Walk in Unity and Grace
How to Live as People Worthy of Our Calling • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 24:23
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Scene 1/ When Paul’s pastoral exhortation is understood we will see that this is an invitation not to be refused! 4:1a
An invitation not to be refused!
Sounds a little threatening doesn’t it?
There is a note of compulsion, a having to do rather than a choosing to do.
Military orders are like that; there is a compulsion.
When an order is given it is to be obeyed.
There is a reason for that.
In battle questioning an order often means that the battle will be lost and many of your own soldiers will die.
Possible the whole army destroyed and your country defeated.
This defeats the very purpose of your life being sacrificed in defence of your country.
Death for yourself or others is a likely and unfortunate outcome of disobeying orders.
Eternity in hell is a likely and very unfortunate outcome of disobeying the orders in the Bible.
So why don’t we obey?
We come across one of these sorts of orders in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1
The Greek word parakaleo used here.
It is translated into English as the word, urge, appeal or beseech.
It has the sense of imploring, exhorting to action.
Begging someone to do something for their own good.
Paul urges us in the strongest possible way to “walk in a manner worthy of your calling.”
This is the central theme of the letter.
The pivot point which balances doctrine and duty.
All of Paul’s letters have this balance and Ephesians is the perfect example.
The first three chapters deal with doctrine, our riches in Christ, while the last three chapters explain duty, our responsibilities in Christ.
And the key word for the last three Chapters is walk.[1]
Walking is an action, it is something you do.
You walk towards something.
Or you walk with someone.
Or you walk in some attitude or belief system.
We are commanded to walk worthily of our calling.
To walk in a manner which is fitting, or appropriate to our relationship with Christ.
This appeal to walk in a way which is worthy of our calling is based upon the fact that God has been gracious in uniting us with Christ.
As a result we have to make a continuous and ongoing commitment to actually live this way.
We have been given an incredible privilege; it comes with an incredible responsibility.[2]
A simple illustration of the responsibility that comes with privilege is the uniform policy of a school.
You have the privilege of getting a good education, with it comes the responsibility of wearing the correct uniform, in the correct manner and behaving in a way which brings honour to the school.
The dress and behaviour of many students indicates that they have no appreciation of the opportunity they have.
It is the same for those who claim to follow Christ.
Does your attitude, behaviour and actions indicate that you value the gift of unity with Christ?
Or are you the delinquent student?
When we are urged in Ephesians 4 verse 1 to live a life worthy of our calling; it really is an order, one which you should obey.
And when we don’t obey we suffer, the church suffers and the witness of Christ is damaged.
Scene 2/ It is an invitation which we cannot refuse because it strikes at the very core of Christian community.
Love for one another is a central witness for Christ.
This is the sign that we are walking according to our calling.
So what is our sign, what is our brand?
Every brand that is seen as successful has some unique thing about it; often it is intangible, but everyone knows the brand by it.
Often this unique thing is reflected in the brand slogan.
Or in the logo.
A notable example is Nike with their just do it and Nike swish symbol.
As far as I can tell Nike is very dependent on advertising and endorsements.
Their shoes are actually no better than their competitors.
And some competitors in my experience actually make better shoes.
How they succeed is by very clever marketing
A great illustration of this is the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the famous sprinter Michael Johnson.
I believe the official sports clothing company for the games wasn’t Nike.
But Nike trumped every other sponsor with one simple act.
Michael Johnson turned up for the finals of the sprints in a pair of Gold Nike running shoes.
Everyone wanted Nike shoes.
Sometimes the church is like Nike, not actually offering anything better but relying on image alone.
This doesn’t work when your shoes are tarnished.
The other example is Apple;
As far as I am aware Apple doesn’t have a slogan.
The innovation of the product and the experience of using it is what the company relies on.
When Apple is at the leading edge, with better products and a better experience for consumers its fortune soar.
But when everyone else catches up, or releases a better product that out apples Apple, then the company struggles.
What sets apple apart isn’t exclusive; others can copy or even create a better product.
But what sets Christianity apart is unique; it isn’t slick marketing, although as a church we do need some good marketing so people know we are here.
What sets Christianity apart isn’t a product that is better than the rest until the rest catch up.
What sets Christianity apart is the transformation of the Holy Spirit that produces in us the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Those characteristics which should make us stand apart in a manner which simply wins people over.
Those characteristics which should make us a community of love.
Let’s take a look at 5 of those signs, that brand product which should communicate so powerfully to people that genuineness of Christianity.
