Ephesians 4:2

INTRODUCTION

Walking worthy refers to living a life that matches your position in Christ. The first three chapters of Ephesians discuss the believer's position in Christ; the last three discuss his practice. The Greek word translated "worthy" in Ephesians 4:1 refers to balance--to equalizing a scale. It is our duty as Christians to equalize our behavior with our identity.

How do we walk worthy? Ephesians 4:2-3 says, "With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The five characteristics of the worthy walk are humility, meekness, patience, love, and unity. Humility is the all-inclusive principle. Yet while they belong together--like synonyms--they also are different. There's also a progression: humility leads to meekness, which leads to patience, which leads to love, which finally leads to unity.

A. A General Analysis

1. The standard of humility

Humility is an elusive quality--the moment you think you are humble is when you just forfeited it. Yet humility is essential. It is at the heart of the worthy walk.

Jesus came into the world as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--exalted above any human who has ever lived or ever will live. Yet the apostle Paul said that He humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7). In Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, "I am meek and lowly in heart." He was born in a stable. He never had a place to lay His head. He possessed no property; He owned only the garments on His body. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. His only home was the Mount of Olives, where He would retire in the evening in solitude to commune with the Father.

Jesus set the standard for us. First John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." Since He walked in humility, that's the way we are to walk.

2. The exaltation of pride

Humility is foreign to our world because our world exalts pride. Our society, as well as those throughout history, has tended to view humility as a weakness, an infirmity, as something ignoble to be despised. The world sees a humble person as the proverbial Caspar Milquetoast, who is afraid of his own shadow.

People in our society love to talk about things they're proud of. Indeed ours is an ostentatious, boastful, demanding, self- exalting society.

B. A Biblical Analysis

1. On pride

Pride was the first sin. It was committed by the angel Lucifer, who decided to exalt himself above God (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19).

a) Proverbial injunctions

(1) Proverbs 11:2--"When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom."

(2) Proverbs 16:5--"Every one who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord."

(3) Proverbs 16:18--"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

(4) Proverbs 21:4--"An high look [the external manifestation of pride] and a proud heart [the internal manifestation of pride] ... are sin."

Humility is the virtue of the righteous; pride is the mentality of the unrighteous. It grieves the soul of any Christian to see himself or a brother in Christ exalt pride. I'll never forget a meeting I had at my home some years ago with some seminary students. One of the students asked in a very serious tone, "How did you finally overcome pride?" I hated to disappoint him, but I have not overcome pride! That's a lifetime battle for every Christian. Satan keeps fighting us on that front all the time.

b) Biblical perspectives

(1) Isaiah 2:10-17--"Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty" (v. 10). When you start comparing yourself with God, you'd better get under a rock because you can't compare to the majesty of God. Isaiah continues, "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day" (v. 11). Pride is sin because in essence it's competing with God. Pride leads me you to exalt yourself and diminish God's glory. But God will not give His glory to another--He alone is worthy of exaltation. We're exalted only because He chooses to do so.

In verses 12-17 Isaiah chooses a series of metaphors to refer to the destiny of the proud: "The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one who is proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." God will judge pride.

A Parade of Pride

The people in Isaiah's day paraded their pride, much like our society does. We want the fanciest clothes, the best car, the nicest house-- the best of everything. Often that's because we want to be better than someone else. Of course we have certain needs, but there's a fine line between what we need and what we want. When our needs are overruled by our wants because we desire something better purely for the sake of self-exaltation and self-gratification, that's pride on display. And as we acquire more things and reach a certain level of prosperity, we can begin to despise those beneath our level and aspire to those above us. That is another step of pride. 

(2) Isaiah 3:16-25--"The Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling anklets, and their headbands, and their crescents like the moon, the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils, the headdresses, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets, the rings, and nose rings, the festival robes, and the mantles, and the cloaks, and the handbags, the hand mirrors, and the linen wrappers, and the turbans, and the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet fragrance there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, a baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword." That society was made up of show-offs. They exalted themselves to attract attention when they should have been instruments to point people to God.

(3) Jeremiah 50:31-32--"Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will punish thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him."

(4) Malachi 4:1--"The day cometh, that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."

(5) James 4:6--"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble" (cf. Prov. 3:34).

(6) 1 John 2:16-17--"All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust of it."

