Will you please turn to Ephesians Chapter 1, the letter to the Ephesians?
We read from Ephesians 1:15:
Wherefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is in you, and the love which ye have toward all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him;
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling.
Verse 22:
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 4:1:
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, Who is over all, and through all, and in all.
Verse 13:
Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, Who is the head, even Christ;
from Whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
Let us pray.
O Father, how we praise and thank Thee for the loving-kindness and tender mercy that Thou hast bestowed upon us in Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We are the recipients of all Thy mercy and love and grace, and we are thankful.
How we praise and thank Thee that Thou hast not only saved us, but Thou hast called us with an eternal calling. Thou hast brought us to Thyself, that we may not only be of Thee, but that we may be useful to Thee. Our Father, how we do rejoice for all Thy tender mercies.
We just humble ourselves before Thee and say, “Lord, since Thou hast begun this good work in us, we believe that Thou certainly wilt perfect it, because Thou art faithful.” We commit this time into Thy hands. We ask Thy blessing upon Thy Word, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are no volunteers. We are called by God. God does not need volunteers. God calls whom He wants.
If we are just volunteers, we may volunteer today, and we may volunteer to withdraw tomorrow. But if we are called, then we are caught. We are forever His, and there is no other way.
It is most important for us to know this: that we are all called. God has called us in Christ Jesus, even before the foundation of this world. Now, can you believe it?
In 2 Timothy 1:9:
Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal.
We are called not according to our works, because we had not been born yet. We had not done anything yet. We are called according to God’s purpose. God has a purpose, and according to that purpose, He called us.
Not only according to His purpose, but also according to His grace. God has not only purposed something, but God has provided grace to accomplish that purpose. This purpose and grace were given to us in Christ Jesus even before times eternal—that is to say, even before time began, even before there was creation, in eternity past.
God, according to His purpose and grace, has called us in Christ Jesus. No wonder this morning you are here—not because you want to be here, but because He wants you to be here.
That is a calling. A calling is an occupation. A calling is a vocation. A calling is a life to live. A calling is a mission to fulfil. A calling is a destiny to arrive at. Calling gives us a goal. Calling gives us direction.
I think the problem with Christians today is that they either do not know their calling or they forget their calling. Because we do not know our calling, or we forget our calling, we become drifters. We have no direction.
As the Scripture says, we are as babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the cunning of men.
But we need to realize that we are called. We need to realize that our calling is a holy calling—holy because it is uncommon. We must realize that we have a heavenly calling. It is heavenly because it is not earthly. We have an on-high calling, a high calling, not a low one, as we find in Philippians 3.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are called. We are called according to God’s purpose. Whom He foreknew, He also called.
Oftentimes, we hear people say, “I’m called to do this,” or, “I’m called to do that. I’m called to be a missionary. I’m called to go to the foreign field. I’m called to be a missionary in the home field. Oh, I’m called to be an engineer. I’m called to be a teacher. I’m called to be a housewife.” We often hear people say, “I’m called to do this, and I’m called to do that.”
But basically, in the Scripture, calling is not what you do. Calling is what you are to be. In other words, we are called to be rather than to do.
We often think of calling as doing something for God. It is true: we will do something, not only for Him but with Him. But that is secondary. Primarily, we are called to be something to Him. Unless you are called to be something, you can do nothing.
Whatever you may do, you may think that this is your calling; but, unfortunately, you may be doing something on your own.
When we talk about calling, we often think that I am called and you are called—in other words, every one of us is called to do something different. Now, I grant that this is true.
But fundamentally, calling is not an individual thing. According to the Scripture, calling is a corporate thing. We are called together—not just that you are called to go to the east and I am called to go to the west. We are called together; it is corporate.
It is only after we realize what our corporate calling is that, in the corporateness, we have our individual part to play.
Therefore, it is very important, dear brothers and sisters, that we know what our calling is. That is to say, what is it that God has called us into?
