The passage for today is taken from Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6. You can find it in your Bibles or in your bulletins, Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bound of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through whom all and in all. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have called us to be your people. And you did that through the regeneration of our souls through the power of the Holy Spirit that gave us new life. And that you have, in your grace and mercy, revealed yourself to us through your word and through what the Holy Spirit revealed to our hearts. So we come in humility before you, acknowledging that We don't have the strength to understand your word unless you are the one who opened your word to us. And we pray, Lord, that as we consider these verses, that you will speak directly to our hearts and help us, Lord, to receive it with joyful hearts and to be transformed by your word. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. If there is something that this pandemic, COVID-19 have done in the global church, is that to some respect it has leveled the field for all the churches. And what I mean by that is that whether I talk with friends in Colombia, pastors who shepherd there, or friends in China who served in ministries there, I can hear that they are having the same challenges there in Colombia, there in China, as we are having right here. And I say to some respect because I'm not saying that we have exactly the same challenges. Some places, in some places, people have bigger challenges that some of the challenges that we face here But I can hear the same stories or the same questions that they are wondering there are the same things that we are wondering here. Some of them were asking me questions and I said, you know what? We are actually wondering about the same. But we also can see, and I would say that's the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God, that if you look around the churches here in America, there in China, Colombia, and other places, that the church has continued to move forward in spite of all these challenges and difficulties. And you could say that leaders, pastors, and people have become creative, and I think that it's more that motivation that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit moving people's hearts towards continuing getting together for worship. At some point, people started by meeting online, and then you go to parks, or you go to parking lots, or you go to cemeteries, wherever. But people continue to get together for worship, and we had the blessing of partaking together of the Lord's supper in the backyard of one of our brothers. And all this is because God has moved our hearts to continue together because the church did not disappear or change because COVID came, because the church is the church of Christ and Christ is the Lord. And that is encouraging. I would say that is encouraging to see what God has been doing among us through this difficult season. Yet, I will say that the church continued to face what I will call COVID side effects or some problems that are the result of COVID. And those problems are sometimes manifested in division within the church, division in churches, division in different ways, and we struggle with that. We struggle with that because we're Christians, but we continue to be humans that struggle with these things. And these things threaten the church today. Yet, we go back to knowing that Christ is the King. Therefore, he will make sure that we continue to move forward. But those challenges are real. And I think that this passage, this is why I think that this passage today is fitting to the circumstances that we are facing these days. Paul, who is a minister of the Word of God, have been doing two things in the previous three chapters. He has been teaching, preaching the word of God. He was reminding them of the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ to the Ephesians and to us. And I say reminding them because he has already preached this to them. They were already Christians. And then he was reminding them that he was preaching and teaching God's word. He was also praying for them. He told them how he prayed for them. And we saw that in chapter one and chapter three. And now we come to this part when he is exhorting them. There is a word of exhortation. And we all Christians need these three things in our spiritual growth. We need to hear the word of God being taught to us, preached to us, or study the word of God also when we gather together for Bible studies or small groups and we need to pray, and ask God to apply his word to us, but we need others to pray for us, and this is why we share our prayer requests and we pray for the body of Christ, but we also need to be exhorted by the word of God. And I think that that's very important that we see that in each one of Paul's letters, that he teach and remind the recipients of the letter of the grace of God, the wonderful blessings of God, but he does not leave things there. Then he move in the rest of the letter, half of the letter, to exhort them to be what they are called to be. So we have received by grace spiritual blessings and many, many wonderful things from God, but also we are exhorted by the word of God to live according to these blessings that are ours in Christ. And this is what Paul is doing in these verses. So Paul starts saying, I therefore a prisoner of the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. I think in order to understand this verse, one thing that we need to understand is what that calling What is that calling to which we have been called? This is not a calling to a ministry, or this is not a vocational calling or a specific calling to specific people about what God is preparing them to do in service of the kingdom of God, but this is a calling to every believer. Every single Christian has received the same calling that Paul is referring here. And then what is that calling? What is the calling to which we all have been called? I think that's so important to know. And when you read that, you need to know what that calling is before you move forward to understand what is to walk in a manner worthy of that calling. And there are many things that we could say about this calling. And I will say that The way Paul help us to understand the connection of all the things that he's teaching to us is he's using this word for this reason, for that reason. Therefore, he says here, I therefore. Therefore, the calling is connected to what he has said before in chapter one, two, and three. basically in these three chapters and is included in these spiritual blessings, he explained to us that calling. And there are many things that we could say about that, details, but I just wanna mention four things that are related to that calling. One is that we have been called from death to life. We were called from being dead people to life. You see that in Ephesians 2, one through five. