I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ~Ephesians 4:1-6
Paul has given us an exhortation and described the traits with which we meet that exhortation, and has given us an admonition, and an endeavor. The exhortation is to walk worthy of the calling with which we are called and the traits of this exhortation are in all lowliness, gentleness, and longsuffering. We’re admonished to bear with one another in love and given the endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Having the grace of God made manifest to the world as His free gift in Jesus Christ by which we crucify the flesh and are given resurrection in the Holy Spirit, who also quickens and gives life to even our perishing mortal bodies, we are now given the exhortation to walk worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ our Lord God and Savior.
There are many thieves who would seek to steal the gift of God by trampling underfoot the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But in this day the Lord has made known, just as He has in every generation past by His prophets, that He will not tolerate men trampling underfoot the sacrifice of Christ, but is storing up woeful wrath that He will pour out in just retribution in the day and hour of His visitation upon all who sought to steal the gift of God and trample underfoot His precious sacrifice!
But, my brethren, if you love Jesus Christ, rather, walk worthy of your calling by the power and quickening of the Holy Spirit in all lowliness and gentleness, with great longsuffering, knowing that our Father in Heaven bears with us also in magnificent longsuffering, being Himself patient because He does not will that anyone should perish.
I saw a post online in which a form of mild racism was actually commended as a positive influence that fostered healthy “competition”; this blogger defended his position by saying that pride in one’s culture, identity, and history can be beneficial and are for our own good. He said that “a man without culture is a man without a land” (quoting a kind of African proverb). But I would seek to remind the brethren that we are as yet still sojourners and strangers in a land that is not our home, for we are waiting for the King of the Kingdom of Light which we have been transferred into. Even more, I would remind that we have been commanded to walk in all lowliness and gentleness, remaining as in all things present, meek, and as in all things of the Spirit, zealously bold!
Therefore the Word says,
“15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” ~1st John 2:15–17
We must understand that all the things of the world are either of the “lust of the flesh”, “the lust of the eyes”, or “the pride of life”, and they are all passing away, but they who do the will of the Father in Heaven will abide forever, Amen!
Those who walk worthy of their calling, therefore, must put these things off, having crucified all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice, fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, coarse jesting, and idolatry, of which, all these things the wrath of God will fall upon and be consumed by the fierceness of His judgment!
Being girded with humility, gentleness, and longsuffering, let us bear with one another in love, knowing that whoever keeps the word of the Father, truly the love of God is perfected in Him, therefore, He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and is blind (1st John 2:5, 9-11). Rather, putting off all un-forgiveness, we know that he who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him (1st John 2:10).
But woe unto the one through whom temptation to sin comes to his brother (Luke 17:1)! For would it not have been better that he had died a traitors death before he laid a stumbling block before the children than that he should become a temptation to sin and fall under the wrath of God?
Again, therefore, put off all sin and uncleanness, which are unbefitting of the children of God, lest you bring temptation to your brother and make him a partner to your sin!
Abiding sin, my brethren, is the farthest thing from love. Yes, let all our love be clothed in meekness and gentleness (listen especially us young men), but abide not sin, for surely you cannot abide it in the day of His visitation and judgment!
You are no longer held by the bonds of sin, therefore, endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace!
There are few endeavors more awesome, more challenging, and more tremendous than that we should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. But we must make this endeavor, for there is only one body and, likewise, only one Spirit. We cannot be of the same Spirit but not of the same body, can we? Certainly not, for then Christ would be divided and there would be two inheritances and two covenants, but we are of the Seed of Christ (not seeds).
If the bonds of peace and broken and the unity of the Spirit is lost, then there can be no fellowship in the Light with the brethren who likewise seek fellowship with each other. This is why we are told to guard so carefully against dissensions and divisive persons because they are tools which the enemy comes with to steal, kill, and destroy.
Therefore, let the bond of peace guard you as we are bound together in one hope of our calling; knowing that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, for we are baptized into whom else but the Lord? If we have faith in the Lord than there can be but one faith that saves. Thus there is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all (and this is not to say in all unbelievers, rather, through the Holy Spirit, which is One, He is in us all who are the Body, which is also One).
Your Labor of Love:
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. ~Ephesians 4:11-16
According to the work of every part, whether apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher, the whole body receives growth and the edification of itself in love; these have been given to the equipping of the saints for the edification of the body of Christ until we all come to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
These are all vessels upon which the anointing of God rests so that it is by the perfection of the Holy Spirit that the body is to be built up. If one begins to receive nourishment from a source that is not flowing from the everlasting spring of Jesus Christ then that one becomes poisoned and dull, becoming weak and feeble and in dire need of strengthening.
God has anointed His servants to be vessels of His work, to do His will. When the body of Christ is whole, joined and knit together in unity and maturity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, then the body is no longer battered and moved by every wind and wave of deceitful doctrine that comes with the trickery and cunning of man.
I’m deeply concerned because there is one Head, from whom we all derive, but there seem to be many limbs paralyzed because they are not learning from the Head, who is Christ.
There is One teacher, even as there is One Spirit who does not speak of His own will, but rather, that which He hears and will glorify the Son and take that which is His, and declare it unto us (John 16:13-14)!!! This is how we know the Spirit, that He confesses Christ as come in the flesh and glorifies Him because He will take of what is His and declare it unto us!
All other spirits, if they come to glorify another, or blaspheme Christ by making Him a minister of sin, are not of the Father, but of the enemy the Devil. For Christ is no minister of sin, for if we take what was destroyed for us and rebuild it, then we make ourselves out to be transgressors!
Here are a couple Hymns of Refreshing:
Send the Fire
One Pure and Holy Passion