Ephesians 4:1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

(v1, NIV)

Paul is a prisoner to the Lord. In what way is he a prisoner to the Lord? We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

(1 Corinthians 6:20, NIV)

I have heard in a sermon on a passage in Romans that we are doubly not our own. First of all, we are created by God and created in his own image. We are his because he is our creator. We are also his because we are purchased by God. Putting those together, this means that we are doubly not our own. We are doubly owned by God.

We are made alive by God. We were dead in our trespasses and we were following the ways of this world. We were made alive together with Christ. Because of this purchase and stepping in by God, Paul feels like a prisoner to God. This is not necessarily in a bad way, though being a prisoner is usually not a desirable state to be in. However, we are only given two options. One option is that we are a slave to sin. As a slave to sin, we are dead in our trespasses and follow the ways of this world. A slave to sin is on the path to death and destruction. The other option is to be a slave to God. Instead of serving the flesh, a slave to God lives by the Spirit. This path leads to life. Given the two, I am pretty sure that being a slave to God is the better choice. Furthermore, it's not as if being a slave to God is "the lesser of two evils" but it is actually an enjoyable desired state to be in. Unfortunately, most are blinded by sin and unable to grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of God.

Paul's urge is for those he is writing to at the church in Ephesus to live a life worthy of the calling. Those he is addressing have been called since he refers to the calling to which they have been called. They have already received the calling. Now, they must live up to it. It's the feeling that there's a standard above what we are capable of that we must achieve. It's like being born into a very smart or rich family and trying to meet everyone expectations for you since you are their child. An example I heard was that this pastor was asked to speak at a famous conference. Since it already had a great reputation, he felt as if he had to live up to that reputation since he was asked to speak. He didn't want to embarrass the person who asked him to speak and was up the night before practicing so that he wouldn't mess up. This is the felling we get and that should urge us to live up to this calling which we have received.