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of this Ovidian, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. We were called from being dead people to being alive. And connect that with what Paul is saying here. Walk in a manner worthy of the call to which you have been called. basically walk like alive people, not like dead people. And we know that we are talking about spiritually alive people, people who are spiritually alive. Another aspect of that calling is that we were called from alienation to citizenship. And we learned that in Ephesians 2 verses 11 through 13. He says, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called on circumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made by flesh, by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ you, who were one far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So we were alienated, we were separated, But now, the calling is that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. God brought us near. God brought us close to him. And as such, Paul is saying walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. Or walk in a manner worthy of the calling. Therefore walk as a citizen of the kingdom of God. Here another one, we have been called from enmity or from this tension that we have with God to reconciliation. You find that in Ephesians chapter four, 14 through 16. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandment expressing ordinances. that we might create, that he might create in himself a new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. So we were called from being in hostility with God and with other human beings in the context of what Paul is saying here is the hostility that happened between Jews and Gentiles and Jews and Gentiles and God to be now reconciled to God. And we are also, we were also called from orphanhood to sonship. And you find that in Ephesians 11, 1, 11 to 12. And 219 says like this, and in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will so that we who were first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. And 219 says like this, so then you are no longer strangers and aliens. But you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. And I think when we think about the calling to which we have been called, this probably will be the most important thing that define that calling. It is that now you are a member of the household of God. It is that now you are a child of God. That God has made you his son. So, Paul says, therefore, walk in a manner worthy of this calling. Now, what is to walk in a manner worthy of this calling? Well, first of all, what is not? It's not to walk in a manner worthy of this calling. It's not walk in a manner deserving this calling. Because none of us will ever deserve to be called a child of God. And that remove any idea that you could have or understand from this test that this is encouraging, that our salvation is by works, that you get to the point when you can earn your salvation. We will never deserve to be saved. It's been by grace. That's the very reason why Christ have to die on the cross, because we could not save ourselves. But then what is to walk in a manner worthy of the calling? So here is the way, at least I think that I can understand this or illustrate this. I think about, for example, my father. who worked very hard and did a lot of sacrifices in his life in order to provide for me and my sisters, and to provide for our education, and he was doing all he could to help us succeed in life. Now, when my dad did that, I know for a fact that he wasn't expecting that we would repay him for what he was doing. And let me tell you this, this is not a perfect example. This is just an illustration. This falls short of what God really does with us. This is just an illustration. God, my father didn't expect me to pay him back for what he did for us. In fact, even if he expected I always told my dad that I had an eternal debt with him because of all what he did. So there would be no way that I could pay him back. But what I could do is work hard to honor his efforts in my life. And this is just something that a lot of us probably have done, experiencing the blessing of having parents who have made what they could to do the best to provide for us. In a similar way, no, I'm not gonna say in the same way, but in a similar way, God gave his own son, our Lord Jesus Christ, he sacrificed his own son so we could be saved. We will never deserve to be saved. We will never deserve to be sons and daughters of God. That's why it is by grace. But out of love, out of gratitude, out of seeing that great sacrifice, we are moved to walk in a manner worthy of that sacrifice, to honor God for what he has done. So we are called to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel or the calling to which we have been called Colossians and Thessalonians comes to my mind when I read into this verse. But here is to the calling is to live in a manner that honors the calling that God have given to you. You were a orphaned, you were alienated, You were dead, and now you are alive in Christ. You are a child of God. And look, Paul is urging us, which make it important, to walk in this manner. Now, to walk in this manner is not just to come on Sundays and on Sundays have the appearance that we walk in this manner, because to walk, this verb here, to walk, refers to live in that manner. that every aspect of your life is led by that calling, that you are living your life to honor God. Now, Paul here has some specific context in mind, because you could apply this sentence to every area of your life. to walk in a manner worthy of the calling as you deal with your wife, or if you deal with your sons and daughters, if you deal with your friends, if you work, as you deal with your neighbors, you apply this to every aspect of your life. You can apply it to every aspect of your life. But Paul here is thinking about the body of Christ in the topic of unity. And we see that because you could say like this, you could pick what Paul says in verse one, connected with verse three, just jumping the middle part of verse two. You could read it like this. To walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bound of peace. So that was the context that Paul had in mind when he was exhorting the efficient church to do that. Again, you can take that exhortation and apply it to every aspect of your life, but here, Paul has this context in mind. Which context? The unity of the body of Christ. And here, Paul give us some, I will say, markers, or some good, or some things that you should consider if you are eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bound of peace in the body of Christ. And these are these four things, humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another. Humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another. For