On Walking Worthily of...

Good morning church, lets go for a walk together. Before we the Storrs Road church go for our walk, I ask us to look at, think about, and be challenged by Paul’s exhortations to the church in Thessalonica to walk worthily of God (1 Thess. 2:12), to the church in Philippi to walk worthily of the gospel (Phil. 1:27), to the church in Ephesus to walk worthily of their calling (Eph. 4:1), and to the Colossian church to walk in a manner worthily of Christ Jesus the Lord (Col. 1:10; 2:6).

The manner of walking is an adverb, worthily, not an adjective, worth or value. Walking together is not a matter of saying “you can’t walk with me because you are not worth much” or the reverse, “I can’t walk with you because you are worth so much more than I am.” Paul’s exhortations are for a community of persons of different ethnic and social standing. Since adverbs modify verbs, things have happened and are continuing to happen that they as a community are to live up to. There is the indicative before the imperative.

At first glance, the four statements look like synonyms, four ways of saying the same thing. Yes but Paul’s exhortations are situational. The charge to the Thessalonians is to new converts who had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). God talk dominates this letter (see 1 Thess. 4:1-8). And “gospel” is the big idea in Philippians, occurring nine times in that short letter. For the Ephesians who had been chosen, predestined according to God’s purpose (Eph. 1:3-10), walking in a manner worthily of that calling is crucial. And, of course, the Lordship of Jesus the Christ is prominent in Colossians, beginning with that magnificent “Christ hymn” (Col. 1:15-20).

As indicated in the phrase, manner of life, walking worthily is all about ethics and morality. As the psalmist declared, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, . . . but his delight is in the law of the Lord (Ps. 1:1-2). These walking worthily exhortations usually precede specific ethical and moral instructions. Consider, for example, that Paul’s admonishment to the Philippians (1:27) is followed by two lists: those who delight in the gospel (2:1-2) and those who follow the counsel of the wicked (2:3, 14-15). Finally, we should notice all those plurals. Paul’s concern is the “moral formation” of a diverse number of people into a community that is radically different from that community or culture from which they came, but which is to serve and to “love them to the death.”

We go back to our opening invitation to take a walk. Let us in our time and place walk worthily of God, the gospel, our calling, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

—Tom Yoakum