the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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New King James Version
Ephesians 4:1
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Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Even though I am in chains behind bars for gatherin' for Christ, y'all need to get out there and ride the thick brush and draws looking for strays like you're supposed to.
I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,
*I*, the prisoner in [the] Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called,
Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you, to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called,
I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received--
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that yee walke worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Then I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling in which you were called,
I therfore which am presoner in the LORDE, exhorte you, that ye walke as it becometh yor callinge wherin ye are called,
I therefore the prisoner for the Lord, beseech you to live suitably to the offers that have been made to you:
In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation],
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
I therfore which am in bondes for the lordes sake exhorte you that ye walke worthy of the vocacion wherwith ye are called
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation by which ye are called,
Call upon you, then, do I -- the prisoner of the Lord -- to walk worthily of the calling with which ye were called,
I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. Therefore I urge you who have been chosen by God to live up to the life to which God called you.
I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,
As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own.
Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
I therefore, being prisoner in the Lorde, praie you that yee walke worthie of the vocation whereunto yee are called,
I THEREFORE, a prisoner of our LORD, beseech you to live as is worthy of the rank to which you are called,
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live in a way that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called,Ephesians 3:1; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12;">[xr]
I BESEECH of you, therefore, I, the bound one for our Lord, that you walk as is worthy of the calling wherewith you are called,
I therefore, a prisoner in our Lord, beseech of you, that ye walk, (as it becometh the calling wherewith ye are called,)
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
I am being held in prison because of working for the Lord. I ask you from my heart to live and work the way the Lord expected you to live and work.
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
I exhort you, therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling wherewith ye were called: -
I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called:
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called:
I therfore, a prisoner in the Lorde, exhorte you, that ye walke worthy of the vocatio wherewith ye are called,
So, as a prisoner for the Lord, I beg you to live the way God's people should live, because he chose you to be his.
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
I urge you, then—I who am a prisoner because I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you.
Therfor Y boundun for the Lord biseche you, that ye walke worthili in the clepyng,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
prisoner: Ephesians 3:1
of the Lord: or, in the Lord
beseech: Jeremiah 38:20, Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2 Corinthians 10:1, Galatians 4:12, Philemon 1:9, Philemon 1:10, 1 Peter 2:11, 2 John 1:5
walk: Ephesians 4:17, Ephesians 5:2, Genesis 5:24, Genesis 17:1, Acts 9:31, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 3:17, Philippians 3:18, Colossians 1:10, Colossians 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:2, Titus 2:10, Hebrews 13:21
vocation: Ephesians 4:4, Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 3:14, 2 Thessalonians 1:11, 2 Timothy 1:9, Hebrews 3:1, 1 Peter 3:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Peter 1:3
Reciprocal: Jeremiah 37:21 - Thus Matthew 5:9 - are Acts 16:23 - they cast Acts 21:11 - So shall Acts 23:18 - Paul Acts 28:20 - this chain Romans 12:10 - kindly Romans 13:13 - us 1 Corinthians 1:10 - I beseech 1 Corinthians 16:14 - General 2 Corinthians 11:23 - in prisons Ephesians 1:18 - his calling Ephesians 2:10 - walk Ephesians 6:20 - bonds Philippians 1:7 - as Philippians 1:13 - General Philippians 4:2 - that Colossians 2:6 - walk Colossians 4:3 - for 1 Thessalonians 4:7 - God 2 Thessalonians 1:5 - may 2 Timothy 1:8 - his prisoner Philemon 1:13 - the bonds Hebrews 10:34 - in my Hebrews 11:36 - bonds Hebrews 12:14 - Follow Hebrews 13:3 - them that 1 John 3:18 - let
Cross-References
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed."
And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed."
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.
not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you,.... Or "in the Lord"; that is, for the Lord's sake; :-. Some connect this phrase, "in the Lord", with the following word, "beseech": as if the sense was, that the apostle entreated the believing Ephesians, in the name of the Lord, and for his sake, to take heed to their walk and conversation, that it be as became the calling by grace, and to glory, with which they were called: and this exhortation he enforces from the consideration of the state and condition in which he was, a prisoner, not for any wickedness he had been guilty of, but for the Lord's sake, which seems to be the true sense of the word; and that, if they would not add afflictions to his bonds, as some professors by their walk did, he beseeches them, as an ambassador in bonds, that they would attend to what he was about to say; and the rather, since such doctrines of grace had been made known to them, which have a tendency to promote powerful godliness; and since they were made partakers of such privileges as laid them under the greatest obligation to duty, which were made mention of in the preceding chapters.
