"1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Ephesians 4:1-3
There are a number of link-ups that can be made between the doctrine and the ethics, and we need to look at these now. First of the Apostle's words, 'walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called' take us back to 1:4, and the fact that we are 'chosen in Him before the foundation of the world', which Paul opens up in terms of the divine purpose that we should be holy, that we should share in Christ's exaltation (1:19ff), and that we should be united in a bond of unity (2:14). That is to say as Christian believers we are called to be conformed to the image of Christ, and to constitute one family, as 'one new man'. Then again, we must note how Paul ends ch 3 in the glorious doxology 'Now unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end'. And we must understand that what follows in ch 4 shows us in practical detail how glory is to be rendered to God in the Church - in holy, godly living, in lives that are in character with our high and holy calling. It is highly interesting to see just how this is spelt out. Paul indicates that the sphere of this Christian walk is in love (5:2), in light (5:8), and circumspectly (5:15) - in domestic relationships (5:22-33, husbands and wives), in family relationships (6:1-4, parents and children), and in work and business life (6:5-9, masters and servants). It is Christian behaviour, then, that we are now to be concerned with in this second half of the epistle. Enough has been said to indicate how Paul thinks of the imperatives of Christian behaviour. And we can draw one definite practical lesson at the outset, and it is this. Since Christian walk always rests on Christian doctrine, therefore to spend time each day thinking of our position in Christ (in terms of what we have been studying in chs 1-3), letting this sink in and down into our deepest being - this is what is going to condition our Christian walk, and prove to be the inspiration and dynamic of holy living. And when we do so, it will mean that progressively we will find it less and less easy to say, think or do anything, or adopt attitudes out of character with what we are in Christ. It will train us in habits of the soul that will be of incalculable value in our ongoing Christian life and testimony.