I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness,—Ephesians 4:1-2a
Jon Courson reminds us that before telling us how we are to walk, Paul reminds us that we first must understand where we sit. I loved that because it reminded me of this verse from 1st John 4:
We love Him because He first loved us.
We are not the initiators in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We are the responders. The second half (chapt 4-6) of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells us how we are to walk in Christ…the first half (chapters 1-3) tells us where we, as believers, are already sitting.
We sit…
Adopted into God’s family
Elected before the foundation of the world
Redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ
Sealed with the Spirit which is from God
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.—Ephesians 1:3-14
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.—Ephesians 2:1-10
Read Ephesians chapters 1-3. Memorize these amazing and precious words of God. Saturate your soul with its beautiful truth. Know what God has done for you even and especially before He drew you by His grace to Himself. BEFORE He made you accepted in His Beloved Son. As Christians we don’t walk to try to earn God’s approval or favor. We already have it. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. They are ours, now and forever. The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Beloved…because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sin, acknowledge and rejoice over the fact that there is nothing (good or bad) you can do as His child to make Him love you any more or any less than He does at this moment. Again, we don’t love Him so He will love us. We love Him because He first loved us. Everything we have is because of God’s undeserved love, favor and lovingkindness toward us. As His beloved children then, we walk in grateful thanksgiving in response to the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We walk in sincerity with all lowliness and meekness in light of all He has already done for us and given us….in light of who He has made “undeserving us” in His Son.
My prayer this morning for me, for you and for all the people I love.
May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God's people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God's presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.—Ephesians 3:16-21 AMP
