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Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye WALK WORTHY OF THE VOCATION WHEREWITH YE ARE CALLED

Only Those Who Are “Born Again” Can Walk Worthy

“WALK WORTHY OF THE VOCATION WHEREWITH YE ARE CALLED”. This is a command that the Apostle issues to the Church, the Body of believers who are “born again of the Holy Spirit” (John 3:3-5). Why must you be “born again”? Because in your first birth, your physical birth, you were born enslaved to sin. You walked according to your desires and to darkness. The theological term for this is TOTAL DEPRAVITY:

The Bible says that “ALL HAVE SINNED, and have fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Apostle summarized this when he wrote:

Romans 3:10-12 (NKJV) As it is written: “There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; [11] There is none who understands; There is NONE WHO SEEKS AFTER GOD. [12] They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE.”

Pastor John MacArthur called this “The most hated Christian doctrine”. We are born into this life separated from God. God must work a supernatural work in us – He must cause us to be born ….. AGAIN. How are we “born again”? The Bible says:

1 Peter 1:23 (LSB) … for YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN not of corruptible seed but INCORRUPTIBLE, [that is], THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING WORD OF GOD.

You believed the Gospel of salvation that is in this grand old Book we call the Bible. You heard that “Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That Jesus gave Himself for whosoever will come to Him. That Jesus died for us, though we were unworthy. Being born again, God justifies us, makes us right with Him. The Good News of the Scripture is that:

Romans 5:8-10 (LSB) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US. 9 Much more then, having now BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD THROUGH HIM. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, WE SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE.

When a person realizes that they are lost and headed toward eternal damnation and separation from God – when that person realizes that there is NOTHING they can do to avoid hell and a hellish life – and that person REPENTS and RECEIVES Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God the Holy Spirit causes that person to be “born again” into the Family of God.

The Bible describes this as a WASHING of the soul that makes it into a new creature:

Titus 3:5-7 (LSB) {God} saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to [the] hope of eternal life.

An unbeliever cannot “Walk Worthy” in God’s eyes, but a believer MUST “Walk Worthy”. Once in God’s Family, you are to walk following Jesus. This is walking worthy.

To “Walk” Means To Live Your Life
Following Something

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye WALK {peripateō} WORTHY OF THE VOCATION WHEREWITH YE ARE CALLED

Word Study: The Bible uses the word “walk” in two ways. One way it means what we commonly mean, “to advance or travel on foot”. But the other meaning of “walk” (peripateō) means “to live or conduct yourself”. Every person “walks” one way or the other. People either “walk in the flesh”, that is, they do what suits them, acting as their own gods. Or they “walk in the Spirit”, that is, they suppress their own desires and follow the directives of God. There are two types of people in the world: the lost and the saved. Or you may say those who ARE born again, and those who ARE NOT born again. The Bible says:

Romans 8:5 (LSB) For those who are ACCORDING TO THE FLESH set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT, the things of the Spirit.

The lost – those who need to be born again – are fleshly, self seeking, focused on their own satisfaction. They care nothing for the glory of God. Their glory is in their own desires. But “those who are Christ’s have CRUCIFIED THE FLESH with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24)

The saved walk following God and His Word. A great picture of this is found in the Exodus from Egypt. Israel was enslaved in Egypt. They were not guests – they were objects, things kept for the pleasure of the lost. But God raised up Moses, and sent Moses to Pharaoh with the demand that Egypt:

Exodus 5:1 (NKJV) Let My people go, that THEY MAY HOLD A FEAST TO ME in the wilderness.

Exodus 7:16 (NKJV) Let My people go, that THEY MAY SERVE ME in the wilderness …

God wanted His people released so that they could glorify Him in the wilderness. You know the story. Pharaoh refused to release Israel. Then God told His people to take a sacrificial Lamb …

Exodus 12:5-7 (NKJV) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take [it] from the sheep or from the goats. 6 ‘Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 ‘And they shall take [some] of the blood and put [it] on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

The Lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ dying on the Cross for His people. Jesus is the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, NKJV). The Exodus Lamb was a picture of the Messiah slain. It was the Blood of the Lamb that “redeemed enslaved Israel, and redeemed us who were enslaved to sin and this world” (1 Peter 1:18-19). God told Israel that the Destroyer would pass over Egypt that night. If the Destroyer saw the Blood of the Lamb, he would pass over that home, and death would not enter it. But if the Destroyer saw NO BLOOD, then death would come into that home (Exodus 12:23).

