How To Maintain The Unity Of The Spirit?

Ephesians 4:1-3 How to maintain the unity of the Spirit

Can you believe that it is already the 4th week of Nov 2020? We know it is about time to plan for the new year as a church. And I know some of us are already involved in making a plan. Indeed, we might need a new way of being the church and doing the church next year. At the same time, you and I have to remember that the best way for us as a church to do a ministry is not necessarily to find a new way, but actually to go back to the old way. Not just one year or ten years ago or even 30 years ago when ANCC started, not 100 years ago or 1000 years ago but 2000 years ago as it was described and prescribed in the N T.

I believe, for us, the new way for the church is always the NT way. Do you

realize that all the writings of the New Testament except the gospel books according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, are concerning the church? So I would like to start by sharing about the nature of the church as described in 3 different

letters of Paul.

1 Co 12:13 "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews

or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." (NIV)

Rom 12:5 "We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." (NLT)

Eph 4:1-3 "I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (make every effort NIV; do your best GNB)

Paul describes each church as one body or the unity of the Spirit, where the members belong to each other. But, Paul is also calling the church members to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Paul is saying, "Do not take the unity of the Spirit for granted. Rather, Paul is urging as NIV puts it, to "make every effort to keep the unity." or as the Good

News Bible says, "do your best to preserve the unity of the Spirit."

Then, here is my question. Have you ever belonged to such a church where you felt the unity of the members or where you felt you belonged to each other as members? I mean, have you ever felt a sense of belonging in any church you used to participate in? Have you ever been in any church where you made every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit?

How about us, ANJC? I know that we all belong to the Lord. But, can we say that we belong to each other in this church? Are we doing our best to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ANJC?

Why is this question so important? Ephesian 4:1-3 "I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (make every effort NIV; do your best GNB)

You and I have a calling individually as well as corporately as a church. In fact, the Greek word for church, Ekklesia, means "a group of people who have been called out of the world and to God." So God called us out of the world as a church. Then the verse 2 explains how we can walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called." You and I have to have "all humility and gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, (and verse) 3 eager (or make every effort - NIV; do your best -GNB) to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

If we fail to have "all humility and gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, then we will fail to live up to His calling. If we don't do our best to maintain the unity of the Spirit as a church, we will fail to live worthy of His calling. So if we are serious about God's calling, then we have to be serious about "making every effort to maintain the unity of

the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Then how can we maintain the unity of the Spirit?

1. (First, I would say) We have to believe in the gospel and publicly confess our belief in the gospel by baptism.