The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers that the spirit of wisdom and revelation might be given to them, that the eyes of their heart might be enlightened. Why? That they may know what is the hope of His calling.
Now remember, the calling here is singular in number: “What is the hope of His calling?” He is calling us with one calling. He is calling us into that one calling of His, and this calling is according to His purpose.
Now, what is that calling?
If you read carefully the letter to the Ephesians, you will find that we are called together to be one thing, and that is the body of Christ. We are all called to be the body of Christ.
Now, if you really see it, it is tremendous. It revolutionizes your life. Sometimes we talk about the body of Christ, the body of Christ, until it has become such a common phrase, such a common term, that it almost means nothing to us.
But as you return to the Word of God, you will find the body of Christ is our calling. It is our vocation. It is our mission. It is our life. It is our destiny. It is everything to us and to God. It is not a small thing, the body of Christ.
But you will not be able to realize what the body of Christ is until you begin to see what Christ is.
When you see what Christ is, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him. Dear brothers and sisters, who can measure the fullness of the Godhead?
Think of the Godhead. Think of God. Think of His wisdom, His power, His love, His purity, His light, His righteousness, His justice, His power, and His majesty.
When you think of God, He is beyond our comprehension, because He is limitless and infinite. Yet all the fullness of the Godhead—everything you can think of concerning God, and beyond your thinking—dwells in Christ bodily, solidly, substantially. Nothing abstract; very substantial and concrete.
And this Christ is the Head, and we are called to be His body. We are called to be joined to Him. We are called to be, if I may use that word, the container, the vessel, of Christ.
Now, what is a vessel, a container? A vessel and a container are to contain and to be filled with something that they are made for.
Brothers and sisters, we are called to be that vessel to contain Christ. All the unsearchable riches of Christ are to be contained by this vessel which is called the church, the body of Christ. This is what we are called into according to purpose.
Oftentimes, we think of calling as if we are called to be saved. Now, thank God, He has saved us. But remember, to be saved is not our calling. To be saved is a step toward our calling.
We need to be saved. If we are not saved, we will never be able to fulfil our calling. We will never be able even to know what our calling is. But do not be mistaken, as if to be saved is God’s calling.
We are called with that on-high calling, that tremendous calling. We are called, dear brothers and sisters, to be the body of Christ.
We are called to contain all the riches that are in Christ: the body which is the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. As Christ is the fullness of God, so we are called to be the fullness of Christ. It is almost beyond our imagination. Think of that.
We are not called just to be saved. We are not called just to do something for God. We are not called just to know a little bit of Christ. We are not called as individuals, each going his own way in serving God. No. We are called to be the body of Christ, to contain the riches of the Head.
If no one can measure the Head, certainly no one can measure the body. Everything that is Christ’s is ours. He filleth all in all. That is our calling.
What is the body of Christ? A body is not only that which contains the riches of the Head; a body is also that which expresses the glory of the Head. We are to express Christ corporately.
Why does He need a body? Because Christ is so rich that no one person, or persons, can contain Him in all His fullness. Oh, He needs a body because no one person can manifest His glory. He is too glorious. It takes all of us, all of His people together, to contain Him and to express Him. This is our calling.
Why do we seek spiritual reality? Why do we want to know Christ more? It is because we want to fulfil our calling.
To be spiritual is not an end in itself. God has no intention of making you spiritual just so that you may be admired by everybody—or, if not, by yourself. God has no intention of doing such a thing.
But we need to be spiritual. We need to know Christ. We need to grow in life and in knowledge. Why? Because we have a calling to fulfil.
We need to know the love of God with all the saints—the breadth and length and height and depth—that is, immeasurably. It is all because there is a calling there.
Why do we do this, or do that? It is because it is related to our calling. If we are doing something that will contribute to our calling, then it is acceptable in God’s eyes. If we are doing something that is unrelated to our calling, we are just doing something on our own. It will not be carried into eternity.
