What is this CALLING? To find out, of course, we must consider the preceding context of Ephesians 1-3. What the Apostle Paul has previously written is that by God's grace in Christ He has made us alive and blessed us with every spiritual blessing AS HIS ONE FAMILY and BODY in Christ. The people of God are no longer Jew and Gentile or outsiders and insiders but rather the ONE redeemed people of God (see 1:22,23; 2:11-22; 3:6-10).
THEREFORE, we are to walk or live our lives together AS THIS ONE BODY, this ONE FAMILY. God has called us to a clear and unmistakably CORPORATE life. Our calling is US, not ME or even a smaller nuclear-family WE. God's calling for our lives is about OTHERS. But not just ALL or ANY others, but the OTHERS of the Body of Christ. This does NOT mean, of course, that we have no calling involving those outside of the Body of Christ. The GREAT COMMISSION and GREAT COMMANDMENT make it clear the WORLD is on God's heart and should be on ours. But closest to God's heart is His chosen, redeemed inheritance...you and me, those of us who are IN CHRIST.
It is a great exercise to take some time and THINK about the implications of this calling. We will explore what Paul says in Ephesians 4-6 about walking worthy of this CORPORATE calling. But why not take some time to think what it means that THE CHURCH is at the CENTER of your calling as a child of God.
The IMPORTANCE of living worthy of this calling is emphasized by Paul in a couple of interesting ways:
- He gives his command or exhortation in v.1 prefaced with "I therefore, a PRISONER for the Lord..." He has previously mentioned his prisoner status in 3:1. Why introduce his command to walk worthy with this statement? It would seem that Paul is emphasizing the fact that the gospel of God choosing men and women from Jews and Gentiles to be His ONE inheritance and church IS SO CENTRAL and IMPORTANT that Paul has been willing to risk his life for it. He is SUFFERING for this ONE BODY (3:13). "Listen to me! I have given my life for this. This is at the HEART of God's program. I am suffering imprisonment and facing DEATH for this grand truth. YOU ALSO should live your lives for this body, the CHURCH." I remember in 1976 attending a huge Jesus Rally in N.C. that lasted a long weekend. One of the most well-known speakers that weekend was Corrie Tenboom (now deceased) of The Hiding Place fame. We all knew that Miss Tenboom had suffered tremendously in Nazi internment and risked her life to hide Jews from Hitlers genocide. With such a resume of suffering, we ALL listened to what she had to say with silence and respect and great focus. It seems Paul is appealing here in Ephesians 4:1 to his prisoner for Christ status to emphasize the importance of his words - "Listen to this prisoner..."
- A second thing Paul does here is to use the word "urge." "I therefore...URGE you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling..." This word is translated in some translations as "I BEG of you..." It might have the force of a platoon leader giving final instructions to a private who is being sent out on a dangerous mission. He takes the man by the shoulders and pulls him close and looks him right in the eyes and speaks to him with a passion that has to be listened to with every bit of focus in the private's being. In other words, Paul is saying, THIS IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS CENTRAL. DON'T MISS IT. IT IS YOUR CALLING IN LIFE. LIVE UP TO IT.
Brothers and sisters, we have been called by God to live a Church-conscious, Church-building, Church-loving, for-the-Church-sacrificing life. Let us not take this calling lightly. Paul will tell us more specifically HOW to do this in the verses following.
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