The Lowly Walk, Part 2

Precious people, I want you to know the fullness of a worthy walk.

I want you to know that you can live a life that is in measure the equivalent of who you are in Christ. And I want that to happen in you. I want it to happen for your sake. I want it to happen for Jesus' sake. I want it to happen for the church's sake.

I want it to happen for God's sake that we can adorn His very nature. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. If you met a Christian in Middle America or in Tokyo or in Russia or in South Africa or anywhere at all, you would no doubt notice a few striking similarities, patterns that they would all have in common, despite their different life circumstances.

Specifically, what would those similarities be? Find out today as John MacArthur continues his look at the basics of following Christ in John's current study on Grace to You, titled, Getting in Step with the Christian Walk. It's a practical series that covers crucial teaching for Christians of all ages and every stage of life. So if you've got a Bible nearby, turn to the book of Ephesians as John begins today's lesson.

Ephesians chapter 4. The first six verses of chapter 4 introduce us to the lowly walk of our high position. Now let's look at the call to the worthy walk in verse 1. He says, I want you to walk.

I beg you to walk. The word walk I have to talk about for just a moment. Walk means daily conduct.

It's a very, very important New Testament word. And by the way, the whole theme of the last three chapters of Ephesians is walk. Walk, walk, walk, that's the whole theme. The first 16 verses, he says walk in unity. The end of chapter 4 is a unique walk, walk other than the Gentiles walk. Chapter 5, it's a love walk. Chapter 5, a light walk. Chapter 5 again, a wise walk. Chapter 5 and 6, a spirit walk and finally a warfare walk. And the idea is a lifestyle.

The word walk we would translate today is daily conduct, lifestyle. Let your lifestyle be worthy of the vocation to which you're called. That's the idea of what he's saying. Now listen, you say, can I do it? Yes.

Yes, but only on this basis. Chapter 3 verses 14 to 20, as you commit yourself to the Holy Spirit to be strengthened by His might in the inner man, as Christ looks at your life and it's purified and cleansed and He settles down and is at home, and as His love penetrates your life and as a result you're filled with all the fullness of God and able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think according to the power that works in you, as all of that takes place, you are living in the resources that enable you to walk the worthy walk. You'll never do it by just knowing the theology and then trying to crank it out.

You must commit yourself to the power, and that's 3.20, the power. And when you see the power flow, as indicated in chapter 3 verse 20 in response to the yieldedness to the Holy Spirit of the 16th verse, when you see that begin to happen, then the power is there to walk the worthy walk. Now let's see how Paul talks about it. First of all he says, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. Now Paul, you see, he just said that in chapter 3. Why do you keep talking about this prisoner bit? Chapter 3 verse 1, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Something interests me. As I thought about this, I started looking around and he always calls himself a prisoner of Christ, prisoner of Christ, prisoner of the Lord, prisoner of Jesus Christ. And I thought to myself, isn't it wonderful? He was really a prisoner of Rome, technically, but he never saw it that way. And here's a great truth for you to remember. The Apostle Paul had the ability to see everything only in the light of how it affected Christ, okay? In other words, there's only one way to live, people, and this is a great truth, there's only one way to live and that is interpreting everything with reference to the divine.

You understand that? He never saw things in a mundane interpretation. He saw them always in relation to God. His first thought was immediately vertical.

No matter what entered into his life, it immediately ascended to God in terms of its interpretation. What does this mean, God? How does this affect you, God?

He never kept things on a horizontal level. You can have trouble in your life. You can have something happen in your life and you can say, oh, poor me, woe is me.

I am undone. All these problems come to me and how is it going to affect me? It's going to mess up my bank account. It's going to cost me money in the end.

It's going to... And you're thinking all the time on the earthy level. But the man who has the Word of Christ dwelling in him richly, the man who has what Proverbs would call wisdom, the man who really functions in a divine frame of reference would respond to that same problem by saying, Lord, what is it that this signifies? What is it that you're saying in this?

The average man, the man of the world is going to go to his business and he's going to function in his business. He's going to think about all the things that relate to him, how it's going to make money, how it's going to advance the business, etc., etc., whereas the person who has the Word of Christ dwelling in him richly, the one who saturates his mind with divine wisdom, is going to see that business only in interpretation in reference to the divine. How does it affect God? What does it mean to God? How does Christ fit in here? You see, you can really tell, people, when you get to the place when your mind and heart are committed to the Word of God, you will find that you will refer the interpretation of every event in your life to its reference to God. That's thinking through the divine grid, and it's the only way to live. And you know, really, when you talk about maturity, that's what you're talking about.