Our calling governs our life, and our calling governs our work. Why do we live in this way? Why do we get together in this way? Why do we do things? Why? The explanation is in our calling.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the reason why we need to ask the Lord to give us revelation, to give us understanding of the hope of His calling.
We may talk about this, but unless, in our spirit, the Spirit of God reveals to us that this is the calling—unless the Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our heart, that we may really understand it—we will be tossed to and fro as babes as long as we live.
But if the Lord should be pleased to give us a revelation, to open our eyes to see that we are called according to purpose, and that purpose is a glorious purpose, a holy purpose, that we may be the body of Christ—think of it—that we are to contain Christ, to be the fullness of Christ, and to manifest His glory together corporately: tremendous calling!
If we realize this is our calling, we cannot afford to be careless. We cannot just drift. We cannot just go here and there as if we have no direction. Our heart is fixed; our mind is set upon that which He has called us to.
There can be no deviation, because it will mean a loss of time. We have little time. We have to set our heart fixed upon His calling. As Paul says, forgetting that which is behind and pressing on towards the goal, the on-high calling that He has called us to in Christ Jesus.
We are people with a sense of destiny. We are people with a sense of urgency. We are people with a calling.
How sad it is. Oftentimes, it seems as if we do not know what our calling is. We are like babes playing around, distracted by every sound, going here and there.
Dear brothers and sisters, have we forgotten our calling? Do you not know that your calling is such a high calling, that you are to be with your brothers and sisters to contain Christ as much as possible and to manifest Him as much as possible?
We have no time for other things. Our calling shall soon be fulfilled. This is our dedication. This is our commitment.
Do you think this is just high-sounding words? Do you think this is just theology? Do you think this is just speculation? Do you think this is just something for us to think about?
Now, to the apostle Paul, this is very, very practical. It touches our daily life. It governs all our work.
That is the reason why, in the first part of the letter to the Ephesians, he presents to us our calling. Then, in the second part of Ephesians, he shows us how that calling should govern our actions.
In Ephesians 4:1, it is said:
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called.
If we know that we are called to be the body of Christ, now this is not a theory. If we know that we are called to be the body of Christ, then we have to walk worthy of that calling.
What is walk? Walk is a steady, continuous progression. It is not just a rush of running and then you stop. It may be spectacular if there is a hundred-metre dash, but it is a long, lifelong walking. Who notices?
Our calling is something that we must walk in. It is not just something in the head. It is something that we have to put our feet down and, step by step, walk in the calling.
But remember, we need to walk worthy of that which we have been called to. How can we be worthy of our calling?
I think, first of all, Paul said, “I, the prisoner in the Lord.” You know, at that time he was a prisoner in Rome, or he was a prisoner of Rome by all outward appearances. Yet he acknowledged himself not as a prisoner of Rome. He acknowledged himself as a prisoner in the Lord.
In other words, he was a captive of love. The Lord had captured him. Once upon a time, he was his own master; he was his own lord. Once upon a time, he could do anything that he would like to do and go anywhere he would like to go.
But on the road of Damascus, the Lord met him. He capitulated himself, and from that day onward he became a prisoner in the Lord.
A prisoner is one who has no freedom. A prisoner is one who is bound. A prisoner is one who has to do the will of his master. A prisoner is one who is, we may say, committed to do one thing: his Lord’s will. That is a prisoner.
Brothers and sisters, why is it that when he, as it were, transferred from revelation into practice, he mentioned, “I, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you”? Why? Because he knew that unless we too are prisoners in the Lord, there is absolutely no way for us to walk worthy of the whole calling.
Our calling is so tremendous, so holy, so high, so heavenly, that unless we are captured by the Lord, it can never be fulfilled by just being saved. Yes, by being saved, we enjoy the Lord; but unless we become prisoners of the Lord, the Lord cannot enjoy us.
Have we capitulated our lives to the Lord, the Head? If we do not hold fast the Head, if we do not acknowledge Him as our Lord, if we do not willingly lay down our freedom and liberty, if we do not commit ourselves to Him absolutely, we are still free to do what we want and say what we want to say.
