This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, July 7, 1991.

We begin our scripture reading this morning in Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And we begin reading at verse 1 and we will read through verse 16. Hear the word of God. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. 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. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called, in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? Be that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slightest men and cunning craftiness, whereby we lie and wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may we grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

And then turning over to Philippians, the first chapter, at verse 27. Finally, let your conversation be as if you cometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit and with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake, having this same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

Pray with me now. Our great God, you have surveyed all of time, you have surveyed the course of the nations, and Lord, you are sovereign in the affairs of men. You look over the terrain of this world, and you are calling to yourself, your people, And you have determined to do that through the cross of Christ and by the proclamation of the same.

Our Father, we pray that there may be faithful preaching from this pulpit and from all pulpits throughout the world where Christ is named. We pray, our Father, where your Church has deserted the truth, that it would be corrected, that it would repent and be restored. And where there is yet strength, Father, we pray that there would be no self-righteousness or haughtiness, but only that humility that is to be characteristic of those who are citizens of the kingdom which you have established. We ask, our Father, that you would profit those who preach, no, not in material things, only giving them that which is needful, but we pray, our Father, that you would profit them with that deep sense of satisfaction that they know that they are doing your will and sowing your word, leaving the harvest to you.

We pray, Father, that you will bless us here as we give our attention to the things of the kingdom and to your word. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Now, I know that this is bad form, and it’s not very polite, but I am going to talk about another preacher this morning.

Recently, I heard a minister deliver a message on Ephesians 4.1. Well, at least he used that as his centerpiece to his sermon.

That was Ephesians 4.1. The text reads, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.

I’m very hesitant to criticize another minister from the pulpit And there are a couple of reasons why I hesitate to do such a thing, of course, one being the fact that there may have been people in the congregation that evening that profited greatly from what the man had to say. It wasn’t that the man was a heretic, that he was spouting anything less than orthodoxy, and certainly those who were there could have profited from the things that he said. There’s another liability when you’re taking up the work of another man who is preaching, and that is, of course, that you yourself, in critiquing him, will come off a bit arrogant. You have the answers, you know what’s right, you know what the text is all about, he doesn’t, the poor benighted fool, you know, those kinds of things.

But I’m trying to avoid that. My interest is not to call attention Specifically to the man, my interest is rather to use the man and his message to bring to our attention the difficulty that many of us are having. The trouble that many of us are having. I would judge that the difficulty is not just for preachers, it’s for God’s people generally. It’s not just in the matter of preaching or teaching, but in the matter of living.

The simple fact is that we have lost our grasp of the proper orientation of the Apostle when he makes a statement like he does in Ephesians 4.1.

We have lost our grip on the orientation of the Apostle when he makes the statement that he does in Ephesians 4.1. Specifically, we have lost our orientation with respect to the call of which he speaks, the call with which we have been called, in terms of which, so he says, we are to walk worthily.

Now, it could be that we would approach this text somewhat classically. It could be that, for our benefit, we could expound it in terms of the specific work of God’s call in us. We could expound the text along those lines. We could latch hold of the word call or calling in the verse and then latch on as well to the summary of the catechism with respect to God’s effectual call. In that, there would be a valuable message that could be pursued to our benefit.

You remember Question and Answer 31 in the Catechism, what is a sexual calling? A sexual calling is a work of God’s Spirit, whereby convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the gospel. And had the minister that evening in the message In question, pursued that course, I believe that I and many others that night would have profited greatly, we would have been encouraged and walked away partly satisfied. An emphasis upon the sovereign activity of God, his ministry to us by which we are regenerated, taking us out of a state of sin and misery and delivering us from that into the embrace of Jesus Christ himself.

But of course, even preaching Ephesians 4.1 from that perspective could not leave us completely satisfied. And the reason for that is because this text itself is not so much focused upon God’s call as the sovereign working of God’s Spirit, as true as that is, as it is upon that call’s origin and its goal.

The call of God originates with God himself. It originates with the God of glory, and it ends there with God in glory. Therefore, when Paul entreats these Ephesian Christians to walk worthy of their calling, he is reminding them to keep always before them the origin and the destiny of the call of which he is speaking. That call is from the God of glory to God in glory.

Now, to blur out this interpretation of the text, let’s focus on it. You should note some things in the immediate context. For instance, if you look above in chapter 3, verse 19, there you find the apostle speaking to these Ephesians about being filled to all the fullness of God. In view is the goal, the destination of these people to whom he is writing.