When you talk about a mature Christian, you're talking about a Christian who sees everything only in the light of the divine perspective. Therefore he can handle everything because its definition is not dependent upon how it affects him. I hope you think like that. You know, you can get to the place, and I can see myself growing to that place where everything that occurs in the whole wide world is interpreted in a divine manner. From the smallest to the greatest thing, that's the way to live, folks.

That's the way to live. Then you're really God conscious. Then you're fulfilling what David said. I love it so much in Psalm 16 where he said, I have set the Lord always before me.

Isn't that great? No matter what happens, it's God I see. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, he says.

In other words, with God as my point of reference, with God as the very crux of my life, with God as the divine interpreter of every vicissitude in life, my heart is glad. And so Paul sees himself in reference to the Lord. But further, he says, I'm a prisoner of the Lord and I beseech you to walk worthy. Now why does he put that here, this prisoner bit? Well why does he have to bring it up again?

Well here's the reason, I think. What he's really pointing out is this, he's saying to the people, now I want you to walk worthy. And by throwing in the little deal, I a prisoner of the Lord, he is saying, and that's not easy for me to say in my circumstances, but I'm saying it anyway.

You get the point? The point is this, walk worthy no matter what it costs. He says, I'm a prisoner.

That's about as bad as you can get in human circumstance. But I'm telling you, in spite of what's happened to me, you walk worthy of the one who called you. You match your life to his character. You know that word worthy has a root in the Greek that has to do with equalizing the scales? And as a Christian, your life pattern ought to be equalized with your identity.

You understand that? There ought to be a perfect harmony between who you are and how you live. And you ought to walk in perfect equity and balance with who you are. And even if you're a prisoner, that shouldn't affect it. Everybody might say, well, it's easy for him to say, walk worthy. And so he throws this in just to remind you that it isn't easy. It may lead to prison.

It may lead to death as it did for him when his head was chopped off his neck. But it never changed his commitment to walk worthy. His appeal then, beloved, listen, is rooted in his own negative circumstance.

Even though the circumstance is negative, there's never a change in the commitment. And so he begs, even as a prisoner, that everybody walk worthy. Now listen, beloved, again, it is behavior based on right thinking. You know the truth, therefore this is how you live. Let me show you an illustration of that. In the Old Testament, listen, God said this, if you obey Me, I will bless you.

Remember that? If you keep these commandments, I'll bless you. If you obey this truth, I will bless you. In other words, blessing was conditioned on obedience.

How interesting. You know what he says in the New Testament? I have already blessed you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, now would you please obey Me?

You see the difference? That's the difference between law and grace. If you do this, I'll bless. New Testament, I've already blessed, now would you please do this? And so that we respond to God, not out of fear but out of gratitude, you understand?

Out of gratitude. We respond not to the thundering and the crashing and the lightning of Sinai, but to the grace of Calvary, see? And so Paul says, I've given you three chapters of God's blessing, now would you just walk worthy? I beg you, walk worthy. He uses the word parakaleo, to call to someone with intensity, to plead with someone.

I beg you, he says. You know, people, Paul didn't hesitate to beg because Paul was so concerned about people. You know, you can perform in the ministry. I mean, you can just get up and say, well, I preached a great sermon and go home and say, that was just great. And if you just make sure you talk to the right people, they'll confirm that.

And you can live with the fact that you did a good performance. But that's a long way from where it should be in the ministry. Because the ministry is not my concern that my sermon is good, or my concern that my program is good, or my concern that people like me, the ministry is my concern that you be perfected in Jesus Christ, you understand? There was in the Minneapolis Tribune a series of articles called The Clergy and Battle Fatigue.

And I was reading them the other night and it was very interesting because it was talking about the fact that they had interviewed a whole series of men in the ministry. And the one major common problem that brings to them tremendous depression, and by the way, people in the ministry are among the most depressed human beings in society. And the most depressing thing of all to these people was the constant fact that no matter what you did, you never did it all. And no matter who you helped and who came along, there were some that you couldn't seem to help and they never moved along.

And I know that's the truth. I was reading that thing and I was just saying, boy, this is it, this is it. And you know, you can become jaded.

You finally get tired of trying to help people who don't respond and you begin to look at yourself as a failure. And like one guy said, take your hands off me, lady, I'm not your Messiah. I can't do it. I can't do it.

I'm giving it my best shot. I can't do it anymore. Leave me alone. I'm not the Messiah.

I can't solve your problems. You can become jaded. And you know, I'll be very honest with you there.

This is the kind of ministry that we have. You don't ever turn that off. You don't ever go home and say, we've done it, man, we've done it, let's celebrate. It is done. It is complete.