There is no way to walk worthy of our calling. It requires us to be prisoners, to lose our freedom and liberty. But remember, Paul boasted of himself as a prisoner in the Lord. Naturally, no one would boast of being a prisoner; we boast of being liberated. But Paul boasted that he was a prisoner in the Lord. The Lord was his prison. Are we?
It requires dedication, consecration, commitment. Dear brothers and sisters, I am afraid many of God’s people are saved but are not committed. They have not committed themselves to God and to His purpose. They have not committed themselves to His calling.
He has called us, but we have not committed ourselves to that calling. Because we are not fully committed, how can we walk worthy of the calling wherewith we are called?
First of all, dear brothers and sisters, are you committed? Are you committed to His calling? Are you committed to be the body of Christ? Are you committed to Him, to know His riches? Are you committed to Him, to express Him and Him alone? Are you so committed?
God does not require us to commit ourselves to anything less than His calling. Some people are committed to this cause; other people are committed, dedicated, to that cause. But what are we committed to? Or are we ever committed?
Once you are a prisoner, you are no longer free. But I am afraid Christians today are too free. They are free to go where they want to go, say what they want to say, and do what they want to do.
Our Lord Jesus had no such liberty. He said, “I can do nothing of Myself. I cannot say anything. I say it because My Father says it. I do it because My Father does it.” Are we not much freer than our Lord Jesus?
Because of this, if we want our freedom, we lose our calling. Which will you choose?
Dear brothers and sisters, we are not asking you to commit to this or to that. No, you should not. But we ask you to commit yourself to God and to His calling. This is the first step to walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called.
And then Paul says, “With all lowliness and meekness.” Now, what is lowliness? Lowliness means to think nothing of yourself. That is lowliness.
What is meekness? Meekness is to give up your right. That is meekness.
Our Lord Jesus says:
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
Our Lord Jesus is meek and lowly. Meek because He never stands on His rights. He never defends His rights. If our Lord Jesus had insisted upon His rights in the first place, He would never have come to this world to become a man. He is God. He has every right to be worshipped and to be honoured.
But He emptied Himself. He gave up His rights willingly, voluntarily. He is lowly. He never thinks of Himself.
Some people say lowliness does not mean that you think less of yourself. Lowliness means you think nothing of yourself. We may try to think less of ourselves, but still there is self there. But lowliness is that you think nothing of yourself. That is lowliness.
Brothers and sisters, to walk worthy of our calling requires not only a total commitment to Christ and the calling, but it requires an attitude—an attitude of lowliness and meekness.
Unless we are willing to lay down ourselves before our brothers and sisters, unless we are willing not to think of ourselves, unless we are willing not to stand on our rights, we will never be able to bear and forbear one another in love.
Think of a body. A body is not only fully committed to the Head and to all that the Head requires. If a body has other interests which are not of the Head, you say it is impossible. Yes, it is impossible. But unfortunately, in a spiritual sense, it is possible. That is abnormal.
But being in the body, all the members of the body are so closely knit that it is unavoidable that there will be lots of opportunities—if you are seeking for opportunities—to bear and forbear with one another.
But how can you bear and forbear with one another if you do not have that attitude of lowliness and meekness? Brothers and sisters, let me ask you a question: can you stand your brothers and sisters?
If you have not seen that you are called to be the body of Christ, when you cannot stand certain brothers and sisters, it is very easy: go elsewhere. Keep a distance. Then everything will be peaceful.
But once you see the body, whether you can stand it or not, you are stuck forever.
The other day, I bit my tongue when I ate. Maybe the teeth would say, “Why do you stand in my way? I am chewing the food. I am cutting the food. I am trying to make it digestible. Why do you stand in the way? You deserve to be bitten.”