example, when we think about humility, of course, humility is the opposite of pride. And we see the best example of humility in our Lord Jesus Christ, right? He emptied himself. He gave his life for us who did not deserve it. And he could have come asking the world to bow down before him because he created the whole world. But he did not do that. He set the example of humility. Now why is that so important in order to maintain the unity of the body? Because it is so difficult to get along well with a prideful person, right? It is so difficult to get along well with somebody who is always bringing his pride to everything that he does. But if our treating, the way we treat each other is with humility that facilitates the unity of the body of Christ. Then Paul says gentleness. And this is also a very, it's a beautiful word, prautetos in Greek. And why is that so important? Because that word was the word that was used to describe a domesticated animal. And how is that important? Because we find other versions that use the word meekness. And sometimes meekness is understood as a person that is weak. A person who is meek is a person that is weak. But the word, this word was used to refer to an animal that was strong, but was domesticated, that has learned to exercise self-control. Now what is also important is to see that this is the same word that is used in reference to Moses in Numbers 12, chapter three, chapter 12, verse three. And Moses was not a weak man. He was the one who went to tell Pharaoh, the Pharaoh of Egypt, let my people go. Yet, Moses is described as a gentle person. Jesus himself used that word to describe himself in Matthew 11, verses 28 through 29. He is gentle. Therefore, that is very important also. When we are eager to maintain unity in the spirit, in the bond of peace, then we have patience. And patience is something that grows through the time. We learn that from Romans chapter five, verse three. James Boyce, in his commentary of Romans, tells the story of a man who came to a pastor and asked him, can you pray that I grow in patience? Guess what, the pastor started to pray right away. He started to pray, God sent him some trials. The man said, no, no, no, I said patience, not trials. He said, yes, but that's the way you grow in patience, through trials and difficulties. And this is taught in Romans chapter five, verse three. And when we talk about burying one another, it's actually applying patience towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. is learning to get along well with our brothers and sisters, even though they might be difficult for us. But all this is possible only when we have this ingredient, this very important ingredient. And you read the whole thing. With all humility, gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another, in love. And I think that one example, one good example that we can see that apply is the way parents deal with their kids. You know, parents have, I would say, an easy time treating their kids with patience and gentleness and humility. I was just watching my son playing in the front yard, and I was losing my patience of all the kind of things that he was trying to do that could get himself hurt. But because I love him and because parents love their kids, they can treat them with humility, gentleness, patience, and are able to bear with them in many ways. That's why the Apostle Paul prays that we will grow in love for one another. Because if we grow in love for one another, then we will be able to treat each other in humility, gentleness, patience, and we will be able to burn one another's burdens. So here we have then five or four characteristics or markers that help us in being eager to maintain unity in the body of Christ. But now Paul, what he does in verses four through six is to give you the strongest argument why you must, we must do that. It's the theological foundation for being eager to maintain unity in the spirit in the bound of peace. And the key word in these three verses is the word one. Three verses and this word appears seven times. But this word appears seven times in connection with the triune God. Look what he says. There is one body in one spirit. The reason why we are one body, the body of Christ is because the same Holy Spirit that is in me is in all of you. He has brought us together, being Jesus the head, to be members of the body of Christ. And you can group this together, there is one hope, one faith, and one baptism, because there is one Lord. Because our Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord, that's the reason why we have the same hope, the same faith, and we are baptized into Lord Jesus Christ as well. And there is one church family. And you see that from verses one God and father of all. Some versions translate this all as you all, referring to you all the body of Christ because sometimes this is taken out of the context to say that it's just God is in everything here is speaking to Christians in the church. So you all who is over you all, and through you all and in you all, God the Father. So what is the strongest argument that we have for maintaining or for being eager to maintain the unity in the body of Christ is because it's actually at the core of our very confession of faith. We're one body in the Spirit. We have one hope, faith, and baptism in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have one Father. We have one Father. Brothers and sisters, in the context of what Paul is teaching us here, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called is to be eager to maintain unity in the spirit, in the bound of peace, in the body of Christ. And this is an exhortation, but it's also at the same time an encouragement for us as believers. Because one of the reasons why we were Christians around the world so eager to figure out ways to come together is because we learned how much we miss each other. We learn how much This body of believers is important for all of us as Christians. We were united to Christ, who is the head, but as we were united to Christ, we have been united to the body of Christ. And we are exhorted by these words to work in maintaining this unity. Let's pray. Dear God, we recognize that This might be an impossible thing for us to do on our own. It is an impossible thing for us to do on our own. But we know that through the power of the Holy Spirit you can work this in our hearts. So that we pray that you will grow love for one another in this church. that you will help us, Lord, to see one another with love. And as a result of that, help us, Lord, to treat one another in humility and gentleness and patience and being able to bear one another. Give us the strength, Lord, because in our strength we can not do it. We thank you for giving us a beautiful, diverse family, which is the universal church. And we pray, Lord, that we will grow in our understanding of this. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.