Sermon
delivered on January 12th, 2025
Sunday Morning Service
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:1-3
Ephesians 4:1 I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation where-with ye are called, 2: With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3: Endeavouring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Introduction
Last year, for 29 Sundays, we
have studied the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians. As we have
learned, the apostle Paul has spent the first three chapters of this letter to
the Ephesians describing the unsearchable riches of Christ and the
spiritual blessings that believers have in Christ. The focus in Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 has
been on what God has done in Christ for believers. And what has God
accomplished in Christ for believers? Let’s look back and review what God has
done for us.
In chapter one,
Paul begins his letter to the believers in Ephesus by reminding them that they
are blessed beyond measure; that God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has
blessed them in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
Saved by the pure grace of God, a salvation planned from before the foundation
of the world, adopted as children through Jesus Christ, redeemed through His
blood, and sealed and secured by the Holy Spirit.
Then in chapter two,
the apostle focuses on the mercy and grace of God in saving them, made them
alive in Christ, granted access unto the Father by the one Spirit. He reminds
them how the Lord Jesus Christ by His sacrificial work has reconciled Jew and
Gentile. By His atoning work the middle wall of partition brought about by the
ceremonial laws has been broken down. By His blood shed on the cross of
Calvary, He has brought the Jew and Gentile to Himself and to one another. The
result is that Jew and Gentile together have access unto the Father through the
Son by the Holy Spirit.
Then in chapter three,
Paul continues to drive home what he has been saying in the earlier chapters—he
reminds the Gentile believers in Ephesus what they were and what they
have now become in Christ. It’s all because of the person and work
of Jesus Christ. The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ resulted in two
wonderful effects. First, through His blood Jesus Christ destroyed the
hostility and enmity between Jew and Gentile. Secondly, through His blood,
Jesus Christ created a “new
man,” a new kind of people, called the church. The apostle Paul wants the
Ephesian believers to see what their privilege and their standing are as the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does that by using several images to
describe the church that they are now a part of and to help them understand
what the Church is.
That's a brief review of what we have
studied over those 29 Sundays. And now, we come from the first half of
Ephesians to the second half of Ephesians. As we progress in this study you
will notice a change of emphasis. The emphasis in Ephesians 1, 2, and 3
is doctrine, while the emphasis in Ephesians 4, 5 and 6 is duty.
The apostle moves on from the first half of Ephesians to the second half of
Ephesians; from doctrinal to practical; from the believer’s wealth to the believer’s walk;
from our great privilege to our solemn responsibility; from Christian
blessings to Christian behaviour; from ‘who we are in Christ’
to ‘whose
we are in Christ’; from the work
of Christ in us to
the work of Christ through us; from our identity to our
responsibility.
The apostle Paul begins this section
with the word ‘therefore’ which
is a word of transition. He transitions from doctrinal to
practical. I believe this is the way that God intends to communicate to His
people—theology then responsibility. This is a typical pattern in Paul’s letter. This is the way he writes,
and this is the way he teaches. Just like in the book of Romans, Paul spends the first 11 chapters
going through the doctrine of justification, and then when he gets to chapter
12, he writes, “I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” After
declaring the great doctrine of salvation, he then moves to exhorting them to
work out their salvation to their lives. This is the same pattern that he uses
in the book of Galatians.
He spends 4 chapters in Galatians explaining the doctrine of justification by
faith and then in chapter 5, verse 1, he writes, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made
us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” In Colossians, a book
that is parallel to the book of Ephesians, in the first 2 chapters he lays out
doctrine and in chapter 3, verse 1, he writes, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
Here in Ephesians, Paul dedicates the
first three chapters of this letter in exposition then in the next three, in exhortation.
In the first 3 chapters, the apostle focuses on doctrinal exposition, then in the
last three chapters, he shifted his focus on the practical application of
the doctrine to our daily life. By the way, in this book you will find some
41 imperative commands, and in the first three chapters there is
only one imperative command, the other 40 are found in the second three
chapters. Why? Because the focus in Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 has been on what God
has done; the focus has been what God has accomplished in Christ for us. Paul
understood that Christian doctrine is the foundation to Christan
living. In order to live right, you must first believe right.
Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 4:1, “I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation where-with ye are called.” From doctrine, he transitions to an
appeal. And that is what I invite you to consider with me. Paul is essentially
saying, in light of what of what God has done for us in Christ, I now
appeal to you. Let’s
look at this passage in three headings, namely, the Personal Appeal,
the Pastoral Appeal, and the Practical Appeal.