That night, it happened just as God said. Where the Blood of the Lamb was NOT, death came. But where the Blood of the Lamb was, there was life and peace. Because the Israelite obeyed the Word of God and did as He said, they were freed from Egypt.

Psalm 17:4 (NKJV) Concerning the works of men, BY THE WORD OF YOUR LIPS, I HAVE KEPT AWAY FROM THE PATHS OF THE DESTROYER.

That morning Israel was freed from Egypt. Israel WALKED AWAY from Egypt, and followed God. This is a picture of salvation. If you are saved, you WALK AWAY from Egypt. If you are saved, you WALK following God. You do not walk in darkness, but in Light, because God is Light. You walk following Him daily, hourly, moment by moment.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, THE PRISONER OF THE LORD, beseech you that ye WALK {peripateō} WORTHY {axiōs} OF THE VOCATION {klēsis} WHEREWITH YE ARE CALLED {kaleō}

The Christian WALKS following God, even when it is difficult. Paul calls himself “THE PRISONER OF THE LORD”. When Paul was imprisoned for preaching about Jesus, the Bible says:

Acts 16:22-24 (NKJV) Then the multitude rose up together against {Paul and Silas}; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and COMMANDED THEM TO BE BEATEN WITH RODS. 23 And when they had LAID MANY STRIPES ON THEM, they THREW [them] into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, HE PUT THEM INTO THE INNER PRISON AND FASTENED THEIR FEET IN THE STOCKS.

Though Paul and Silas were unable to walk (for their feet were in stocks), they still “walked worthy”. They sang and prayed and glorified God, even in prison. Though God sent an earthquake to break their prison open, Paul and Silas stayed where they were, and glorified the Lord Who saved them.

When God called Israel out of Egypt, He called them out of slavery. God called them into His Family. God called them to follow Him, to glorify Him by being obedient to His Word. The Christian is not an Egyptian. The Christian is not a worldling. The Christian is a Child of God, adopted into the Kingdom of God. We are not of the world, but are above the world. Our calling is HOLY:

2 Timothy 1:8-10 (ESV) Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, NOR OF ME, HIS PRISONER, but SHARE IN SUFFERING FOR THE GOSPEL by the power of God, 9 who saved us and CALLED US TO A HOLY CALLING, not because of our works but BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel

When Israel came out of Egypt, they walked following the Lord. Yet they did not walk worthy. They continued to murmur, to complain, and refused to glorify God. Israel made a golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving the Law. We read:

Exodus 32:9-10 (NKJV) And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it [is] a stiff-necked people! 10 “Now therefore, LET ME ALONE, THAT MY WRATH MAY BURN HOT AGAINST THEM AND I MAY CONSUME THEM. And I WILL MAKE OF YOU A GREAT NATION.”

Israel was not glorifying God. Israel was walking not worthy, not following the Lord Who saved them, but their own fleshly desires. So God told Moses “Don’t pray for them, or intervene for them. I’ll destroy that nation entirely, and make another nation FROM YOUR LOINS Moses”.

Wow! That was a powerful statement. These people had harassed Moses, mocked Moses, made light of Moses almost from the first when they left Egypt.

The people MURMURED against Moses (Exodus 15:24)
The whole congregation MURMURED against Moses (Exodus 16:2)
The people MURMURED against Moses (Exodus 17:3)
The children of Israel MURMURED against Moses (Numbers 14:2)

Paul and Silas were beaten with rods, thrown into prison, and walking worthy stayed where they were to glorify God. What would Moses do?

God said what He said to show us a “worthy walk” through His servant Moses. Moses cared more for God’s glory than for himself.

Exodus 32:11-14 (NKJV) Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 “WHY SHOULD THE EGYPTIANS SPEAK, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit [it] forever.’ ” 14 So THE LORD RELENTED FROM THE HARM WHICH HE SAID HE WOULD DO TO HIS PEOPLE.

Moses walked worthy of the Lord. He wanted God to be glorified, no matter what might come. These Israelites will NOT go into the Promised Land, for they have not learned to walk worthy of their calling. Beloved – hear me:

The unbeliever cannot walk worthy in God’s eyes. The believer is commanded to walk worthy, to live so as to glorify God in the life He has given you. And no body of believers, Israel or the Church, will be blessed of God if those believers will not walk worthy, glorifying God.

