On the Difference between Living for Jesus and Living from Jesus

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Wake-Up Call

Host: John David Walt (Seedbed)
Episode Title: On the Difference between Living for Jesus and Living from Jesus
Date: April 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This Easter Monday episode inaugurates a six-week journey through the book of Ephesians, guided by John David Walt. The central theme explores the subtle yet transformative difference between “living for Jesus” and “living from Jesus.” Walt invites listeners to move beyond duty-driven faith to a posture of dependence, embodiment, and ongoing encounter with God's living presence.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: Resurrection Power and Ephesians

[00:00 – 02:20]

• The episode opens with the imagery of the empty tomb and the resurrected Christ, reminding listeners of the ongoing 50-day Easter season.
• Walt frames the upcoming study of Ephesians as an invitation to sit at Jesus’ feet, learning about the kingdom of heaven just as the disciples did in the forty days post-resurrection.

2. The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture

[02:21 – 05:15]

• Walt poses the question: “Have you ever gotten a letter from God?” and asserts that while the Bible is God’s Word, it is a human document inspired by the Holy Spirit.

• He references 2 Peter 1:20-21 to highlight that scripture is not merely human will or interpretation, but men “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

  “Paul claims to possess authority without claiming to be an authority. Jesus Christ is the authority. Paul is his apostle.”
  — John David Walt [04:55]

3. Living For Jesus vs. Living From Jesus

[05:16 – 09:30]

• Walt delves into the core distinction of the episode:

  • An apostle is not simply a worker for Jesus, but a messenger “from Jesus.”
  • Christians are called to live and act from Christ’s life within them, not just on His behalf.

• Memorable moment:

  “We do not live our lives for God. We live our lives from God. We do not work for Jesus. We work from Jesus. Our lives are the letter.”
  — John David Walt [06:40]

• This paradigm shift moves discipleship from a task-based or knowledge-based pursuit to an organic, Spirit-led participation in the ongoing life of Christ (“learning to be ‘carried along’ by the Holy Spirit”).

4. The Nature of Discipleship

[09:31 – 11:45]

• Discipleship is described as a journey into “the abiding zone of His active presence.”
• Walt emphasizes that Paul’s letter is a lived reality, not a theoretical one:

  “We aren’t taking a seat on Paul’s tour bus. We are entering into the zone of divine presence.”
  — John David Walt [11:20]

5. Guided Reflection and Journal Prompts

[11:46 – 13:50]

• Walt invites listeners to deeply consider the episode’s theme through personal reflection:

  • What do you make of this distinction between living for and from Jesus?
  • Does following Christ require more effort or more trust?
  • Have you thought of your life as a letter from God to the world? What would that mean?

  “Already I can see the wheels turning... we had a great walk to the cross, didn’t we? And now we’re following Him into the great adventure.”
  — John David Walt [13:12]

6. Confirmation of Community and Continuing Journey

[13:51 – 15:25]

• Walt encourages listeners to share stories of encountering Jesus, especially from the recent Lent journey with the podcast.
• He invites audience participation through reviews and engagement, emphasizing the collective “sowing” work of sharing the message.

7. Consecration and Transformation through Worship

[15:26 – 18:19]

• The episode transitions from teaching to worship with the chorus “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” embodying the prayer for spiritual sight Paul mentions later in Ephesians.

• The refrain echoes an earnest desire to see Jesus—in daily life, others, and the world.

  “He’s not invisible, he’s unseen. He’s not way up there. He’s right here, right now, just through the veil.”
  — John David Walt [18:19]

• Walt reminds listeners that discipleship is not about information but “revelation”—moving from consecration, through transformation, to demonstration in the world.

8. Closing Vision

[18:20 – End]

• The message concludes with a visual of sowing seeds, symbolizing daily faithfulness and awakening.

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Notable Quotes

• On Scripture:
  “The Bible is a human document. So does this somehow diminish the Bible’s authority? Not for a second. Because the Bible is also a divine document. Every word of the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
  — John David Walt [03:13]

• On Apostleship:
  “An apostle, or a Christian for that matter, is not a worker for Jesus, but a messenger from Jesus.”
  — John David Walt [06:12]

