If you like, you can go ahead
and turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1. As you know, the chapters
and the verses are added in the scriptures to make it easier
for us to reference and find certain things in the Bible.
And the book of Ephesians has six chapter divisions. In the
first three chapters here, Paul's letter to the saints at Ephesus
tell us something about how God saves sinners. We call them the
doctrines of grace. That's a good name, the doctrines
of grace. Here in Ephesians chapter one,
verse three, Paul tells these believers and us something about
their election of God. Among a lot of folks today, that
word election is a bad word, but not to a believer, it's not.
He tells them that it was God, the Father of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who had blessed them with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. Never forget that. All the blessings
that God is pleased to bestow upon us is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. There are no blessings from God
apart from Him. In verse 4, Paul tells them how
and when and why he chose them. He chose them in Christ, that's
how. And he chose them before the
foundation of the world, that's when. And he chose them that
they might be holy and without blame before him in love, and
that's why. In verse 5, Paul goes on to let
these sinners know that God the Father predestinated. That's
another word that's not much thought of in the religious world
today. It's in the Bible, and it teaches
the truth about God. He predetermined. He determined
beforehand. As God has a right to do, I might
add. Just don't forget who we're dealing
with here. We're dealing with God. And He predestinated, He
predetermined beforehand to adopt these people as children. He
did so for no other reason than according to the good pleasure
of His own will, Paul said. Why did God do that? He wanted
to. It pleased Him to do so. And then according to verse 6,
their salvation was to the praise of the glory of His own grace
in making them accepted. Oh, what a blessed word that
is. accepted in Christ His beloved Son. When you see that word there,
beloved, that's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. So how
were they saved? How were they redeemed? How were
they purchased and bought? Verse 7, it's in Christ that
they have redemption. And redemption is through the
shedding of His own blood, Christ's blood. And that's why the child
of God has the forgiveness of sin. It's according to the riches
of God's grace. Do you see anything about what
you did in those verses? God made known to the child of
God this mystery of His will, and it was according to His good
pleasure, and that good pleasure that He purposed in Himself,
according to verse 9. Now, why did God save His elect?
It simply pleased Him to make some His people, and because
of that, He did so. Surely as the Lord thought, Isaiah
said, it shall come to pass. And surely as the Lord purposed,
it shall surely stand. And that's the God with whom
we have to do. He's a sovereign God. He's an
omnipotent God. He's an almighty God. He does
what He wills in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth. And you or me or no one else
can question what He does or grab His hand and say, Don't
you do that? Often like we do when a child
reaches out to do something that's not good for them, we smack their
hand. You can't do that to God. There's men that try to, but
you can't do that to God. It's in Christ that God gave
these men and women an inheritance, and He made them joint heirs
with Christ. And it was simply because as
God, He purposed to do so. And He did so after the counsel
of His own will. God does what He wills. In heaven,
in earth, the deep places, even in hell. God does what He wills. And this is God telling us that
He chose us in salvation. That's what election is. This
don't make it something awful. If God hadn't chose us, we'd
never be saved. It's God choosing us into salvation,
and that's why God gets all the glory, that's why God gets all
the honor, and that's why God gets all the thanksgiving. But
we do need to understand that God's choosing, God's electing
us, is not salvation. Election is not salvation. God's
choosing and electing is unto salvation. Salvation is of the
Lord. Jesus Christ is salvation. And
Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, he said, God hath
from the beginning. Now when was that? Before the
foundation of the world. Before God ever created the world.
Before the foundation of the world. Before time ever was. God chose us to salvation. How? He said through the sanctification
of the Spirit, through the Holy Spirit setting us apart. That's what sanctification is.
God taking a wretched sinner, setting them apart and making
them holy and making them without blame before Him in love. And
if God doesn't do that for you, you'll never be saved. through
sanctification of the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit making us
pure and making us holy before Him. How did He do that? By enabling
us to believe the truth, to believe this gospel that we're preaching. We're sanctified, set apart,
chosen by God, we're made holy through believing the truth,
trusting the gospel, believing what God said. Now if you never
see this book that you have in your lap this morning, it's the
Word of God. God's Word to sinners. It'll
never mean anything to you. I told you the story a while
back about the young lady that was reading a book, she lost
interest in it, put the book on her shelf, and then a little
later she started dating a young man, found out he was an author,
and then as she talked to him more, she found out one of the
titles of his book sounded awful familiar, she went home, looked
on her shelf, and it was the very book that she put up on
her shelf and lost interest in. But now she had a newfound interest
in the author. Do you hear what I'm saying?
