1. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Here, in the first
mention of walk, we find it connected with works. The believer is
the workmanship of God and has a purpose in this life. Whether the works
were before ordained, or we were ordained to walk in them, makes little difference.
We can conclude that the mark of the real believer is that he is walking
in good works according to the will of God. He fulfills the desire of God.
2. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
In the Greek, this word worthy means in balance, as the beam on the
scales. Our works are to balance the doctrine of the first 3 chapters. This
is the balance we should keep in our walk.
3. Walk not as other Gentiles walk. This is as
much as to say that we are not to be conformed to the world about us. Such
a walk is in emptiness of mind, with the understanding darkened, and in such
a blindness of heart as to be alienated from the life of God. Such a walk
leads only to death, for the wages of sin is death, and always has been. Those
who have learned Christ do not walk as do other Gentiles. One's true character
is revealed by his walk.
4. Walk in love. This item and the 2 following
give some detail of the walk of the member of the body of Christ. This is
the testing ground and the basis for judging for rewards and the crown. Walk
in love has to do primarily with the relationship of husband and wife (
Ephesians 5:22 and 25-33). Every item in these verses is truth for today.
The wife who is not subject to her husband cannot have joy and peace in this
life. She was made to be a helpmeet. Any other position she may take is contrary
to nature. Likewise the husband is to love and cherish his wife, for they
are one flesh. The man who obeys this admonition shows forth as an example
the love of Christ for His church, which is His own body and of His flesh,
a church or body of which He is the Head.
5. Walk as children of light. We are to walk as
if in the full Sheckinah glory of the tabernacle in the heavens above. For
our citizenship is in the holy of holies in the heavenly places, we are blest
there, and we are seated there in Christ. Our walk should be in keeping with
such a high calling. This walk can also be applied to the relation of children
and parents (Ephesians 6:1-3 and 4). The walk has to do with such
everyday things as home relationships, not to exploits on the battlefield
or the like. The home is the gateway to heaven.
6. Walk circumspectly. Walk carefully. This applies
especially to our contacts without the home, and may be covered by the relationship
of masters and servants (Ephesians 6:5-8 and 9). Few workers can be
found these days who will do their service as unto the Lord. But this is
a testing and the future service will be gauged by our service now. Those
who endure will reign with Him. Our diligence in our job advertizes our zeal
for the Lord. Ultimately all our service is for Christ and should be done
heartily, not as to men, and we know that of Him we receive the reward of
the inheritance.
In a past dispensation, we are reminded that All them that
believe...have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22,23
). And if that is true, then where does the unbeliever stand? It is common
for verse 23 to be taken out of its context and made to refer to the unbeliever
by the self-styled evangelist. But is this distortion of Scripture justified?
In the doctrinal section of Ephesians (chapters 1-3) we
find much about the perfection of the believer. But does he have sinless perfection?
If he did, then we would have no need for the last 3 chapters which are about
practice. We have many do's and don'ts for the member of the church which
is the body of Christ. Are these laws? No, they are exhortations for believers.
When there was law, there was a covenant. But no covenant today. Yet, we
are to understand that there is reward, prize, crown, or something extra
for the ones who suffer or endure in the faith.
Law gave the knowledge of sin, what it was and to avoid
it, lest... But grace tells us about how sin has been abolished as far as
a penalty is concerned, for Christ died for our sins. That is grace. So it
is up to us to accept that as a fact and walk accordingly.
In Paul's day there were some who would advocate sinning
so that grace would abound. That is a sample of man's reasoning. Just where
did he expect to get with that?
And since the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the
world, not imputing men's trespasses against them, them are those who live
in darkness who would say that we can now sin without any fear of punishment.
And that is true of the unbeliever, for if he never believes, he will never
live again. We cannot say that this is a punishment, for the dead know not
anything. And there are times when we are inclined to think that many of
the living know not anything. Why? Because they are dead already in trespasses and sins. Not all who walk about are considered to be alive - spiritually.
Members of the church are to walk in love: To love
one another as Christ loved us. God is love, and Christ is God. How can
one be in Christ and not love his neighbor? Impossible!
Members of the church are to walk as children of light,
as walking in the sheckinah glory of the heavenly places. Why should any prefer
darkness? Are their deeds evil?
Members of the church are to walk circumspectly or narrowly.
One who walks in a straight line can save mileage and time and not get lost,
as do those who wander all over the landscape and forget where they are going.
The grand and glorious calling of the members of the body
is beyond description. Yet, we are to walk worthy of that calling...to walk
worthy of Christ. Search the Scriptures. These might be so.
For ye are saved by grace. This is truth for all times. All men who have
ever been saved have been saved by grace and by grace alone. It has never
been by works. Nor has it ever been by grace plus works at any time. No man
has ever deserved salvation. The natural man can do no work that could be
pleasing to God. The flesh, the natural man is not subject to the law of
God, neither can be.
Salvation has never been forced on any man in any age or dispensation.
Peter recognized the universal truth of this when he said, Whosoever believeth
in Him (Acts 10:43) and to that also agrees John 3:16 which uses the same
wording. So salvation comes by faith or belief. That faith may be only like
unto a mustard seed for size at the beginning, but God can make it grow.
