Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Study Note
Study Note
Paul's appeal from prison — 'I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called' — transitions the letter from doctrinal exposition (chapters 1-3) to ethical exhortation (chapters 4-6). The self-identification as 'prisoner of the Lord' rather than 'prisoner of Rome' reframes Paul's imprisonment as a mark of apostolic identity rather than shame — the chains are the Lord's, not Caesar's. The 'therefore' (oun) makes the following ethics of unity, maturity, and spiritual warfare an inference from the doctrinal wealth of chapters 1-3: what God has done creates the obligation and the power for how the church should live. Romans 12:1's 'therefore… present your bodies as a living sacrifice' employs the identical indicative-to-imperative structure.
Other Translations
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called,
Call upon you, then, do I--the prisoner of the Lord--to walk worthily of the calling with which ye were called,
I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,
Cross References
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us …
That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye …
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye …
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak …
And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we …
Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his …