She had an interest in the author and she got that book off her
shelf and she dusted it off and she opened it up and she began
to read it and she couldn't put it down. She said, this is so
good. Why did it become so good to
her all of a sudden? Because she had an interest in
the one that wrote it. In Ephesians chapter 2, God compares
what we were by nature with what we are by His grace. And it's
here that we see something of our sin and our depravity. In
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, Paul tells us clearly and plainly
that God has quickened us. What does that mean? It means
He made us alive. You who were dead, He hath made
alive. God has made us alive. We were
dead in trespasses and sin. We walked according to the course
of this world. We walked according to the power
of Satan, called the prince of the power of the air. We walked
according to the Spirit that now and continues to work in
the children of disobedience. And that's not walking worthy
of the Lord. It's the same for all of us.
We had our conversation. That word means way of life.
We had our way of life in times past according to the lust of
the flesh. The world says if it feels good,
do it. But that's not what God says.
We fulfill the desires of the flesh and the mind and we're
by nature in our fallen state, the children of wrath, even as
others, just like everybody else. And there's no difference in
any of us. That's why we should never look down our nose at others.
No different. No different. Just like everybody
else, God's grace is the only thing that makes the difference.
Verse four, chapter two, but God, but God who is rich in mercy,
God loved us with great love. Verse five, and he quickened
us together. He made us alive. He made us alive with Christ.
By grace are you saved. Verse six, God made us sit together,
where? In heavenly places, in Christ
Jesus. How are we gonna get to heaven?
Only one way. Christ is the way, the truth,
and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but by Him. He showed us the exceeding riches
of His grace. He showed us His kindness through
Christ, verse seven. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And both the grace and the faith
is God's gift to us. It's not of ourselves. It's the
gift of God. It's not by our works. We cannot
boast. Well, brother, you know, I gave
my heart to Jesus. Oh, no, no, no, no. You're beginning
to boast. You didn't do nothing. Verse
10, we are God's workmanship. We're created in Christ Jesus.
Any good works that we have is because of Christ. And it's God
who ordained them for us to do. We're not saved because of our
good works. Our good works are a result of
us being saved. And then in Ephesians chapter
3, Paul tells us what every believer sees themselves to be. Look at
verse 8. They see that they are what?
Less than the least. Less than the least of all saints.
Not just less, but less than the least. You take the least
and we're less than them. And here again, He shows us the
sovereignty of God. Verse 19, God is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we could think or ask. Now it takes
a sovereign God to do that. Not the God, the little pygmy
God that men preach today. I'm so tired of hearing about
a little pygmy God descending on the portals of heaven, wringing
His hands, going, won't somebody just let me save them? I love
everybody, won't somebody love me back? That's not God? No, sir, it's not. And then in
the last three chapters of the book of Ephesians, Paul shows
us something of the believers' walk. with Christ, beginning
in Ephesians chapter four, verse one, Paul writes, I therefore,
therefore. You've heard me say and other
preachers say that when we see that word therefore, we need
to look back before what's written and see what it's there for.
And that's a good way to remember it. What are these words therefore? Therefore means so then. So then, everything I've said
up to now, Paul is saying, so then, therefore means so then,
that's why I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, now look at what
he says, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation,
and that word simply means the calling, that you walk worthy
of the calling wherewith you are called. Did you know that
if you're a child of God this morning, it's because He called
you? You better believe it is. He called you and He saved you. He foreknew you. He knew you
before the world began. He set His affection upon you.
He said, I'm going to save that wretched sinner. And He called
you by His grace, and those He called, He justified, and those
that He justified, He glorifies. It's all God's doing. Salvation's
of the Lord. He says that you walk worthy
of the calling wherewith you are called. And that's my subject
this morning, and I want to introduce it to you in the way of a question.
What is it to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you call?
