A Worthy Walk Starts Inside the Church

Putting on a uniform means something. Whether it’s a soldier donning his dress uniform for a formal event, a quarterback putting on his jersey and helmet before the big game, or an employee dressing in the attire supplied by his business, the uniform carries significance. That special clothing transforms the wearer from an individual with his own allegiances into a representative of a cause, team, or organization.

As a result, he will be expected to act accordingly. In the military, an officer who fails to live up to the honor of his uniform may be charged with conduct unbecoming an officer. An athlete who disgraces his team’s uniform may be suspended. 

As believers, we’ve been robed in the righteousness of Christ; in effect, we’ve been given a new “uniform.” Our loyalties have changed, and we’re now representatives—ambassadors, even—of the kingdom of Christ. For this reason, Paul exhorts his audience to “walk worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:1). 

You might expect Paul to launch into a discussion about how Christians are to act as “salt” and “light” (Matt. 5:13–14) in their communities or how they’re to give generously and work tirelessly to bring lost souls to Christ. Paul certainly would advocate for such activity—and does in other places—but he doesn’t begin there with the Ephesians. A walk worthy of the righteousness of Christ, he says, does not begin out in the world. A worthy walk begins with how we treat other believers. It begins inside the church. 

The Surprising Starting Place 

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1–3)

Unlike some of his other epistles, Paul doesn’t seem to be writing to the Ephesians in order to correct a particular doctrinal error. The train in Ephesus hadn’t completely gone off the rails, yet Paul had evidently heard rumblings of concerning behavior. As you read through Ephesians, you get the sense that the believers in Ephesus struggled in much the same way many of us do: they had drifted toward worldliness. 

Paul mentions covetousness, foolish talk, coarse jesting, drunkenness, and partying as specific sins that should never be named among believers (Eph. 5). Surely we would agree that participation in such activity would be a clear case of walking unworthily of the gospel. So why doesn’t Paul begin his discussion of a worthy walk with behavior outside the church? Why does he start with specific instructions about how believers are to treat one another? 

In addressing the problem from the inside out—that is, from inside the church to outside—Paul exposes another problem many Americans commonly face: individualism. Like Spiderman, Superman, and the Lone Ranger, we prefer to work solo. Other people get in the way, slow down our progress, and complicate things. We would prefer to be in control, thank you very much. As a result, we often fail to see the need for an inefficient, messy institution like the local church.

That’s exactly why Ephesians 4—all about the church—comes before Ephesians 5—all about life outside the church. Paul wants to establish the foundational importance of the local church in the sanctification of believers. We were never meant to go it alone when it comes to the work of being conformed to the image of Christ. We need one another. You need the gifts of the other members of your church, and they need yours. We all contribute to the spiritual growth of the other members of our local assemblies. That’s the beautiful, yet somewhat perplexing, reality. 

With that foundation in place, let’s now consider what a worthy walk looks like. 

Humility

The first trait that must mark our interactions with other Christ followers is humility—an accurate view of ourselves before God based on Scripture. Humility does not demand that we demean or degrade ourselves; rather, it requires that we forget ourselves entirely. Humility is all about loving others, putting their interests first and looking out for their needs, desires, and dreams. It selflessly sets aside its own agenda and embraces the role of a servant. 

Of course, humility doesn’t yield to every whim of every person. That would be impossible. But humility does put the good of others above self. True love remembers that not everything a person wants is good for him (as every parent knows!). A humble person willingly uses her talents when necessary, but she is also willing not to use them if that’s what the situation requires. A humble person listens to the concerns of others, but she also willingly speaks truth in love when needed. Humility must form the core of relationships within the Body of Christ. 

Gentleness

Paul goes on to tell the Ephesians that they must treat one another with gentleness. Perhaps you read that word and think of what you repeatedly said to your older child after bringing your new baby home from the hospital. “Gentle!” (Or maybe that was just in my house.) In our vernacular, this word suggests a soft touch, a soothing voice, and a cautious spirit. Yet that doesn’t fully capture the biblical concept of gentleness. Paul is calling believers to respond to one another with calmness, steadiness, and tenderness when we “jostle” one another.

You don’t have to be in a church very long before someone steps on your toes—through what they say or don’t say, through what they do or fail to do. A thoughtless word here, an omission of kindness there—it often doesn’t take much to ruffle our feathers. A gentle person, however, will respond to these “rufflings” with a gentle, gracious spirit. His nose won’t get bent out of shape, her toes suffer no lasting damage, and neither will the relationships within the fellowship. 

Patience and Forbearance

Patience and forbearance are close cousins to gentleness. Though they are technically different words, they carry similar meanings. Both suggest a long fuse, a steadfastness in a relationship even while being wronged. In other words, we must be careful not to fly off the handle with those within the church. Inevitably, some people will rub you the wrong way and find a way to push your buttons, whether intentionally or not. But as we seek to demonstrate patience, we won’t allow those offenses to provoke aggressive—or passive-aggressive—words or actions. 

Eagerness to Maintain Unity 

Each of these qualities culminates in the broad statement of Ephesians 4:3: “making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Our first priority in our relationships with other believers in Christ is unity. Of course, this doesn’t mean unity at all costs. Paul never advocates compromising doctrine. From the context of this verse, it is clear that Paul means we must put our own agendas in the backseat in order to preserve unity. We are one body and serve one Lord; we all share the same calling and wear the same “uniform.” 

Paul reminds us that the world is watching. The way we treat, speak about, and interact with the believers in our church—whether face-to-face or online—matters. They are our team, our squad, our platoon. We’re in the trenches with them, and a worthy walk begins inside the church. 

As you evaluate your relationships within your church, what would you say? Are you wearing your team colors well, or are you participating in “conduct unbecoming”? How may God be asking you to demonstrate humility, gentleness, patience, or forbearance toward a member of your local body today?