I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager
to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.[1]
This morning, Jesus’
call to come to him for soul-rest[2]
turned into a lesson on living worthy of such a calling. The same grace that
calls us to come to Jesus for this life of rest, calls us to live the rest of
our lives in a manner that is worthy of that calling. I encourage you to
consider a few thoughts of introduction as a way to settle in your heart the way
Jesus wants us to learn from him.
1. We have been
called.
“…to which you have
been called” (vs 1)
This brings us
back to the beautiful chapters Paul has already written, identifying that, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”[3] This
includes God choosing us in Christ, “before
the foundation of the world,”[4] predestining
us “for adoption as sons through Jesus
Christ,”[5]
blessing us “in the Beloved,”[6] giving
us “redemption through his blood,”[7] and
“making known to us the mystery of his
will.”[8] We
were called into this gift of salvation “when
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him.”[9]
All believers
in Jesus Christ must see themselves as a called people. As Jesus shouted out, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest,”[10] each
of us who now believe in him have received that call.
Paul explained
this further in Romans 8 where he writes, “we
know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those
who are called according to his purpose.”[11]
Those who love God, as is characteristic of the beloved children of God, have
been called to this according to God’s purposes.
Paul then
gives the glorious connection of doctrines that fill God’s children with
security in our Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us that there are those whom God
foreknew, that the ones he foreknew he predestined to Christ-conformity, that “those whom he predestined he also called,
and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also
glorified.”[12]
The point is
simple: all who believe in Jesus Christ look outside ourselves for the
explanation of our life in Christ. We were called into it. And now this reality
of divine calling rests on us as we consider how to live our lives. Above all
things we could do, we must constantly seek to live in harmony with this
reality of God’s calling on us. He has a will for us, he has called us into it,
and now this affects what we do, and how we live. This call supersedes anything
else we could imagine doing.
2. We have been
called into a calling.
“the calling to which
you have been called” (vs 1)
We understand
what this means when we think of an employer hiring us for a particular job. He
has called us into a particular calling within his business, and now we work
out that calling in the precision of what that calling requires. When a general
manager calls someone to join his sport’s team, that athlete knows that he has
been hired to fill a particular position on the team, and understands that
there is a sense of calling to his place.
In a similar
way, those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must have the
consciousness that they have been called into a calling. The contemporary idea
that God has called us to experience salvation from sin that allows us to do as
we please is one of those ear-tickling false doctrines Jesus warned us about. There
is a distinctive calling on our lives because we have been called into this
calling by God.
3. There is a way
to walk worthy of our calling.
“to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (vs 1)
Since we have
been called into a calling, there is a way to walk, or live worthy, of that
calling. To walk in a manner that is worthy of our position of employment means
to do that particular job to the utmost of our ability. To play a position on a
sport’s team in a manner that is worthy of that calling, means to be as focused
on fulfilling our place on the team as anyone could possibly be.
So too, when
we think that we have been called into a calling, our primary aim in life is to
know and do the will of God regarding our calling. We have been called to be
this “one new man”[13]
that is made up of Jewish and Gentile believers, so we must live worthy of this
calling by acting like we are part of the one body of Christ, welcoming all who
receive the same calling of redemption as we have received. We have been called
to be, “a holy temple in the Lord,”
that is, “being built together into a
dwelling place for God by the Spirit,”[14]
so we must seek to be holy, and that in fellowship with other believers who are
being built together into this holy temple.
While we may
have many questions about how to “walk in
a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” we must
begin by affirming our willingness to do so. The New Testament epistles were
written to the church to answer all our “how to” questions, so now we must
agree that this is God’s will, and band together with other believers to do it.
The Holy Spirit has been helping us already, and will continue to do so as we
surrender to his work.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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