Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 2 Study # 6
June 29, 2014
Dayton, Texas
(054)
1769 Translation:
12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
1901 ASV Translation:
12 to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who calleth you into his own kingdom and glory.
- I. "That", or "To the End That" ...
- A. The "summoning", "comforting", and "witnessing" of the Father has an objective.
- B. The definitions/statements of "objectives" need careful evaluation because of the reality that "objectives" are often intermediate goals with larger ones in mind.
- II. Walking "Worthily" of The Calling God.
- A. "Worthily" fundamentally describes something done that is, like "holily", a perfect "fit" between the inner character of a person/thing and the action that person takes or that the "thing" calls forth.
- 1. An unjust judge is "unworthy" to be a judge.
- 2. A preacher who contradicts his message by his behavior is "unworthy" of being a preacher.
- 3. The taking of vengeance by a creature, which is an act reserved for a deity, makes the creature "unworthy" of his/her identity.
- B. The walk that is done "worthily" has three frames of reference.
- 1. The first frame of reference is the three-fold characterization of the activities of a "father" in the preceding statement.
- a. A walk that dismisses the "summons" is "unworthy" of the "summons".
- b. A walk that disallows the "comfort" is "unworthy" of the efforts taken to ease the pain.
- c. A walk that ignores the "witness" is "unworthy" of the truth built into the experiences being recounted.
- 2. The second frame of reference is the description of "the God" as One Who "is calling".
- a. That God is engaged in regular "calling" (the verb is present tense) deserves a "worthy" response.
- b. The only "worthy" response that the one who is being called can give is "hearing" in the sense of "receiving the call with a yielding to its meaning".
- c. The "yielding" is rooted in the Love/Faith complex within the hearer. Those who "love" God and "believe" what He is saying have no problem with "walking worthy"; it is they who have not come to "love" or "believe" who are the "wayward children" who need the activities of the "father".
- 1) "Love" is not a static reality with human beings; they are constantly having to decide whether to love God or themselves. "I die daily" has a real meaning in regard to this constant reality.
- 2) Neither is "faith" a static reality with human beings; what one "believes" today has to be reinforced tomorrow: faith can die. Paul's "with the heart man believes" has a real meaning in terms of "faith" being multi-layered as to its source(s).
- 3. The third frame of reference is given with the words "into His own Kingdom and glory".
- a. The summons of the calling is in view of "His own Kingdom". This is, fundamentally, a future reality that depends heavily upon the present reality. The "call" is in light of this future wherein each person will be assigned a permanent setting for service.
- b. The summons of the calling is in view of "His own Glory". To the degree that we heed the "calling" we shall enter into the experience of the eternal glory. This is, fundamentally, a statement of God's approval/disapproval of those to whom He calls.
