Ephesians 4:1-5

Instruction :

• Read Ephesians (in a quiet place without interruption)
  
• Read it again - this time highlight or underline passages or sentences that stick out
• Read it for the 3rd time but this time read only the highlighted/underlined portion
• Pray those passages to God and let God speak to you about them
  
• Share it here, for the edification of the BODY!
• Click here to read Ephesians 4:1-5 Online

My Study : To myself and to all believers

• v1 A prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

If we're really called, (really meaning we have the Spirit of God) then we should feel compelled to live a life worthy to our calling. A lot of people claim the name of Christ but don't actually have the Spirit of God living in them. Just read Matt 7:22-23 Jesus said MANY will say to me... but notice at the end of Matt 23, you who practice what? LAWLESSNESS.

Let me note something here, if you have the Spirit of God living in you, you should be desiring to live a life worthy of your calling; in other words you should have a desire in your heart to do what is honoring to your Father in Heaven. I'm not saying that you won't struggle with the flesh, that will always plague us so long as we live in this earthly body but what I am saying is that the desires of your heart will be to do what glorifies God! You will delight in the name of the Lord, you will DESIRE to follow him, from your heart. (Hebrews 8:6-13)

So then, live according to your heart's (with the Spirit) desire and do what is honoring to the Lord..

• v2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Here we have a list of actions that are required to live this "life worthy". Have you ever noticed how our "flesh" naturally does what is wrong and it takes God's instruction to do what is right?

Let me ask you this question, have you ever needed a peptalk to do what was wrong? Have you ever needed someone to cheer you on and tell you to "keep on trying man, you'll get it, just stick with it!" NO...

But we do need help maintaining what is right in the eyes of the Lord. We need help loving each other when times get tough or when that person you're supposed to be loving is slandering your name and bringing grief upon you or your family; yet that's what we're called to do!

The secular man would tell you that .. generally MAN is good. But the Bible shows us that MAN is born into sin (Romans 5:12-13) and SIN is DEATH.

To conclude, It's difficult to do what is honoring to God because right now we are still physically in this fleshly body, but God made us a way out, he gave us his Son who endured all things and all temptations so that we would have eternal life. I, like Paul urge you to do what is right in the sight of the Lord; it is what we were created for and if we trample on the cross and continue, willfully in sin even though we have been set free, then "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (Hebrews 10:26-31)

• v4 There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
  

We should be all of one mind as we are of one Spirit of one Lord and one faith. Yet we argue and bicker about what we think scripture means on different subjects. I've found that it's good to categorize these "subjects".

Here's the way I am trying to see it..
Critical Subjects - One God, Salvation issues...
and
Everything else..

There's no point in arguing and breaking peace when we're supposed to be the bringers of peace! 95% of the time if you're arguing it's because of pride and we know pride is sin. Forget those things and LOVE one another. Rebuke those who cause problems and exhort those who practice peace and Love according to the Spirit of God!

Now, with that said I'm not suggesting that we EXCUSE sin for the sake of peace.. but true love is a correcting love. Why else does scripture tell us that we HATE OUR CHILDREN if we spare the rod? We just need to make sure that our focus is right and our motives are righteous in God's eyes otherwise we may be the one getting the correction!

I'm running short on time here.. please reply and post your findings regarding this or any scripture for that matter. Grace love and peace from God be with you all, pray for each other and do what is pleasing to God!