2. On humility

a) A virtue of righteousness

God is for humility as strongly as He is against pride. Humility is the virtue of the righteous.

(1) Proverbs 15:33--"Before honor is humility."

(2) Proverbs 22:4--"By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life."

(3) Proverbs 27:2--"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.

What to Do When You're Feeling Proud

When you begin to feel proud of yourself, read the following verses:

1. Isaiah 51:1--"Look unto the rock from which ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which ye are digged." Remember where you came from before you were saved.

2. Ephesians 2:1-3--"[You] were dead in trespasses and sins; in which times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom also we all had our manner of life in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath."

b) An ingredient for blessing

Humility is a basic ingredient for all spiritual blessing. God will bless only the humble. We forget how important humility is because every sin has its root in pride. All sin is defiance of God and His holiness. We so often grapple with the peripheral issues instead of dealing with our pride. For example, the Christian family struggles with all sorts of problems in this day. So often dad, mom, and the kids will seek methods to patch up the external problems while the primary problem, pride among the family members, is ignored. But there will never be unity, honor, happiness, or gracious living in the family until first there is humility. It doesn't matter that any of you may have served the Lord in great ways, because if you're not walking in humility, you won't know how to walk worthy of Christ. The worthy walk begins with humility.

c) The standard of salvation

Humility must accompany salvation, for there is no salvation apart from it.

(1) Matthew 18:3-4--Jesus said, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Until a person comes to God and confesses he is a sinner worthy of nothing, he can't be saved. You can't approach God and tell Him you deserve to be in heaven because you have honors and degrees; you must approach Him in humility as a sinner. There's no other way to get into the family of God, and there's no other way to live once you're there.

(2) Luke 18:13-14--Jesus said, "The tax collector, standing afar off, would not lift so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

REVIEW

I. THE CALL TO THE WORTHY WALK (v. 1)

LESSON

II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOWLY WALK (vv. 2-3)

"With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Why Is Unity in the Church So Important?

The unity of believers is critical. Paul emphasized that point in the first three chapters of Ephesians: we are one new man (2:14), one body (2:16), one household (2:19), and one habitation of the Spirit (2:22). Both Jew and Gentile are one in Christ. Unity is important because Christ prayed this: "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.... I in them, and thou in me, that they be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me" (John 17:21, 23). When we we are one we manifest Christ to the world.

The world is full of discord, animosity, bitterness, and resentment. It exalts rugged individualism--every man for himself. If in the midst of that is an oasis of people unified in peace, the world will stop and wonder what caused it. That then gives us the perfect platform to proclaim Jesus Christ--only He can produce that kind of peace.

Every peace treaty that's been made throughout world history has eventually been broken. The Bible says there is no peace for the wicked (Isa. 57:21). People cry for peace, but there is no peace (Jer. 8:11). No one in the world has ever been able to achieve peace. That's why the nations will gravitate to the Antichrist. He will first appear as a great peacemaker. But we can show that Christ is the true peacemaker if we are a community of peaceful, loving, united people. The heart of our testimony to the world is that Christ was sent from God because only God can make true, lasting peace. 

A. Humility

1. The meaning of humility

a) Its positive definition

The Greek word translated "all" (pasa) in the phrase "all lowliness" means "total." So Paul was speaking of total humility. We are to manifest humility in everything: in every relationship, every attitude, and every deed.

The Greek word translated "lowliness" (tapeinophrosune) is a compound word. It comes from two Greek words: tapeinos and phroneo. Tapeinos means "low" as opposed to high. It also has a metaphorical use, sometimes speaking of poor people, or a cowardly person, or unimportant priorities. Phroneo means "to think" or "to judge." The combination of the two means we are to think of ourselves as poor and of low priority.

Paul said that a person should not "think of himself more highly than he ought to think" (Rom. 12:3). We're to have a humble estimation of ourselves. But we're constantly told to think of highly of ourselves--to be proud. However that contradicts what the Bible says.

b) Its negative definition

Tapeinophrosune never appears in classical Greek because it was basically coined by Christians. The Greeks and Romans ascribed no virtue to humility and even failed to acknowledge it. They despised the attitude. Even after the Christians developed the term to refer to humility as a virtue, the pagans couldn't reconcile it with their views. So everytime tapeinophrosune appears in their first or second-century writings, it's used in a derogatory manner to refer to anyone who was weak, cowardly, and faint-hearted.

