Called to a New Walk Ephesians 4, 5

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1, NASB).

The way that we walk makes an impression on people; sometimes in ways that we are not aware of. This reality is brought to my attention recently while I am talking to a friend of mine. Jimmy and I have been friends since we were in junior high school. The nature of our conversation is about our perspective on life in comparison to the perspectives that we often hear expressed by today’s younger generation. Somehow, we get on the subject of leaders and leadership. Jimmy surprises me. He tells me that in high school my classmates think of me as a leader. You see, although I get along with my classmates I am not a part of any particular group in the class. One of our teachers often talks about the cliques in the class and I do not consider myself to be a member of any clique. As we are talking, Jimmy reminds me of the way I walked in those days. Apparently, the way I walk says some unspoken words to my classmates. After all, it is said that three-fourth of our communication is non verbal. Our walk says a lot about us to other people. In this article I want to talk about the walk that Christians are called to by Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 4-5 Paul writes to the church at Ephesus to tell them that they are called to a new walk.

In these two chapters Paul talks about two words. The first word is call/calling. The word “call” is translated from the Greek word “kaleo.” It means to be invited to something. The call also implies that the one inviting us has authority. Jesus is the authority, and He calls us through the preaching of the Gospel and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The word “walk” is translated from the Greek word “peripateo.” It means to tread all around as proof of one’s ability. It is used figuratively to mean how one deports their self. It also means that we follow someone as a companion. Thus, Jesus invites us to deport ourselves in a way that shows to others that we are companions of Jesus Christ. We forsake our old way of life, and we take on a new life as we follow Jesus the Son of God. He saves us from our sins, and being set free from sin we are now free to live a life that gives testimony to the change that Jesus can make in the life of anyone that accepts His invitation.

In the book of Ephesians Paul first establishes that the decision to save people from sin is not a human decision. The decision is made in heaven by God before the foundation of the world. This decision also includes the method by which a person is saved. Jesus Christ is the only one that can save a person from their sin (Eph. 1:1-14). There is nothing that a person can do to earn their salvation. It is God’s decision, and He determines that salvation is the result of His love and mercy (2:4). God extends grace to us and we accept His grace through faith believing that God will keep His promise (2:8, 9).

Having established that salvation is the work of God, Paul immediately begins to teach his audience how they are to live as children of God. He says: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, NASB). In formulating His plans to save people, He includes how we are to live as citizens in the kingdom of God. Since salvation is not the result of anything that a person does, God decides that all people regardless of their past way of living are included in His plan of salvation (2:11-22). In this particular setting Paul is saying that both Gentiles that do not have the Law and the Jews that have the Law are united as one people. The barriers that exist to keep them separate are abolished by the blood of Jesus Christ. Thus, all people are called to a new walk in Jesus.

Paul begins in chapter four telling the saints that they are to change their ways of living. When one is saved from their sin it is the result of God calling us from a life of sin to a life of holiness. “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:1-3, NASB). It seems to me that Paul is saying that all of us need one another. We need to allow the Spirit to bind us together in love for each other. He says that love gives us the ability to help one another. We are to work together to bring peace into our lives. We cannot walk with Jesus if we are unwilling to walk with our fellow believers. Paul further states that God has given to the church persons called to different ministries in order that the church can be unified under the Lordship of Jesus ((4:11-16). We must choose the way of Christ.

Paul says that God calls us to walk in a new life. He compares the lifestyle of the Gentiles to that of one that has been called by Christ Jesus. In 4:17-19 Paul describes their old lifestyle. This lifestyle is based on a way of thinking that is ignorant of God. This means that because they lived according to the desires of the flesh their hearts are harden; that is their hearts resist God (4:18-19). The way of life that they have lived is not how they learned about Jesus Christ. Paul challenges the church to think seriously about how they know Jesus. Certainly, they do not know Him by their old way of living. Instead, they know Him by His life and teaching that are one hundred and eighty degrees from their former life.

This means that they are converted to walk in a direction that is the opposite of their former life. “If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (4:21-24, NASB). In chapter 5 Paul emphasizes that the immoral practices that are accepted in the life that they once lived are not acceptable. They must separate themselves from those that practice this lifestyle. They are invited to live a new life.