• On Seeing Jesus:
  “I want to see you, Jesus. I want to see you in the stranger. I want to see you in the person in need…I want to see you in our town, in our nation.”
  — John David Walt [18:19]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – 02:20: Introduction, Easter context, and upcoming Ephesians series
• 03:13 – 05:15: On the dual nature of Scripture and the role of the Holy Spirit
• 05:16 – 09:30: Distinction between living for and from Jesus
• 11:46 – 13:50: Journal prompts and reflective questions
• 15:26 – 18:19: Worship segment with “Open the Eyes of My Heart”
• 18:20 – End: Closing encouragement and vision

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Final Reflections

Walt’s episode is a call to transformative discipleship—moving from self-driven exertion to a Spirit-empowered life in which one’s very existence becomes a living letter from God to the world. Through practical reflection, extended worship, and communal encouragement, listeners are equipped to receive and embody Christ’s life, becoming sowers of awakening in their own spheres.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Good morning sower nation. It is Monday, April 6, in the year of our Lord 2026. It is Easter Monday. I'm John David Walt and this is your wake up call. And we've got, we got just nothing but goodness ahead of us. We are diving in this week to Unpuzzled to Ephesians. I'm calling it Unpuzzled. And this is, this is a fantastic, one of the most important letters ever written in the history of the world, Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. We're going to take six weeks together walking through it verse by verse. I've been looking forward to it. I love it. If you got the workbook, if you got one, awesome. If you don't want one, that's awesome too. This is fine. Maybe you're watching this on YouTube or hearing it on Apple podcast. Maybe you've got the email, I don't know. We're trying to get this thing sewn as much as we can, but the best sowers of all are you. So share this with others. Now let's dive straight in, beginning with consecration. Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I kind of picture we're still sort of hanging out there in the garden and we're right there around that empty tomb and our jaws are dropping. Jesus is sitting there on the stone that was rolled away and he's saying, believe it, it's true. I'm back from the dead, never to die again. And he's just eager to meet with us. You know, the Bible tells us very clearly that after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus taught his disciples for 40 days, says he taught them about the kingdom of heaven. And on that 40th day he ascended into heaven. And of course, 10 days later, the Holy Spirit comes on the church on the day of Pentecost. And that gives us 50 days. It's Easter, is a 50 day party and we're here for it. So we're diving into Ephesians and Jesus is going to be teaching us on the kingdom of heaven for 40 days here together. 50 days, he's going to go all the way. So I'm delighted to be with you for his teaching. I'm just kind of the Stagehand. I'm the. The narrator, if you will. Today's entry is entitled on the Difference between Living for Jesus and Living from Jesus. And our text is Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 1A. Okay, I said verse by verse. We're going inside of the verse. The first verse. Hear now the word of the Lord. This letter is from Paul. Chosen, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. The word of the Lord. Now consider this. Have you ever gotten a letter from God? I haven't either. But wait, isn't that what the Bible is? A massive letter from God? Yes, we believe the Bible is God's word. But God did not write it. People wrote the Bible. The Bible is a human document. So does this somehow diminish the Bible's authority? Not for a second. Because the Bible is also a divine document. Every word of the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Look at how the apostle Peter describes this mysterious reality. He says, above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will. Will. But prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. That's two Peter 1, 20, 21. Notice when Paul opens the letter, he doesn't say, this letter is from God. Go back and read it again. His opening five words are, this letter is from Paul. In saying this, Paul takes responsibility for the letter. Watch what he says next. Chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul claims to possess authority without claiming to be an authority. Jesus Christ is the authority. Paul is his apostle. Because Paul knows he is not the authority. He has the capacity to share in the authority of Jesus. An apostle, or a Christian for that matter, is not a worker for Jesus, but a messenger from Jesus. These distinctions may seem like subtleties. They are not. We do not live our lives for God. We live our lives from God. We do not work for Jesus. We work from Jesus. Our lives are the letter. Paul's letter and his life are one in the same because they're both coming from somewhere else. From the person of Jesus Christ, through the presence of the Holy Spirit resident in him and through him. You see, discipleship is not about mastering a body of knowledge or conforming to a behavioral code. Discipleship means learning to live freely under the mastery or the lordship of Jesus Christ, which is to stay in the abiding zone of his active presence. It means learning to be, quote, carried along by the Holy Spirit. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is not a flat description of something he has mastered. It is an inspired declaration, description and demonstration of the reality in which he lives. Prepare yourselves, friends. We aren't taking a seat on Paul's tour bus. We are entering into the zone of divine presence. And let's pray. Abba Father, we thank you for your son Jesus, in whom the very fullness of your presence dwells bodily and who dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. We want this more than life itself because this is in fact life itself. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Got a few journal prompts for you today. If you got our unpuzzled book, you got lots of space after each entry and in the sidebars to journal. Here they are. And of course these questions are in there too. What do you make of this distinction between living and working for Jesus and living and working from Jesus? How would you express that in your own terms? Do you think of the Christian life as requiring more effort from you or more trust in God than if you did not follow Christ? And then the last question. Have you ever thought of your life as a letter from God to the world? What implications would that have for you? Those are some big questions. And already I can see the wheels turning. I can sense your cogitation. But I'm just, you know, we had a great, we had a great walk to the cross, didn't we, with Jesus asking. And we walked right up to the grave with him and he came out the other side and now we're following him into the great beyond, the great adventure, the kingdom of on earth as it is in heaven. And I appreciate you being with me. I'm gonna have dad in some to help us with the singing and we're, we're just going to keep right on going. I would love to, to hear from you on Jesus asking. I'm going to put a link in the PS in today's email. We'll put a link hopefully on the YouTube and Apple podcast and Spotify show notes section. You know, we'd love to hear what happened. Tell me the story. How did Jesus meet you through those days of Lent and our journey together? Tell me what happened. Just click on the link. It'll be, it'll be short, to the point and quick. And then just as a small favor, something I'd love to ask you if you're watching this on YouTube or if you're hearing it on Apple podcast or Spotify podcast. You know, guys, we're sowers and the amazing thing about these platforms like YouTube and Apple and Spotify, they will sow for us. But what it takes is for you to get on the thing and write a review, put some five stars out there if, if it seems right to you and the Holy Spirit and write a short bit of review comment. And what happens is if a lot of people do that, it moves. Apple moves it up, Spotify moves it up in the rankings. And when it moves up in the rankings, more people that don't have any idea about it see it. And that's what I mean by Apple. They'll sow for us, but you can't ask them to do that. You can't pay them to do that. Really. It takes real people offering real comments and reviews. So that's, that's an ask from me to you. But I am eager to, to dive in here and, you know, if you're new to us, welcome. This is an everyday meeting with Jesus. We wake up to Jesus. We open up the word of God. He teaches us. He leads us, he guides us. We're going not by information, but by revelation. We're moving from consecration into transformation and out into the fields of demonstration. Jesus then does it through us in the world. We sing every day. Today I'm going to sing. I'm going to lead us in a little chorus that maybe you know, maybe you don't. You'll pick it up if you don't. It's just been on my heart as I've gotten prepared for this series. It's called Open the Eyes of My Heart. And you'll see as we get down through Ephesians chapter one. That's what Paul's praying for. He says, I pray that the eyes of your heart will be opened enlightened so that you may know like. So that you may know him better and that you may begin to know your great. The great inheritance that he's given us. And that's something the spirit of God has to do. And that's why we pray. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord I want to see you.

