A CALL AND A GIFT

         " A Call and a Gift"    Ephesians 4: 1-3, 
   
  "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech 
    you to walk worthy of  the calling with which 
    you were  called, with lowliness  and  gentle-
    ness,  with  longsuffering, bearing  with  one 
    another  in  love,  endeavoring  to  keep  the 
    unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  

   In this letter to the Church at large, the Apostle 
Paul seems to  be  zeroing  in on  the Work of the 
Lord  Jesus Christ  in  the  life  of  His  followers.  
There is a call to walk  in a  manner that  reflects 
positively on  Christ  and  His  Church.  The first  
area is  humility,  not exactly an  American  trait.  
This quality in  one's life is displayed in the follo-
wing ways;The first, lowliness, is rare even in the
lives of  people of  the church.  Gentleness, long-
suffering, "bearing  with one  another in love," is 
typified by humility, and in no way self-serving.

    Most of us, as we consider our way of  life or a
course of action, decide these things by  how they
make  us look,  and  whether it  seems to be in our
best interest. (Pride  and  Greed.)  As one follows
Christ, he will look upon the interests of others as
did  our Lord,  Jesus Christ.  Self-interest is not a
priority to one who is following Christ. When one
follows Christ, it is never in perfection;  it is only
as near as his Spiritual maturity will allow. 
  
   Then there is "...endeavoring to  keep  the unity
 of the Spirit in  the bond of  peace."  We  must as 
individuals,  determine  how  it  works out  in our 
own  lives, again, as  we follow Christ.  Scripture 
here is clear on  the principles,  but  leaves  to us, 
the details.  One  principle implied is "patience."  
In order to exercise the qualities given in the text, 
patience  is prerequisite.  Another way of  saying
patience  is  long  suffering,  gentleness,  bearing 
with  one  another, etc.  In other words,  when we 
"bear with another" we display "patience."

When  we  consider the next two  verses, 4-5, we
find something to  tie  it together.  "There is one
body  and one  Spirit, just as  you were called in 
one hope of  your calling;  One Lord, One faith,
one baptism;  one God and Fahter of all, who is
above all and through all, and in you all." 

  Here we  see we are one with what is called, 
"The Body of  Christ."  So, when  we  live out 
the qualities above we  are, in  Christ, patient 
with ourselves.  We are given gifts, traits and
qualities of Deity and  are one, not  only with
our Lord, but with our brothers and sisters in
Spirit as  well, the Body of Christ.  Reference
is not  made to a  man-made denomination or
division  here.  There  are  some  who regard
these  to be a  distraction  from  the  Body  of 
our Lord  and I  am  inclined  to  agree.  This 
body, then, is the Church of the Lord God.  It
is not a local church or denomination, but the
church consisting of every believer on the face
of  the earth and  those who have gone before.
It does not, however; include false professors
or persons affiliated with  a "local body" who
are not following the Lord Jesus Christ by the
power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit of God.  

Finally, we see in the last  verse from the pas- 
sage considered; the  key that  removes pride,
greed  and  self-agrandizment.  "But  to  each
one of  us  grace  was  given according to the
measure  of  God's  Gift.  (7.)  This leaves  no 
room for  credit  due the recipient of the gifts
and Christ  retains the  power to award these
free gifts and receives glory, his due. Only in
Christ can  the Lord God's work be done. We
are  without  power to live a life well pleasing
to our Lord, without the Holy Spirit power on,
and  presence in our lives, in fullness.  That is
the Spirit of our Savior, Jesus Christ, God the
Son. 

 Hebrews 11:6  we find. "Without faith 
         we find it is impossible to please 
         Him; For he that cometh to God 
         must believe that He is and  that 
         He  is a  rewarder of  them  that
         seek him."  (kjv includes diligently)

      Faith is a free gift and is  awarded to those 
who ask.  It is not awarded on the basis of wor-
thiness,  but on  the  basis of  one's  willingness
to submit to  Christ and  ask.  A caveat,  just as
you would not eat or  drink  for a  soiled  plate
or  cup, neither will our Lord use the defiled to
do his work. Not perfect, but forgiven.  If sin is
habitual in the  life, his  use in the  Kingdom is
very limited if not nil. See what Scripture says
about  the "cleansed life" required of one who
would  be filled  with  the  Holy Spirit of Jesus  
Christ,  1 John 1:6-9:  "If we say that we have
fellowship with  him and walk  in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth.  But if  we walk in the
light as He is in the  light, we have  fellowship
one  with  another;   And  the  blood  of  Jesus  
Christ cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that
we have  no sin, we deceive  ourselves and the 
truth is not in us. If  we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and  just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I believe this  passage gives  requirements for
being  filled  with  the  Holy Spirit and  that is
essential if we would be used of the Lord God.
May the  Lord God bless you this day;  thanks
for  looking.  (In my  understanding  the Holy
Spirit and Holy Ghost is synonymous.          
                  donporter 2.12.14 edited 2.23.15