It grieves me to hear so-called ministers preach that Christians need to think of themselves as great. That's not what the Bible teaches. Unbelievers will continue to look on humility as a pitiable weakness. But in Christ, humility becomes a beautiful virtue. Without it no one can walk worthy of Him.

2. The models of humility

a) Jesus

Jesus is the perfect model of humility. He was acquainted with grief (Matt. 26:38). He gave of Himself (John 6:51). He was hated without cause (John 15:18, 25). He was homeless (Matt. 8:20), persecuted (John 15:20), betrayed (Matt. 26:23-25), condemned and delivered up (Matt. 20:18), despised (Luke 18:32), lifted up on a cross (John 12:32-34), mocked (Mark 10:34), numbered with criminals (Luke 22:37), and killed (Matt. 16:21). Christ was indeed humble, and we must walk as He walked.

Becoming a Slave to Save a Slave

When the evangelical Moravian Brethren of Germany heard about slavery in the West Indies, they were told it was impossible to reach the slave population without first becoming a slave. Two men volunteered and began their journey in 1732. If need be they would receive lashes to get beside the slaves and teach them about Christ. The other slaves listened to them because they were touched by their willingness to be humbled. While that is a glorious example, Christ's example is infinitely greater. He humbled Himself and became one of us. He embraced those who once were slaves of sin and drew them to Himself. 

Even though Jesus was God, He walked in humility. And even though we're special in God's eyes, we're to walk humbly as well. Psalm 138:6 says, "Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly." May God preserve us from ever exalting ourselves and looking down on others.

b) Paul

In Acts 20:19 Paul says he was "serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and trials." If you don't have a servant's heart you'll never walk worthy of the Master. We're to be huperetes--literally "under- rowers," originally indicating the lowest galley slaves, the ones rowing on the bottom tier of a ship (1 Cor. 4:1).

Paul boasted in only one thing: the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:8-18). He said, "By the grace of God I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10). Paul recognized that although he had been a blasphemer and a persecutor, the chief of sinners, God counted him faithful and put him into the ministry (1 Tim. 1:12-15).

c) John the Baptist

Of John the Baptist Jesus said, "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11). Jesus called him the greatest man who ever lived. Yet John the Baptist said, "He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He also said he wasn't worthy to even loosen Christ's shoe (John 1:27).

d) Mary (Martha's sister)

On three occasions the Bible speaks of her being beside Jesus' feet (Luke 10:39; John 11:32; 12:3). On one of those occasions Martha was busy preparing for a great meal, and she was upset at Mary for not helping. But Jesus told Martha that she had the wrong priority (Luke 10:38-42).

e) The writers of the gospels

The gospel writers could have elevated themselves for having been with Jesus. Yet the opposite is true--it's almost as if they attempt to hide themselves in their narratives.

(1) Matthew

Matthew was the only author who introduced himself in his gospel, but he did so indirectly (Matt. 9:9). He didn't mention it was he who hosted the tremendous feast to introduce tax collectors and sinners to Jesus (Luke 5:27-35).

(2) Mark

Mark, writing under the tutelage of Peter, reflected Peter's perspective. Mark did not include two of the greatest things that ever happened to Peter: his walking on water (Matt. 14:29-33), and his receiving the keys to the kingdom (Matt. 16:19). But his rebuke by Christ (Mark 8:33) and his fall (Mark 14:66-72) are faithfully recorded.

(3) John

John wrote a twenty-one chapter gospel and never once mentioned his name.

3. The manifestation of humility

a) Self-awareness

Humility begins with self-awareness. The twelfth century monk Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a book on humility and pride. In it he defined humility as the virtue by which a man becomes conscious of his own unworthiness. Humility starts with looking at yourself honestly. I believe that involves:

(1) Regularly confessing our sins

You can mask who you really are. You can convince yourself you're something wonderful and never be honest with yourself. But 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16 says that believers are to be constantly confessing their sins. We are to be like Paul, who said he was the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). We are to press toward the mark of Jesus' high calling, yet realize we haven't attained it (Phil. 3:12-14). Whenever we're tempted to be proud, we need to remember who we are.

(2) Not comparing ourselves to others

We often become confused about who we really are when we compare ourselves with other people. You can always find someone worse off than you and say to yourself, I'm not so bad; look at him! I used that technique on my mother. She was always concerned about my grades in school. She would be upset when I got a C. And I would say, "But mom, ten kids got a D." You can always find a lower standard. The same thing is true in the home. Perhaps a wife nags her husband and he tells her to marry the drunk who lives next door. You can always find someone to make you look good by comparison.

