BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the first few verses of Ephesians, chapter four…
I counsel you [most earnestly] as the prisoner of the Lord that you walk with integrity in the calling to which you have been called, and to do so with an outlook that is completely humble and patient, gently holding on to each other in love, being quick to nurture the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace [the peace as proclaimed to you].
There is but one body, and but one spirit, even as you were called [to hear] of one hope [integral] to your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and father of all, the one over all and through all and in all. But to each was measured out [to him or her] according to [the providential discretion of] the gift [to us and for us] of Christ. – Ephesians 4: 1-7/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne.
Following Christ’s calling means walking a different path to others. PICTURE: Vladislav Babienko/Unsplash
“The statement here…is to emphasise the integrity that Christ Jesus promises to bequeath to, and expects from, those who have been turned around by His work. These are those who are now called to walk in His way.”
Here Paul counsels a life attitude that is in stark contrast to the impatient, self-interested, arrogant divisiveness that had been manifest in the Ephesian riot. For that matter, it also contrasts markedly with what we read of the opposition from some zealots of Paul’s own Jewish people.
The statement here – whether it is meant as a explication of their response to that riot or not – is to emphasise the integrity that Christ Jesus promises to bequeath to, and expects from, those who have been turned around by His work. These are those who are now called to walk in His way (John 14:15-17).
I surmise that Paul was able to be so coherent in this letter because this life attitude he is commending – which is their’s in the new birth in Christ Jesus – is also in stark contrast to the impatient arrogance of his former life.
What he says here gives emphasis to the calling of those to whom he is writing, in contrast to his own responsibility (see 3:13). They had been concerned about his life and Paul had reassured them, grateful for their concern. This is just part of his calling, he wrote, and now he turns his attention to encourage them to receive their calling from the Lord with humbled and patient thankfulness.
It is, nevertheless, a somewhat remarkable feature of the entire statement that Paul avoids mention of the idolatry associated with the Ephesian worship of Diana, the silver-smithing of Demetrius. Could Paul be simply giving expression to the principle he insists upon later, avoiding all mention of what leads to futile, idolatrous discussion (5:3-5)? That seems quite possible. His single-mindedness is evident time and again in what he writes.
The provocation that comes from opposition is not to be their motivation. And besides, the letter is not so much written to address that specific situation, but to the ongoing walk of Christians in Ephesus and elsewhere, some of whom may not have had to deal with the riot and its immediate consequences.
Paul is discussing how it is that they can walk with integrity. In effect he is telling his readers that their attitude to their calling, the one in which and to which they were called, is no different from his own. They may not be “the prisoners of the Lord” but they are to walk, to live their lives completely and singlemindedly as the servants of the Lord in the unity of the Spirit.
OPEN BOOK – THE PRISONER’S LETTER: A CALLING TO A DIFFERENT LIFE
BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the first few verses of Ephesians, chapter four…
I counsel you [most earnestly] as the prisoner of the Lord that you walk with integrity in the calling to which you have been called, and to do so with an outlook that is completely humble and patient, gently holding on to each other in love, being quick to nurture the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace [the peace as proclaimed to you].
There is but one body, and but one spirit, even as you were called [to hear] of one hope [integral] to your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and father of all, the one over all and through all and in all. But to each was measured out [to him or her] according to [the providential discretion of] the gift [to us and for us] of Christ. – Ephesians 4: 1-7/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne.
Following Christ’s calling means walking a different path to others. PICTURE: Vladislav Babienko/Unsplash
“The statement here…is to emphasise the integrity that Christ Jesus promises to bequeath to, and expects from, those who have been turned around by His work. These are those who are now called to walk in His way.”
Here Paul counsels a life attitude that is in stark contrast to the impatient, self-interested, arrogant divisiveness that had been manifest in the Ephesian riot. For that matter, it also contrasts markedly with what we read of the opposition from some zealots of Paul’s own Jewish people.
The statement here – whether it is meant as a explication of their response to that riot or not – is to emphasise the integrity that Christ Jesus promises to bequeath to, and expects from, those who have been turned around by His work. These are those who are now called to walk in His way (John 14:15-17).
I surmise that Paul was able to be so coherent in this letter because this life attitude he is commending – which is their’s in the new birth in Christ Jesus – is also in stark contrast to the impatient arrogance of his former life.
What he says here gives emphasis to the calling of those to whom he is writing, in contrast to his own responsibility (see 3:13). They had been concerned about his life and Paul had reassured them, grateful for their concern. This is just part of his calling, he wrote, and now he turns his attention to encourage them to receive their calling from the Lord with humbled and patient thankfulness.
It is, nevertheless, a somewhat remarkable feature of the entire statement that Paul avoids mention of the idolatry associated with the Ephesian worship of Diana, the silver-smithing of Demetrius. Could Paul be simply giving expression to the principle he insists upon later, avoiding all mention of what leads to futile, idolatrous discussion (5:3-5)? That seems quite possible. His single-mindedness is evident time and again in what he writes.
The provocation that comes from opposition is not to be their motivation. And besides, the letter is not so much written to address that specific situation, but to the ongoing walk of Christians in Ephesus and elsewhere, some of whom may not have had to deal with the riot and its immediate consequences.
Paul is discussing how it is that they can walk with integrity. In effect he is telling his readers that their attitude to their calling, the one in which and to which they were called, is no different from his own. They may not be “the prisoners of the Lord” but they are to walk, to live their lives completely and singlemindedly as the servants of the Lord in the unity of the Spirit.
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