That ye walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called; by which is meant, not that private and peculiar state and condition of life, that the saints are called to, and in: but that calling, by the grace of God, which is common to them all; and is not a mere outward call by the ministry of the word, with which men may be called, and not be chosen, sanctified, and saved; but that which is internal, and is of special grace, and by the Spirit of God; by whom they are called out of darkness into light, out of bondage into liberty, out of the world, and from the company and conversation of the men of it, into the fellowship of Christ, and his people, to the participation of the grace of Christ here, and to his kingdom and glory hereafter; and which call is powerful, efficacious, yea, irresistible; and being once made is unchangeable, and without repentance, and is holy, high, and heavenly. Now to walk worthy of it, or suitable to it, is to walk as children of the light; to walk in the liberty wherewith Christ and his Spirit make them free; to walk by faith on Christ; and to walk in the ways of God, with Christ, the mark, in their view, and with the staff of promises in their hands; and to walk on constantly, to go forwards and hold out unto the end: for this walking, though it refers to a holy life and conversation, a series of good works, yet it does not suppose that these merit calling; rather the contrary, since these follow upon it; and that is used as an argument to excite unto them: but the phrase is expressive of a fitness, suitableness, and agreeableness of a walk and conversation to such rich grace, and so high an honour conferred on saints.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I, therefore - In view of the great and glorious truths which God has revealed, and of the grace which he has manifested toward you who are Gentiles. See the previous chapters. The sense of the word âthereforeâ - Î¿Ï ÌÍν oun - in this place, is, âSuch being your exalted privileges; since God has done so much for you; since he has revealed for you such a glorious system; since he has bestowed on you the honor of calling you into his kingdom, and making you partakers of his mercy, I entreat you to live in accordance with these elevated privileges, and to show your sense of his goodness by devoting your all to his service.â The force of the word âI,â they would all feel. It was the appeal and exhortation of the founder of their church - of their spiritual father - of one who had endured much for them, and who was now in bonds on account of his devotion to the welfare of the Gentile world.
The prisoner of the Lord - Margin, âin.â It means, that he was now a prisoner, or in confinement âin the causeâ of the Lord; and he regarded himself as having been made a prisoner because the Lord had so willed and ordered it. He did not feel particularly that he was the prisoner of Nero; he was bound and kept because the âLordâ willed it, and because it was in his service; see the notes on Ephesians 3:1.
Beseech you that ye walk worthy - That you live as becomes those who have been called in this manner into the kingdom of God. The word âwalkâ is often used to denote âlife, conduct,â etc.; see Romans 4:12, note; Romans 6:4, note; 2 Corinthians 5:7, note.
Of the vocation - Of the âcallingâ - ÏηÍÏ ÎºÎ»Î·ÌÏεÏÏ teÌs kleÌseoÌs. This word properly means âa call,â or âan invitationâ - as to a banquet. Hence, it means that divine invitation or calling by which Christians are introduced into the privileges of the gospel. The word is translated âcallingâ in Romans 11:29; 1Co 1:26; 1 Corinthians 7:20; Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 4:1, Ephesians 4:4; Philippians 3:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 3:1; 2 Peter 1:10. It does not occur elsewhere. The sense of the word, and the agency employed in calling us, are well expressed in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. âEffectual calling is the work of Godâs Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel.â This âcalling or vocationâ is through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and is his appropriate work on the human heart.
It consists essentially in influencing the mind to turn to God, or to enter into his kingdom. It is the exertion of âso muchâ influence on the mind as is necessary to secure the turning of the sinner to God. In this all Christians are agreed, though there have been almost endless disputes about the actual influence exerted, and the mode in which the Spirit acts on the mind. Some suppose it is by âmoral persuasion;â some by physical power; some by an act of creation; some by inclining the mind to exert its proper powers in a right way, and to turn to God. What is the precise agency employed perhaps we are not to expect to be able to decide; see John 3:8. The great, the essential point is held, if it be maintained that it is by the agency of the Holy Spirit that the result is secured - and this I suppose to be held by all evangelical Christians. But though it is by the agency of the Holy Spirit, we are not to suppose that it is without the employment of âmeans.â It is not literally like the act of creation. It is preceded and attended with means adapted to the end; means which are almost as various as the individuals who are âcalledâ into the kingdom of God. Among those means are the following:
(1) âPreaching.â Probably more are called into the kingdom by this means than any other. It is âGodâs great ordinance for the salvation of men.â It is eminently suited for it. The âpulpitâ has higher advantages for acting on the mind than any other means of affecting people. The truths that are dispensed; the sacredness of the place; the peace and quietness of the sanctuary; and the appeals to the reason, the conscience, and the heart - all are suited to affect people, and to bring them to reflection. The Spirit makes use of the word âpreached,â but in a great variety of ways. Sometimes many are impressed simultaneously; sometimes the same truth affects one mind while others are unmoved; and sometimes truth reaches the heart of a sinner which he has heard a hundred times before, without being interested. The Spirit acts with sovereign power, and by laws which have never yet been traced out.
