Calling
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group

Chapter 19
We have a divine layout in the epistle to the Ephesians. And that layout is this. The first three chapters of this epistle is doctrine and then we have three chapters, which is the second part, which is practice. We don't need to be afraid of this word doctrine. It is just God's instruction. God's teaching to us, by grace, who is saved and bought us into this wonderful company, the church which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

The first three chapters are enlightening us to this new calling. This high calling in Christ Jesus, as Paul expressed it when he wrote to the church at Philippi. We have seen that it has been a consequence of the failure of the Jewish nation at the end of the Acts period. God reveals a new thing. A mystery, a secret, which He kept hid in Himself. Gathering out a heavenly people this time. Israel were His earthly people. There was a purpose being worked out through them. And now they are laid aside being un usable by God. That is where they have been all down this present age. Still preserved as a race. One of the wonderful mark of the scriptures are these earthly people of God. Despite all the persecution and the hatred of men and the devil you can't quite wipe them out. Because God has a future for them. And yet they are not usable by God because they are Christ rejecters.

All down this present age God has been doing something different. He has been working out a purpose for the heavens. Gathering out a heavenly people. And Ephesians is the letter that makes this known, which are in the first three chapters. When we have got some in site to this given to us by God, and we are rejoicing in it, the thing that we have to realize is that all light, all blessing from God, brings responsibility. And that should be so. If it wasn't so then we would become un balanced. Note the order. First, it is God's calling. It is His saving. It is what He has done for us through Christ before He asked anyone to do anything for Him. Or to be anything for Him. In other words, before He calls upon practice He first of all instructs us. That is the right order. And we must remember that when we are dealing with other people. Don't tell people what they ought to do, and what they ought to be, before you see that they are grounded in God's truth. We can't work out something that we haven't already got.

And first of all we have got to get this divine instruction as to what God has saved us to. What His word reveals for us. Then we shall say, well now, this sure is going to bring responsibility. And chapters 4 through 6 of Ephesians are the practice. The working out in practice of this high calling of God in Christ Jesus, made ours by redeeming love.

The first verse says, 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy ... All the wonderful things that God has done in Ephesians chapter 1 through 3 gives us some things to rejoice about for what He has done in Christ for us. But there has to be a balance in our lives in such a calling. How can we walk worthy day by day as an exhibition of God's love and mercy? That is the problem isn't it. But now God is going to tell us what He wants us to be in practice. We are not left to guess. Our imaginations are not left to run amuck to teach us. We have to be molded by truth. Otherwise we shall be doing the things that we think that God wants us to do and it may not be what He has asked us to do at all. When we look at this chapter 4 and consider carefully some of the first things in practice that God has asked, we shall be amazed. Some of the things that we might think that we should practice day by day, nothing is said about them. We want to be very careful here and sit at the Lord's feet with open hearts and minds just willing to be taught.

It starts with the word "therefore". "Therefore" is a connecting word. So what is it really saying? It is saying because of all the teaching of chapters 1 through 3 I am going to ask you to walk worthy. Because of all of this what is your response going to be? Will you not walk worthy.

Paul calls himself the "prisoner of the Lord" here. In chapter 3 Paul calls himself the "prisoner of Jesus Christ", verse 1. For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, ... We have seen this persons Gentile ministry. We have seen that he was raised by the risen Christ to be His mouth piece to the Gentile world. He then must have a very special message for us because we are Gentiles, we are not Jews. If God has taken the trouble to send somebody to us as Gentiles the we should be all the more in tune to hear what he has to say. Paul calls himself the prisoner of Jesus Christ for us Gentiles. But in chapter 4 it is the prisoner of the Lord. Now it is a surety that some one is reading and thinking to themselves, you don't mean to say that there is any difference from being the prisoner of the Lord and being the prisoner of Jesus Christ? Oh no, it is one in the same person obviously. But you know, the titles of the Lord are used with care and discrimination in scriptures.

