Worthy Walking

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”¹   Ephesians 4:1

“Walking is often used in Scripture as a symbol of the Christian life.”  This particular word for "walking" in the NT  is a compound word that literally means "to walk around".  It is a combination of two words - the generic word for walk and a conjunction meaning "around".  This makes it the perfect analogy for the Christian life.  Living as a Christian is a matter of walking, and that walk is neither a static matter, nor is it a predictable matter.  It is a matter of  walking with one's eyes open and adjusting to the changes and alterations of the terrain as it unfolds around you.

“Let your lifestyle be worthy of the calling to which you are called.”  This "lifestyle" is a "walk" that is adapted to all of the changes and challenges with which we are presented.  What is of concern is the manner of this "walk".  Paul is urging that this walk be of such a quality as to bring honor to Christ and to the Name we bear.  Actually, the issue is the calling to which we are called; we have little chance of living up to the Name by which we are called!

“…you must devote yourself to be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit…”  And this is neither easy nor casual nor  accomplished by short and simple steps.  It only occurs, ONLY by means of dedicated application of the means that God provided for us to be enabled to grow and be enabled to accomplish these goals, as MacArthur lays out for us in his discussion of Ephesians 3 here.

“We’ll never do it by just knowing the theology and then trying really hard.”  Zeal and dedication are the key.  It is not enough to simply know the truth, we must seek to the truth in the power of God's Spirit for His sake in His Name's sake.  It may seem like a small difference, but it is not, it is a very, very large one.

“You must commit every day and every moment to the Lord, trusting in His strength.”  God will not, in the lives of His children, be compartmentalized.  We cannot assign one part of life to God and other parts of life to, well, other parts of life and still expect God to fully bless us.  It simply will not happen.  We must dedicate ourselves fully to God if we expect God to fully commit blessing to us.

“Besides, why would you want to live on your own power when you can live by the power of God?”  This, of course, is a great question - the $1000 question!  When stated in this fashion the answer is obvious!  No one!  Why would we wish to live by our own means when we can live by the means of a great and more powerful, richer and dramatically more able source for life?  No one in their right mind would do so.  In fact - only someone who already predisposed against God would choose to do so!  It really does become a simple question of what resources are best of our Christian walk and when looked at from this perspective - the answer to that question is very simple - we must throw ourselves after the pursuit of God and live to please Him and Him only, living by His enablement and His power alone.

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[1]  This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.