1.1. So Far: We have covered about half of Ephesians. The 1st 3 chapters is a picture of the great God who we worship, who blesses his people, and the characteristics of God are seen in the nature of the relationship that we have with Him in Christ. Paul ends that part with a description of what happens to those who put their trust in him: strengthening the inner person with power by the Spirit so that we might experience the depth, height, length and breadth of Christ’s love. It is actual and experiential, not just doctrinal and intellectual. I want to emphasize 2 words: the first is “Love” and the 2nd is “Power.” Love is not just knowing about but an experienced state. It’s not just feeling good like the feeling of Spring or a catchy song that keeps humming in our minds. The love of Christ is actual, active, and transformative.
1.2. The Love of Christ: is a living, dynamic power that is at work within us and it assures us of the relationship that we have with our creator and that changes us radically. It transforms and causes a zealous pharisee like Saul, who wanted to apprehend Christian believers in Damascus and make them prisoners, to do a 180 turnaround. On that Damascus Road, he gets confronted with the living Christ not in a rebuking, scolding way but with an appeal: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The experience and realization of sacrificial love constrains him into relationship with the living God. It is a life- altering experience that doesn’t stop with Damascus Road but is a continuing one. It’s not a flash in the pan here today and gone tomorrow thing. It changes him, gets him going and in that new journey he discovers how that power works even amidst pain.
2.1. Walking is active and intentional: Watchman Nee describes Ephesians using 3 verbs: Sit, Walk and Stand. The 1st 3 chapters are about sitting – a posture that describes learning, meditating and growing in the inside; and then in chaps 4 and 5, the posture is walk: that means journeying according the call.
This is the dynamic of active participation and how we process the power that comes from Christ to bring about change and this happens through Christ working through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to give maturity in the people they serve. This “walking’ covers the practical things like relationships and we’ll deal with that in chapter 5 but, more importantly, “walking” also means following the lead of the Spirit. We can walk with God or we can walk away from God.
Think of it this way: walking is being in active relationship, like being in a family and all are journeying together: learning, sharing and giving. Jesus wants to help us and be an active leader in this journey. Do we want that? Let’s look at a few characters:
2.2. Enoch:
****Going back in Gen 5, we see the descendants of Adam. We see Mahalel who lived 65 years, he fathered Jared who lived 162 years, who fathered Enoch who lived 365 years, and the list goes on identifying many others but there’s a difference with Enoch. Only with Enoch are the words “Walked with God” used not once but twice in 3 verses. So, what does “walked with God” mean? 1stly, it inspires the thought of journey and partnership. In Heb 11, look at what it said of Enoch:
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God.” Heb 11:5-6
Enoch’s life of faith made him walk with and not away from. Walking expresses being in sync with, and all this is based on faith and a life that pleased God. Now, looking at self, do we want a life that pleases God or are we indifferent? It is possible to be born again and not be walking with God. Look at 5 of the 7 churches in Revelation.
2.3. Jacob:
****we now come to the end of Genesis and there is this a very tender scene where Jacob gives a blessing. At the time, in human terms, Jacob is not much. He is a refugee in Egypt because his sons were starving in Canaan and had to find grain in Egypt. Joseph is an ex-slave but his life has turned around and he’s now prime minister, 2nd only to Pharaoh.
Now, in this scene before Jacob dies. He blesses the 2 sons of Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh, the twins, and he also blesses Joseph, the prime minster. It is the words of the blessings that I want to refer to:
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked. The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day.” Gen 48:15.
Jesus is the Great Shepherd. The word that I want to bring to your attention is that the one who walks with Christ accepts Christ as shepherd of his life.
Your shepherd leads you. He makes you lie down in green pastures, leads you beside still water, he restores your soul, leads you in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake and walks you through the valley of the shadow of death. You fear no evil because the Lord’s rod and staff – his authority – they comfort you! This means allow the great shepherd to lead.
Jesus, the good shepherd just doesn’t impose his will on us. He walks with us only if we want to walk with him. It is a partnership with us the willing partner who goes through not only green pastures and green valleys but also the challenge of pain and evil because that is as but we are under the staff of Jesus and his peace will cushion us through the pain. Back to Eph 4: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called!”