What does that mean? What is it to walk worthy of
the Lord? When we think of the word worthy,
we immediately think of having or showing a quality or some
ability that merits recognition, that merits attention and respect. Our English dictionary defines
worthy as to be good enough. It means to be virtuous, good,
ethical. And those are all things that
we should be. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Paul said, no, God forbid. We ought to strive to be good
and virtuous and ethical. But honestly now, as a friend
of mine used to always say, between us girls, Honestly, when I think
about walking worthy of my calling, I'm often discouraged and I feel
so inadequate and I feel so ashamed of the way that I walk. I would say that every true believer
feels the same way, at least to some degree. And I might add,
we should. The apostle Paul did. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 verse 9, Paul wrote, for I'm the least of the apostles
and I'm not neat, I'm not fit, I'm not suitable, I'm not worthy. to be called an apostle. And
then he said, because, he's going to tell us why. He said, because
I persecuted the church. Paul is Saul. He's the one that
held the coats of those that stoned Stephen. This man was
a self-righteous man. Why, he pulled people out of
their homes and threw them into prison. He was injurious. Remember what he said? We saw
that a couple weeks ago. He was a blasphemer. He was a
persecutor. He was injurious. And what did he say? I obtained
mercy. So did I. I was all those things,
but I too obtained mercy. And you know, that's the problem
with most believers. We just have a hard time forgetting
our past. I'm not the only one, am I? No,
so hard for us to forget those things that are behind us. We
have a very difficult time forgetting all the wrong that we've done.
So how do we walk worthy of the Lord? How do we walk worthy of
our calling? Paul said it this way in Colossians
chapter one, verse 10. He said that you might walk worthy
of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Okay, now there's a hint
right there. If you and I are to walk worthy
of the Lord in a way that's pleasing to Him. And remember, God requires
perfection. You're not going to please God
unless what you do is perfect. It must be perfect to be accepted.
Being fruitful in good works is not just taking a stab at
it. It's to be perfect. And to do
so, you're going to have to have some knowledge of God. You just
are. Excuse me. The only way we can
be truly pleasing to God is in Christ. And in our text, Paul
said, I beseech you, I implore, I beg and plead with you to walk
worthy of the calling wherewith you are called. And what a calling
we have. We're called to be saints. We're
called to be Christ's bride. We're called to be Christ's church.
We're called to be His body. We're called to be His brethren.
We're called to be His children. We're called to be worthy of
His calling. How can one so wretched walk
worthy of this calling? I want to walk worthy of my calling,
don't you? That's the least my Lord deserves. Now, not everyone's
called. I know that's the popular message
today. God loves everybody. God saved everybody. God's called
everybody. No. No, He didn't. Not according
to this book. Not according to God's Word.
Not everyone's called. The calling of God is particular. The Lord Jesus stood there in
that place of the tombs where Lazarus laid. And his command
was, Lazarus, come forth. His calling was distinct. His
calling was particular. His calling was specific. So is ours. So is ours. Yes sir. And if the Lord had
not that day distinguished Lazarus to come forth, everyone in every
single tomb would have come forth. You've thought about that? If
he'd have stood there in that graveyard, or whatever they called
it then, place of the tombs, whatever, and just said, come
forth, every single one of them that was in a tomb would have
come forth. But he said, Lazarus, come forth, and he that was dead
came forth. Lazarus did. My, my. David, come forth. Adel, come
forth. Luann, come forth. Steve, come
forth. All of this calling is effectual. Paul said, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure. And listen, friends, you
cannot, you cannot make your election sure until you make
your calling sure. How does God call us? By the
preaching of His gospel. Larry just showed us me and that
in our get-together back here. If you're going to hear a word
from God, God has ordained that you hear it from a preacher.
