ONE: The Unity of the Spirit (1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/7/2018
Snowflakes are funny things. Individually, they’re beautiful, yet benign. A single snowflake doesn’t pose a threat, isn’t much fun and can easily blow away in the wind or melt away on your fingertip. Yet, when billions and billions of snowflakes fall in unison, they can create dangerous driving conditions, shut down schools, or even cause churches to cancel. They can turn a dry, empty field into a beautiful winter canvas. They can be tightly packed into a ball and thrown across the yard. They can provide a surface for sledding. They can even be sculpted into a snowman, an angel, or an igloo. A single snowflake doesn’t make much of an impact, but when thousands upon thousands of them blanket a city or community as one, the impact is immense.
The same is true for followers of Christ.
On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus lead his followers in an unforgettable prayer. Part way through, he says, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one” (John 17:20-21 NLT).
Jesus’ greatest desire for his disciples and all future generations of Christians was that they would become one—experiencing the same kind of unity and togetherness that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. About thirty years later, the Apostle Paul picks up on this “oneness” concept making it one of the themes of his letter to the Ephesians.
He writes, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all” (Ephesians 4:3-6 NLT).
The very fact that Paul has to make this plea, suggests that this kind of unity doesn’t come naturally for us. Often differences among people can lead to disagreements, division and disharmony. That’s why Paul urges us to work diligently, making every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
But he also goes a step beyond that, providing us with seven uniting elements that bind believers together. The more points of agreement among members of a group, the more they will be unified, the better they will perform, and the less likely they will be to fight among themselves. Paul gives us a built-in list of “ones” that can bind believers together in harmony and unity.
Over the next seven weeks, I’d like to take a closer look at each of these seven “ones” and discover how they can help us answer Christ’s prayer that we may all be one.
Paul begins his list, saying, “For there is one body…” (Ephesians 4:4). First off, what is this body? As you may have guessed, it’s the body of Christ or the church. Paul identifies it as such later in this same chapter, where he mentions, “the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT).
So this morning, I’d like to touch on three aspects of the body of Christ that promote unity and oneness among all believers. First, let’s talk about the parts, or members of the body.
• THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY
Many believers are discouraged today because when we look at the landscape of Christianity, we don’t see one body. Rather, we see many bodies—Christians churches, Baptist churches, Pentecostal churches, Methodist churches, Catholic churches, and countless others.
Many of these divisions began shortly after the Reformation in the 1600s. One of the most prominent Christian leaders at the time was John Wesley, who unwittingly founded the Methodist church. Concerned about the rise of these denominations, Wesley spoke of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" Each time the answer was, “Yes!” Greatly distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, but the answer each time was “No!” So, Wesley asked, ‘Who then is inside?” The answer came back, “There are only Christians here.”
Many of you may not be familiar with our history, but the Christian Church was built on a very similar dream.
It all began on the American frontier. As families began to move out west, denominational borders became less and less important. Think about it—if you’re trying to endure a harsh winter on the frontier, it doesn’t matter if your neighbor is Presbyterian, Lutheran, or Methodist; survival necessitates working together. It was against this backdrop that the Restoration Movement was born.
In Kentucky, Barton W. Stone invited Christians of all denominations to a revival held at his Presbyterian church. To his surprise, between twenty and thirty thousand Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and others showed up and participated in what came to be called the Cane Ridge Revival. Stone soon exchanged the label Presbyterian Church for Christian Church, seeking to inclusive of all believers.
Meanwhile, over in Pennsylvania, the father and son team of Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, were preaching along similar lines. Thomas Campbell insisted that “the church of Christ upon the earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one.” Attracted to the simplicity of the restoration plea, entire churches from different denominations renounced their denominational ties and rallied behind the Campbells’ teachings. The movement adopted the name “Disciples of Christ,” again intending to be inclusive of all believers. Eventually, the Christian Churches and the Disciples of Christ joined forces and became known officially as “The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).” Who’d have guessed?
Over the centuries, however, I believe many of our members have lost sight of the original intentions behind this movement. The Stones and Campbells never intended to form yet another denomination or fellowship or even to call people away from their established church affiliation. Rather, their primary goal was to promote unity among all Christians and churches. These restorationists understood, as John Wesley did, that the body of Christ is not made up of various churches and denominations, but individual Christians.
Paul puts it this way: “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12 NLT). And just few verses later, he says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT).
In other words, nobody has an exclusive claim on Christianity. Until we start accepting one another as fellow Christians and members of one body, the church will never experience the oneness that Christ prayed we would. No matter what the sign says above the door, the church down the street isn’t the enemy; it’s family.
Equally important as the members of the body, though, is the maturity of the body.
• THE MATURITY OF THE BODY
I look at my son and it blows my mind how much he’s grown. For those of you who may not remember, this is what Yeshua looked like when we moved here (NEXT SLIDE). Isn’t he adorable!? It’s been seven years since that picture was taken. He’s now taller than his mom. He’s wearing adult size clothing. He wears a size 10 shoe. His wrists and ankles are thicker than mine. And I’m going to have to get a second job just to pay for his eating habits! There’s a part of me that wishes he would have just stayed an adorable, chubby-faced, five-year-old, but that wouldn’t be healthy. As hard as it is to see your kids grow up, we know that’s what God created them to do. A growing kid is a healthy kid. Their bodies were made to grow and mature. The same is true for the body of Christ.
