Ephesians 4:1. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
How’s your walk?
Have you ever been asked this question? Usually when Christians ask each other about their walk, they mean their “walk with God.” Or, their relationship with Christ. Or, their daily spiritual growth.
In Ephesians, Paul doesn’t ask the church how their walk is. He tells them how it should be. Seven times. Seven times he describes how we should be living in Christ. Here they are:
Ephesians 2:1-2. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience
Ephesians 2:10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 4:1. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Ephesians 4:17. Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
Ephesians 5:1-2. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8. for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Ephesians 5:15. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
OK, so our walk is a big deal. But what exactly does Paul mean when he talks about our walk?
Our walk is most easily understood as the way we live our lives. But an extremely important concept that is easily overlooked is this – WHERE you live determines HOW you walk. Think about it just from a physical standpoint. Live on the beach? Walk in the sand. Live in the mountains? Walk in the rocks. Live in the woods? Walk in the branches and leaves.
Live in Christ? Walk in Christ.
But where does Paul get this idea of walking from? From the Old Testament of course. When God made a covenant with Abraham and placed him in the promised land he took Abraham and showed him the land and then told Abraham to walk throughout all the land in order to see how blessed he really was.
Genesis 13:17.Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
Christian, Christ is your promised land. You are seated in him (2:6). You are rooted and grounded in his love (3:17). Now, like Abraham, we walk around in Christ’s love so that we may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (3:18-19).
You see walking in Ephesians isn’t only about a list of behaviors to embrace, or a conduct to maintain. It is that to be sure. But before walking in Christ can be our conduct it must first be our faith in the covenant promises of God. When Abraham walked throughout the Promised Land was he obeying God? Yes. But he was also doing so much more. He was walking by faith in the promises of God. Moving his tent from place to place was a way of saying I believe that God is faithful and that he has done all that he says he has done, and he will do all that he says he will do. Simply dwelling in the land was a great act of faith. And this is what God is asking of us – to simply live in Christ. That is, live knowing that you are loved.
The result?
Look at our seven walk verses above again. Dwelling in the love of Christ will cause us to walk in good works, to walk worthy of our calling, to walk in love, to walk in light, to walk carefully in wisdom. How? Because we WILL walk according to the land that we live in. The land of Christ’s broad, high, wide, and deep love for us.
“To live is Christ” is to be blessed with the infinite love of God in Christ, and then to walk in that love. To be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, and to move and live and have our being in Christ’s love. There’s no better place to live.
You
How’s your walk?
You in Christ
Do you live simply knowing that your loved? Or are you trying to earn God’s love in some way?
Christ in you
How should knowing that you are rooted and grounded in Christ’s love produce loving conduct in your life?
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Playlist: The Walk.
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To Live is Christ 