That's just the way God ordains. By the foolishness of what the
world calls preaching, it's foolishness to the world, but it's not to
you and me, is it? No, it's the power of God and
the salvation. It's the message that saves sinners,
wretched sinners like you and I. He calls us by His gospel. And Paul said, walk worthy of
your calling. Walk in a way that enhances your
calling. Walk in a way that makes beautiful
your calling. In Romans chapter 16, verse 1,
Paul commended a sister there in the Lord whose name was Phoebe,
and he calls her a servant of the church. And it seems as though
this child of God named Phoebe was in Rome on some kind of business. Paul said to the church there,
he said, receive her in the Lord. And then he said this, as it
becometh saints, act in a way that makes beautiful what God
has done for you. Well, we ought to always act
that way. God help us to act that way. A way that becometh
saints. A way that becometh those whom
Christ loved and died for. Oh, go out of your way for her,
he said, and whatsoever business she has need of. Treat her in
a way that becometh saints. Treat her as you would like to
be yourself treated. Treat her with respect and honor
and love. Treat her as you would treat
Christ Himself. Even better, treat her as Christ
would treat you. And here in our text, Paul said,
walk worthy of the vocation, the calling wherewith you are
called. Walk in a way that becometh saints. Then Paul here gives
us five things that ensures the child of God Five things that ensures they,
the child of God, will know something about this walking worthy of
the Lord. Paul said walk worthy by walking
this way. Five things. First, humility. Second, meekness, with long-suffering,
with forbearance. and then endeavoring for unity.
So let's just briefly take these five things and look at them.
And maybe we'll have a better idea of what it is to walk worthy
of our calling. Humility, humility. I love the words of Paul in Philippians
chapter 2. He wrote, If there be any consolation
in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any vows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye may be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness
of mind. That's what humility is. Lowliness
of mind. Let each esteem other better
than themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. You know a good
definition for humility? I got this from somebody. I believe
it was Brother Todd. I'm not sure. A good definition
for humility is a just estimate of yourself. A just estimate
of yourself. In Romans chapter 12, verse 3,
Paul encourages us not to think of ourselves more highly than
we ought. If anyone ought to be humble,
our attitude should be, it's me. I mean, after all, we see
ourselves as the chief of sinners, don't we? I've often said it. You've heard me say it. I'll
probably keep saying it. You know, the only thing that
believers disagree on is who's the chief of sinners. You say
you are, I'd say I am. John Calvin once said the three
greatest evidences of being saved is humility, humility, and humility. May God be pleased to give each
of us a real and just estimate of ourselves. We're not worthy,
and seeing this is the first step to walking worthy of God's
calling. Second thing, meekness. It's
there in the text. The good sign of having meekness
is to believe everything that God sends our way is for our
good. Now that's what meekness is. Do we really believe Romans 8.28? Everybody quotes Romans 8.28.
I was in a business not long ago, and on the wall right there,
Romans 8.28, all things work together for the good of them
that love the Lord are they called according to His purpose. And
I would wager to say, if I was a wagering man, that they had
no idea what that meant, and that they more than likely didn't
believe it. Is God working everything together for the believer's good?
You better believe it. And if we believe that, that's
an evidence of meekness. No matter what it is, it's God
that's doing it. Do we really believe that? David
did. You know, there was a man named Shimei that cursed David. He was casting stones at him. Do you remember that story? He
called David a bloody man. He called David an evil. He said,
Belial, which means an evil man, an ungodly man. And David had
a servant, Abishai, I believe that's the way you say his name,
and he said, let me go over there and cut his head off. That's
what he said. You can read it. It's in 2 Samuel.
He said, let me cut his head off. And do you remember what
David said? David said, let him alone. Let him curse. Let him
throw his stones. Let him kick up the dust. For
the Lord hath bitten him. The Lord hath said unto him,
curse David. The Lord is behind this. It may
be that the Lord will look upon my affliction, and that the Lord
will requite me good for His cursing this day. Maybe the Lord
is working this out for my good. And He was. And He was. And as they left Oshimi, he's
still cursing. They're riding off on their horses,
and he's still cursing them. David, you blankety-blank. He
threw stones and he kicked the dust. But it was the Lord's doing. Not long ago, someone said something
to me that hurt me. I'm not gonna lie to you, it
hurt me. With many of you. And honestly, at first it angered
me. And I think that's why it hurt me even more. But there's
really not much bad that you can say about me that isn't true,
if not outwardly, inwardly. I'm not proud of that. But it's
nonetheless true. But all things work together
for my good. If I'm one of the Lord's, if
I love the Lord, if I'm one of the called. Make your calling
and election sure. If I'm one of the called, everything
that happens to me is working together for my good. Now we
may not see it. We may not see it now. We may
not see it a little down the road. We may never see it this
side of eternity. But one day we're going to see.