I – Personal Appeal
Ephesians 4:1 I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation where-with ye are called,
In this heading we ask two questions:
who is appealing and who is he appealing to?
Who is appealing?
The one appealing is the
apostle Paul who identifies as the prisoner of the Lord. Paul already said
this in Ephesians 3:1, where
he writes, “I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” Paul
was literally imprisoned in Rome when he wrote this letter, but he describes
himself not as a prisoner of Rome or of Nero but of Jesus Christ. He
writes in Philippians
1:12-14, “But I would ye should
understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds,
are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Paul understood his imprisonment was
God's will and plan so that the gospel message may be proclaimed. Paul
looks at his imprisonment as the will of God and for the
furtherance of the gospel and for the glory of God. Now,
although he already told them of his imprisonment in chapter 3, he brought it
up again here in chapter 4. Why? Not to gain sympathy. He reminds them
of his imprisonment because he is about to make a very serious and
important appeal.
Pastor Brian Borgman puts it this way, “Paul
reminds the Ephesians that he was a prisoner because he wants to remind them of
the seriousness what he is about to teach them. The fact that he reminds them
that he is a prisoner is simply Paul’s way of sealing his own commitment,
demonstrating to the Ephesians the price that he was willing to pay for the
gospel for their sake and he holds that forth as a motivation for them to take
the ‘therefore’ (appeal) seriously.”
Who is Paul appealing
to?
To answer this, we have to go all the
way back to the opening words of Paul in this letter.
Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
The appeal that Paul will be making,
in context, is directed to the Ephesian believers, whom he addresses as saints
and faithful in Christ Jesus. He calls them saints and faithful in Christ
Jesus. In other words, he is writing to believers in Ephesus. Whatever
appeal Paul is about to make it is directed to believers and believers
only.
But understand, while this letter was
addressed to the believers in Ephesians, they were not written just to saints
and faithful in Christ living 2000 years ago. No, they are written to us. They
are written to us to challenge us to reach our fullest potential in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Whatever appeal Paul is about to make, it is directed to
all believers in this church age. So, keep in mind that all the things
we will study today, and all the way to the end of the book is for you
if you are a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ.
II – Pastoral Appeal
Before we look at Paul’s appeal, I want to point out the
humility of the apostle Paul. He begins his appeal with these words, “I beseech.” Paul is fond of this word. He used
it in many of his letters.
Romans
12:1 I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans
15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren,
for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye
strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
Romans 16:17 Now I
beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I
beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye
be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:16
Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
2 Corinthians 2:8
Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward
him.
2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I
Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who
in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
Philippians
4:2 I beseech Euodias, and
beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
Philemon 1:9 Yet for
love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul
the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Philemon 1:10 I
beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
Hebrews 13:19 But I
beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the
sooner.
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly
beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
The word “beseech” in Greek is “parakaleo” and is
sometimes translated “I pray.”
Acts 24:4
Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that
thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
Acts 27:34 Wherefore I
pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there
shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
Other times, the word “parakaleo”
is translated “I exhort.”
1 Timothy 2:1 I
exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1 Peter 5:1 The elders
which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness
of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be
revealed:
The word “beseech” is
filled with meaning. It means, “to exhort, to plead, to entreat, to
beg.” But there is another dimension to this word “beseech.” The
Greek word for ‘beseech’ is “parakaleo.” It
is from the same word that is translated “Comforter” in
the book of John. John
14:16-18 says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you.”
So, when Paul writes, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you…”,
not only is he exhorting them, urging them, pleading with them, and begging
them but also he is saying, “I
come alongside you to encourage, to comfort you, to lead you, to be your helper
and friend.”
What can we learn from this? Paul even
though he carries apostolic authority, he does not lord it over those
whom he ministers to. He does not come to his fellow believers
domineering and bossing them around. He could command them but instead
he appeals to them. The apostle Paul implores rather than commands. One
writer says and I quote, “You do not find the apostle lording it
over the faith of the people of God but graciously, tenderly pleading with them
rather than sternly ordering their behavior.”
Pastors, church leaders, parents,
older siblings, God has given us position of leadership and He expects us to
exercise that leadership with the spirit that is demonstrated by the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the apostle Paul. Not lording it over. Not being abusive and
demanding but exercise authority and leadership with humility and great
care. May we learn from the apostle Paul’s example how to live and lead with
the authority and leadership that God gives us.