[B]

So let's, let's.

[A]

I'm gonna lead us. You sing with me. I'll try to get the words printed in the. In the email.

[B]

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I

[C]

want to see you I want to see you

[B]

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my

[C]

heart I want to see you. I want to see you to see

[B]

you high and lifted up Shining in the light of your glory. Pour out your power and love as we Sing Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy to him. Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy.

[C]

I want to see you.

[A]

Let's do it again.

[B]

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I

[C]

want to see you I want to see you

[B]

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, Would you open the eyes of my heart?

[C]

I want to see you I want to see you.

[A]

I just invite you to sing that. Just keep going with it. That's a song that we want to sing all day long. We want to see them all day long. We want to keep our eyes fixed on them as we. As we prayed at the beginning today. Jesus, you see, he is ascended to the right hand of God, physically embodied. I love how Tom Wright, NT Wright says there is a Jewish carpenter in the heavens and he is reigning over the heavens and the earth. And Jesus Christ, he's not somewhere over the rainbow. He's not some distant apparition. He's not a disembodied spirit. He's a human being, the fully God, fully human seated at the right hand of God. He's not invisible, he's unseen. He's not way up there. He's right here, right now, just through the veil. Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart. They will, for they will see God. And that's what we're praying and we're moving in the world. I want to see you, Jesus. I want to see you in the stranger. I want to see you in the person in need. I want to. I want to see you in my family. I want to see you in our town, in our nation. So this is where we're going here for these days together in Ephesians next six weeks. I'm excited to be with you. Get your seeds every day, gang. I have seeds right here. If you're watching this, you can see these seeds in my hand. And I always say, for the awakening. I'm J.D. walt, and I'll see you on the field.