Ephesians 4.1-10 (1)
Pray Psalm 46.10, 11.
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah
Sing Psalm 46.10, 11.
(St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought)
Rest in the LORD and be at peace, all who are mired in sore travail.
Lift up our God, praise Jesus our Lord; proclaim to all the earth His Word!
God is our stronghold, never to fail; thus may our hope and joy increase!
Read Ephesians 4.1-10; meditate on the words “calling” and “called”.
What do these mean? How do they apply to you?
Preparation
1. How did Paul regard himself?
2. What is the sense of the word “beseech”? How does it strike you?
Meditation
I think the problem with many Christians today is that they have failed to understand or take seriously this one fact: God has called you.
By name: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine” (Is. 43.1). We like the idea of being chosen and redeemed and adopted and saved and going to heaven and all that GOOD STUFF! But how many of us introduce ourselves to a new friend or a neighbor or during a job interview as “a prisoner of the Lord”. Not many, I suspect.
“You are Mine.” “You have been bought with a price; you are not your own” (1 Cor. 6.19, 20). God has called you to His Kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2.12). He Who bought you has called you to His Kingdom—remember that “citizenship” thing we were so excited about in Ephesians 2? He has called you to His glory—it’s right there at the end of chapter 3, if you need to review it.
Called to His Kingdom to live like citizens of the City of God. Called to His glory to arrange all that we think, feel, choose, and do to bring honor and glory and praise and thanks to Him Who paid the price for all the rich blessings we enjoy. “I have called you by your name, and you are Mine.” “For you were bought at a price [just the right price, and only He could pay it], therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Jarring? But Paul is in earnest: he beseeches us, pleads with us, exhorts and encourages us. So hold on, for this verse is just the opening shout of what I regard as the three most demanding chapters in the Pauline corpus.
Demanding? You bet. But thrilling, too? Oh, yeah. God is calling.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana, 1905)
If we do not take to heart the words that Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, said to the Ephesian church (and to us), we will most assuredly hear, at the end of our tenure, Jesus’ words of sorrow and excoriation, “you have left your first love” (Rev. 2.4).
We must remember those who have done it wrong, so that we will do it right
“Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary;
rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.”
“When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
but when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge” (Prov. 19.25; 21.11).
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called…” (Eph. 4.1).
Beseech is a transitive verb to address an earnest or urgent request; to implore and seemingly beg another to hear and do what we are saying. To hopefully take our request with the most amount of seriousness. Some explanatory synonyms are petition, entreat, ask, and supplicate.
Paul is beseeching us to remember Jesus’ words: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9.62).
The psalmist also beseeches us to follow God faithfully and obediently:
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end…
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Law is truth…
my soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.
Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
give me understanding according to Your Word” (Ps. 119.105, 111, 112, 142, 167, 168).
For as long as we have been called to our calling in Christ, we have been given the strength and power to do the work, through the Holy Spirit. And that strength and power will continue with us, as long as we are walking worthy of our calling. As God said to a ninety-nine-year-old Abram, “I AM Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless” (Gen. 17.1). We are never too young or too old to “walk worthy of the calling with which [we] were called.”
We will remember the history of the Church.
We will remember the Scriptures.
We will follow God’s leading and teaching,
for we dare not repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before us.
And we will encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to walk worthy of their calling as well,
saying, “This is the way, walk in it” (Is. 30.21).
“That you may walk worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power,
for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
giving thanks to the Father Who has qualified us
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Col. 1.10-12).
Reflection
1. Within your calling to the Kingdom and glory of God, to what specific works has God called you today?
2. How should you prepare to walk in the right path for the day ahead? What can you do to keep on that path?
3. Paul encourages us to walk like true Kingdom citizens. Whom will you encourage today?
Nothing is pressed more earnestly in the Scriptures, than to walk as becomes those called to Christ’s kingdom and glory. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Ephesians 4.1
Pray Psalm 46.1-9.
Seek the Lord’s strength and help, that you might live as a citizen of His Kingdom in everything you do today. Pray that you will glorify the Lord in your life and work, especially in all the everyday activities of your life.
Sing Psalm 46.1-9.
(St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought)
God is our refuge and our strength; He is our help in times of need.
Thus though the earth beneath us should change, the sea engulf the mountain range.
Waters may roar with raging speed; yet God will rescue us at length.
God’s everlasting, joyous grace gladdens the city where He dwells.
Safely in Him, we will not be moved; when morning dawns, His love will be proved.
Fears and distresses Jesus dispels for His beloved, chosen race.
Kingdoms arise and rage and roar, threat’ning the earth with sore distress.
Nations may fall, earth melt away, His Word is yet our hope and stay.
God is among us, ever to bless; He is our stronghold evermore.
Come see the works of God’s Right Hand! He breaks the nations of the earth,
shatters their foolish weapons and pride, sets all their sinful strength aside.
Them He will show His infinite worth as they before His judgment stand.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we begin to look at what the Scriptures say about justice. This week in our Read Moore podcast we wrap up our readings from the book, To Know Jesus. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