However you must deal with yourself honestly before God. Paul gives us the principle in 2 Corinthians 10:12: "We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." If we're to be honest with ourselves and God, we need to evaluate ourselves by standards outside ourselves. Humility starts when we take off the rose- colored glasses of self-love and see that we're nothing but unworthy sinners. We need to recognize our faults and confess our sins daily.

b) Christ-awareness

Jesus Christ is our standard. We need to compare ourselves with Him, not ourselves. First John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

As you begin to see Jesus Christ in His humanness, you see Him as a perfect man. Then you feel inadequate. He said the perfect words at the perfect time, and He had the perfect attitude for every situation. He knew how to help everyone who needed help in just the perfect way. What a standard He set!

c) God-awareness

When you look beyond Christ's humanity you clearly see His deity. And when you compare yourself with God, you realize you are very small.

My Most Humiliating Experience

Often I've been asked, "What is the most humiliating experience you've ever had?" Usually people think of something embarrassing. But the most truly humbling experience I ever had was preaching the gospel of John. It took me two years to preach it--eighty-eight sermons of about one hundred hours of preaching and somewhere between two and three thousand hours of study. As I studied that gospel week after week, I was constantly faced with the deity of Jesus Christ. Living with the deity of Christ day after day and comparing yourself constantly with Him is one of the healthiest--and humbling--things you could ever do. 

When the prophet Isaiah had the opportunity to see God, he was struck by his own sinfulness in comparison: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 6:1-5).

When Paul saw himself for who he really was, he said he was the chief of sinners. That's a proper self-awareness. When Peter saw Jesus he said, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8). That's a proper Christ-awareness. When Isaiah saw God he said, "Woe is me ... because I am a man of unclean lips" (Isa. 6:6). That's a proper God-awareness. When we see God we should say, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Ps. 8:4). If we all would be so humble, we would have an incredible testimony in the world.

Focusing on the Facts

1. What are the five characteristics of the worthy walk (Eph. 4:2-3)?

2. Who set the standard of humility? Explain.

3. Why is humility a foreign characteristic to our world?

4. What was the first sin? Who committed it?

5. Humility is the _________ of the ________; pride is the _________ of the ___________ .

6. What is the essence of pride?

7. What tends to happen when people acquire more possessions?

8. What attitude must people have before they can be saved (Matt. 18:3- 4)?

9. Why is unity in the church so important?

10. Define the Greek phrase translated "all lowliness" in Ephesians 4:2.

11. Why didn't the Greeks or the Romans have a word for humility?

12. In what ways was Jesus a model of humility?

13. Name some others who were models of humility. In what ways did they manifest humility?

14. How does humility begin? What does that involve? Explain.

15. How do Christ's humanity and deity serve as our standards?

Pondering the Principles

1. Pride can be defined as the sin of competing against God--when we exalt ourselves and try to steal glory from God. In what specific ways are you guilty of pride? According to James 4:6, what happens when you try to exalt yourself? What happens when you don't? As a reminder, memorize Proverbs 22:4 and commit yourself to glorifying God.

2. In John 17:21, 23 Jesus prayed for unity among believers. In that case Jesus asked God to make us one. But what responsibility do we have? Read Ephesians 4:3 and Hebrews 10:24-25. Are you fulfilling your role in manifesting Christ to the world through the corporate testimony of the church? In what ways are you hindering that testimony? If you need to make peace with a brother or sister in Christ, do so now (Matt. 5:21-24). As long as you don't, some people in this world will acquire a distorted view of Christianity.

3. To start on the road to humility, you need to follow the steps outlined on pages xx-xx. Begin by taking a long, hard look at yourself. Where are you struggling with pride? Be honest. Ask God to reveal any other areas to you that you can't clearly see now. Begin to confess those things daily. As you recognize other sins, confess those too. Make this procedure a daily practice in your life. To help solidify your confession and to help you see your daily need for it, begin comparing yourself to Christ. Make a record of the passages in Scripture that discuss either the humanity or deity of Christ. From then on, whenever you examine your life for sin, read those passages. As you do all that on a consistent basis, you'll begin to develop a humble attitude.