"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..."
Paul states that he's a prisoner for the LORD for one very simple reason: he's in jail because he proclaimed the gospel. When I was reading this passage, I misread "of" instead of "for" and I thought that Paul meant prisoner for the LORD in the sense that he had given up all of his will to GOD. Shows how important it is to read the Bible carefully, eh? As Christians, we're called to be sons and daughter or the most high and to be imitators of Christ. To be called to something so prestigious also means that we must set ourselves apart from the rest of the world! Paul then lists a list of traits in which we must learn to acquire. These traits aren't easy but that is what we seek, is it not? He ends off with "bearing with one another in love" because, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must bear with each other OUT OF love simply due to the fact that we're not easy to love sometimes. ...or most of the time.
Segment 2: verse 3
"eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the 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 all and in all."
THIS is our call to unity. Since we belong to one GOD, we are to be one with each other for a body cannot function without a co-operation between its parts. This is also our call to keep peace with each other. Though we have many different denominations, views, etc., we still worship that ONE GOD. It also brings into play the fact that we must encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ as the body cannot grow unless ALL of it grows.
Segment 3: verses 4 - 10
"But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)"
First and foremost, grace was given to us in the form of Jesus Christ that we may be saved. Simple. Paul then quotes Psalm 68:18 and it's there that it states that GOD gave GIFTS (emphasis on the plural) to men. Not only was he risen from the dead to give us the gift of eternal life, but he also rose and gave us other gifts. Gifts among which are gifts of the tongue and of prophecy among which prophecy and teaching is greater. The extremely interesting bit in this part is that Paul seems to add his own footnote into his letter as we would when reading our Bibles. He thoroughly explains the ascension as, I now realize, it is an important part. He elaborates on this as it contains one of the keys to the gospel. GOD came onto earth as man and GOD to die for our sins BUT He also conquered death and rose from the grave.
Segment 4: verses 11 - 16
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of GOD, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
As mentioned before, we were given gifts (ALL of us) so that we could mature as a body of Christ. The two keypoints here are MATURITY and UNITY. Maturing together as one. Paul states many ways that our faith can be swayed but with it, the promise that, once we mature, we will no longer be swayed by these things! When we mature in Christ and grow in the TRUTH, our foundation becomes more and more solid. The things of the world will also grow dimmer and dimmer as we seek GOD. BUT when we see a brother or sister being swayed by these things, we MUST speak the truth to correct them but we must do it in LOVE. A good thing to remember is that we must do all things out of love (greatest commandment, second greatest commandment). As the body, we are also called to build each other up. I remember that one of the songs I sang as a little kid in sunday school went along the lines of "Encourage one another, and build each other up, UP. Build each other up, Up! Build each other up."
Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters to remain rooted in Christ and to grow with each other OR help each other grow!
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