Because we're going to see clearly. Now, through a glass darkly,
we're going to see as it really is. And if I love the Lord, if
I'm one of the called, then I know that all things are working together
for my good. You know, meekness is to bow
to whatever God sends. Meekness is to accept whatever
God allows. The Lord had that person say
what He said, and it really turned out to be for my good. Now, was
it right for the person to say? Probably not. Probably not, but
God allowed it, and it was for my good, and it taught me something
about meekness. Meekness enables us to resist
getting angry. Meekness teaches us to resist
being hurt. Meekness enables us to bear a
wrong without resentment. Oh, how do I need meekness? Lord,
give me meekness. Meekness enables us to bear the
faults and the injuries of others. And if we really believe that
God is on the throne, ruling and reigning, working all things
together after the counsel of his own will, meekness teaches
us that that includes even the things that we don't like. Lord,
give me a meek and quiet spirit, which is in your sight of great
price. 1 Peter 3, 4. Third thing, long-suffering. What is long-suffering? Well,
it's patience, but it's more than that. It's endurance, it's
enduring with others, it's more than that. Enduring the wrong
of others, it's being slow to avenge a wrong. And why should
we? The Lord tells us vengeance is
mine, saith the Lord. If someone's out to do you harm,
God'll deal with it one way or the other. And since the Lord
is so long-suffering to us, shouldn't we be long-suffering with others? The Lord descended in the cloud,
and He stood there with Moses, and He proclaimed the name of
the Lord, saying, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. You see,
long-suffering is one of God's glorious attributes. David wrote
in Psalm 86, 15, but thou, Lord, art a God full of compassion
and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and in
truth. Long-suffering is right there
with compassion and gracious and mercy and truth. Long-suffering. Peter said the long-suffering
of our Lord is salvation. Forbearance. Forbearing. Do you know how the Hebrews and
Greek dictionaries define that word forbearing? It means to
put up with one another. I kind of chuckled when I read
that because I thought that's exactly what we do. Paul says
forbearing one another in love. Forbearing, putting up with one
another in love. That's what love is. It's putting
up with one another. You know, I really don't have
any doubt that my wife loves me because she's been putting
up with me for 40 years now. And you know, I hear folks say
things like, well, I wouldn't put up with that. Well, if you
love them, you would. If you love them, you would.
Forbearing one another in love. And you know, I suppose that
most everything we get upset about, and I get upset about
a lot of things, ought to be overlooked, really. I mean, we
must bear with one another. We all have our faults. We all
are inconsistent. We're all contradictory to what
we say we are. Why should we put up with one
another? Why should we bear one another's inadequacies? Look
down at verse 32 here in Ephesians 4. says, and be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, here's why, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Oh, be kind to
one another, not just to those that treat us well, but also
to those who offend us, to those that often anger us, forgive
their shortcomings. When we don't, it only hurts
us. Just as God has forgiven us,
we do this for Christ's sake. And then the last thing, the
fifth thing, endeavoring to keep the unity, the unity of the Spirit. That being the Spirit of God.
That being the Holy Spirit, which is God. God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit. Now that word endeavoring, It
means what you might think. It means attempt to aspire, to
labor, to toil, to work hard, to apply ourselves, to keep the
unity of the Spirit. After all, the only way we can
walk worthy of our calling and walk worthy of our Lord and walk
worthy of our God is by our union with Christ. The Holy Spirit
can be quenched. The Holy Spirit can withdraw
Himself. God said that in Genesis chapter
6. He said, My Spirit shall not
always strive with man. Sometimes God can have enough. He was long-suffering with the
world in the days of Noah for 120 years. And nobody believed. Noah's out there every day hammering
with that ark. You can hear it all through the
valley. Noah's building that ark. What are you doing, Noah? I'm
building an ark. What's an ark? It's a boat. What
do you need a boat for? There's no water around here.
