Submitted by Conrad Chu, Gracepoint Berkeley.
What did Paul identify himself as? He called himself a prisoner of the Lord. Meaning, he was unequivocally sure that he was in prison because of the Lord. It was not for crime, but for belief and conviction that led him to be in that prison cell.
What did Paul urge the church of Ephesus to live up to? He urged them to live a life worthy of their calling.
What does it mean to live a worthy life? There is an idea of worthiness when it comes to living life. It is not merely a relative standard, but one set by the calling you have received. For the previous chapter, Paul’s calling was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to that end he endured much suffering, even prison. Paul’s current situation provides proper context to his urging to live up to the calling you have received.
What do I need measure my life by? Apostle Paul is not talking about worthiness in some general sense, like living a generally good life. Often, the temptation for me is relative and measure of well-lived life in very humanistic terms. It’s so easy to set relative terms that fit my own liking and comforts. Unfortunately, the force of Apostle Paul’s exhortation is in the context of the demands of the gospel, and for him, it was prison. That really provides the proper lens from which I need to measure my life. He speaks from the context of real suffering, real cost to his life in living up to his calling. I imagine if Apostle Paul said what he said from a privileged seat of comfort, his urging would be sapped of any power or meaning. To that extent, I need to pay attention to the fact that “living a worthy life” will involve suffering and personal cost. So much of the world excludes suffering from the so-called good life, and there is much of that that has come to influence me.
Following his exhortation, Apostle Paul provides me some of the measures of life: humility, gentleness, bearing with one another in love, unity in the Spirit, and unity with the body of Christ. He concisely boils down how I ought to examine my interior and exterior life. Based on this past Sunday’s message, I’m drawn to think about the two interior aspects that Apostle Paul highlights: humility and gentleness. The opposite of humility is of course pride and this Sunday, I think I needed to once again re-calibrate my view of myself. Pride is a gradual thing, and I realized my view of myself had shifted towards a positive light and I thought of myself more highly than I ought have. Just recent events in my life, I realize how through proud blind I am to my own motives in terms of what I say or do. A side-comment to my wife for example can be laced with pride and abrasiveness, yet I was really blind to it. As I carefully reflect on my conduct, my issues of pride and abrasiveness emerge throughout in my relationships. I have a long way to go in terms of my own character and I should not think with complacency that I’m okay here. I need a fundamental shift in my attitude towards myself.
What and who are we called to united under? We are called to be united under one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. There is a single authority over all, which can be summed up as the gospel.
What are the different roles that Apostle Paul mentions? He said God gave “gifts to men”, and to each, bestowed grace. It materializes in different roles we play, for he gave some to be apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastor and teachers. Though joined together under the unity of the gospel, we are nevertheless playing different roles to prepare God’s people for work of service.
What are the roles all focused to do? All the roles are focused towards building up the body. They’re not for individual glory or individual ascension. Their end is to mature the body.
How do we to avoid being like infants tossed about by every wind of teaching? Apostle Paul says we are no longer infants when we become mature, through the preparation and efforts of spiritual authorities (apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, teachers). I think often times we discount how much spiritual authority is necessary to shape us to become more mature. We misinterpret intentions of leaders. We forget that it is their end to mature us so that we won’t be blown here and there by every wind of teaching and deceit. It happens through speaking the truth in love, and truth-telling, though not comfortable is what grows us up to be united and strong. Apostle Paul paints this picture showing how our best chance of standing up to the temptations and cultural waves around us is to be open to shaping from those who are more mature in the faith and to be open to truth spoken to us. Perhaps he who balks at authority and chooses to do it solo is in fact the flimsy one who is most vulnerable; certainly, not the idea of individual fortitude that the world elevates.