Lesson for May 2, 2021
The Book of Ephesians
Chapter 4:1-6
“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. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
Implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called means the teaching of doctrine is designed to be an encouragement. The Greek word for walk is “peripateo,” which means a believer lifestyle. If a believer is occupied with Bible doctrine, he will also be occupied with the Person of Jesus Christ by being occupied with the mind of Christ, which is the Word of God. Walking worthy is therefore used for a believer who is advancing to spiritual maturity by applying Bible doctrine on a consistent basis. Since it is through the filling and power of God the Holy Spirit that we are able to learn and apply Bible doctrine, we must conclude that it is God Who makes us worthy. The virtue and integrity developed by the doctrine in our souls is God’s virtue and integrity. Therefore, God receives all the glory for the worthy walk of a believer.
The calling with which you have been called is a reference to the doctrine of election. Election is the plan of God for believers only, whereby He chooses or selects certain things to be true. The Greek word for calling is “eklektos” and means picked out, selected, or chosen for privilege. The question that must be answered in order to clearly understand this doctrine is “What are these things that God chooses for the believer?” Please notice that it is not God choosing a person for salvation as some teach; rather it is God choosing certain things to be true of the believer. An unbeliever must still use his volition to choose to believe in Christ or to reject Christ. (Ephesians 1:4)
The Church Age believer also has been chosen by God for a service. This service is to be Royal Family of God, the royal family of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every person who believes in Christ during this dispensation (a period of time in history when God deals with mankind in a certain way) becomes Royal Family of God. As royalty, it the responsibility of each believer to fulfill his election by the execution of the Christian Way of Life. (II Thessalonians 2:13-14)
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 introduces the characteristics of the Christian life. These verses outline the responsibility that goes with being a member of the royal family and a part of the royal priesthood. Humility is a mental attitude of grace. Being humble is being grace oriented to life. Humility recognizes that everything in life depends on Who and what God is and has done for us. Humility causes a believer to think correctly, objectively about himself. For example, he knows that his production as a believer is through the filling of the Holy Spirit, which is a grace function. He also knows that everything that he is or has is because of God’s matchless grace. Therefore, he can be relaxed, confident and single-minded about his life. Humility recognizes the rights of others, eliminating both inferiority and superiority complexes, which means our attitude is one of “live and let live.” Humility gives a believer a personal sense of destiny.(I Corinthians 4:7; Galatians 5:22-23; James 1:17)
Gentleness is being thoughtful of others whether you know them or not, whether you like them or not, or regardless of any other factor. Advancing believers are objective and gracious in their thinking. They respect the rights and privacy of others, are thoughtful and respectful of others. This is the true biblical meaning of gentleness. They are patient with those who malign, judge or seek to hurt them which will be a great testimony to others. Tolerance of others is application of impersonal love.
Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. A believer with positive volition toward doctrine fulfills the concept of diligence, and by so doing he guards the unity of the Royal Family of God. He is constantly guarding what already belongs to him, the essence of the royal family. Unity refers to the common essence or the characteristics which we have as members of the Royal Family of God. Unity of the Spirit is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to every member of the Royal Family of God at the point of salvation placing us into union with Christ. (I Corinthians 12:12-13)
Bond of peace means that which holds together or unites all the essence of the royal family. Peace can mean everything from tranquility to harmony. It means the harmony which was established by grace totally apart from any other factor. The command is to do something compatible with your royal status. In other words, honor your royalty. We are held together in perfect security. The security which we possess comes from union with Christ and from having eternal life.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. These verses give us seven characteristics of the Royal Family of God.
The first characteristic is one body, which refers to the basic structure of the royal family. All believers in the dispensation of the Church are in the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the name of the royal family on the earth. The Father placed Christ as the head of the body according to Ephesians 1:22. Therefore Christ is the head of the body. (Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:23,24; Colossians 1:18) The Holy Spirit forms the body of Christ according to I Corinthians 12:12-14. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit sustains the body of Christ according to I Corinthians 6:15-20.
Christ is the Savior of the body in Ephesians 5:23,25, 30. Being the Savior of the body means that the body of Christ has eternal life, possesses it forever. (I John 5:13) Christ sanctifies the body in Hebrews 2:11; 13:12. The body of Christ includes Jewish and Gentile believers of the Church Age in Ephesians 3:6. The body of Christ is the recipient of multiple spiritual gifts. (Romans 12:4,5; I Corinthians 12:27,28) The gift of pastor-teacher is for the purpose of edification and leading the body of Christ to spiritual maturity. (Ephesians 3:6-8; 4:11,12) Therefore the objective of the body of Christ is to reach the super-grace life. (Ephesians 4:15,16)
The second characteristic is one Spirit, which refers to the ministries of the Holy Spirit which we received at salvation and which no believer prior to our dispensation received. Salvation by faith in Christ is common to believers of all dispensations, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit, entrance into the royal family, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the sealing of the Holy Spirit and much more are unique to Church Age.
The third characteristic is one hope, which means confident expectation. It is a reference to what we have both now and in the future as members of the Royal Family of God, the body of Christ. As believers in the body of Christ, we are confident in our eternal future, but we are also confident in our present future. God is in total control and we have nothing to fear.
The fourth characteristic is one Lord, which refers to the fact that all members of the body of Christ have one Savior, Jesus Christ. There are not many gods and many ways of salvation. There is one God and one way of salvation and that is by faith alone in Christ alone. As Royal Family of God and the body of Christ, we believe in the One true God, Jesus Christ, which results in our union with Him.
The fifth characteristic is one faith, which refers to our faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior of the world. The body of Christ is made up of all those in the Church Age who place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Therefore, as believers we share a common faith.
The sixth characteristic is one baptism, which is reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is peculiar to the Church Age. It did not exist before the Church Age began, it will never occur again after the Church Age is terminated with the Rapture or resurrection. Only the body of Christ is royalty, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a special salvation ministry to create royalty. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is designed to take the Church Age believer, make him a member of the royal family, place him in union with Christ and enter him in the palace of God forever. So, the uniqueness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is related to the fact that in this dispensation every believer is royalty forever.
The seventh characteristic is one God and Father, which refers to God the Father. The Father is the Author of the plan of salvation and the Christian Way of Life. As a believer in Christ, we have a family relationship with God the Father, forever. We are his children, and He is our Father. Only faith in His Son Jesus Christ secures this relationship forever. As our Father, He is concerned about our lives and happiness. It pleases Him to care for us, bless us and see us “walk worthy of our calling” in Christ. God the Father indwells every member of the royal family. He is also in every part of the universe in His omnipresence, and yet He can do all of those things and still be at one place at any given time.
All members of the royal family have the same Father just as all members of the royal family have the same Savior and all members of the royal family enter the family in the same way, the baptism of the Holy Spirit based on faith in Jesus Christ. While all members of the royal family are unified by these attributes: one body, one Holy Spirit, one Lord, one way of salvation [faith], one entrance into the royal family [baptism of the Spirit], one heavenly Father, all do not have the same function, nor do all achieve the same stage of growth. Spiritual gifts are different, therefore various functions are assigned to members of the royal family. All believers are members of the same team, therefore members of the same royalty. We are all different but part of the same body, but the things that unite us are permanent and eternal because they ate from God.