Walk This Way (1)
Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling in which you were called, with all humility and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1
Worthily – Paul doesn’t leave us guessing. He is quite specific about the way we must walk if we are to exhibit the character of the Messiah. We are to walk worthily. The Greek is axios. It’s an adverb drawn from the noun axios (the spelling is different in Greek). This word is all about a measure of value. In other words, weigh what you do and see if it matches the character of the one who saved you. Measure up to Him! Then you will know you are walking worthily.
This little word gets some pretty significant use when it comes to walking the way of Jesus. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18 that suffering is part of the walk. Peter says the same. Jesus says that those who are worthy of Him put Him above all other relationships (Matthew 10:37). They display absolute humility and submission (John 1:27). Jesus is their one and only standard. His life is the example for their lives.
Of course, we don’t live in first century Israel. We don’t wear sandals every day (unless you live in Florida like I do). We don’t go to the Temple for festivals. We drive cars instead of walking. So, doesn’t that mean that a lot of things have to change in the way that we walk worthily? Fortunately, the character attributes and attitudes that we are to emulate are timeless. After all, they find their truest expression in God. We simply reflect what has always been true of Him just as Yeshua reflected what was always true of the character of the Holy One of Israel. Paul doesn’t leave us guessing. He gives us some great measurements for testing our conformity to the standard.
The first is humility. Actually, the word is not tapeinos, but rather tapeinophrosune. It’s not simply being humble. This word implies taking a deliberate mental attitude of low-mindedness. This is a clear realization of my immense unworthiness before the Lord. This is a deliberate posture of bringing myself to own up to the reality that I do not deserve any of His kindness – and that I am not one iota better than anyone else. This is the exact opposite of the human penchant for self-importance; the contemporary desire for individually determined destiny. The Bible demands that we estimate ourselves according to God’s view, not ours. To walk worthily I must first know my unworthiness. By the way, that does not mean we are nothing. To the contrary, God so highly esteemed us that He was willing to die for us. But it is His estimation that determines my value in this world, not mine. My reality is soaked in my lack of holiness. He lifts me from that real situation and it is only because of Him that I have any standing before His throne. Tapeinophrosune is the exact opposite of pride!
Interestingly, Paul combines humility with meekness. If you thought that this is a call to be a self-effacing wall-flower, you don’t understand the power in meekness. But that’s for tomorrow.
Topical Index: humility, worthy, axios, tapeinophrosune, Ephesians 4:1
