The apostle Paul was a man that knew who he was in Christ Jesus. He knew what Jesus did for him at the cross of Calvary and nothing would stop him from obeying the call of God on his life. He’d been called by God. He belonged to God. And he took his calling seriously because his hope was in Christ alone for the glory of God alone.

The way we walk out our Christian life is a direct result of the way we hear the call of God on our lives. This is the essence of what Paul is saying when he says “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call”. (Eph. 4:1;4) To be called by God is to be a prisoner for the Lord who walks in a worthy manner because of a single hope.

#1: We are called to walk as prisoners for the Lord

The first step in obeying the call of God on your life is seeing yourself as a prisoner for the Lord. We are called to walk as people who belong to God. To walk as people who are owned by God. There are many things that we can be owned by or imprisoned to. We are called to walk as prisoners who belong to the Lord.

#2: We are called to walk in a worthy manner

We should be very serious and careful about making small things into big things and big things into small things. When we make lesser things into major things we turn good things into idolatrous things. When we ignore worthwhile things we take serious things and turn them into forgotten things.

Paul doesn’t want us to forget how serious it is to walk in a manner that is worthwhile. He believes we should take our calling very seriously. He believes we should be very careful about how we walk out our Christian calling. We are called to walk in a worthwhile, serious and careful manner before the Lord.

Sometimes it feels better in the moment to walk in a way that neglects our spiritual needs. Our momentary wants are usually far more emotionally, psychologically and physically powerful than our spiritual needs. But, when we gratify our momentary wants and resist our spiritual needs, we starve our hearts of what they really need while giving our sinful flesh what it wants. This is a serious thing to consider. We must be careful to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling.

#3: We are called to walk according to one hope

There are only two places to put our hope in. We either hope for earthly things or we hope for eternal things. We hope in things below or we hope in things above. When our hope rests in earthly things we experience momentary happiness at the expense of eternal joy.

Christ is our one hope. He is our salvation and he is worthy of our praise even in the midst of the worst circumstances. Even when our earthly dreams are dashed on the rocks of hardship and disappointment. The only way we can walk like Jesus in a world full of brokenness and rebellion and fear and opposition and persecution is to constantly reorient the fulfillment of our dreams to the sure and steadfast anchor for our souls which is Christ.

This is the hope that possessed Paul. This one hope enabled Paul to say “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call”. Christ is our one and only hope. Every other hope, every other dream, every other pursuit, every other good thing that we can desire will leave us empty in comparison to the one hope we have in the work of Christ at the cross.

Observation, Application and Prayer

To be called by God is to be a prisoner for the Lord who walks in a worthy manner because of a single hope. Can you say: I’ve been called by God? Can you say: I am God’s prisoner and I belong to him? Can you say: I take my calling seriously because Christ is my only hope?

  1. Scriptures: Read the following passages and reflect on them together: Ephesians 4:1 – 6; Romans 8:28 – 30; Philippians 1:12 – 14; Ephesians 4:1 – 3; Philippians 3:17 – 19; Colossians 1:10; Romans 13:13 – 14; Psalm 42:5; Ephesians 4:12 – 14. Are there any other passages you can think of that would fit with this study?
  2. Observation: What observations did the Lord bring to your attention during this study? What are you thinking about as a result of this study? What kinds of feelings are you aware of because of this study? What kind of assurance and encouragement does this study give you? What did you learn about God? What did you learn about you?
  3. Application: How will you apply this study to your life right now? How do you envision putting what you’ve learned into practice? How was this study helpful in your struggle with sin? What does repentance look like in response to this study? What truths do you need to trust? What truths do you need to obey?
  4. Prayer: Spend some time praying for one another as a response to this study.