BIBLE STUDY
Worthy of the Major Mark Herbert highlights the way forward STUDY PASSAGE: EPHESIANS 4
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ALKING. Whose idea was it that we should walk 10,000 steps a day? Am I the only person who walks around the house late at night to ‘get my steps’? I suppose it is better than having a dog to walk, but that’s another story and, like my steps, I don’t have enough words to explain. One of the great walks of the Bible is found in Ephesians 4:1: ‘As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.’ Earlier translations urge us to ‘walk worthy of the calling’ (New King James Version). In other words, life is about working out – and then living out – what
Through the week with Salvationist – a devotional thought for each day by Major Melv yn Knott
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Salvationist 23 March 2019
God has destined us to be and to do. In many ways, we should hear God saying: ‘I’m off – anyone coming? It’s time to pack, not park.’ Let’s be clear, Paul was writing to the whole Church, not just to a select few. These words, like the calling we have received, apply to us all. QUESTIONS O What do you understand to be God’s calling on your life? O When did you become aware of God’s call? In essence, there are three types of calling. First, we are called to follow Jesus, to leave behind what we were and to claim freedom in Christ. Second, there is a call to a task – a function in the Church. Third – what much of Ephesians 4 describes – a calling in a dark world: the call to ‘be’ (v2). This is the call to be different.
These words were written in a world that hated Christians. Like our Ephesian forefathers, we cannot give up this calling to be different in the face of evil. We must always choose calling over comfort. QUESTION O Are you excited to know that you are called to be different? Within The Salvation Army, even with our holiness roots, we can be tempted to start with the ‘do’. We love doing. The Army has made its name by doing. The challenge we face at this hinge moment in the history of our Movement is that often our doing is not much different from what a lot of other people are doing. Our calling is not to be the same but to live differently: ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love’ (v2). These verses remind us that God starts with the ‘who’, not with the ‘do’. The
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Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:14 and 15)
Lord, send thy Spirit from above/ With light and love and power divine;/ And by his all-constraining grace/ Make me and keep me ever thine. (SASB 666)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12–14)
