Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (4:1). He then goes on to describe aspects of that walk. Consider:
It is a walk of lowliness: having a humble opinion of oneself, humility, modesty (Thayer). “…But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3).
It is a walk of gentleness: mildness, meekness (Thayer). “To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (Titus 3:2).
It is a longsuffering walk: patience, forbearance, long-suffering, slowness in avenging wrongs (Thayer). “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:12-13).
It is a walk of love: affection, good-will, love, benevolence (Thayer). “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
It is a walk of unity: unity; equivalent to unanimity, agreement (Thayer). “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).
As indicated in (4:13), the purpose of the local church is to foster unity. In fact, God’s every effort regarding His children is designed to bring us “the same mind toward one another” (cf. Romans 12:16).
To accomplish this, Paul enumerated the things we are to have the “same mind” about: One body; One Spirit; One hope of your calling; One Lord; One faith; One baptism; One God and Father of all (cf. Ephesians 4:4-6).
This is the worthy walk. We are instructed by the simple thought, be like God! “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
