Christ’s Prisoner

Ephesians 4:1-3

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

I love the way Paul considers himself, “A Prisoner of Christ”. A prisoner is a person who is deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint. Paul lived his life in total submission and under the complete authority of Christ. He was full of Christ and nothing of his self! This prisoner of Christ is beseeching us to walk worthy of our calling. Our calling is to walk in Christ, with Christ and by Christ because we are of Christ.

We should walk worthy of our calling with all lowliness, meekness, longsuffering and forbearing one another in love. Lowliness means in complete humility. Those who humble themselves in the sight of the Lord will be lifted up high as it is said in James 4:10. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” The meek in Christ walk with complete submission to Him not relying on their strength and might. Matthew 5:5 says “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Longsuffering means to endure hardship. Paul had endured the hardship but the one who endured the most hardship on earth is Christ. While Christ endured hardship to bring salvation to the people on earth, Paul endured hardship to spread the gospel of Christ. Longsuffering is one of the many Christian traits. We also should forbear one another in love. In other words, we have to be patient with one another in love. Imagine if God was not patient with us humans. We should all have been burning in the lake of fire long ago. Thank God for His tender mercies, loving kindness and patience with us!

We should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Galatians 5:25 says “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” In Romans 8:16-17, we see “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” If we are convicted in our hearts that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, we will keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One of the fruits of Spirit is peace. We are bound in peace to keep the unity of the Spirit and thus the Body of Christ not being desirous of vain glory, not provoking one another, and not envying one another (Galatians 5:26). Let us therefore, walk worthy of our calling!