Walk - Ephesians 4:1-2

Our study in Ephesians takes us now to the dividing point in the book. You'll recall that we've pointed out in previous lessons that Ephesians divides itself right in the middle. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 teach us doctrine and chapters 4, 5 and 6 teach us duty. In the first half of the book, God tells us what he has done for us by his grace through Christ. In chapters 4, 5 and 6, the last half of the book, he tells us what we as believers should do in return. Notice that Paul says in Ephesians 4:1, I therefore beseech you. Therefore. In other words, chapters 4, 5 and 6 are the practical conclusion from chapters 1, 2 and 3. First we have our blessings in Christ, and this is followed by our behavior in Christ. First we have the doctrine, then we have the duty. First we have the spiritual blessing, then we have the practical living.

Now it's unfortunate that in the churches today and in so many lives of Christians, there's a division here. We are hearers of the word, but not doers. We read the word of God and we enjoy the doctrine. Oh, how we enjoy studying the doctrine. But oh, how we fail when it comes to practicing the truth. You see, the word of God is not like any other book in the world. You may read Shakespeare, you may read the dialogues of Plato, you may read any other book and inwardly digest it and never have your life changed. But if we honestly and sincerely receive the word of God into our lives, there must be a change. Anyone who listens to the word of God with an honest and sincere heart must be changed either for the better by receiving the word or for the worst by rebelling against the word.

The word of God is not neutral. The word of God is like the sun that shines down upon the earth. When it shines upon the ice, it melts it. When it shines upon the clay, it bakes it. Now the word of God shines upon your heart. If you yield to the Lord, the word of God will melt you. If you resist the Lord and resist his word, the word of God will break you. It'll harden you. I've seen people come to services week after week and yes, year after year and hear the word of God and then finally one day down the aisle they come to receive Christ as their savior. Perhaps it takes five or ten years. I've seen other people who have resisted the word and argued with the word and instead of their hearts becoming softer, their hearts have gotten harder like the sun shining on the clay and finally they reject Christ.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you. This is Paul speaking to the Christians, beseeching them, pleading with them to make practical in their daily lives the lessons that he has taught them in these first three chapters. This is why we come to church. This is why we read the Bible. This is why we hear sermons and Sunday school lessons. This is why we conduct revival meetings and Bible conferences that people may hear the word of God and then having heard the word of God, receive it into their hearts and their lives be changed.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk. Now the key word in chapters 1, 2 and 3 was the word blessing. The key verse was Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And then you'll recall Paul listed some of the blessings that we have. He has chosen us, he has adopted us, he has given us an inheritance, he has sealed us, he has forgiven us, he has given us wisdom. Oh, the blessings that we have in Jesus Christ. Blessings is the key word of chapters 1, 2 and 3.

Walk is the key word in chapters 4, 5 and 6. Over here in Ephesians 4:1, walk worthy of the calling. That word vocation there in verse 1 means calling. Walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called. Over in Ephesians 4:17, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. Ephesians 5:2, walk in love. Ephesians 5:15, see then that ye walk circumspectly, carefully, not as fools, but as wise. So the theme of chapters 4, 5 and 6 is the believer's walk.

Now the Christian life is compared to a walk, not to a hopping or skipping or jumping or dancing, a walk. There are times when we have to run. No question about this. Paul says, flee youthful lusts. Flee the things of the world. Sometimes a Christian has to run. But most of the time the Christian life is a walk. You see, a walk begins with one step. That step of faith when you take Christ as your savior. The Christian life is lived a day at a time, a step at a time.

Now frankly, I'm a little bit afraid of some of these professed Christians who are always hopping and leaping. Sometimes when they land on their feet, they don't walk straight. You recall in Acts 3 and 4, there was a man at the temple, the gate of the temple, and Peter healed him. He was a lame man. He'd never walked. And Peter healed him and he was so grateful for what had happened. We read that he was leaping and jumping and praising God. This is a wonderful way to begin your Christian life. The first days and the first weeks of your Christian life may be experienced in leaping and jumping and praising God, but ultimately you've got to get your feet on the ground and start walking.

Recently I read a biography of one of the great missionaries, William Carey. He has been called the father of modern missions, a humble British cobbler who was used of God to do wonderful things on the mission field. And someone asked William Carey the secret of his success. My, he mastered four or five languages without going to school. He translated difficult Hebrew and Greek scriptures into native languages in India and Burma. And someone said to Mr. Carey, what was the secret of your success? And he said, the secret of my success is this, I am a plodder. I am a plodder. I just keep on plodding along. Just keep going. I set my eyes upon the goal and I just keep on plodding.

