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First of all let us notice the testimony of the Epistle to the Ephesians to the value of practical truth. In chapter 4
we find the apostle beseeching his hearers "to walk worthy of their calling", and we notice that this exhortation
comes practically midway through the epistle. Upon examination we discover that this epistle is so written that
there are seven sections in chapters 1 to 3 dealing with doctrine, and these are balanced by seven sections in chapters
4 to 6 which deal with practice. Further, that every section in the doctrinal portion of the epistle has a corresponding
member in the practical portion. For example, in Ephesians 2:19-22, where we read of a "temple fitly framed
together", in Ephesians 4:7-19, we read of a "body fitly joined together". The word "worthy" in Ephesians 4:1
suggests a balance, as in Romans 8:18, and the whole balance of doctrine and practice may be seen at a glance in the
diagram opposite.
A detailed examination of the practical teaching of Ephesians is beyond the scope of a pamphlet of this nature; we
must content ourselves with a few examples. Look how in chapter 4 the apostle not only gives the injunction to "put
off" the old man and to "put on" the new, but he emphasizes the injunction with a most searching word concerning
the thief who was to steal no more, but to labour with his hands: to avoid any form of corrupt speech, to put away all
anger, to forgive even as God for Christ"s sake had forgiven. Who is there among those who cry the loudest for
"something practical", who would say that their manner of life compares favourably with this standard?