THE SUPREME MYSTERY – THE BODY OF CHRIST
ACT II: The Mystery of The Body Unveiled
3. A SUPREME CALL TO UNITY (Eph. 4:1-6)
INTRODUCTION:
Folks, we have followed together carefully through these first three chapters of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. From this study, we have learned the essentials of what it is that we are to believe and who we are in Christ, if we have put our faith in Him and received His salvation. So often, that is enough to make us content. But not for Paul, and it shouldn’t be for us either!
Intro. to “What If I Stumble”
I’m reminded of the mom who was trying to persuade her seven-year-old son to go to church with her. "Daddy doesn’t go," the boy said. Thinking quickly the mother replied, "Well, when daddy was your age, he went every Sunday." "Is that true?" the boy asked his father. He was assured it was. "All right, I’ll go," he said, "but I don’t think it will do me any good either."
“Perhaps this insightful seven-year-old has identified the main reason why so few people value the church anymore. It just doesn’t seem to make much difference in the lives of those who participate.” (Kerry Bauman).
This morning’s section marks the principle transition of the Epistle, where Paul’s focus shifts from the doctrinal to the practical, the theological to the devotional, from creed to conduct, understanding to doing.
THE WORD: READ EPHESIANS 4:1-6
A.) THE WALK THAT PRESERVES UNITY (vv. 1-3)
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord . . . (v. 1a)
“Therefore.” That is, in light of the fact that God himself has, through Christ, filled us with His riches and blessings according to the incomparable love of Christ and without limit here is the ’bottom line!’ . . . Because God has done all of this, therefore, . . .
As “the prisoner of the Lord,” For Paul being “of” or “in” the Lord means being a prisoner, captured by Him and at His mercy!
Urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received . . . (v. 1b-c)
“Walk” – We have already discussed that “walk” is a euphemism for our daily living in thought,
attitude, and action.
* Notice that Paul is exhorting with passion and urgency (“beseech/urge”). He is intentional when
he refers to our living for Christ as a “walk” rather than a “saunter,” “jog,” or “run.”
“Worthy” (axios) – has a root concept of weight and literally meant “bringing up the other beam of the scales” (to achieve equal balance). Paul’s careful, divinely-inspired word choice clearly exhorts us to strive to have balance (or equality) between our theology (beliefs, professions) and our daily living and practice. That is, is a walk worthy of our talk and vise versa?! One could also draw an implication from this that our lives (thoughts, attitudes, actions) are to reflect and equal the blessings we have been given (as explained in Chaps. 1-3).
Illustration: Learning to ride a skateboard. All about balance – when to keep it perfectly distributed (most of the time), and when to focus on one end or the other (special maneuvers).
“Calling” – What is “the calling to which you were called”?
Paul’s admonishment here, is much broader and encompassing than a detailed list of rules. It is meant to encompass all areas of life. What follows, then, are the over-riding principles by which we are to live and apply to EVERY area of our lives - in Christ!
Q: Are YOU living up to the calling you have received? In our home? Work? Your relationships?
In public? Private? Why or why not?
With all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love . . . (v.2)
It is no “accident” that in shifting to a discussion of the Christian’s conduct, the very first thing that is addressed is the need for Christians to live together in love and unity!
Therefore, Paul directly proceeds to pinpoint the 4 Main Qualities or “Graces” that we must exhibit to attain balance between our calling and our character (see also Col. 3:12-13).
1.“Humility” or Lowliness: This quality was widely despised in the ancient world as being something for slaves. Paul redeems this term as a recognition of our own complete dependence upon God for all things. It is a recognition that any ability/power/influence/ wealth comes to us only by God’s grace! Therefore, we can unhesitatingly give up our ’rights’ for another’s interest.
Illustration: Watchman Nee of China writes of a Christian farmer in China who had a rice field on a hill. He had to use a hand-worked water wheel to bring the water up from the irrigation stream at the bottom. He also had a neighbor with two rice fields below his. One night, this neighbor made a hole in the dividing wall between their properties in order to drain out all the water from the Christian’s field to fill up his own two. Naturally, the Christian farmer was frustrated to discover what had happened. Not wanting any trouble, he simply fixed the hole, and with great effort pumped water back up to his field. His neighbor once again stole it. This cycle repeated itself several times. Finally, the Christian farmer consulted one of his Christian friends for advice. “What shall I do?” he asked. “I have tried to be patient and not retaliate. Isn’t it right for me to confront him?”
The Christian brethren prayed, and then one of them suggested, “If we only try to do the right thing, surely we are very poor Christians. We have to do something more than what is right.”