Man can choose life or death. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. This is the principle given. Faith
is not a work, but simply the acceptance of a work that has been done and
finished on Calvary.
And this salvation is not of works, or out of works, lest any man should
boast. Why? So that no man can cheat our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of the
glory of His finished work. He is to have the preeminence. He is to have
the glory.
For we are created in Christ Jesus. When we believe, then there is a
new creation. A new man or new nature is put in us. And all for a purpose;
that it might be unto good works. Here is where the works come in. It is after
the creation of the new man. And this is logical, for we have seen that the
old nature cannot do good works. But here is something that can. It would
be very unusual for a man to work before he was hired.
There is a further purpose in this new creation. It is to walk. The new
creature has a walk as well as the old one. The old man once walked in trespasses
and sins according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
In other words, the flesh is subject to the powers of the world, the flesh
and the devil.
We are to walk in these good works for which we were created. An extended
discourse about the walk is to be found in chapters 5 and 6. There is the
3-fold walk; walk in love, walk as children of light, and walk circumspectly.
The walk in love applies especially to husbands and wives. The walk as children
of light applies to parents and children. And walk circumspectly applies
to masters and servants. Here is the practical Christian life.
It would be too bad to have a new creature and find that it could not
walk, but doomed to be a cripple forever. But there are many spiritual cripples.
Some are paralytics. Some are blind. Some have the palsy. They never learn
the walk. God's purpose is not fulfilled. And both God and this miserable
creature are finally disappointed.
If you are saved by grace thru faith and become a new creature, then
walk worthy of the calling.
I...beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are
called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one
another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3.
We might say that these attributes of the saint are fruits of the spirit,
the new nature. At least, that is what they should be.
It is true that these things can be put on and one can wear a frozen
smile on the face and take a pretended interest in others, but you can't fool
them all the time. To be effective and pleasing to God, these must be the
fruit of the new nature, not something put on by the old nature.
There is a lot of play-acting in the world today. It is the polite thing
to do this and it is the polite thing to do that, and in society you would
think folks were on a great stage acting out some part that is not theirs,
but something they imagine they ought to be in the eyes of others. This hypocrisy
can have a hardening effect till one is past real feelings and emotions,
and so frozen that love can not grow.
Lowliness is the forgetting of self and all one can gain above others.
It might be well that all of us would practice using i instead of I. We should
be lowly enough that we can listen to the other fellow and what he is interested
in, and what his troubles are. A lot of folks cannot carry on a conversation,
for they do not listen to the other person; they are too busy thinking of
what they are going to say.
Meekness is along the same line. It is the art of being gentle with others
and remaining even tempered in all things. Small people are greatly disturbed
by small things.
Longsuffering is not too far from these two attributes. There are times
when we have to endure others. Keeping it up is longsuffering. We can love
others without loving their ways and deeds. We have to look past these things
that are unpleasant and may annoy us at times.
And here is another one that is along the same line. Forbearing one another
in love. In Colossians 3:14 we are told that above all things we are to put
on love. Forbearing is rather hard without love. It is said that in every
happy home there must be two bears; hear and forbear. It is pretty
hard to love others till we have learned to love God. That is why that the
first 5 commandments were concerning God, and then the other 5 about the
neighbor. But these cannot be separated. The man who does not love his neighbor
does not love God. Neither can one love God until he knows God.
And with these all as a background, one should earnestly strive to keep
the unity of the Spirit. God does not say that we should try to make a unity.
We are to keep the unity that has already been made without hands and in
the heavens. And this being the case, there is no room for strife about the
matter, but the bond of peace.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy
of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Ephesians 4:1
Now before we do any walking, we are going to have to find what this
vocation or calling is. It is always best to read the directions first, before
setting out. We might even go in the wrong direction. Today we are not free
to do what we may think is right in our own eyes as it was in the time of
the Judges. Such results in anarchy.
Let us refer back to the word calling in 1:18. There the apostle prays
that they may know the hope of His calling. This calling has to do with sonship
as we find in 1:4,5. Now we are better able to think what might be involved.
Back in the first 3 gospels we find that Sonship was mainly in connection
with the kingdom promised in Genesis 49 and again to David. But when we get
into Ephesians 1:10 we find that there is a much broader aspect of this Sonship.
It tells us that in the fulness of times the Son will be Head over all things
both in heaven and in earth.
Now the hope of His calling in 1:18 goes much farther than an earthly
kingdom in which are the children of promise. It has to do with things in
heaven. This is something that a lot of folks have overlooked. They have
not realized that there is a program for the heavens as well as for the earth.
They do not know that redemption takes in the whole creation. So it is well
to study the plan and purpose of God in relations to the ages.
But still we do not see our relation to His hope and calling. It is found
in Ephesians 3:6. We are heirs, if so be we belong to the one body which
is the church with its citizenship in the heavenlies. And we are also partakers
of the promise made in Christ before the ages began that there would be eternal
life. Those who belong to this group or church, who have been adopted into
sonship, are made meet to partake of His inheritance in the holiest of all.
