Walk In A Manner Worthy Of Your Calling Series

Famed outlaw, John Dillinger escaped from a local jail in Crown Point, Indiana, using a fake gun he carved out of wood and blackened with shoe polish. He then stole the sheriff's brand new Ford to escape. Frank Lee Morris, as well as John and Clarence Anglin, escaped from "the Rock" by fabricating human heads from toilet paper, hair, and soap. They left the fake heads in their beds to fool prison officers making night-time inspections. They were never heard from again. And Frank Abagnale escaped from a Federal Detention Center in Atlanta by convincing the prison guards that he was an undercover prison inspector posing as an inmate. Once he was released from prison using his fake alibi, the guards never saw him again. All five of these men escaped prison.

The Apostle Paul knew all about prison. Before meeting Jesus Christ, he even imprisoned followers of Christianity (Acts 8:3). And rather than escape prison, the author of the New Testament book of Ephesians suffered in prison. Paul had been in prison more times than he would like to count (2 Corinthians 6:5). Yet, God's very plan imprisoned Paul, for he spoke of not being a prisoner of Rome but of Jesus Christ Himself (Ephesians 3:1). And we greatly profit because God put Paul behind prison bars. From the squalor of a dimly lit prison cell, Paul tells us how to live as believers.

When someone writes you from prison, you read it because it is urgent. Writing from prison means that what he writes is dangerous. It is not a nice, middle-class way to solve your problems and be comfortable.

Today in our study of the New Testament book of Ephesians, we will examine just one verse: "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 4:1).

How do I navigate this turbulent world successfully? I want you to pay close attention to four words in just this one verse. Four words in this one verse can make a big difference in your life. There is something very powerful about a testimony from prison where your life is at stake.

1. Pay Attention to the Order

Focus on a word that you dare not overlook: "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 4:1).

1.1 Therefore

I want to focus on the little word "therefore" in verse one for a minute. This little word that our eyes are apt to run over with little thought shows us an order to our lives. The word "therefore" often works like a door hinge where Paul's letters turn the corner. The word signals progression inside the book of Ephesians, like the moving water in a flowing river. He is moving from one point to the next.

God wants you to know your position before your practice. Reflect back on what you've just heard. Whenever you see the word "therefore," you need to go back and find out what it is, therefore! "Therefore" is a hinge and a connector. The word "therefore" points back to all Ephesians, chapters 1-3. The end of Ephesians chapter 3 felt as if we were on the very tippy-top of a mountain, didn't it?

Remember, the mountaintop experience of Paul's prayer: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21). The end of Ephesians chapter 3 felt as if we were on the mountaintop where now it feels we have retreated into the foothills. We all want to stay on the mountaintop, but we have to come back to the valley. It's in the foothills that we are told: "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 4:1).

1.2 The Sequence

Again, there is a progression in Paul's letters. And the little word "therefore" signals us to the progression. Paul composed thirteen letters inside your New Testament. We see a pattern when we read his letters. You see, he does the same thing in both 1 Thessalonians 4:1 and Romans 12:1. Paul will usually have a section on doctrine followed by a section of practical advice.

Ephesians is roughly divided into two sections: the first three chapters are filled with doctrine. And the last three chapters are filled with practical advice. Again, "Therefore" is the hinge to connect the two halves. And doctrine first and then practical advice follows.