Rooted Church Ross

Ephesians 4
Rooted Church
6/04/2023
Pastor Don Witt

Up until chapter 4, Paul has been focusing on the gospel of Jesus. The incredible spiritual truth and realities that go along with us being born again. That we have and inheritance, blessing, and power as members of God’s kingdom.

We do not earn salvation or love from God, He loves everyone, and gives salvation to all who believe in Jesus. It is not by works, but by faith alone that we are saved and given access to God and the blessings that come with being a part of God’s family.

Ephesians 4:1-2
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love

Paul says I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

What is the calling that we are called to? To be made into the image of Jesus. We are Christians, and the idea of being a Christ follower is that we imitate and become more like our Lord Jesus. That is our calling.

Romans 8:29-30
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to be like Jesus in our lives?

This word “worthy” is the Greek word Aksios, which means of equal worth or weight.

I think we often think of worthiness as some unattainable thing, or something that brings shame upon us.

When you go to trade possessions with someone, you weigh out what items are of equal worth in order that the trade would be a fair one. Or in fighting, they have weight classes so that their opponents would be worthy adversaries or equal weight/size.

So, when Paul tells us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to be like Jesus. That can sound like a daunting task.
And I thought Paul has just been saying this whole letter that you do not have to work for or earn your spot in God’s kingdom, but that it is a free gift?

You have to keep in mind that Paul is not talking to non-believers, he is addressing believers in Ephesus. And while salvation is a free gift that can’t be earned. When we have come into the family of God, we have a calling to be like Jesus. We will never be perfect like Him, but we should be imitating our Lord.

Do not try this at home.

When begin to follow Jesus and begin to pursue becoming more like Him and less like our old self, it is a process. And we do not do it alone. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to guide, strengthen, and help us as we walk out the process of sanctification.
We also have the help of the body of Christ. People who have been where we are in the process of following Jesus who can help support and encourage us in our walk.

Paul gives us a few examples here of what it looks like to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Humility, gentleness, Patience, and peace.

I have always hated personalities tests. There is certainly some benefit to knowing your personality’s tendencies as it pertains to interacting with others. However, I think tests like the enneagram and others can allow people to simply live in their unchrist-like ways.

So, if someone is prideful, they can say well this is just the way I am, there is nothing I can do about the way I am. When Paul clearly says here that walking in humility is walking in a manner worthy of your calling.

Or, if someone is harsh and short-fused they could accept that about themselves. But God’s word says to be gentle and patience with people.

So, we cannot just go on living in our default tendencies. We all have traits that are contrary to being Christ-like that come naturally to us. We have to overcome those tendencies by walking after Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to help us to be like Him and less like our old self. It is a process, but we have to participate in that process.

Ephesians 4:3-6
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

One body – The body of Christ is comprised of all believers in Jesus. This is different than one church. Because lots of people attend and are even involved members of churches that have not put their faith in Jesus and made Him lord of their life. But all who believe in Jesus are a part of the body of Christ regardless of denominational or societal differences.

One Spirit – All who put their faith in Jesus and are born again, received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, He leads believers into all truth, and He gives gifts to people for the mutual building up of the body of Christ. Despite the fact that believers have differing opinions about the Holy Spirit and His activity in the church today, there is but one Spirit. And because there is only one Holy Spirit, there is only one truth concerning Him and His ways. So instead of forming our own idea about Him, it is best to let the word of God tell us what is true concerning the Holy Spirit.

One Hope – Our hope should only be in our eternal spiritual blessings and home with Jesus. That we will be with Him forever when He returns. Those that only have hope in the things of this world and life will always be disappointed. But we have an eternal hope that is secure in Jesus.

One Lord – Jesus is the only way. He is our Lord and savior, and we live our lives to follow Him.

One faith – There is only one “Faith” that is “The Faith”. Jude wrote in his letter that he felt it necessary to urge them to contend for “The Faith”. Because there is only one way to God, it is through faith in Jesus. This is the faith we hold fast to.

One baptism – This might seem confusing because there are multiple baptisms mentioned in the bible. Repentance in water, and by the Holy Spirit. Baptism means immersion. When you put your faith in Jesus, you are immersed into Jesus. Water baptism is a picture of the immersion into Jesus that you have experienced. We do not immerse ourselves in Jesus, He immerses us into Him when we believe in Him.

One God and Father of all – Now he is not talking about all people, but all believers. God is over all and in all believers. Not all people are God’s children, but only those who received His son Jesus.

All these doctrinal points unify us as the body of Christ. We are not just some group that says you can believe whatever you want, and I will believe whatever I want. There are foundational biblical truths about God that we must hold to. And it becomes a strengthening identity for us as God’s children.

So, we walk in a manner worthy of our calling to be like Jesus, by imitating His ways, and holding fast to the truths of the word of God. If we will allow the Holy Spirit to help us be like Jesus, and we participate in that process of denying our old self we will make great strides in our Christian maturity.

Pastor Don's Sunday sermons can be viewed at the Rooted Church Ross Facebook page or the Rooted Church Ross You Tube channel.

Pastor Pete's mid-week posts can also be viewed on the Rooted Church Ross Facebook page, the Rooted Church Ross You Tube channel or our web site www.rootedchurchross.com.

The Rooted Church Ross Women's Group, Come Together meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM. Rebekah Butz is your host. Contact rootedchurchross@gmail.com for details.

The Rooted Church Men's Bible Study group meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at the Rooted Church Millville Campus 2275 Millville Ave. Hamilton, OH 45013 at 7PM. Pastor Don & Pastor Pete are group leaders.

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