The Gathering of Believers Part 2
"Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility..." Ephesians 4:1-2.
Why would the Apostle Paul implore the believers gathering at Ephesus to walk in a manner worthy of their calling? The one undeniably Biblical reality of salvation is the forgiveness of God by which sinners enter heaven. Unbelievers will never enter heaven because they do not believe themselves worthy of hell, which, in their own eyes, makes them deserving of heaven. On the other hand, Paul was a prisoner, a captive of God's love through Jesus Christ.
How to Walk Worthy of Our Calling as Individuals
The first teaching that must be understood is God's eternal purpose, which was carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:11). God's purpose in sending His Son into the world is that those who believe in Him should have bold and confident access through faith in His Son (Ephesians 3:12). Beginning in Ephesians 1:5, Paul told them, "He (God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ) predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will (Emphasis added)" so that by His will they were welcomed into the Divine family. Furthermore, God's purpose was accomplished through divine appointment, which resulted in their being called (Acts 13:48). All these perspectives lend weight to God's determination and activity in restoring sinners to Himself.
Secondly, Paul told them he bends the knee, meaning he prayed that God would grant them according to the riches of His glory, always focusing their attention upon God and not them, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians 3:14-17). God-given faith is the best alternative to human, carnal, and insufficient energies of created beings. God's strength and power through His Spirit in the inner man is for one glorious purpose. It is not for our glory, pride, or selfish worldly attainments but so Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.
Dwell in Greek means to settle down or feel comfortable. Jesus Christ is uncomfortable with lust, man-centeredness, selfishness, and anything that amounts to worldliness; therefore, He leaves His chosen place of residence—the hearts of believers. He doesn't take away salvation because He is always faithful, but He does remove His powerful presence for our obedience. He will not empower us for anything contrary to His divine glory.
How to Walk Worthy of Our Calling as a Gathering of Believers
Following the teaching that Christ wants to settle down and feel comfortable in our hearts through faith is [and] that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge" (Verses 17-19).
It grieves me now, in my latter years, having been bullied into going to church, to finally understand that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. Why do I make such a statement? When true Christian believers gather, the experience should be much more than an education. Everyone sits quietly, trying to drink up a sermon that can be applied to everyone. I have no qualms with preachers and pastors who have accepted their calling as it was handed down and explained to them. I have received my share of that in my life.
How to Walk Worthy of Our Calling by Gathering to Pray
However, a family where the interactions are open to everyone, and when done respectfully and walking in the Spirit, can multiply the fruit, the growth, the maturity, and the love exponentially to the glory of God. Community is where Paul takes us in the following phrase, "that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God."
The gathering should always become a prayer room instead of a schoolhouse. In verses 20 to 21, Paul walks us toward the ekklésia (gathering) of the misrendered word church: "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." His words are "all we ask," his idea of a gathering (ekklésia in Greek) is prayerfully asking God, who, in the correct setting, can do far more than if we don't create the environment to ask.
The word rendered petition in Ephesians 6:18, following our putting on the armor for warfare, is often rendered supplication (déēsis) in Greek and means heart-felt petition, arising out of deep personal need, a sense of lack. The roots of this word imply a felt need that is personal and urgent. In Acts 12, we have an almost comical situation if it were not so serious and essential to our understanding of the extent and power prayer provides. Peter was taken into prison but set free by an angel, then, "And when he realized [this], he went to the house of Mary ... where many were gathered together and were praying." When a servant girl answered the door and told those praying that Peter was there, they replied, "You are out of your mind!" The girl had great joy, Peter wanted James to know because this was not a nice story to be told but a lesson to be learned and applied.
How to Walk Worthy of Our Calling is not a theological theorem to be formulated but a truth to practice.
"For where two or three have gathered (ekklésia) together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matthew 18:20, emphasis added).
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