Think of the word "Lord". We use it today in our own language. And it has, for the most part, a bad meaning. We talk about somebody Lording over us. And we think of somebody being over bearing. Bossy, as we might say. The word "Lord" means to control. And when you are dealing with the Lordship of Christ, it is an advance upon Him being Saviour. If we acknowledge Christ to be our Saviour, He has saved us from our sins, and has saved us for Himself, remember then that the scriptures tells us that we are not our own. We are bought with a price. That is the meaning of the word "redemption". It means, "to buy". He has bought us. The price isn't money. But it is His shed blood. And so we are not our own. Then if we belong to Him, He has the right, being our owner, saying what we shall do. What we shall be for Him. He has the right to controlling us for being our Lord. So we have got to be willing to acknowledge His Lordship. It is a step further than knowing Him as Saviour. It is the realization that day by day He should take control. And have control. But it is a question of does He have it.When you come into practice it is the Lord that controls.

This is the prisoner of the Lord in this practice section. And he beseeches us to walk worthy. This word "walk" has two references in the doctrinal section, in chapter 2. Paul had two looks into the past to begin with in chapter 2 verse 1 And you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past you walked ... This is the past life. What we once did before we were saved. ... according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: ... But grace has come in and saved us. God is rich in Mercy. 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;) ... Then we are told in verse 8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. ... It's all of God from first to last.

Then it talks about another walk. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. ... What a contrast in those two walks. Before we were saved, how we walked, and now that we are saved there is this good pattern. A good works that we can walk to the Lord's glory. All Ephesians chapter 4 through 6 is doing is simply expanding this walk. This worthy walk. In chapter 5 there is three references to it there. Ephesians 5:1 Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children; 6 And walk in love, ... That is the first way of looking at it. 5:8 For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ... We have to walk in love. We have to walk in light. And then in verse 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ... Walk like that.

You can see now what God is going to do. He just doesn't say, walk worthy, and stop there, leaving it up to our imaginations. He is going to tell us what exactly this is going to involve day by day. And when your done reading Ephesians you will realize that no point has been missed. All the things that we need to understand to please the Lord has been shown in this last section of Ephesians.

The word Lord occurs 24 times in the epistle to the Ephesians. And each time deals with our Saviour. And we have got to remember this. Paul wasn't just a plain everyday Christian. Paul had been commissioned by the ascended Christ and was sent as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul had some extraordinary powers given to him that other Christians have never had. We are told that Paul could turn a believer over to satan for the destruction of the flesh. We may not fully understand what that could mean, But you can see the power that Paul had got. And he warned the Corinthian church, with all their departure from truth, he said, now shall I come to you with a rod? Or in love? Which do you want? Now he would rather come when he visited them with love. This wasn't this man's nature. But he said, if you don't correct what is wrong you will force me to use my power. This is a man who could raise from the dead. Peter had the same power to. This is a man that could strike with death. These early Christians were given very special power because they had foundational work to do. That power was not continued today.

If you read Romans 15 Paul talks about his ministry being confirmed by mighty signs and wonders and power of the Holy Ghost. So Paul could say to the Ephesian church, now I am going to command you, I am the Apostle of Christ. You do as I say! But he didn't. He said, I am going to ask you. This man was a humble man although he was called to fulfill such an important part in carrying out God's purposes. When Paul wrote to Philemon he said, I could command you. But he said, I don't. I'd rather ask you. This man, great as he was, says, I am going to beseech you. You ought to, mind you. But I am going to ask and plead with you that you walk worthy of the calling, vocation, where with you are called.

Philippians is where also we have this word worthy. 1:27 Only let your conversation ... That is the old English of 1611, which should say, your manner of life. Not just your talking. ... be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: ... In the Greek it is the same word, being worthy of the gospel of Christ. So it is worthy of the vocation. Worthy of the Gospel. And in Colossians he prays 1:10 That you might walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, ... We've got this word worthy coming in these epistles three times. We walk worthy of the Lord. We walk worthy of the calling. We walk worthy of the gospel that He has committed to our charge.

As we come to the second verse of chapter 4 of Ephesians Paul will tell you as he expands on what a worthy walk is going to entail. It is very important that you notice that it is the mind that comes first. This is very important. Even in our natural life we don't walk with out legs. Oh sure, they are the physical tool that is used to get some where. But you actually walk with your brain. Because it is your mind that is controlling your feet and your legs. And when the control has gone from the brain you can't walk. Which proves that even physically you just don't walk with your legs. You walk with your mind. And spiritually it is most true. We walk worthy when our attitude and our minds are right. And if our mind isn't right, being in tune with the Lord and His truth, then what we do outside will not be in truth either.

