“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” (Ephesians
4:1, NASB95)
What a compelling term—“Prisoner.” Paul had just written
about the incredible work that God had done and was prepared to do in them. With
the beginning of chapter 4 he begins with the word “therefore.” This word has
the meaning of response—because of what had just been explained the following
is expected. Paul said that because of what God had done for him that he was
now a “prisoner of the Lord.” This word “prisoner” (Greek: desmios) means to be
in bonds or to be bound. It comes from a root meaning of being tied or chained,
and it was used both to speak of being literally bound and also being under
obligation. Paul reinforced this view of his position repeatedly in his
letters, even pointing to Jesus as our ultimate example where we read in
Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ
Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8, NASB95) It is this term (bond-servant)
that Paul used to introduce himself in the beginning of his letter to the
Romans. “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart
for the gospel of God,” (Romans 1:1, NASB95) And it is in response to this that
he encourages all of us to give ourselves back to God in Romans 12:1,
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service
of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NASB95)
Paul knew to whom he belonged. He knew that he had been
bought with a price and that he no longer belonged to himself, but to Christ
who purchased him with His blood. “For you have been bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, NASB95) It was in
light of this that Paul wrote words such as those that preceded 1 Corinthians
6:20 where we read, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
(1 Corinthians 6:19, NASB95)
Belonging to Christ, Paul was committed to walking such that
He honored His Lord and master—walking worthy before Him. Here in verse 1 of
chapter 4 Paul begins imploring the Ephesians believers to walk in the same
manner—the manner in which they had been called. As I read these verses my mind
was drawn to a difficult decision that my wife and I recently made for our
family. We had heavily invested ourselves in the Boy Scouts of America program
as a good thing for our boys and as a means of reaching outside our church in
service. I had grown up in it as a boy earning Eagle Scout myself, and we
brought our older boys through the program. It had a long history, while not
being a Christ-centered organization, of being an organization that held values
consistent with our instruction of how we are to live as revealed in God’s
word. This organization had been a fairly consistent model of and tool for character
development in this country since its founding here in 1910. But something
happened. Over the past years the top leadership began to adopt different
standards and to accept values in conflict with the truths of God’s word. They
began to adopt a moral code which was inclined to accept that which God
declared immoral, calling it good and acceptable. Beyond that, they put in
place policies that made this their national position—a position which we could
not embrace. But we were not done yet. We have one more boy. He was part-way
through the program. Do we continue or what do we do?
We decided to remain with it for a season under the
protection of the church which chartered the unit and which provided our cover.
But the stirring continued and we were far from alone. Around the country Scouters
and others began to gather, and through the vision of a group of them a new organization
was formed which was soon to align itself with another one that had responded
similarly to actions by the Girl Scouts years earlier. I followed their
progress, and when the opportunity was right I was invited by another person in
my community to help start a new unit under this new organization.
The motto of this new organization is “Walk Worthy,” and it
comes from Colossians 1:10 where we read, “so that you will walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:10, NASB95) What
had begun was a faith-based organization for boys (Trail Life USA) which was
working hand in hand with another faith-based organization for girls (American
Heritage Girls) to provide a Christ-centered alternative to both the Boys
Scouts and the Girl Scouts, who while beginning well eventually proved that
good works without a firm foundation is faulty at best.
Paul never lost sight of who owned Him and who directed His
steps. He didn’t get lost in doing good, but did good as a response to the One
he served. He had already said in this letter that we were saved for good works
which God had prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
Beyond his own walk, Paul also knew that He was called by God as His instrument
to declare this to others. He was given this by God, and he took the
responsibility seriously. He even wrote to encourage those who he had discipled
and those who had been called by God in positions of leadership to walk with
the same sobering understanding.
I had just mentioned getting involved with Trail Life USA in
a new unit chartered by a local church. We were given the privilege of
selecting our own troop number. After considering several suggestions we
selected 1910 (OR-1910). This is not only the year that Scouting began in the
U.S. (1910), serving to me as a reminder of how easy it is to go wrong when
Christ is not at the center, but it also incorporates the central verse for the
program (Colossians 1:10) and the verse that precedes it (Colossians 1:9)
Looking at them together we see that they really incorporate the same thing
that Paul says here in Ephesians. “For this reason also, since the day we heard
of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled
with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so
that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God;” (Colossians 1:9–10, NASB95)
Knowing who we are in Christ and what God has done for us we
are called to respond by walking worthy (or rightly) before Him. Our walk does
not save us, but it surely evidences that we have been saved. Our walk does not
make us acceptable by God, but it surely demonstrates that we honor Him by
doing what is good and acceptable and perfect. “And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2, NASB95) Walking worthy is our reasonable response to our God who
loved us, who drew us to Himself, and who is powerful to act far and above
anything that we could ever ask or imagine.
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