Ephisians 4

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

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(Original Korean version: https://anchurch.com/index.php?mid=SundayService&document_srl=18177)

 

 

 

"Live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

 

Paul urged the Ephesians in Ephesians 4:1 with the words,

 

"Live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

 

(Ephesians 4:1) As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 

 

In the phrase "the calling you have received," what does 'the calling' refer to? It speaks of the event where we, who were sinners, were transferred from death to life through the substitution of Jesus Christ.

 

Another way to express the event of being transferred from death to life is to say 'those called into the church.' Jesus Christ, the head of the church, calls us as members of the church.

 

So, what does it mean to 'live a life worthy of the calling you have received.'?

 

It means to 'live as someone transferred from death to life,' to no longer live as someone belonging to the world, but now to live as someone belonging to the church.

 

Dear ANC students, who have been transferred from death to life through the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and called into the church, I bless you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

 

 

What is the primary requirement for living in accordance with the calling we have received?

 

 

(Ephesians 4:3) "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 

The Bible doesn't simply say 'be one' or 'make yourselves one.' It instructs us to 'make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.' The power to unify is not within the capability of the world's children."

 

Preserving the unity of being one is also not an easy task.

 

How can we maintain unity? Ephesians 4:2 emphasizes four essential qualities: humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness.

 

(Ephesians 4:2) 'Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.'

 

However, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness do not naturally come from within us.

 

Therefore, Paul shows us two pathways that make this possible: being rooted in love and being grounded in the Spirit."