What Glorifies God Is When We Imitate Christ:
The Three Virtues Of Walking Worthy

Ephesians 4:1-2 (KJV) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all LOWLINESS and MEEKNESS, with LONGSUFFERING, forbearing one another in love;

God is not calling us to be effeminate. I am fed up with sissy, prissy, tolerant preaching and posturing in order to please the dark fantasies of this present world. The three virtues that God is calling us to are not effeminacy, for the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (LSB) Or do you not know that the UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Do not be deceived; neither [the] sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor EFFEMINATE {malakos}, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor [the] greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Word Study: The word “EFFEMINATE” is the Greek malakos, which means “a soft male”. The dictionary defines “effeminate” as “a man or boy having traits, habits, etc traditionally considered feminine, as softness or delicacy”. To walk worthy of your calling is to “be followers of God, as dear children; and WALK IN LOVE, as Christ has loved us, and gave Himself as a sacrificial offering to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2). To walk worthy as believers is to FOLLOW CHRIST:

Luke 9:23 (KJV) {Jesus} said to them all, IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and FOLLOW ME.

“LOWLINESS and MEEKNESS, with LONGSUFFERING” are all marks of Jesus Christ – but our Lord was never effeminate. Christianity is not effeminate. God made men to be men, and women to be women. God made us in our roles, and equipped us with distinct characteristics.

Moses stood up for the glory of God, though he was attacked by Israel. Paul and Silas were beaten with rods – yet continued on so that God’s glorious Gospel could go forth. Whipped, Peter and the Apostles declared “we will obey God rather than man”. And Jesus was no effeminate wimp. Jesus cast the money changers out of the Temple – TWICE. Jesus stood up to crowd of Pharisees who declared He was a blasphemer.

And yet – Jesus and the men of the Bible were LOWLY. Jesus and the men of the Bible were MEEK. Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28–29 (KJV) “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Word Study: The word “LOWLINESS” is the Greek tapeinophrosynē, which means “to have humility of mind”. The Bible says for the Christian:

Philippians 2:5-11 (KJV) LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, and BECAME OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; 11 And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

To be LOWLY means to realize that God is above you, and that His will is greater than your will. Though Jesus is God – God in the flesh – Perfect Man born of a virgin – Jesus LOWERED HIMSELF so that others might be blessed. To be LOWLY is to stop putting yourself first, and TO PUT GOD FIRST. God’s Way is always the best way.

In a world of lost people who want to set the standard, the Christ follower adheres to God’s standard. We lower ourselves and elevate Him and His Gospel. If none go with us, we stand firm unto the death. We will glorify God!

Word Study: The word “MEEKNESS” is the Greek praotēs, which means “Christlike gentleness”. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control. Meek people trust God to defend them – they do not fight for their own way. The Bible says of Moses:

Numbers 12:3 Now the man Moses was VERY MEEK, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

He wasn’t WEAK, he was MEEK. He lived a life surrendered to God. When Jesus was attacked, beaten, nailed to a Cross for us, the Bible says:

1 Peter 2:23 When he was reviled, he reviled not again… but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.”

Meekness trusts God, yields to His Word and His will, and treats others as Christ would have them treated regardless as to what they do to us.

Meekness does good to the enemy, without justifying the sin of the enemy. When Stephen was being stoned to death, he cried out “Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:59-60). When Jesus hung dying on the Cross, He cried out “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”. Meekness never justifies sin, but does not return sin for sin. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:5 (KJV) Blessed are the MEEK: for THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.

LONGSUFFERING {makrothymia},
forbearing one another in love

Word Study: The word “LONGSUFFERING” means to put up with something that makes you uncomfortable. This is the Greek makrothymia, which means “to patiently endure, to persevere, to be slow in avenging wrongs done against you”. Longsuffering in the Church is tied to the love we are to have for one another. Jesus said:

John 13:34-35 (KJV) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE ONE ANOTHER; as I HAVE LOVED YOU, that ye also love one another. 35 BY THIS shall ALL MEN KNOW that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The mark of a worthy walk is that there be “LOWLINESS and MEEKNESS, with LONGSUFFERING, forbearing one another in love”.

Ephesians 4:3 (KJV) Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The Family of God is not about getting your way. It is not about getting my way. It is about getting GOD’S way, glorifying Him in all we do.

It is about glorifying the Father Who planned our salvation. It is about honoring the Son Who gave His life for our salvation. It is about not quenching the Holy Spirit Who supernaturally made us into children of God.

The first generation of Israel kept ignoring the worthy walk, and ended up losing the blessings that God had reserved for them. Frankly, I want God’s best for my life. How about you?