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.
In Genesis 14 God showed Abraham the Promised Land. Then he told Abraham to walk throughout the land.
Live in the Promised Land? Walk in the Promised Land.
Live in Christ? Walk in Christ.
Christian, Christ is your promised land. 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 Christ is always first and foremost an act of faith. For Abraham to walk the Promised Land was an act of trust in the Lord’s promise to him. Likewise, for us to walk in the love of Christ is an act of trust in God’s promise to love us forever.
And what is the result of living in the promised love of God in Christ?
Look at those 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 