A Life Worthy of Christ

(Ephesians 4:1-3)

As Christians we are called to change our lives in many ways. Right from the very beginning of our walk with Christ when we first repent, the change commences.

Indeed the word “repent” translated from the Greek word “metanoia” means to “change your thinking.”

And that is the essence of our call to Christ: to change the way we think and to change the way we act. As we walk with Christ and grow, that growth is built on the foundation of change. And as we change we should begin to show the attitudes and attributes identified in these first few verses of Ephesians chapter 4.

Changes

Change is at the heart of the Christian walk.

From the very beginning when we first come to Him, it is because we recognise that we are lost and in need of a Saviour. We come to Him in the understanding that we cannot save ourselves and we cannot change ourselves sufficiently to work a difference in who and what we are.

We need the Lord to step in and help us to effect change.

God wants us to change too, and so He helps us in every aspect of our walk in Christ as we continue on.

Through His grace God knows we are works in progress as we are changing and so He does not expect us to “get it right” from the start. He knows the journey we must follow and the things we must go through to learn His ways…and some of these things will be painful.

But in His grace He gave us many things that help as we go through this change.

First and foremost, God gave us Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life so that we could be changed and so we could be reconciled to God.

There is and has never been any greater gift than that given by the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf so that we could come to God. He shed His blood and gave His life so that we could live. He ushered in the New Covenant in this selfless act so that we would not have to die. He died and was resurrected so that we could die to sin, die to the law and live to God through the death of Jesus and so be changed and be saved.

In His grace God also gave the Holy Spirit to any who ask Him for this gift so that they can be further changed.

Jesus established the New Covenant and died to commence the age of grace, but it is the Holy Spirit who works within us to make the necessary changes that will bring us to perfection in God’s eyes.

God cannot abide sin and no-one who sins will ever stand in the presence of God. But the work of Jesus was to remove our sins, enabling the Holy Spirit to come to effect the changes in our nature that will make us perfect. This was all part of God’s plan so that we could be with Him.

The Love of God

And the work of the Holy Spirit is to change us so that we can learn, understand and walk in the love of God.

The love of God, in this context, is active. It is not a feeling but is based in action and deeds and words.

The best description of the love of God may be seen in 1 Corinthians 13 where God’s love is explained and exposed so we can begin to understand His love.

4 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; 5 it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends… (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

As we look at these words in 1 Corinthians 13, we begin to see what the changes are that need to be made to bring us into the image of the Father.

The love of God in this context is based upon actions, deeds and words. As you read the words above you will note that these are all things we can “do” or we can “be.” These are the changes that need to be made in us; to transform us into the image of God so that we reflect these attributes in our lives.

Sure, we can all do these things or be like these things some of the time. The challenge we face is to be like this all of the time and have these things so deeply ingrained in who we are, that to think or act otherwise would not even register in our minds.

And that is where the work of the Holy Spirit comes into play. As we are tested on these and other things, the Spirit works with us to train us to act as God would act, rather than to follow the emotions of man.

In this world when people are tested they typically react emotionally. They lash out in anger, withdraw in depression, strike out with violence, speak aggressively and so on. These ways are not the ways of God. We see the ways of God when tested in the following words, and these words, deeds and actions express the changed love of God in us.

11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things. 14 I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (1 Corinthians 4:11-16)

In each of these circumstances, Paul was being tested or tempted. And yet in all of these Paul reacted according to the nature of Jesus Christ and the love of God.

Why? Because Paul had been changed through the working of the Holy Spirit to lead a life pleasing to God and a life worthy of Christ. We all have to come to this same place.

A Life Worthy of Christ

And so we see the words here at the start of Ephesians 4, which reflect these same things. They speak about change and the need for change, and they tell us what a life worthy of Christ should begin to look like.

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Paul is asking, begging us to lead a life worthy of Christ.

We cannot continue to live as the world lives and expect to live with God as well. We must come to God on His terms, not on our terms.

There are some in the church today who seem to think they can do as they please once they have come to Christ. They are fooling themselves and have fallen victim to the sin or licentiousness.

Others still believe they can continue in the paths they walked prior to coming to Christ, when those paths were considered sinful, even punishable by death under the Old Testament law.

Now, while we know that in Christ we are set free from sin and set free from the law, that does not mean we reject the law. There is much to be learned in the law because in it, God sets the MINIMUM standard for those who will live with Him.

Yes, you read that right. The law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments is the MINIMUM standard.

In Christ Jesus we are being changed and transformed to be perfected into the image of Jesus Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit. As Matthew 5:48 tells us too, “You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In Christ a higher standard is expected, as we see in this verse.

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48)

Perfection is the standard we must adopt to be living a life worthy of Christ. No lower standard can be possible.

But how do we do that? How can we achieve perfection when we imperfect through sin and the issues of human nature?

Well, fortunately we don’t have to be too worried about that. That is the work of transformation that the Holy Spirit has been charged to do in us. Yes, we have to do our part and use the power of the Holy Spirit to fight the good fight, but the actual change process is His work.

The attitudes and attributes shown in 1 Corinthians 13 and in Ephesians 4:1-3 are the output or outcomes of those changes, as too are the attitudes Jesus showed in the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5:3-11. When we are living a life worthy of Christ, then those same changes and attitudes will be ours. We will walk with meekness, lowliness, patience, peace, forbearing and love as Christ Himself did.

Seek these changes and learn what you need to do to bring about this change in your own life. Pray and ask the Lord and He will show you the way to lead a life worthy of Christ.

You might also like:

Seek To Enter By The Narrow Door
Walk In The Light
Jesus Is The Light
You Cant Go Back Part 2
Pathways Of The Lord
All Things To All People
Restored By Grace
Reconciled To God
Oops I Did It Again
Choose Christ
Walking Properly With Christ
Walking In Love
Live In Harmony 2
Apostles
Walking In Love With Others
Pursue Love And Spiritual Gifts
Love Of Christ Controls Us
Accepted For Who You Are
Youll Never Walk Alone