God's going to send some water. God's going to send His judgment.
in the way of rain from above and below, and he's gonna wipe
out this world. Okay, Noah, you go right ahead. What'd God do? He said, my spirit
will not always strive with man. It repented the Lord in his heart
that he made man upon the earth. He had enough and he destroyed
the world with the exception of eight souls. I had someone,
you know, always, I've told you this, but always people, when
they find out you're a preacher, well, how big a church do you
have? How many people are there? And you tell them, you know,
30, 35. I don't know how many's here this morning. But you tell
them that and they go, oh, okay. You know, we live in a day of
mega churches and more is better. That's not what the Bible says.
There are few. Narrow is the gate. Narrow is
the road. Narrow is the way that leads
unto life. And few there be that find it. Few. We cannot keep the unity of the
Spirit if we're not humble, if we're not meek, if we're not
long-suffering and forbearing. And if I'm proud, then I'm not
humble. And if I'm arrogant, then I'm
not meek. And if I'm impatient, then I'm not long-suffering.
And if I'm intolerant, then I'm not forbearing. Then I'm not
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit because humility
and meekness and long-suffering and forbearance are the fruits
of the Spirit. How do we keep the unity of the
Spirit? Well, briefly, let me show you.
I'm out of time. But verse four, there's one body. This is how. There's one body.
That's talking about the church. That's talking about the bride
of Christ. We're one body in particular. He says, and one spirit. That's
talking about God, the Holy Spirit. All of us are birthed by the
Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has given
us one nature. We all believe the same thing.
Every believer does. Every believer believes the same
thing, and that is Christ is all. And listen to me, if Christ
is all, then we are nothing. If we're something, then Christ
is not all. That's not a hard principle,
is it? If you've got a glass full of water, And you can't
add anything to it. It'll pour over, you know. If
you have Christ, then you have it all. And he says, even as
you are called in one hope, one hope of your calling. Christ
is our only hope. That's the only hope that I have.
That's the only hope that you have. Paul said, Christ in you
is the hope of glory. Who is he that condemns? Well,
it's Christ that died. There you have it. That's my
only hope, that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, died for me. He was unworthy. And he made
me worthy, and I ought to act like it. I ought to walk like
it. Verse 5, one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the King of
kings. He's the Lord of lords. He's my creator. He's my sustainer. He's my salvation. He's the first
cause of everything. One faith. You see that? The
faith of God's elect. That's what that's talking about.
The faith that God's people possess. Faith in the faithfulness of
Christ. Christ is faithful to promise.
We rest in Christ's accepted, finished work. Faith in His blood
to wash all my sin away. One baptism. Believer's baptism. That's what water baptism is.
Representing our union with Christ. When Christ died, we died. When
Christ rose, When Christ was buried, we were buried with Him.
When Christ rose, we rose with Him. That's how close our union
is with the Lord Jesus. Verse 6, one God and Father of
all. There's just one God. That's
the God of this Bible. That's the God with whom we have
to do. He's the Father. He's one God
and it says, and Father of all. He's the Father of every believer. He's God to all, whether folks
know it or not, but He's only a Father to His people. Not the Father to all men, but
to all the elect. And you can argue with me about
that if you want to, but I'm not gonna listen, because that's
the truth. He's the Father to His people.
Christ told the Pharisees, He said, you're of your father,
the devil. If He's Father to all, why would He have said that?
Christ told His people, He said, when you pray, pray our Father. When the believer prays, they're
praying to their Father. They're not praying to the devil.
They're praying to their Father, our Father which art in heaven.
And friends, this God is above all, and He's through all, and
in you all, if you're trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
if you believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you have
this union with Him, then you are walking worthy of your calling. Isn't that wonderful? I've never been worthy of anything,
and to think that Christ has made me worthy. Worthy of that
calling. Calling me out of darkness into
His marvelous light. It's more than I can fathom.
It's more than I can take in. Look at verse 7. But unto every
one of us, every child, every believer, is given grace according
to the measure of the gift of Christ. What is it to walk worthy
of our calling? It's to walk in humility. It's
to walk in meekness, to walk in long-suffering, to forbear
one another in love. And you know that you've passed
from death to life. How? By your love for the brethren. We, by faith, look away from
ourself. We look away from our worth.
We look away from our ability. And we look to the grace and
strength of another, and that is the strength and the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're given grace. It comes not
by our works or by our worth. It's the gift of God. And that gift is our union with
Christ.