Now I believe God's work is done by people who just keep on plodding, just keep on walking. Some Christians always want to be in some kind of an ecstatic emotional experience. Unless their temperature is rising, unless they have a lot of leaping and shouting, they don't think that they're really enjoying their salvation. Paul says, I beseech not that you hop or leap or jump. I beseech you that you walk. The Christian life is compared to a walk because it begins with one step of faith, faith in Christ, and it's a gradual thing. It's a progressive thing. You just live a step at a time. You cannot take four steps at one time. If you do, you'll wear yourself out.

Now we walk with the Lord. In one of our songs we sing, if we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. We walk with the Lord. Some Christians lag behind him. Some Christians run ahead of him. But oh, what a joy it is just to walk with the Lord. To get up in the morning and open your Bible and let him speak to you and then open your heart in prayer and you speak to him. Then all day long you walk with him. That beautiful hymn says, and he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. Are you walking with the Lord?

Now Paul tells us in chapters 4, 5 and 6, how we are to walk. Broadly speaking, in Ephesians 4:1-16, we are to walk in unity. Ephesians 4:3, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Walk in unity.

Then from Ephesians 4:17-5:17, we have walk in purity. And in this section, Paul talks about Christians living clean lives. Walk in unity, walk in purity, and then from Ephesians 5:18-6:9, walk in harmony. Here he talks about the harmony of the Christian home. Harmony on the job, harmony between husbands and wives and parents and children. Very practical, isn't it? You see, Christian living isn't something in the four walls of a church. Christian living is the everyday walk of the believer where he is.

So we have walk in unity, Ephesians 4:1-16. Walk in purity, Ephesians 4:17-5:17. Walk in harmony, Ephesians 5:18-6:9, and then walk in victory. Ephesians 6:10 through the end of the book. Here he talks about defeating Satan and living in victory over him and his wiles.

Here then is the fourfold walk of the believer. Walk in unity. This is my relationship to the church. Walk in purity. This is my relationship to the world. Walk in harmony. This is my relationship to those roundabout me. Walk in victory. This is my relationship to Satan. Walk in unity, a Christian ought to be a part of the ministry of the local church. Walk in purity, a Christian ought not to be defiled by the world. Walk in harmony, a Christian ought to enjoy spiritual blessings in his own family circle. Walk in victory, the Christian ought to defeat Satan who seeks to defeat him.

Now it's been pointed out many times in the book of Ephesians by different students that there's a progress in our posture. You see, in Ephesians 2, we're told that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. That's posture number one. We were buried in sin. There was a time before you were saved when you were buried in the coffin of sin. Ephesians 2, and you hath he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. But then when you trusted Christ as your savior, you were raised from the grave and seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This is posture number one. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Ephesians 2.

Now Ephesians 3, we have posture number two. Ephesians 3:14, for this cause I bow my knees. First we're seated on the throne of glory. This is the secret of our power. Then we bow our knees to the Lord Jesus. This is prayer. And then Ephesians 4:1, walk. Walk. You see, first we're seated, then we bow our knees, then we walk.

Now you can't reverse these. Unless you know what you have in Jesus Christ, unless you know what it really means to be seated with Christ in the heavenlies, you'll never bow your knees and ask him for anything. Oh, some Christians never pray. They don't know how poor they are by not praying. They don't realize how rich they are in Christ. And so unless you realize that you are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, he has raised you above all principalities and powers. You are higher than anything can be, spiritually speaking. You are over Satan. You have conquered him in Christ. You are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This ought to make anyone bow their knees to the Lord Jesus and ask him for what they need.

Now, having been seated with Christ in the heavenlies, Ephesians 2, and having bowed the knees, Ephesians 3, then I can practice chapters 4 and 5, walking. Walking, living for the Lord. No Christian is going to walk with the Lord who doesn't realize he's seated with the Lord. Then in Ephesians 6, the the posture is that of standing. When he talks about our relationship to Satan, he says we should stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:14, stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and so forth.

Here it is now, seated with Christ, bowing the knee to Christ, walking with Christ, standing against the wicked one. Sitting, bowing, walking, standing. Now don't reverse these. You can't stand against the devil and defeat him unless you're walking with the Lord. You can't walk with the Lord unless you're bowing the knee to him, and you'll never bow the knee to him unless you realize you are seated with him in the heavenlies.