What kind of a mind do we have to have? What kind of a outlook? Verse2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; ... All those words are describing an attitude of mind first. Lowliness is your attitude of mind. If we have got a lowly mind then actions will be in correspondence with it. If we are meek, so will the manner of life go with it. If we are naturally long suffering with other people that will show itself with the way we treat other people. Here are three things that the God the Holy Spirit picks out. And we must get them clear in our minds. The attitude of mind is so important.

This attitude of mind we have to get very clear. This word lowliness, the Greek word that it was translated from, its root word that literally means low. And we should see how it occurs in the next letter, the epistle to the Philippians, because it is used of Christ Himself. Verse 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind ... That is the word ... let each esteem other better than themselves. ... And then comes the example of Christ Himself. Verse 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, ... Emptied Himself literally. ...and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, ... This is the word. It is a verb now. He humbled Himself. That is the word lowliness. Here is something that even our blessed Saviour has gone through first of all. Before we are ever asked to be lowly, He was the lowly one.

In 2Corinthians 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, ... Here is this word meekness coming out. The meekness of Christ. We don't often think of that do we. Also the gentleness of Christ. And the lowliness of Christ.

Also in Matthew 11:20, which was at the time the Lord was rejected and when He was doing His mighty works, ... Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ... Then in verse 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. ... This is showing a point. In other words, He is praising the Lord that He hasn't given His best to people who think a lot of themselves. He has given to babies. Humble people. Lowly people. It is a revelation. Not those who think a lot of self.

And then in verse 28 Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: ... Here is this word, lowly. Lowly in heart. ... and you shall find rest to your souls. ...

So you see the opening of Ephesians chapter 4 asks you to follow a lowly Saviour. The one who said, walk with Me, take my yoke upon you. You know what yoke did? It united two animals together. They were yoked in service. That figure is used on the believer and his Saviour. Can you hear it? He is saying, Come over here. Come over here and link up with me. If you are going to link up with Christ, then in practice you have to be like Him in some measure. Or else it is going to be terrible. If He is the lowly one, and you swagger along, as it were, that yoke will never be known in practice. You have to understand this, what the truth is going to do to our minds is to keep it very humble. Very low, and very usable by God. Anything savoring of self or swank, or thinking of a lot of one self, well, this path that we walk, we are all touched with it if we were honest. There is something in this path of ours that once to magnify itself all the time. But where the Spirit of Christ is to be lowly. Empty, one self of all these things.

This attitude of mind that will produce a worthy walk is one that is like Christ in this circumspect. That we are lowly. We don't think a lot of ourselves. And how this man was, who called Himself in this epistle, the less than the least of all saints. If we know anything about Paul's character, he could of used such a term and never meant it of course. But we know he did mean it. Paul was a great man of God. He wasn't just exaggerating. He felt, he was, less than the least of all saints. Perhaps, even he calls himself the chief of sinners. Yet, he wasn't an ungodly man. He could write, touching the law I am blameless. You couldn't find nothing wrong with me. And yet when he became to know the Lord Jesus. When he saw that light from heaven. When he came in touch with the One who is all righteousness and holiness. My it shows up. What was inside his heart. So this lowliness can not be emphasized enough.

Meekness and gentleness of Christ. Do you remember in scriptures who is said to be the most week man? That man was Moses. He is called the meekest man on all the earth. But yet, when you read his character in the Old Testament what a rugged character that was. And how strong was that character. Well, he had to be. Think about it, leading thousands of slaves that are to come out of Egypt. Think of the responsibility. Think of what character and strength a man like that would have to have to do that work for God. Yet the scriptures says he was the meekest of all man. Which shows us that meekness isn't weakness. We can be very meek and yet be very strong for Christ. Don't mix up these terms because we shall error badly if we do. Meekness, just think how that is resident in our Saviour.

Long Suffering. If you are handling other people. If your are trying to help them. Or doing any sort of Christian work, you will need to know quite well the need for patience and long suffering. Sooner or later the devil will see to it that you will go up against somebody that rubs you up the wrong way. Which you just don't like, and they don't like you. What are you going to do about it? If they are believers, saved by the same Saviour, well this is where long suffering will come in. You won't just tolerate them. But you will treat them as fellow members of the body of Christ. God's grace will start to work in action and in word. You will reflect that wondrous forbearance and long suffering of God Himself. How patient God has been. And when we think of that the surely we realize that we can afford to be patient with other people. Even though they may not do and say all the things that you might like.