(2) The events of Providence are used to call people into his kingdom. God appeals to people by laying them on a bed of pain, or by requiring them to follow a friend in the still and mournful procession to the grave. They feel that they must die, and they are led to ask the question whether they are prepared. Much fewer are affected in this way than we should suppose would be the case; but still there are many, in the aggregate, who can trace their hope of heaven to a fit of sickness, or to the death of a friend.
(3) Conversation is one of the means by which sinners are called into the kingdom of God. In some states of mind, where the Spirit has prepared the soul like mellow ground prepared for the seed, a few momentsâ conversation, or a single remark, will do more to arrest the attention than much preaching.
(4) Reading is often the means of calling people into the kingdom. The Bible is the great means - and if we can get people to read that, we have very cheering indications that they will be converted. The profligate Earl of Rochester was awakened and led to the Saviour by reading a chapter in Isaiah. And who can estimate the number of those who have been converted by reading Baxterâs Call to the Unconverted; Alleineâs Alarm; the Dairymanâs Daughter; or the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain? He does âgoodâ who places a good book in the way of a sinner. That mother or sister is doing good, and making the conversion of a son or brother probable, who puts a Bible in his chest when he goes to sea, or in his trunk when he goes on a journey. Never should a son be allowed to go from home without one. The time will come when, far away from home, he will read it. He will read it when his mind is pensive and tender, and the Spirit may bear the truth to his heart for his conversion.
(5) The Spirit calls people into the kingdom of Christ by presiding over, and directing in some unseen manner their own reflections, or the operations of their own minds. In some way unknown to us, he turns the thoughts to the past life; recalls forgotten deeds and plans; makes long past sins rise to remembrance; and overwhelms the mind with conscious guilt from the memory of crime. He holds this power over the soul; and it is among the most mighty and mysterious of all the influences that he has on the heart. âSometimesâ - a man can hardly tell how - the mind will be pensive, sad, melancholy; then conscious of guilt; then alarmed at the future. Often, by sudden transitions, it will be changed from the frivolous to the serious, and from the pleasant to the sad; and often, unexpectedly to himself, and by associations which he cannot trace out, the sinner will find himself reflecting on death. judgment, and eternity. It is the Spirit of God that leads the mind along. It is not by force; not by the violation of its laws, but in accordance with those laws, that the mind is thus led along to the eternal world. In such ways, and by such means, are people âcalledâ into the kingdom of God. To âwalk worthy of that calling,â is to live as becomes a Christian, an heir of glory; to live as Christ did. It is:
(1) To bear our religion with us to all places, companies, employments. Not merely to be a Christian on the Sabbath, and at the communion table, and in our own land, but every day, and everywhere, and in any land where we may be placed. We are to live religion, and not merely to profess it. We are to be Christians in the counting-room, as well as in the closet; on the farm as well as at the communion table; among strangers, and in a foreign land, as well as in our own country and in the sanctuary.
(2) It is to do nothing inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character. In temper, feeling, plan, we are to give expression to no emotion, and use no language, and perform no deed, that shall be inconsistent with the most elevated Christian character.
(3) It is to do âright always:â to be just to all; to tell the simple truth; to defraud no one; to maintain a correct standard of morals; to be known to be honest. There is a correct standard of character and conduct; and a Christian should be a man so living, that we may always know âexactly where to find him.â He should so live, that we shall have no doubts that, however others may act, we shall find âhimâ to be the unflinching advocate of temperance, chastity, honesty, and of every good work - of every plan that is really suited to alleviate human woe, and benefit a dying world.
