*I*, the prisoner in [the] Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called,
Ephesians 4 turns from what God has done to how believers should live. Paul writes as a prisoner, and he pleads rather than orders — so what life could match such a calling?
The words "I therefore" reach back over a long pause. Paul had begun the same sentence in chapter 3 and then broke off to unfold the mystery entrusted to him.
Here we come to the practical part of the letter. Verse 1 refers back to the end of Ephesians 2. In Ephesians 3:1 the apostle began with, "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles." Then he went off into a long parenthesis, which runs to the end of the chapter. This is not unusual in his letters. Here he takes up the thread: "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you..."
Chapter 2 had ended with believers built together as God's dwelling. That is the calling in view here.
The beginning of chapter 4 connects with the end of chapter 2. There we see that we are the habitation of God, the dwelling of God. This is the calling of which it says, "I... urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." In such a position we are always humble. This is what enables us to walk worthy of the calling revealed.
Paul sat in prison because of the truth he had just explained: believing Gentiles and believing Jews form one body. He turns that cost into an appeal.
Now the apostle was in prison for the testimony he had borne to this truth. He had maintained and preached the privileges God had granted to the Gentiles. In particular, he preached that by faith they form, together with believing Jews, one body united to Christ. In his exhortation he uses this fact as a touching motive.
He urges; he does not order.
The order cannot be reversed. A worthy walk responds to a calling already given; it never earns one.
Christian duties (and there are such) flow from the new relationship formed by grace, and in Christ. We must first be in the relationship before the duties are there. People make a serious blunder here. They treat the duties as a way of getting into relationship with God... You cannot fulfil the duties of a child until you are one, or show the love of one either... God makes us His children, and then says, Now imitate your Father.
The same order shows in the word "saints."
God does not call them to become saints by a saintly walk. He urges them to a saintly walk because they are saints through His calling.
Paul uses the phrase three times, and each time the measure differs.
Paul urges us three times in his letters to "walk worthy." In 1 Thessalonians 2:12 we are to "walk in a manner worthy of God." He is the living and true God. God had called the Thessalonians to serve Him instead of idols. In Colossians 1:10 it is "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him." That letter dwells much on Christ's authority and headship. Here it is "worthy of the calling to which you have been called." Chapters 1 and 2 have unfolded that calling. It involves new nature and relationship, access to the Father, God's habitation in the Spirit, and union with the exalted Christ in one body.
The next verse turns in a surprising direction.
It is striking that he goes straight on to lowliness and meekness. This is the walk that is worthy of the calling. We would feel our own nothingness if we thought of this place... He has made us all one by the Spirit. We are all built together like stones in a house. He looks to us to walk in that unity and the spirit of peace.
But there is a false version of this.
The most humbling thing in the world is receiving boundless and undeserved favour... Now God never calls it lowliness and meekness to doubt the truth of His word, or the efficacy of Christ's work. On the contrary, He counts it pride and presumption.
- Calling first. Chapters 1–3 describe the calling. Chapter 4 describes the walk that answers to it.
- Therefore. The word links back to Ephesians 3:1. Behind it stands the end of chapter 2, where God builds believers together as His dwelling.
- Never reversed. Duties flow out of relationship; no one becomes a child of God by behaving like one.
- Worthy means matched. Elsewhere the measure is God Himself or the Lord. Here it is the calling — new relationship, access to the Father, union with Christ in one body.
- Downward, not upward. A calling this high begins with lowliness and meekness. It means feeling our own nothingness in the light of such grace.
with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love;
Paul first describes what God has given. Then he turns to how that gift should look in daily life. He names four qualities: lowliness, meekness, patience, and forbearance in love. Commentators treat them as the test of a life worthy of God's calling.
The list is not a demand for effort out of nowhere. Writers trace it back to how close God has already brought us to Himself.
Paul unfolds the calling, and then calls on us to walk worthy of it, in the first part of chapter 4. God has brought us very close to Himself, and the necessary effect of that is lowliness and meekness. How could it be otherwise? The greatness of the grace makes nothing of self. This is not easy. You see it clearly in Christ's life, and in Philippians too.
The first two words are close in meaning. Commentators tell them apart by how each one behaves when friction comes.
What is the difference between lowliness and meekness? Lowliness does not give offense, and meekness does not take offense. Both are needed if we are not to quarrel with our brothers and sisters. Third comes long-suffering, and fourth, "bearing with one another in love." All four qualities are meant to help us live at peace with each other, and to carry the suffering others may cause us.
The order of the four is not accidental. Lowliness and meekness are what I bring. Patience is what I need when the other person brings something else.
Lowliness and meekness are to mark us: how else can we walk together? ... If we let self have its way, fellowship becomes impossible. Resentment and strife are sure to follow. But suppose that, while we display lowliness and meekness, we find others are not like that? Then comes the opportunity of exercising long-suffering and forbearance in love.
Paul does not simply say "bear with one another"; he adds in love. That addition is a safeguard, because it is possible to put up with someone while despising them.
We may have to put up with insults and rejection, and bear with those who treat us that way. But note the warning: this forbearance must be shown in love. It is possible to bear with much in the spirit of pride that treats an offending brother with contempt. If we have to be silent, let it be with love that grieves over unworthy conduct.
These are not abstract virtues. They are for one setting: life together in the church, where they get used every day.
The instructions in the first part of chapter 4, down to verse 16, have our calling in view. They speak to us not one by one, but as members of the body of Christ, the church. In the gatherings of the saints, how often friction occurs! A little experience of assembly life is enough to convince us that this is so. Here then is an immense field for cultivating the beautiful graces listed in verse 2.
These words sound like putting yourself down. So people twist them into something God never asked for. One writer warns against this.
Nothing is more fitting in a believer than "lowliness and meekness," but perhaps nothing is more misunderstood. In too many cases Satan's craft turns these beautiful graces into doubts. Those doubts dishonour God and destroy the believer's peace. God never calls it lowliness and meekness to doubt the truth of His word, or the effectiveness of Christ's work. On the contrary, He counts it pride and presumption.
The two words Paul opens with are the two Jesus used of Himself. Writers point to that link for our model.
Our blessed Lord rises before our eyes. He Himself says, "I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). It touches the heart to think of "the mighty God," the eternal Son of God. He made countless wonders and holds up the whole universe. Yet He came down and became a man, so fully that He could say those words. We may well seek to follow in His steps.
Note: the ESV renders Matthew 11:29 "gentle and lowly in heart." Older translations read "meek and lowly" — the same word Paul uses in Ephesians 4:2.
- Grace first. God has brought us close to Himself, and that empties out self-importance. Lowliness is the effect of the calling, not a technique added to it.
- Self gone. Lowliness gives no offense and meekness takes none. Let self have its way, and fellowship breaks down into strife.
- Then patience. Long-suffering is what you need when the other person has not learned the first two.
- Love as the motive. Silence can be pride in disguise. Forbearance is only real when love grieves over the wrong instead of despising the person.
- Tested together. The four graces are for church life, where friction is common. We learn them by following the One who called Himself gentle and lowly in heart.