“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Eph. 4:1, NIV) Any responsible student of the Scriptures knows that we can never be worthy of the grace of God. Divine favor is a gift, and no one alive today deserves to experience it. “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10, NIV). “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Rom. 3:12, NIV). Notice the words “unworthy” and “worthless” in those two verses.
Yet, several times in the Bible Christians are exhorted to “walk” in a “worthy” manner. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul urges them to “walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (2:12). To the Ephesians, he gives instruction to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (4:1). “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ,” he tells the Philippians (1:27). And the Colossians are likewise exhorted to “have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him” (1:10).
The word that is translated “worthy” means “appropriately” as well, and that is exactly how the saints of God should live. The name of God is holy, and those who claim to follow Him must reflect that holiness (1 Jn. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16). The reason is that God “calls us into His kingdom and glory” (1 Thes. 2:12). “Calls” suggests on-going activity; that is, we are continually being called by God to a life in harmony with His purpose, which is to conform us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).
Worthy walking in the Christian life reflects well on Him who called us. This is the purpose of our existence as believers in the world (1 Thes. 4:12; Mt. 5:16). Just as an earthly father wants to be proud of his children, so God wants the world to see the stamp of the divine image upon our hearts and lives so that we will be an appropriate and worthy representation of Him.
Grace and Peace Ministries
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