And when speaking to them about the calling in chapter four verse one and walking worthy of that calling. Paul has clearly in view that end point and they ought to press on with respect to it. It is that orientation, then, that is to inform them in their walk, keeping clearly in view the glory of God and our destiny in glory with God, the fullness of God as it is spoken of in that 19th verse of the 3rd chapter.

You’ll note in verse 4 that Paul there matches hope with calling. He says, there is one body and one spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling. And you specifically is the hope that is attached then to the calling. You might note down later in that fourth chapter, What Paul says in the 13th verse, he speaks about the goal one more time, this time in different words, in different language.

He has in view the attaining of that fullness of the stature of Christ. The words that end that 13th verse, then, bringing in view once more the orientation which the Apostle has in mind. We are called to a heavenly destiny, and we are to walk worthy of that heavenly calling. Everything that the Apostle says, then, in this fourth chapter will be explicated in terms of that heavenly point of view.

Would you ask about the humility and gentleness mentioned in verse 2, the patience, the forbearance with one another in love, the unity of the spirit of verse 3, the bond of peace that is spoken of there, the one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism, the one God and Father of us all, the graces that have been bestowed upon us all to that end, all to be understood in light of that heavenly destiny, the heavenly calling. Is it not the very humility and gentleness of heaven that is flowing forth from heaven for us now that is of benefit to us? Is it not the very patience of God that has become a blessing to us, the patience of heaven expressed in us while we live in this world?

This is very clearly brought out in the first chapter of Ephesians. You might remember that Paul makes an extended and magnificent prayer there for the Ephesian church. In the 18th verse, he says this, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

To what end? So that you may know what is the hope of his calling. The hope of God’s calling. That is to say, what are the riches of glory? The riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints. Well, if that doesn’t draw you heavenward, then nothing will. The Rock. The centerpiece for the epistle to the Ephesians. And that walk expounded in terms of its heavenly orientation. As I said at the beginning of this message, it’s not that all of us are doing all that well with the orientation that we ought to have with respect to those verses. I think of one thing in particular.

You know, in our era, the Puritans aren’t doing all that well. We would do well ourselves to go back and take one more look at the Puritans. Even those who claim to be spiritually descended from the Puritans would do well to go back and look once more at the Puritans. It seems as if The Puritan perspective has been truncated.

What do I mean by that? Well, the Puritans were famous for oppressing at all times the fourfold estate of man. You know what I’m speaking of when I talk about the fourfold estate of man? Fourfold estate of man. First, man in his innocency. Then man fallen, subject to sin. Third, man regenerated. And fourth, man in glory. The fourfold estate of man. The Puritans pressed that in their writings. They pressed that in their treatment of the covenant. They pressed that in their theology and in their doctrine. At every point, they pressed that in their interpretation of Scripture. But many of the children of the covenant, many of the children of the Puritans today, or at least those who are claiming spiritual descendancy from them, have blinked.

And rather than there being a fourfold estate of man, there’s only a threefold estate of man. Man in his innocence, man in his sin, man as redeemed and restored. Restored where? In glory? No, restored here. And that is that to which we press. That is that for which we work. And we are told that that is God’s work, and only that is God’s work. My friend, it is the renovation of creation. It is the restoration of the world. It is the recovery of the garden.

No Puritan ever taught that. No Westminster Divine ever taught that. But interestingly, many who claim spiritual descendancy to the Puritans are teaching that. And I might say, that I do believe that the man who did preach that message that night had that perspective, if not explicitly, at least implicitly, at work in his message.

The value of Christ, the value of Christianity, is somehow to remake the world here. To somehow improve our personal lives. That is the objective, so we are told. From the Bible’s point of view, from the Apostle Paul’s point of view, nothing could be further from the truth. It is then that heavenly perspective, that orientation that informs Paul as he speaks about walking worthy of our calling. How do you walk worthy of your calling? You keep heaven in view. You bring heaven’s life to expression here. That’s how you walk worthy of it.

I might say that the minister that evening would have been greatly helped if he had worked on a few parallel texts in Paul’s letters. There are a couple that are worth noting. For instance, in 1 Thessalonians, Paul’s early epistle, 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 12. This is what Paul has to say, 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 12, “…so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who called you into his kingdom and glory.” There it is, laid out right in front of you. That’s the goal. so that you may walk worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

The language here in 1 Thessalonians 2.12 matches well the language of Ephesians 4, verse 1, and clearly brought out is the God of glory himself who calls us to the end of participating in fully that kingdom and that glory. And I might say that this orientation is also very much in view in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, in the passage we read this morning, the first chapter, the twenty-seventh verse. And maybe you noted the King James translation of that text. This is how it went in the King James.