Humility, “with all lowliness” (4:2).
The concept which we understand as genuine humility today comes from the early Christian church.
The Greek culture of the day had a different understanding of lowliness; for them it meant the servility of a slave, or a person of a lower class always lavishing honour on the master.
This humility wasn’t genuine; it was self serving, inflating the ego of the superior in order to make sure that you were treated well.
In Australia we have other words for this sort of behaviour
The life of Jesus gave this concept a new meaning.
Jesus taught us that humility means accepting the unmerited favour of God, not thinking that we deserved it.
Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Because of this realisation we recognise that we are not better than others and love them as we have been loved.
Gentleness.
This word is often translated “meekness” and is a twin word to humility.
It has nothing to do with weakness.
It is strength that knows who it is, not arrogance that wants to be number one.
The disciples had an argument about who should be the greatest.
Jesus told then that the greatest in his Kingdom is the one who is willing to take the role of the servant.
Not because you are lesser, but because you have been called to serve others for this is what Christ did.
Patience or Longsuffering.
Patience does not mean suffering fools in silence.
The patience that the Holy Spirit gives is never giving in or never giving up.
It is an attitude of persistence which sees defeat as a temporary, not final, setback; it is not deterred by discouragement and disappointment.
It also means to have “a long temper”. It is about relationships; not taking revenge when you have the power to do so!
Making allowance or “bearing with one another in love.”
Love is a dynamic action towards another person.
It is choosing them rather than excluding them.
It is overlooking the annoying things about them; focussing on the work of Christ within them rather than the faults they still have.
Bearing with one another in love, making allowance for each other’s faults doesn’t mean allowing abuse and strife.
In fact it is the opposite; it means that we are all called to have the maturity to look for the improvement that we can make in ourselves as we encourage others to grow.
Peace.
Without humility, gentleness, patience and love there can be no real community.
This is what people miss, all of these fruits of the Spirit, these virtues depend on getting the; I, me, my out of the centre and making Christ the centre of all we are and do.
This is what community is dependent upon.
That is also what makes for peace.
Within community, every member must be willing to give up his own self-interest for the common good.
As long as my feelings, my prestige, my interests are the things that matter, there can be no peace.
But humble, meek, patient, loving people have mastered the “my,” and are committed to “our.”
Peace within the community of faith is no mere formal one, imposed and maintained by authority.
It is a peace that flows from its members being at peace with each other because they are bound together by love.[3]
We walk in a way which is worthy of our calling when these virtues are evident in our lives.
But how can we get to the place on the journey when this sort of growth is part of who we are?
When we walk in humility, gentleness, patience, longsuffering and peace.
How do we be transformed so that these fruits of the Holy Spirit become our brand which everyone recognises and wants?
Scene 3/ The key to fulfilling our responsibility is letting the Lordship of Christ reign in our hearts. 4:4-6
We have to recognise that in God’s plan there is only one body.
The unity of Christ & His church, we are all in this together.
There is not them and me.
It is us and we.
It is simply, totally and utterly about the Lordship of Christ over all of us!
It is always Christ, always his church, always the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that transforms me so that I am more a part of Christ and his body.
Never is it about me becoming better, or more worthy, or more important.
We accept our responsibility to walk in unity & grace when we take the time to listen to what God is saying through reading Scriptures.
When we carve out time to read a little each day, actually writing down what passage we read what thoughts come to us as we read it and considering how it might apply to our lives.
We accept our responsibility to walk in unity & grace when we seek out the wise counsel of our brothers and sisters.
Perhaps in a formal mentoring relationship where we meet regularly to talk about our faith journey, making ourselves accountable through allowing another to ask us about our life, the things God has challenged us about, the questions we have about hard issues.
We accept our responsibility to walk in unity & grace when we seek the Lord in the experience of worship.
When we put aside the distractions of life and concentrate on the words that we are singing and the impact of the music and simply focus on God and his presence.
It takes a conscious effort to lay aside the distractions, but in the effort of focusing on God we will come to the experience of his presence and there he can speak into our hearts.
We accept our responsibility to walk in unity & grace when we allow the conviction of preaching to challenge us.
When we take the time to accept that which we know we should do instead of avoiding it through business.
We walk in a manner worthy of our calling as we accept our responsibilities and act on them.
We have been given an incredible privilege; it comes with an incredible responsibility; let us choose these things.
For then we are walking in unity and grace.
[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 34). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Lincoln, A. T. (1990). Ephesians (Vol. 42, p. 235). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
[3] Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, pp. 193–196). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.