And maybe the tongue would say, “Well, if that is how you feel, all right, I will remove myself.” But can it? The teeth and tongue are all stuck together. It is much better if your teeth are kinder to your tongue; then your whole body will feel better.
Brothers and sisters, it is ordained, foreordained, even before the foundation of the world, that you have to bear and forbear with your brothers and sisters. Sorry, but this is what it is.
Unless you maintain an attitude of lowliness and meekness, you will not make it. How many of God’s people today always insist upon their rights?
Do you know this is a problem with the church? Everyone insists upon his or her rights. Everyone insists upon his or her opinion. Everyone thinks that his or hers is the best and that it should be adopted by everybody.
We just cannot forget ourselves. We talk about laying down our lives, but unless you are willing to lay down your rights, you have not laid down your life.
Unless you do not think of yourself, you are not able to lay down your life. The more you think of yourself, the more precious your life is. You want to preserve it—not only to preserve it, but you want to glorify it and beautify it. No.
Unless we have the attitude of lowliness and meekness, there is no way to lay down our lives for our brothers. But if you have a spirit of lowliness and meekness, as the Bible says, with all longsuffering, you suffer—that is true—but you can bear and forbear in love.
There is no way for us to walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called unless, dear brothers and sisters, every one of us clothes ourselves with the lowliness and meekness of Christ.
Unless every one of us is willing to lay down our own rights, not to insist upon them, and not even to think of ourselves—whether you think of yourself as strong or as weak, as good or as bad, as useful or useless—no. You do not think of yourself at all.
And then, thirdly, diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
How difficult it is! The Holy Spirit knows how difficult it is for us to walk worthy of our calling. You know, the higher the calling, the more difficult the walk.
How people would like to lower the standard! If only God would lower the standard and make it easier, how much smoother everything would be. But God will never lower His standard.
The calling is an on-high calling, and because of this, the Holy Spirit knows it is very difficult for us to walk worthy of that calling. How easy it is for us to go off! Therefore He says, “Diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.”
The unity of the Spirit—what is the unity of the Spirit? The unity of the Spirit is explained by the seven “ones” in the following verses:
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, Who is over all, and through all, and in all.
All who believe in the Lord Jesus, all who are saved by His grace, have one body. There is only one body, not two bodies or more bodies—only one body. Why? Because there is only one Head. If you have more heads, you can have more bodies. But if there is only one Head, there can be only one body. Otherwise, it would be a monster.
All who believe in the Lord Jesus have the unity of the Spirit. There is something in the Spirit, something by which the Holy Spirit has united us in these sevenfold ones. One body: we are one body. Now, brothers and sisters, remember this: we are one body. We are not two bodies or more bodies. We are one body because there is only one Head.
One body, one Spirit. It is in one Spirit that we were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, and we were made to drink of one Spirit. That is 1 Corinthians 12:13.
In one Spirit we were baptized into one body, and then we were made to drink of one Spirit. So it is the Spirit that makes that body possible, and it is the Spirit Who resides in that body. The same Spirit of God in you is the same Spirit of God in me. Remember this.
Sometimes we think, “Well, you have a different spirit than mine.” But the Scripture says it is one Spirit. If there is a different spirit, something is wrong.
One body, one Spirit, and one hope of our calling. Why is the one hope of our calling related to the one body and the one Spirit? Because we are called to be one body, and the Holy Spirit is the agent Who is not only to form the body, but to perfect the body, to mature the body.
Until the body is fully matured, Christ will return and take that body to Himself to be His bride. This is the hope of our calling.
So here you find in these three “ones” all who are the Lord’s are together: one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling. Then: one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
We have only one Lord, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the same Lord. One faith: we believe in Him, not in anything else or anybody else. The one faith here is that basic faith, as Peter confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
One baptism. The baptism here does not refer to the forms of baptism; it refers to the meaning of baptism. We were baptized into Christ. We all share the same things.
Then we have one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in us all. We have the same Father, the same God. So you see the Godhead here: the first three are related to the Holy Spirit, the second three are related to the Son, and the last one is related to the Father.