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. The New American Standard translates this passage this way. Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now, I might say that the New American Standard seems to be more intelligible, but in actual fact, the King James is more helpful.

Now, why do I say that? Because you see, what the King James does is it uses a word, and he uses it peculiarly there, the word conversation, and matches that again in this epistle when Paul uses the word, or a word similar to it, in chapter 3, verse 20. Paul says in 3 verse 20 in the King James Version, for our conversation is in heaven. The King James at least keeps the continuity of the word as you move from 127 to 320. And you would pick up the fact then, reading the King James, that these two texts have something to do with one another, and that’s exactly the conclusion that you are to come to.

It’s the same word, or a derivative, one of the other. Now, how is the new American standard translated 320? It says, for our citizenship is in heaven. Well, back up then to 127. Work citizenship into 127. The citizenship of heaven. That’s really what’s in view.

We can translate that 27th verse then along these lines, only demonstrate your citizenship in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. Demonstrate your citizenship in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. And here, specifically, in Paul’s use of that word, is the whole notion of citizenship, a life that is circumscribed in terms of the way in which one behaves so as to betray where he is a citizen. You can even translate this 27th verse of the first chapter, as one commentator has, What really matters is that you behave as citizens of heaven, that is, in a manner worthy of the gospel.

And I know that that’s a pretty roundabout way to get to the point. We’ve touched Ephesians, we’ve touched 1 Thessalonians, we’ve touched Philippians now. We’ve done a pretty thorough job with the teaching of the Apostle Paul so as to demonstrate that the orientation that he has in view when he speaks of our calling is a calling unto glory, a calling unto heaven. And when we are called upon by Him then to walk worthy of that calling, we are to bring to expression in our lives those attitudes and dispositions of life. We are to perform those actions and those works that are consistent with our citizenship.

Now, I know the criticism that is raised against this particular point of view when it comes to the Apostle Paul. It is that you so emphasize heaven that you diminish the importance of the world and the earth. You are saying, you are suggesting that Paul was thoroughly heavenly-minded, but I ask you, Is his heavenly-mindedness of no value? Does it not work itself out in concrete ways so as to demonstrate its effectiveness and to proclaim the grace that is inherent to it?

Of course it does. Read on in the Epistle to the Philippians of what value is this heavenly-mindedness that the Apostle puts before these Philippians. He tells them that it has the capability of making them stand firm. Why? Because heaven is unmovable. It has the ability of fixing them. Why?

Because heaven itself is fixed. You all wrestle with the inconsistencies of your life. This epistle by Paul to the Philippians is a master lesson in consistency, and the origin of that consistency that flows forth out of the apostle is from heaven. It’s not because he is especially principled and tenacious, and he holds on to the very end, persevering regardless of what. That’s not the reason. It’s because he’s drinking deeply of the well of heaven. He’s fixed as heaven is fixed. He’s fixed as Christ is fixed at the right hand of glory. He’s as fixed as glory itself. This heavenly-mindedness is capable of making one standing firm. It is capable of encouraging one to strive for the faith in unity, the unity itself coming through, mediated by heaven and the realities of it. not being alarmed by your opponents.

Why? Because they’re destined for destruction. You know that from a heavenly point of view. You know that. And even the troubles that you are experiencing are working themselves out for your salvation. You know that and are assured that from the vantage point of heaven.

You are also certain that it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ, that being very positive, but also to suffer for his name’s sake. And just as Christ passed through suffering into glory, into heaven, so shall you. Of that you must be absolutely confident, thoroughly convinced, and unshakable in your own faith.

Well, glorious stuff here for you. New exposition of Christ’s words, if you will let the world go, you will actually have the world. If you lose yourself, you will actually gain yourself. Walk worthy of your calling, your heavenly calling. Unto Christ’s glorious reign, God’s kingdom, and His glory. Amen.

Our God, we pray that we would be mindful of that which orients the apostle and informs him as he speaks earnestly to Christians in the first century, how the heavens opened for him he being addressed by the Son of God, the Risen Lord. The realities of that world above confirmed to him, knowing that he was destined for that, then through Christ. And how we observe him laboring energetically, feverishly, how we observe him working diligently, tirelessly for the kingdom, that the very power of Christ might be manifest in him, and that for the service and well-being of others. O Lord, his heavenly-mindedness did not make him useless in the world or for your service, and it will not make us useless either. Help us then, Father, as we would think on these things, and keep before us the goal of our calling, the very hope of it, Your fullness. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.