I dropped the ball in blogging about Paul's amazing prayer in 3:14-21 but I'm going to move on because you did a great job word searching the key words in the prayer at our study last Tuesday, and because tomorrow we're looking at another amazing passage.
As Paul transitions from Doctrine to Practice he urges us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Walk in a manner worthy. That word translated either walk, or live, or conduct your life... is one of the key words in Ephesians. Try to find all the times it is used!
Our walk, or the practice of our faith especially in the context of the church, grows out of our doctrine. Do we believe God called us? Do we believe we have an inheritance and a hope? Do we believe we have a mission? All of those things and more from chapters 1-3 become the reason we live as Paul describes and encourages us to live in 4-6.They are related.
So Paul offers this exhortation to us, reminding us HE is someone who is content to be in prison for the sake of the glorious gospel of Christ, to live our a life worthy of the calling. Worthy: equivalent, balancing the scales. The challenge, and not just in this passage but in the rest of the book, is to look at the calling, then look at our lives. Do they balance?
Stott focuses on the unity of the church in chapter 7, and unity is a big deal. Look at John 17:20-26 if you don't believe it. But we will probably focus more on the gifts and the stated purpose of the gifts in 11-16. What does it mean to become mature? What does it mean to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ....one of the things he prayed for us in chapter 3:19, by the way. And why is maturity in the body of Christ and in our own personal lives so important? And why does the mission require each of us? Why can't some Superchristian do the work? Why..... and here we are back in chapter's 1-3 again.... why did he chose us?
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