Walk Worthy of the Calling

In one paragraph

On Easter Sunday at First B Jackson, the pastor walked through Ephesians 4:1-16, the passage that New Testament scholar Klein Snodgrass called the greatest description of the local church in all of Scripture. The message traced how the unity already given to believers in Christ must be carefully maintained, and how the gifts Christ distributes to the church exist to bring that body to maturity. A...

Read together

1. Romans 5 opening encouraging word read before worship
2. Psalm 34 song title referencing taste and see that the Lord is good
3. Ephesians 4:1-16 main text for the sermon
4. Ephesians 1-3 described as inspiration and indicative foundation before application in chapters 4-6
5. Ephesians 3 compared opening of chapter 3 to chapter 4, noting Paul calls himself prisoner of Christ Jesus
6. Ephesians 4:1 Paul urging a walk worthy of the calling
7. Ephesians 4:11-12 gifts given for equipping the saints for the work of ministry
8. Ephesians 4:14 no longer to be children tossed by waves and every wind of doctrine
9. Ephesians 2:8-9 grace saved through faith, and we are his workmanship created for good works prepared in advance
10. Psalm 68:18 Old Testament proof text cited for Christ ascending and giving gifts to people
11. Philippians 2 Christ emptying himself, being found as a man, humbling himself to death on a cross
12. John 17 cited alongside Ephesians 4 as New Testament call against division
13. Acts God adding to their number daily, and apostles choosing to minister the word rather than wait tables
14. Titus qualification for elders being apt to teach
15. 1 Timothy qualification for elders being apt to teach, and Paul urging Timothy to do the work of an evangelist
16. 1 Peter Peter saying each one has received a special grace gifting to serve one another as stewards of God's grace

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan draws a distinction between chapters one through three of Ephesians being 'inspiration' and chapters four through six being 'application.' How does knowing who Christ is change the way you hear a call to walk worthy of your calling?
2. Pastor Nathan says the unity of the Spirit is something God establishes that we cannot manufacture, but we can ruin it. Where have you seen that play out, either in a church or in a relationship?
3. He makes the point that in any human argument, 'we are both wrong,' and calls us to humility before we can pursue truth together. How does that land with you, and where do you find that hardest to practice?
4. Pastor Nathan describes four gift categories, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers, all as ministers of the Word in different directions. Which of those do you see most clearly at work in your own life, and which do you feel the church around you most needs right now?
5. The sermon closes with the image of a husband and wife both moving closer to Christ and therefore closer to each other, and applies that same picture to the whole body. What would it look like practically for this group to be 'speaking the truth in love' in a way that builds up rather than divides?