, for God is love ( ). All His features emerge from that. This is how it was with the Lord Jesus. It should be the same with us, who have received the Lord Jesus as our life. Now read Ephesians 4:1-2 again. Reflection: Which characteristics do you need to keep the unity?

‏ Ephesians 4:2

To Walk Worthy of the Calling

Eph 4:1. The word “therefore” indicates the beginning of a new section. This word is the transition from the primarily doctrinal part to the more practical part. In more of his letters Paul uses the word ‘therefore’ for a transition (Rom 12:1; Col 3:1). What matters is that we now put into practice the teaching of the first part of the letter. We are addressed to our responsibility. As important as knowledge is, its purpose is to have its effect in your life and mine.

Paul implores his readers to walk “in a manner worthy of the calling” with which they have been called. If you want to heed what Paul implores, you should know what is meant by this calling. We already came across this word ‘calling’ in chapter 1 (Eph 1:18). There it is about our personal blessings. It is not about that calling here. The calling here has to do with what we have read in chapter 2. There we saw that we, together with all saints, have become one body and one house. It is our calling to put that into practice.

In other letters Paul also speaks about ‘to walk worthy’. Just as in the letter to the Ephesians Paul’s imploring to walk worthy there also connects to the teaching given in that letter. To the Philippians Paul says in his letter to them: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27). In that letter he writes about his defense of the gospel and the fellowship the Philippians, he wished, should have therein with him. He desires that their conduct in daily life will be in accordance with that.

In Colossians 1 the prayer of Paul is focused on encouraging the Colossians that they “will walk worthy of the Lord” (Col 1:10). That meets the purpose of the letter, namely, to focus the hearts of the Colossians on the glorified Lord as the Head of the church.

In 1 Thessalonians 2 it is that the believers “would walk in a manner worthy of God” (1Thes 2:12). In that letter our eyes are focused on the future when God will establish His kingdom. Paul implores there that we as believers show God’s government, that will soon be visible on the earth, already now in our lives.

It is remarkable that Paul starts this chapter with almost the same words as the previous one. But, as you have seen there, after those opening words he first had to speak in some kind of parenthesis about “the mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:4). In chapter 4 he picks up the thread with almost the same words. That stresses once more that chapter 4 connects to chapter 2.

Because of that you also understand that the calling has to do with what has been brought forward in the last part of chapter 2. In the following verses you will see confirmed that it is our calling to keep the unity of the church as body and house. You will surely remember that the unity relates to what Jew and Gentile became together. In the church the distinction between both has disappeared. That was preached by Paul and as a result he became a prisoner.

Presenting himself as a prisoner must have made his appeal to the believers more urgent to heed his admonition. Take notice that he didn’t see himself as a prisoner of Caesar. Neither did he scold the Jews who handed him over, as if it was their fault. No, he saw himself as “the prisoner of the Lord”.

The Lord, to Whom he had dedicated his life and service, directed his life. Paul knew he was in His hand. He would have never landed in prison if the Lord had not allowed that. And when the Lord allows something, He surely has wise purposes. That was the reason Paul had the peace and confidence to adapt himself to the circumstances in which he finds himself. In the same way you and I can learn to look at circumstances and situations in which we may be involved and how to deal with them.

Eph 4:2. After his imploring to walk worthy of the calling, he describes in Eph 4:2 in what mind this walk should take place. The mind of such a person will be expressed in: all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. The purpose that should be achieved is to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The different characteristics of that unity are summarized in the Eph 4:4-6.

The first characteristic is “humility”. Humility doesn’t mean that you think bad about yourself or always speak about your own insignificance. If that was the case, then you yourself are still the center. Humility means that you don’t talk about yourself at all. It indicates the condition of your heart. You are not the one who is important but the Lord and His own are important. It is not about your honor but about His honor.

He, who is really humble, has learnt to renounce himself and to look upon the Lord. Your own person is only really in the background when the Lord comes to the fore. Humility effaces itself to make Christ to be everything. This is how every good communication between believers starts. That’s why ‘all humility’ is first mentioned.

After humility, follows “gentleness”. Just as we have to learn to be humble, we also must learn to be gentle. Therefore our urges and pride need to be judged: our own ‘I’ must be held in death; that means in the death that Christ died, for there we – there I – died. It took Moses forty years before he was ready for that. In those forty years he changed from an irascible man to a humble man (cf. Exo 2:12 with Num 12:3). After that change he could be used by God to lead His people.

He who is humble will be no threat to anyone; he who is gentle doesn’t feel himself threatened by anyone. This was perfectly present in the Lord. He could say: “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29). He was it, always. That’s why He could precede that phrase by saying ”learn from Me”. We are not humble and gentle by nature, but we can become like that if we want to learn from Him. His offer to learn from Him is still applicable.

Now it can be the case that you by God’s grace have made progress in the classroom of the Lord. But you still have to deal with your brothers and sisters. You may then notice that there are some who want to assert themselves, which can cause that others feel threatened by that and irascibly react to that. How do you have to deal with that? You must learn to deal with that “with patience”.

‘Patience’ or ‘longsuffering’ means ‘to bear for a long time’, that you can put up with your brother or sister for a very long time. So it is about dealing with patience toward your fellow-believer, male or female, by being humble and gentle.

There is a danger that you show this attitude, but that you have the feeling that you’re better than the other. You may have the attitude of someone that has achieved a lofty status, from which you may look down at others who are not that far yet, with contempt. Paul is aware of that danger and therefore adds that we should bear each other in love. You should realize that the three features mentioned, can only flourish when they are rooted in love. Love enables one to bear the other in love, who has not yet fully developed, just as you are not perfect yet.

To see what love does and how it works, you can read 1 Corinthians 13 (1Cor 13:1-13). The features of love mentioned there are those of God, for God is love (1Jn 4:8 ; 16). All His features emerge from that. This is how it was with the Lord Jesus. It should be the same with us, who have received the Lord Jesus as our life.

Now read Ephesians 4:1-2 again.

Reflection: Which characteristics do you need to keep the unity?