III
– The Practical Appeal
Now, it’s time to look at the apostle Paul’s appeal. What is Paul’s appeal? Is it to be set free? No! He
did not say, “I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you pray that I would be set free.” Instead,
he says, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation where-with ye are called.” Though
I am sure Paul does not enjoy being incarcerated, but what is foremost in his
mind is not to be released but foremost in his mind is that his
fellow believers would walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called. Paul
may be in chains and incarcerated because of the gospel, but that did not stop
him from preaching the gospel. From prison he issued this practical and
passionate appeal. Not to be set free, but for us believers to walk worthy—to
walk in a manner worthy of our vocation, to walk in a manner worthy of the
Lord.
The word “vocation” in our
text refers to “a calling.” In context it refers to the calling
we received from God. The apostle Paul already talked about this calling in the
early chapter of this book. It involves everything that God has done,
everything that God is doing, and everything that God wants to do one day for
you as a believer in Christ. It starts with a call to salvation. Peter describes this calling
of God in 1
Peter 2:9, where he writes, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
Followed by this calling to salvation
is the calling to sanctification.
2 Timothy 1:8 Be not
thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of
God; 9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
1
Thessalonians 4:7 For God hath not called us
unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
God’s calling does not only involve a
call to salvation and a call to sanctification, but
also a call to glorification. The ultimate glorification of
believer is when we become fully conformed to the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We see the
complete fulfillment of this in 1 John 3:2-3, where
it says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And
every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
This is our vocation. This is our
calling. And so, the apostle Paul implores us to walk in the manner worthy of
our calling. ‘To
walk’ here
doesn’t
mean the literal walk. Paul uses the word “walk” only
in the figurative sense, just like how David used it in Psalm 1:1 where
we read, “Blessed is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” In the Bible the word “walk”
is frequently use as a metaphor for practical daily living. It
is a metaphor for one’s conduct,
or one’s behaviour,
or one’s manner
of life.
God has done so much for believers in
His grace mercy, and love, Paul now encourages and implores us believers to
walk worthy of our calling. This is not an exhortation to live in a way
that earns or merits salvation. Nor is this about paying God back for
all that He has done and given us. How can anyone ever pay God back for His
gifts? Isaac Watts composed expresses this in the hymn he wrote:
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small,
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all!
Even if you have all the world and all
its riches, you could never ever pay God back for what He has done and given
you.
So, what does it mean to walk worthy
of our vocation? What does walking worthy of our calling look like? The word ‘worthy’ carries the idea of “matching up.” Our
walk should match our calling. We have been called “with a holy calling” (2 Tim 1:9); we have been
called out of darkness into light (Acts 26:18);
we have been called out of slavery to sin into freedom (Rom 6:16-18); we have
been called into the fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 1:9); we have
been called out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God (1 Cor 1:9; Col 1:13). What a great and glorious calling!
Now walk worthy of your calling. Live a life that matches; that
reflects the greatness and the value of that call. Live in such a way that
you show you appreciate Him and what He has done and given you. God has
done so much for us, but doesn’t
want, doesn’t
need payment, all God wants is that you value it. And your manner
of life will reflect how much you value and appreciate God’s calling upon your life.
Closing Exhortations
In the beginning of this book the
apostle Paul prayed that we would know and understand the hope of our calling,
now, he exhorts us to walk worthy of that calling. But still the question is
how? Paul will help us answer that question in the next three chapters of this
book. In chapters 4 through 6, Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
will tell us how. This will be the bulk of our study in the coming Sundays.
But in closing, let me ask you, “How
is your walk?” Does your walk reflect that you value God’s calling upon your life? God does not
ask you to pay Him back for what He has done for you. What God asks you
is to value it. Walk in a manner that shows you are grateful and that
you value all that God has done for you in Jesus Christ.
To the unsaved among us, let me say,
this is not the appeal to you, at least not yet. The appeal to walk worthy of
your calling is for believers only and not for the unbelievers. You
cannot walk worthy of the Lord if you are still dead in trespasses and sins. You
need to be made alive first before you can walk. If you want life, you need to go
to the source of life, which is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Prince of Life. Go to the One who says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.” Go to the One who invites you to come
that you might have life in Him. Come humbling yourself before Him. Come
believing Him as your only Saviour. Come and don’t delay.
AMEN!