The saints are perfected. You know what you say? I think I found one who's moving in that direction. He seems to be responding, oh joy. You see, the reason Paul begged for people to walk worthy was because that was where his passion was.

That's what he cared about. There's never a day that I ever go home from this church after a day of study and whatever I do, there's never a day that I go home and feel like it's done. Never. Because it isn't done. A sermon may be finished. A manuscript may be written. A problem may be solved. A solution to a biblical issue may have been discovered. But you never go home without somebody saying to you or you saying in your own mind, you know, you really should have talked to so-and-so, you really should help so-and-so, you really should call on so-and-so, you should have written so-and-so, you should be taking care of this.

These people aren't responding. Did you hear about Mrs. So-and-so? That family is falling apart, etc., etc., etc. You're never done.

Never. And so all your life you just...you carry the care. And you know what Paul meant when he said, besides all the pain I have on the outside, I have the constant care of the churches inside. But you see, it's the passion in the heart of the man of God that the saints be made mature that keeps that drive there.

And that's my great concern for you. Paul says we preach to every man and we warn every man, we teach every man that we may present every man perfect in Christ. He said in Galatians 4.19, he said, I have pain, I have birth pains until Christ be formed in you. See, that was his great desire. Precious people, I want you to know the fullness of a worthy walk. I want you to know that you can live a life that is in measure the equivalent of who you are in Christ. And I want that to happen in you. I want it to happen for your sake. I want it to happen for Jesus' sake. I want it to happen for the church's sake.

I want it to happen for God's sake that we can adorn His very nature, see. So that's why I get loud and anxious and passionate and concerned and talk the way I do, and that's why I beg you. And so Paul says, I beg you to walk worthy.

I beg you. And I don't hesitate to do the same. I don't hesitate to beg you to come to the Lord's table, to be baptized, to be obedient, to read the Word, to pray, to do the things that God would have you to do, to use your spiritual gifts, to minister, to get involved, to give to the Lord's work, because those are the things that give evidence to the maturing of the saints. So spiritual maturity, and you see, perfecting of the saints, bringing them to the place of completeness is the goal of the ministry. So when you see Paul say, I beg you to walk worthy, you're hitting him right at the very nerve center of his commitment. The man was so committed to that that he went night and day, night and day, night and day, weeping that it might be a reality.

The servant of God then gives his life to the spiritual maturity of the flock, and if he's ever satisfied with anything less, he ought to get out of the ministry, because that's the only issue. So he says, walk worthy. And then the last little phrase of the… the Greek says, calling to which you are called, of the calling to which you are called. Your walk and your lifestyle should be the equivalent of the calling to which you're called.

Now let me say it this way. What is this calling? Who called you? Who called you to Christ?

Who was it? No man cometh unto me except the Father… what? Romans 11, 29, for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Romans chapter 8, for whom He predestinated, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

Who called you? God did. Who chose you in Him before the foundation of the world? Who wrote your name in the Lamb's Book of Life before there was a world?

God did. You have been called. Jesus said to those disciples, you have not chosen me, but what? I have chosen you, John 15, 16, and ordained you. And in 1 Corinthians 1, 26 and 27 He says, God has chosen you, the foolish things of the world that confound the mighty, not many noble, not many mighty, but God has chosen you. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 11, wherefore we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of His calling. God has called you. 2 Peter 1, 10, make your calling and election sure.

Calling and election go together, and God is the one who chooses and calls. Listen, beloved, if I just kind of checked around the world and I looked at everything and I checked out Buddhism and Christianity and just living a Playboy lifestyle or living for money or materialism and I said, well, I think all things being considered I'll choose Christianity. And if Christianity was nothing more than a simple personal choice and that I was saved simply because I decided to be saved, I would have some level of commitment to that. I would say, well, if I decided to do it, it's worth doing, right? Like I tell my children all the time, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing with all your heart.

I don't care what it is. Anything from cleaning your room to studying the Bible. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing with all your heart.

So I would probably make a commitment. But on the other hand, if I am a Christian because God, sovereign almighty God who rules the universe, wrote my name in a book before the world began and said, John MacArthur, I, the eternal holy righteous God of the universe, choose you to spend forever in my presence, that adds a tremendous sense of response to my heart. If He chose me, that's a high calling, isn't it? In fact, in Philippians 3, 14, it's called a high calling. First Timothy 1, 9, it's called a holy calling. In Hebrews 3, 1, it's called a heavenly calling, high, holy and heavenly.

And such a calling by such an infinite God demands such a response, doesn't it? Boy, called to be a saint, called to be His child, and I need to walk worthy of that calling. Listen, beloved, only one thing matters in the whole wide world.

