At first glance, the two statements look the same . . . but a bit of noodling, a bit of digging, and you realize that though they are both about being “worthy”, they each have a different emphasis. The more familiar (to me at least) charge in Ephesians is about conduct . . . how I am to walk . . . how I am to live and order my steps . . . it’s about conduct that is suitable for, or consistent with, the calling of Christ on my life. But the other statement . . . the one I encountered this morning . . . the one I read in Philippians . . . while also encouraging a consistent walk, I think is more focused on what’s behind the walk.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called . . .    (Ephesians 4:1 ESV)

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel . . .    (Philippians 1:27 ESV)

See the similarities? Notice the differences?

Both charges suggest that there is a way to do the Christian life that is in line with the Christ who gave us life. To think that we can be saved from the penalty of sin . . . made new creatures in Christ . . . and live like those who haven’t, is foreign to the Scriptures. The privileged position that is ours, through grace, in Christ, should become the practical reality of who we are, through sanctification, by the working of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Regenerated spiritual DNA should manifest itself in reconstituted priorities, decisions, and actions.

But, while the Ephesian’s charge is about ensuring a “walk worthy”, the Philippians exhortation is more about what’s behind the walk . . . the mindset that says pursuing the walk is worth it . . . it’s about the wiring behind the walk.

The term “manner of life” in Philippians 1:27 is the word “to be a citizen.” The ESV footnote offers the literal translation, “Only behave as citizens worthy.”

A godly walk flows from internalizing that we are citizens of a different place. That as servants of the King, we are to reflect something of our kingdom . . . as children of the Father, we are to model appropriate family behavior . . . as sheep in the Shepherd’s fold, we long to hear the Shepherd’s voice and desire to follow in His ways. It’s knowing who we are that drives how we act.

My citizenship is in heaven (Php. 3:20) . . . that’s home base . . . that’s my heritage . . . that’s where my allegiance should be placed, first and foremost. The values of this place shouldn’t be the major influences of my decision making. The measures of success of this society shouldn’t be what’s setting the priorities on my to do list. The accepted behaviors of this “foreign land” shouldn’t quench the distinctive characteristics of those whose home is “beyond the skies.”

My citizenship is in heaven . . . enabled and secured through the gospel of Christ . . . the good news that He who knew no sin became sin for us, “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2Cor. 5:21) . . . the good news “that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2Cor. 8:9) . . . the good news that He has gone to prepare a place for us, “and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). Because of the gospel . . . the grace of God, the blood of Christ, and the regenerating work of the Spirit, . . . we “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16).

Oh, to remember my true citizenship . . . that’s the wiring behind the walk that is worthy.

By His grace . . . for His glory . . .