Three things that God puts His finger on and says, you can't have a worthy walk unless you are lowly, unless you are meek, and unless you are long suffering. Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; ... Forbearing one another in love? Most of us don't use that word today, forbearing. We may say, bearing with one another, that is nearer it. You bear with other people. That means to say that you have got to be able to put yourself where the other person is. That isn't always easy is it? We really got to be there in experience to be able to put ourselves in someone else's place. And then we can bear with them. Because we say, well I know. I understand. I've been there. I've been through it all. I can bear with you. Forbearing. Bearing with one another.

Then this wonderful ingredient. Love. You know, if nothing more was said in Ephesians, in practice, and we really carried all that out, we would really have a Christ like walk. The walk would be everything that God requires it to be. But you know, this is so searching and it finds us out so much that our Father has to go further. And expand it further. So that the truth comes on to us.

Ephesians 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ... This word Endeavor is translated in 2Timothy as, show thy self approved. And this doesn't mean to get out a lot of books and read. It means to be diligent. Which is to say to be keen in our modern English. What does the Lord want us to be keen for? This is what I want you to be keen for, Christ said, is to, guard or keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The word Keep is also interesting. Because these are practical words to guide us in our daily life it is wise for us to stop at almost every word. They are so rich. There are several words in Greek that are translated as guard or keep. You have the word guard, as to garrison of soldiers, in that lovely verse in Philippians, where we make all our requests made known to Him and the peace of God which passeths all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds. That word is to keep like a garrison of soldiers. When all the worries and all the requests are laid before the Lord and we receive His peace in return, it is just as though we are being guarded. We are safe. Secure. That is not the word used in Ephesians chapter 4. The word used in this chapter is to guard as a treasure. To guard is something you value intensely. Well we should ask ourselves what is this unity of the Spirit. We ought to know be for we value it.

What does it mean? This unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. You are going to find that it is split up for you in the on coming verses in to seven points. In Actuality, there are three unity's in this opening chapter 4. The Unity of the Spirit. Then in verse 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, ... There are seven more points there. And then the unity of the body in verse 16. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, ... Here is your body. The human body is a figure of it. It is all united with all the members working together. All have got a job to do, and doing it harmoniously. And that is in seven parts to. So there is three great unities in this opening chapter. The seven fold unity of the Spirit. The seven fold unity of the faith. The seven fold unity of the body.

This bond of peace. What bond of peace is that? You might say, well it is very obvious what peace this is. It is the peace that one gets one comes to the knowledge of salvation such as Romans tells us. Being justified by faith we have peace with God. When the sin question is settled, when we come to the Lord as our own personal saviour and we have known that He has born our sins, past, present, and future, surely there is peace there. But, is that the peace that Ephesians chapter 4 is talking about?

In as much as Paul has talked about peace in chapter 2 of Ephesians maybe we should go back a pay closer attention. After telling us, in verse 11, that we were Gentiles. And because of that we were outside the covenant. The Jews of Israel were the covenant people, the circumcision. And we were Verse 12 That at that time you were without Christ, ... They had Christ. And the Messiah came to Israel. ... being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, ... All the promises were to Israel as Romans 9 makes it clear to them the covenants belonged. ... having no hope, and without God in the world: ... 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off ... That is what we are by nature. ... are made near by the blood of Christ. ... The distance has been canceled out by the work of Calvary. 14 For he is our peace, ... Here is our question coming. In what sense is now Christ our peace? Because He has born our sins? That is not what is said here. Because ... who has made both ... That is Jew and Gentile. ... one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make ... Create. ... in himself of two one new man, so making peace; ... This section begins and ends with peace. He is our peace, so making peace. And all that we have got in between is the description of what this peace is and what He has done.