Colosians 1:12
There it is. Placed as sons that we might partake of the inheritance
of the Son. Called sons, even as He was called the Son of God. This is the
calling. And we are besought to walk worthy of such a calling. What a responsibility!
How can we do it? First we are to endeavor or strive to keep the unity
of the Spirit. We are not to make any unity, but to keep one already made.
It is made without hands in the heavenlies.
In subsequent chapters the word walk is used 3 times;
1. Walk in love. As or because Christ has also loved us. The
Lord told His disciples to love one another, and that this was the sign by
which the world would know that they were His disciples. In this connection
read 1 Corinthians 13.
2. Walk as children of light. The children of darkness stumble
and cause others to stumble.
3. Walk circumspectly. It has to do with wisdom. The suggested
opposite is walking as fools.
"Ye are called in one hope of your calling." During our
Lord's short tabernacling in the flesh, and the Acts of the apostles, there
were many who kept or observed the Passover feast. Our Lord and His disciples
kept it. Paul kept it at that time. But when doing so, not one of them excepting
the Lord, had any hope of going to the heavenly places someday. That was
not the hope of their calling. But it was a part of their walk, their behavior.
During that same time many were baptized with water, the
Lord included. It was necessary for that particular calling. But the Lord
Himself was the only one who expected someday to sit at the right hand of
the Father.
The Lord's supper is mentioned but once in all the Bible.
The saints at Corinth observed this common repast at the place of meeting.
No record that any other did. But Paul abolished this as it was not conducive
to harmony. None of those at Corinth who practiced this carry-in eating expected
to be manifested in Glory.
During our Lord's stay on earth, power was given to His
disciples. And at Pentecost and throughout Acts, power was given which was
manifested in signs and wonders, including speaking in languages. But none
of these had the hope of living sometime in the holiest of all, heaven itself.
Some vainly try today to walk after the laws and ordinances
of a past dispensation, and at the same time expect to go to heaven someday.
Now behaving as a member of one family of God, and expecting the inheritance
of another family is not consistent. And we have some question if that inheritance
can ever be obtained under such circumstances.
If the church began at Pentecost, then we would be excusable
if we expected all the blessings, sign gifts, and the like that were given
at that time. That would be reasonable.
But Colossians 2:6 reminds members of the body of Christ,
'As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye In Him."
How have you received Him? As King, the Messiah of Israel, or as the Head
of the church which is His body? How do you acknowledge Him? This will determine
the walk.
But for about 1912 years He has not been offered to the
world as the King of kings, nor to Israel as their Messiah. The kingdom program
ceased abruptly at Acts 28:28 and will not be resumed till the church
program is done.
Do not take my word for it; search and see.
When folks will stand and sing, 'When we all get to heaven,'
and then practice the things of the kingdom here on earth, we begin to wonder
a bit. Just what will be their end? Don't ask me, I don't know. I do have
an idea.
The walk for today is set forth in Ephesians and Colossians.
Note especially Colossians 2:16. All this walk has heavenly places
in view for the future.
In these days, all we need to know of these subjects can
be found in Paul's 7 last letters; Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon,
First Timothy, Titus, and Second Timothy. I would suggest that you look up
these two words and others that come from them, and find how they are used,
and what they mean.
Careless people are concerned only with the doctrine, but
not the practice. They boast of all the wonderful things in connection with
the heavenly places, the super heavens, not realizing that they might forfeit
the inheritance. And that is why we write as we do.
The members of the church today are blest with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. But too few ever claim their blessings
or realize them. Many walk after the flesh, the belly god, and miss the inheritance.
They have put their affection on things on the earth rather than on things
in heaven where Christ is enthroned.
Some walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. But there
are works which God foreordained that we should walk in them. Too many choose
not to walk that way. We are to maintain good works, but all too many, like
Job, are maintaining their own integrity, their own goodness and good works.
This can result in great loss.
We are to walk worthy of the calling, but we first must
know what that calling is. We are not to walk as other Gentiles walk with
vanity of mind (emptiness).
And then we have the 3 aspects of walk that are most important
and cover about the whole ground of Christian activities and relationships.
Husbands and wives are to walk in love. Parents and children are to walk in
light. And masters and servants are to walk circumspectly. For the impact
of all this, read Ephesians 5 and 6 very carefully. This is everyday living,
the test.
Not only are we to walk worthy of the calling, but also
worthy of the Lord. That makes us sit up and think. Just how much does that
demand of us? How can we do it? It is by being strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power. It is not in ourselves to do it.
One great challenge to us is found in the words, As ye
have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. This means
being rooted and grounded in Him. It means to be stablished in the faith.
No self efforts and/or pretensions will do. This must be the genuine article.
No counterfeits.
And you can see that walk and work are very closely related,
if not the same thing at times. The walk has to be in wisdom, and true wisdom
comes from above. Lay hold on it.
We have a wonderful salvation today. But we are to work
out our own salvation with fear and trembling. It is given to us freely, but
it is up to us to make it work. And that takes a lot of work. Let's roll
up our sleeves!