Later in Ephesians 4, Paul writes this: “we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV).
In other words, a healthy church is a growing church. Unfortunately, this where some disunity often arises because growth means change. Just as many parents are uncomfortable with their kids growing and maturing over time, some Christians are uncomfortable with their church growing and maturing over time. Sometimes we just want things to stay the way they are. It’s important for us to embrace the growth of the church, however, if we’re going to experience the “oneness” that Jesus prayed for.
Just like a growing child, churches grow in two ways. First, they get bigger. If the church—the body of Christ on a whole—isn’t getting bigger then something’s not right. It’s the responsibility of each individual member—each individual part of the body—to work toward growth. And that doesn’t mean that each one of us is meant to be a pastor or evangelist. In fact, Paul touches on that, saying, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT).
My job as a pastor, James’ job as our worship and youth minister, Kara’s job as our children’s minister, and the job of the elder’s too is to equip each one of you. That is, to give you the tools and resources you need to do God’s work in your daily lives, to share the Gospel with your friends and family, to minister to your neighbors and co-workers. And ultimately—together—we will build the church up the body of Christ, making it bigger and better than ever.
But growing bigger is just half of the goal. Paul goes on to say, “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT). If my son, at twelve-years-old, still acts like he did at five-years-old, I wouldn’t be very happy. Growth isn’t just about getting maturing physically; it’s also about maturing mentally, emotionally and spiritually. How many of you have ever told your kids grow up or act your age!? My mom still tells me that and I’m 37.
For Christians, growing up mean becoming more and more like Christ. As we develop a Christ-like heart and attitude it naturally creates unity and harmony. Few things are as divisive in a congregation as worship style. Generally, the older crowd wants to sing hymns and the younger crowd wants to sing contemporary stuff. And it seems like you can never make everybody happy. But just imagine, if we all had a Christ-like heart and spirit about it. The older crowd would be saying, “Let’s sing the newer songs! It may not be my favorite, but I love those young people. I want to worship next to them and hear them lifting their voices to God.” And the younger crowd would be saying, “No, let’s sing the hymns! We have so much to learn from the older generation and these hymns bring them joy. We just want to see God’s Spirit moving in them as we worship. Who cares what kind of songs we sing!” Having a heart and mind like Christ instantly creates harmony and happiness.
That ties directly into the last aspect of the “one body” I want to talk about, which is the maintenance of the body.
• THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BODY
Bodies need nourishment if they’re going to continue to function and flourish. They need routine maintenance. So how do we maintain the body of Christ? In other words, how do we nurture and nourish the body of Christ so that it continues to grow and be healthy? Well, sprinkled all throughout this chapter, Paul reveals the key to maintaining unity within the body of Christ: love.
He mentions the word three times. First, he says, “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love” (Ephesians 4:2 NLT). Then, he announces, “we will speak the truth in love… so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (vs. 15-17 NLT).
We already know from the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul, especially 1 Corinthians 13, that love is essential to a life well-lived.
It’s also essential to the unity of the church. Show me a church full of love, and I will show you a church that’s happy and harmonious. Sadly, many congregations and many Christians are not as known for their love as Christ intended. The New Testament letters are replete with pleas to stop fighting and arguing. For instance, Paul writes, “But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another” (Galatians 5:15 NLT).
This passage reminds me of an issue of National Geographic that featured a photograph of the fossil remains of two saber-tooth tigers literally locked in combat. According to the article, “One had bitten deep into the leg bone of the other, a thrust that trapped both in a common fate.” Unable to remove his massive tooth from his opponent’s leg, the two were just locked in uncomfortable combat until they both died. Similarly, when Christians fight each other, everybody loses.
D.L. Moody told the story of a little boy who attended a Sunday school in Chicago. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow still attended the same Sunday school, even though it meant a long, tiresome walk each way. A friend asked him why he walked so far and told him that there were plenty of other churches closer to his home that were just as good. "They may be as good for others, but not for me," was his reply. "Why not?" she asked. He answered, “Because at my church they really love a fellow.”
If every person who set foot in a church felt the same way, there would be fewer empty churches, a smaller proportion of our population who never darken a church door, and we’d be a huge step closer to answering Jesus’ prayer. Let love be the hallmark of the church, and we will all be one.
That’s my prayer for Blooming Grove. I want this church to be a place of love and affection. I want to be able to walk through those doors, I want you to be able to walk through those doors, and feel totally and completely loved. Only then will we be the kind of church God longs for us to be.
Conclusion
So, the first tie that binds us together is one body. We know that the members of the body are individual Christians, not congregations or denominations. We also know that the body of Christ, like a human body, must mature—it has to continue growing both in size and spiritual maturity. And we know that the key to maintaining unity within our own congregation and even across the world, is to fill the church with love.
As you go out those doors today, you’ll be surrounded by snow. I don’t know how that’s going to impact you. Maybe you’ll have to shovel your driveway. Maybe you’ll build a snowman or a snow angel. You’ll certainly have to be a little more cautious on the road. But let it also be a reminder of how much impact we can have together—when we are one, the world will be changed.
Invitation
Next Sunday, we’ll continue exploring the seven “ones” that bind us all together. But in the meantime, if you’re not already a member of the body of Christ, you can become one today. I’d love to walk you through the process. You can talk to me after church, call me at home, or come forward now while we stand and sing. Let’s sing church.