In God, we are one. In Christ, we are one. In the Holy Spirit, we are one. This is the unity of the Spirit that has already been given to all of us.
Dear brothers and sisters, we do not need to strive to enter into unity. We have already been given the unity of the Spirit. Therefore, all we have to do is diligently keep it.
Now, you cannot keep anything that you do not have, and you will not keep anything diligently if it is nothing. But if that which you have is so precious, then you will keep it, guard it, watch it, and do so diligently.
Brothers and sisters, we need to see how important it is that God has given us the unity of the Spirit. All believers have this treasure, and all we need to do is diligently keep it. Do not lose it. Do not lose it.
When you meet another Christian, meet him on the ground of the unity of the Spirit. Do not move away from that ground. When you meet another Christian, meet him in Christ; meet him in the Holy Spirit; meet him in God, and nothing else.
Because if we try to meet anybody outside of the unity of the Spirit, we break the unity.
Oftentimes, when we meet another Christian, we do not meet them on the ground of Christ. We meet them on other grounds—some truth, perhaps, or some falsehood; some experience, perhaps, real or false.
We meet people on such grounds, and when we meet people on such grounds, we divide. That is the reason believers today are so divided: because we have failed to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
We try to meet each other on the ground of certain truth, or a certain interpretation of truth—not truth, but interpretation of truth. We try to meet people on the ground of experience, certain experience, specialized experience. Because we do not believe the same interpretation, therefore we divide. Because we do not have the same experience, therefore we separate.
Brothers and sisters, this is killing the body. This is not walking worthily of the calling wherewith we have been called. Let us gather together. Let us meet with one another, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
Why is it so important? Because we are so different. We are so different temperamentally, and that is a big thing. We are so different in our culture, in our education, in our background, in our thoughts. We are so different in every way.
Because we are naturally so different, unless we diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, we divide. In dividing, we are not walking worthy of our calling.
Let us open our hearts to all our brothers and sisters in spite of all differences. Do not think that the day will come when there will be absolutely no difference. As long as we are in this body, I am afraid the differences will remain. But they are not fatal.
Here we do not insist. Here we are open. If we centre upon Christ, we can fellowship with one another. And through fellowship, with faith and patience, by God’s grace, we will arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
There is only one unity, but this unity has two ends. We must begin with the beginning: the unity of the Spirit.
Bear and forbear with one another, with all the differences. Nobody insists; nobody is closed. But as we fellowship in Christ, gradually we come to the other end of unity: the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. We will come to that unity finally.
To walk worthy of the body, every member of a body must function and do its part. You cannot expect the body to be built up by depending upon one or a few members.
Oftentimes, you find the greater part of the body is paralysed, and only a small part of the body is trying to carry on. That is where the weight is.
But if every member of the body is doing its part—remember, dear brothers and sisters, every one of us is a member in the body of Christ. Every member is a living member. Every member is to be a functioning member.
You have your part to fulfil. I have my part to fulfil. Our parts are different. Do not try to copy each other. Do not try to do the same as the other does, because God may not give that part to you.
But if every one is faithful to fulfil its part in the body, then the body will be built up in love. Then we will fulfil our calling. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, unless the body is built up, we fail in our calling.
But it requires every one of us to be faithful.
Why is the body not built? The body is not built because, number one, we do not hold fast the Head. Number two, we do not fulfil our part. Number three, there is no love.
So may the Lord help us to see that this matter of calling is not a theoretical thing. Let us see that this matter of our calling is so real and so practical that it must affect your whole life and all your works.
Shall we pray?
O our holy Father, we just tremble before Thee, because Thou hast called us with such an on-high calling. In ourselves, we will fail. But thank God, Thy grace is sufficient for us.
So we just give ourselves to Thee. Lord, we are committed to Thy calling, and we trust Thy Holy Spirit to work it out, that it may be unto the praise of Thy glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.