That's all. Only one thing matters from the moment you become a Christian to the moment you see Jesus, and that is that you walk worthy, right? That's all that matters, that you live up to who you are. Doesn't matter that you make money. Doesn't matter that you dress nice. Doesn't matter you have a nice house, nice car, get promotion. Doesn't matter that you buy that extra little thing that you need and want. Doesn't matter what your education is.

Doesn't matter what your profession is. Doesn't matter how many honors you get. Only one thing matters, walk worthy.

Doesn't matter whether you miss the big game, miss the television programs, miss the little trips you want to take, it only matters that you walk worthy. That's all that matters. Doesn't matter how many times you come to church. Doesn't matter how many calls you make on people. Doesn't matter how you try to serve the Lord in the flesh. It only matters that you walk worthy. That's the sum of it all, and that's why verse 1 begins that way.

That's why I've taken some time to develop it. The rest of the whole book of Ephesians just explains verse 1, see? The whole book, 4, 5, and 6, the rest of it explains verse 1, walk worthy. If – listen to this, and I'll close – if when you became a Christian, the Lord instantly stepped on your forehead, these words, watch me, I am a child of God, and you weren't allowed to have bangs or wear a hat, what would that do to your lifestyle? Well, I'll tell you one thing, if I had that on me, or if I had to wear the proverbial sandwich board, watch me, I am a child of God, and I really love God, and I really love the Lord Jesus Christ, and I knew that everybody knew that I was a Christian.

I think it might change the way I live. I wore a sign only once in my life when I was a little boy. I got upset at a neighbor kid and I bit him. I bit him good. My dad put a sign around my neck, don't play with me, I bite. He made me wear it every day for one week.

I have never bitten anyone since that time. You know something, if we wear the name of Jesus Christ, don't you think we should walk worthy of it? If we bear all the blessings of the Savior, don't you think we ought to live up to it? To him who said in the Old Testament, you obey me and I'll bless you, we would have responded, but oh, how much more to him who says, I have blessed you already, will you obey me?

Beloved, I beg you to walk worthy. Father, thank you again for just this simple, straightforward, and clear word from you. May we realize that we bear the blessed name of Christ. We are Christians, Christ's ones. Father, help us to live up to that name, to walk a walk worthy of such a calling that you would be exalted and lifted up and glorified.

Help us to set our priorities. We'll thank you, Father, that you've already blessed us and will go on blessing us through all eternity, in Jesus' name, amen. You're listening to Grace To You, as John MacArthur, chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary, continues his series titled, Getting In Step With The Christian Walk. Now the lesson today focused on the lowly walk, walking in a manner worthy of the gospel. And John, I imagine that when most people think of the gospel, the good news, they correctly think of a message that is proclaimed with words. But I know you'd say that the example of a believer's life is also a crucial aspect of evangelism and our testimony.

Explain why that's the case. Well, you know, it was our Lord who said, Let your light so shine that men may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Obviously, you've got to speak the message. How will people believe if they don't hear? How will they hear without a preacher? Romans 10. But what gives credibility to the speaking is the living. That's the foundation. Why would I believe in your gospel message if I couldn't see its power in your life?

Right? If you're coming to me and saying, You know, I have a great doctor. I want to tell you about this doctor. I have an incredible doctor. And then you tell me, I've been ill for years, and since I've been going to this doctor, my life has transformed. I've never been more healthy, and I can see that.

I can say, Wow, you're a living testimony for the claims you're making for this doctor. Same thing is true in Christianity. What use is it for me to convince you that Jesus transforms lives unless you're looking at one?

It's that simple. That means that we need to live the very virtues that are part of being a transformed person. And one of those is lowliness, humility. Is there anything more characteristic of our culture than pride, selfishness, self-centeredness, me-ism, narcissism?

I mean, it's just pandemic. As Christians, we need to manifest lowliness. We need to demonstrate the transformation that Christ has made in our lives by our meekness and our lowliness.

That's right. Thank you, John. And now, friend, whether you want to grow in humility or in another area, you need to know God's Word. And perhaps the best simple resource to help you do that is the MacArthur Study Bible. To order, contact us today.

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That's our website. While you're there, gty.org. Take advantage of the thousands of free resources you'll find available. You can read daily devotionals by John. You can listen to previous episodes of this broadcast. You can read practical articles on the Grace To You blog, and you'll also have free access to more than 3,500 of John's sermons, including those from this current series, Getting in Step with the Christian Walk.

You'll find all of that at our website, again, gty.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day, and join us tomorrow when John looks at perhaps the most effective way you can grow in humility. Don't miss the next 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time, on Grace To You.