In this calling, at last there is perfect equality between Jew and Gentile. There was not, in that church born in the Acts. The Jew was still first. Romans tells us the Jew must have the gospel first. When Peter gave his message on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 3 he said to his people, his own nation, the Jews, you are first, God sending His Son to bless you. And Paul said the same thing at Antioch talking to the Jews. It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. We must only understand why Israel has to come first when we see the part that they've got to play in God's plan. They were the chosen channel in which God was going to reach the whole world. So they must have the message and the preparation first. And as long as they are first, you can't have perfect equality. The Gentile always took the secondary place, while the Jew is in Covenant relationship with God. In this calling that has all been destroyed. The Jew hasn't got first place. If he comes into this calling, if he is saved today as a saved sinner, well he is just a saved member and that is not just because he is a child of Abraham. Not because God made a covenant with his forefathers. He is just a sinner saved by grace like the rest of the world. He comes into this new heavenly calling in perfect equality. Everything that would divide Jew and Gentile in this body has been destroyed.

So, you are asked to guard this unity in the bond of the peace that has been made, in chapter 4. We are not to allow anything, in practice, come that is going to separate member from member. Keep that well in mind. Because you know who does the separating don't you? You know who wants to split God's children. Yes. It is satan. Satan is the great deceiver. Satan is the one who is the divider of the brethren. And if you look around at modern Christianity, Woe, what a great job he has done with it. What a shame. God's purpose is that we shall be one. This is the unity that God would have. And which God has made. And note this, keep it clear in your mind. We are not asked to create a unity. Oh no!. It is being created. What believers should be doing is recognizing it and acting on it and guarding it, and keep it. It is a huge difference between trying to make a man made unity, not realizing that between every redeemed Christian, and what ever label they've got, God has already made it. So why not keep it then. The first thing that God has asked a practical Christian to do is to guard it. The unity that has been made in this bond of peace.

There are seven points in this unity that you must take note of which come in every case. There is ONE body, ONE Spirit, your called in ONE hope of your calling, ONE Lord, and if you drop Him out the whole thing falls to pieces. He is right in the center isn't He. In His proper place. ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Paul is saying, this is what I mean by saying the unity of the Spirit. All those things are split up for you. That is what I am asking you to guard and to keep. So everyone of them must be important.

One body, Paul starts with. In this very letter we want what God has written to guide us. Not what is said here or from what anyone else says. Chapter 2 then that is where we look. After having abolished the enmity in verses up to 15, in verse 16 he says, And that he might reconcile both ... That is the Jew and the Gentile. ... And that he might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ... God has not only made the unity, but He has made this very figure of a body to illustrate the relationship between Jew and Gentile in this company. Oh, what is that, oh you say well that has already been used in a earlier letter of Paul. That is quite true. But again, in chapter 3 of Ephesians there is a unique word used which has not been used before of the church which is the body of Christ. Explaining what this secret is, that he had by special revelation, 3:3, Christ made known in the mystery or secret, he explains in verse 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body. Three times over we have the emphasis on the word Joint or Equal. Equal is literally, equal by an equal partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel where I was made a minister, says Paul. A Joint body. That is the word that is unique.

The Corinthian church were likened to a human body in 1Corinthians chapter 12. It is just like your body. It has many members which they all work together so that you should be like that. But they weren't were they. They were all split up. They were all in divisions. Some say, I am going to follow Paul. I am going to follow Peter. I am going to follow Christ. But he says, your human body doesn't work like that. It is not all split up and working against each other. It is all one harmonious whole. That is what you should be. But that is not saying they were the Joint body of Christ. That is awaiting for this new revelation. For this unique word to come along. Now this one joint body in which we are asked to guard is completed by every single one who is, chapter 1 of Ephesians, has been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. You know all those wonderful opening phrases which deal with God's working for us. Choosing us. Saving us. Opening our eyes. Teaching us. They are the ones. You say, who are they? Well in reality, we can not know. If it is God's work He is choosing. He is saving. He is calling. He is the one who knows them all together like He said concerning His sheep. I know my sheep. He knows every single one. We may not know them. And we might make mistakes sometimes if we try to decide just who are the real ones and who are not. We could slip up very badly. And God doesn't tell us to do that. We needn't poke our noses into something that really belong to Him.

We are assured, and we do know that all those who He has willed, and chosen, and saved, and called, not a single one is going to be lost. Not a single one is going to be missing. Because they have a vital part to play in this great company that is going to be taken to glory and be used in some wonderful way in the glory in the heavenly's where principalities and powers learn from them. They are learning now from them. We see it in chapter 3 of Ephesians. The principalities, these heavenly beings are by learning by the church, this church, the manifold wisdom of God. This church is the ONE equal Joint body, and it is first of all in this sevenfold ness.


Chapter 20. Callings