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"With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love."

Text: Ephesians 4:2

AN EXAMINATION OF THE EXPRESSIONS OF “WALKING WORTHY”

Walking worthy of God’s calling to salvation and service was something that Paul thought much about. He made sure that each word he chose, must reflect an important truth- he must have practised it in his life and ministry.

Our examination of the above text would take into consideration the following three features:-

1. The lexical meaning.

2. The practice of the quality in Paul’s life and ministry.

3. The reason(s) why these qualities are reflective of walking worthy of God’s calling.

THE VIRTUE OF “LOWLINESS”

1. The Lexical meaning

a) The word “lowliness” (“tapeinophrosune”)

It is essentially a compound word:-

i) The first part is “tapeinos”

This word suggests a person who is “unpretentious” and “humble”.

ii) The second part is “phroneo”

The word suggests a mindset. The individual holds a certain idea in his mind.

b) Meaning of the compound word

Essentially, it means “deep humility” or “modesty”.

2. Practice of this virtue in Paul’s life

Paul used this same word to describe his manner of life and service when he ministered in Ephesus (Cf. Acts 20:19 The word “tapeinophrosune” is translated as “all humility”. (In Ephesians, the NKJV translated used the word “lowliness” in Ephesians 4:2).

3. Challenge of practising this virtue in the following context:-

a) Personal life

b) In service

c) In the context of the Church community

The reality of our understanding of what it means to be truly saved must be expressed appropriately. Lowliness of heart and mind is a truly appropriate expression!