It's important to know what your spiritual posture is, because far too many Christians are lying down. They're sleeping. They've been caught in some trap of the devil and they're in sin. They're casualties on the battlefield of Christ. Oh, what a tragedy it is when Christians do not live up to their high calling in the Lord Jesus.

Now let's begin to look at this matter of walking in unity. Ephesians 4:1-6. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you. Beseech is a gospel word. It's not the word command, it's not the word threaten, it's the word beseech. Paul says this in Romans 12:1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. You see, law demands. Love appeals. And so in love, in grace, Paul beseeches them.

Paul, the prisoner of the Lord. But you'll notice back in Ephesians 3:1, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Paul did not consider himself a prisoner of Rome. As far as he was concerned, he was in jail because Jesus had put him there. Some of you may be listening to me in a bed of sickness, and you say, well, the doctor put me here. No, if you're a Christian walking with the Lord, the Lord put you there. I I know what it is to lie in a hospital bed. I know what it is to be home as a as an invalid, as a convalescent. But you know, if you want to take the burden out of convalescence, if you want to take the burden out of sickness and trial, look upon this as something the Lord has done.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye, that's plural now, that ye walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called. The word vocation here is the word calling. Now we use the word vocation to speak of a man's job. He's a lawyer, a doctor, a banker, a clerk, a truck driver. Paul's not saying this. He is saying, walk worthy of this wonderful calling that you have in Jesus Christ. This is why he prayed back in Ephesians 1:18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling.

Now if you don't realize your calling in Christ, you'll never live like a Christian. I want to make this as clear as I can make it. Paul doesn't say if you'll live a certain way, God will call you to some blessings. No, no. He says, God has already called you. He has already adopted you. He has already forgiven you. He has already given you the seal of his Holy Spirit. God has done for you everything he now can do. Now your response is to walk worthy of all of this.

We read the story of the prodigal son, and I'm afraid we see the prodigal son day after day in everyday life. Here's a young man brought up in a good home, a godly father. We read nothing about the mother, but here's a good home, a godly home. This boy did not live up to his calling. He didn't live up to his family name. He didn't live up to his father's riches. He took everything he could get and went out and fell into sin and wasted it and ruined his life and finally hit rock bottom. And we see this boy walking down the road, a bum, he's lost his shoes, had to pawn his ring, he's hungry, he's dirty, and we say this man is living beneath his dignity. He didn't live up to his high calling. Now Paul is saying to us as Christians, you have a high calling, you have a heavenly calling. God has done so much for you. The least we can do is to walk worthy of what he has done for us.

It's the picture of a wedding. Here is a fine, wealthy man who marries an ordinary girl, and he gives her his name. It's a wonderful name. It's a name that has a great heritage behind it. He gives her his home and his wealth, and then she turns right around and runs off with some other man. You say she did not live up to the wonderful calling he gave her.

How about us? Do we as Christians live up to the wonderful calling God has given to us? He has called us out of the world. Why do we get back into the world? He's called us away from the things of the flesh. Why do we indulge in the flesh? He's called us away from that which is wicked and dirty and and sordid. Why do we get involved in those things? We've forgotten our calling, that you walk worthy of your calling wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness.

You know, if anything humbles a man, it's the grace of God. It's the grace of God. When I was a teenager, there was a chorus we used to sing in some of our young people's meetings, after all he's done for me, after all he's done for me, how can I do less than give him my best and live for him completely, after all he's done for me, with all lowliness and meekness. Is this your attitude toward the Lord, lowly and meek? Jesus said, come unto me, I will give you rest. I am meek and lowly in heart. This is the heart of the Lord Jesus. A heart that's lowly and meek, long suffering. This is our attitude toward one another. Forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Now Paul is going to talk in these verses about the unity of the church. We'll deal with this, the Lord willing, in our next lesson. But Paul is saying here, a Christian who is walking with the Lord is going to be an ambassador of peace. He will not cause disunity. Over in the Corinthian church, the church was divided four or five ways because the Christians were carnal, they were worldly. You show me a Christian who's not walking with the Lord, and I'll show you a tool of the devil to split churches and wreck homes, ruin Sunday school classes, tear down the work of the Lord. Oh, how wonderful this calling is that we have in Jesus Christ. May he help us to live for him.

Father, help us now to be obedient to thy word. We pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.