(4) It is to live as one should who expects soon to be âin heaven.â Such a man will feel that the earth is not his home; that he is a stranger and a pilgrim here; that riches, honors, and pleasures are of comparatively little importance; that he ought to watch and pray, and that he ought to be holy. A man who feels that he may die at any moment, will watch and pray. A man who realizes that âtomorrowâ he may be in heaven, will feel that he ought to be holy. He who begins a day on earth, feeling that at its close he may be among the angels of God, and the spirits of just men made perfect; that before its close he may have seen the Saviour glorified, and the burning throne of God, will feel the importance of living a holy life, and of being wholly devoted to the service of God. Pure should be the eyes that are soon to look on the throne of God; pure the hands that are soon to strike the harps of praise in heaven; pure the feet that are to walk the âgolden streets above.â
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER IV.
The apostle exhorts them to walk worthy of their vocation, and
to live in peace and unity, 1-6.
Shows that God has distributed a variety of gifts, and
instituted a variety of offices in his Church, for the building
up and perfecting of the body of Christ, 7-13.
Teaches them the necessity of being well instructed and steady
in Divine things, 14.
Teaches how the body or Church of Christ is constituted, 15, 16.
Warns them against acting like the Gentiles, of whose conduct he
gives a lamentable description, 17-19.
Points out how they had been changed, in consequence of their
conversion to Christianity, 20, 21.
Gives various exhortations relative to the purification of their
minds, their conduct to each other, and to the poor, 22-28.
Shows them that their conversation should be chaste and holy,
that they might not grieve the Spirit of God; that they should
avoid all bad tempers, be kindly affectioned one to another,
and be of a forgiving spirit, 29-32.
NOTES ON CHAP. IV.
Verse Ephesians 4:1. I therefore — Therefore, because God has provided for you such an abundant salvation, and ye have his testimonies among you, and have full liberty to use all the means of grace;
The prisoner of the Lord — Who am deprived of my liberty for the Lord's sake.
Beseech you that ye walk — Ye have your liberty, and may walk; I am deprived of mine, and cannot. This is a fine stroke, and wrought up into a strong argument. You who are at large can show forth the virtues of him who called you into his marvellous light; I am in bondage, and can only exhort others by my writing, and show my submission to God by my patient suffering.
The vocation wherewith ye are called — The calling, κληÏιÏ, is the free invitation they have had from God to receive the privileges of the Gospel, and become his sons and daughters, without being obliged to observe Jewish rites and ceremonies. Their vocation, or calling, took in their Christian profession, with all the doctrines, precepts, privileges, duties, c., of the Christian religion.
Among us, a man's calling signifies his trade, or occupation in life that at which he works, and by which he gets his bread; and it is termed his calling, because it is supposed that God, in the course of his providence, calls the person to be thus employed, and thus to acquire his livelihood. Now, as it is a very poor calling by which a man cannot live, so it is a poor religion by which a man cannot get his soul saved. If, however, a man have an honest and useful trade, and employ himself diligently in labouring at it, he will surely be able to maintain himself by it; but without care, attention, and industry, he is not likely to get, even by this providential calling, the necessaries of life. In like manner, if a man do not walk worthy of his heavenly calling, i.e. suitable to its prescriptions, spirit, and design, he is not likely to get his soul saved unto eternal life. The best trade, unpractised, will not support any man; the most pure and holy religion of the Lord Jesus, unapplied, will save no soul. Many suppose, because they have a sound faith, that all is safe and well: as well might the mechanic, who knows he has a good trade, and that he understands the principles of it well, suppose it will maintain him, though he brings none of its principles into action by honest, assiduous, and well-directed labour.
Some suppose that the calling refers to the epithets usually given to the Christians; such as children of Abraham, children of God, true Israel of God, heirs of God, saints, fellow citizens with the saints, c., c. and that these honourable appellations must be a strong excitement to the Ephesians to walk worthy of these exalted characters But I do not find that the word κληÏιÏ, calling, is taken in this sense any where in the New Testament but that it has the meaning which I have given it above is evident from 1 Corinthians 7:20: ÎκαÏÏÎ¿Ï ÎµÎ½ Ïη κληÏει ηÌÍ ÎµÎºÎ»Î·Î¸Î·, εν ÏÎ±Ï ÏÎ·Í Î¼ÎµÎ½ÎµÏÏÎ Let every man abide in the calling to which he hath been called. The context shows that condition, employment, or business of life, is that to which the apostle refers.