The Christian farmer took this advice to heart. So, the next day, he went out to the water wheel, first pumped plenty of water into his neighbor’s two fields, and only then continued throughout the afternoon to water his own. From that day on, he repeated this and there were no more problems. In fact, after his neighbor came to inquire about why he was doing this, the man himself became a Christian! That, friends, is loving others sacrificially as we love God absolutely!
2.“Gentleness” or Meekness: Again, contrary to “the world”’s perception of this as a weakness, it is in fact a strength. It means “strength under control” or self-control. Of course, if one does not first/already have the ability to act out in strength, one cannot also have the ability for self-restraint. Therefore, this is the greatest of strengths! Consider Jesus’ proclamation in Mt. 11:28-30.
3.“Patience” or Longsuffering: Literally, “long-tempered.” This concept also implies exercising restraint in a situation in which one has the power to retaliate.
4.“Accepting” or Bearing with “One Another:” To hold up oneself against, to endure, to put up with – by one’s own choice and power. It is to be patient with the faults and short-comings of others – just as we ask God to be patient with our faults, weaknesses and mistakes.
“In Love” is the motivation for all of the above, as well as the power from which it is possible and the “glue” that holds it all together.
ALL of these attributes were exemplified by Jesus in His incarnate life on earth!
They are “Fruits of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22).
These are also all attitudes that are NOT natural for us. To develop them, we must cultivate them in love through a fierce determination to put God and others above ourselves.
Diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. . . (v. 3)
Christian unity begins with the attitudes of our hearts.
The source of unity is the Spirit, who takes people who are so different in so many ways and makes us live in wonderful soul-unity. The Fruits of the Spirit have the power of overcoming our differences to achieve true, deep, relational unity even amidst our continuing differences!
B.) UNITY OF ONE (vv. 4-6)
The Source and realization of unity is found in our Triune God.
In three intertwining triads the inspired writer leads us to understand this from completion of unity in the Spirit to achievement through the Son and finally to the source of an absolute and pervasive unity in the Father
1. The Holy Spirit is The Glue that Completes our Unity
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling . . . (v.4)
One Body: In the One Spirit the people of God have been baptized into One Body. The collection of redeemed believers that is the local church is thus knit together as One Body, one single community, all reconciled in Christ and to one another. As One Body, the members must function together in harmony for the good of the whole (1 Co. 12:12-26). How? See vv. 1-3.
One Spirit: Just as our bodies are given life, directed and held together by our spirit, so the One Spirit indwells the Body of Christ!
One Hope: As one body together with one Spirit, we share in the One Hope of our calling. It is the hope of all that will be realized in the coming glory of Christ’s return, the reconciliation of the cosmos, and the permanent establishment of God’s glorious Kingdom in Heaven and Earth.
2.The Son is the Achiever and Master of this Unity We Experience (v. 5).
One Lord: Christ is central to all and Lord of all! Our unity is made possible through His eternal victory and providence. We are completely dependent upon Him and in our mutual dependency we are united together by Him. Jesus is the Head of the Body.
One Faith: The Son is the object of the people’s faith. It is in the one faith that we are saved and reconciled unto Him. The body is united through and by their one faith, placed in one Lord.
One Baptism: Each member is baptized “into the name of the Lord Jesus”. We are all baptized together in the same baptism – a baptism which acts as an external seal of incorporation into the One Body, symbolizing our individual and joint identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. ALL are baptized alike into one body, becoming one in Christ.
3.The Father as Source of an Absolute and Pervasive Unity (v. 6).
One God and Father of all . . .
There is ONE God and Father and ONLY ONE. This is true not just relative to those who worship Him, but for all of creation. He stands alone! HE IS . . .
Above all (Transcendent): He is beyond all others in an existence of His own. He reigns and is sovereign over all the cosmos.
Through all (Pervasive): His presence and power work through all things of His choosing, and it is through the Body that the Father works out His will (1 Co. 12:6).
In you all (Immanent): He is pervasive not only in the world, but even to dwelling within each member of the Body. His dwelling within us is the absolute source and guarantee of our eternal unity.
CONCLUSION:
To summarize: Because we are indwelt by the same Spirit, saved by the same Savior, and children of the same Father, we are to be intertwined together in One Unity. In Him, we are one body . . . one spirit . . . one hope . . . with one Lord . . . one faith . . . one baptism . . . united by, in and to the Glory of one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all!!! This IS the church of God!
Let me close with a final illustration.
Illustration: A baby camel asked his mother, Mom, why do I have these huge three-toed feet?¨ His mother replied, Well, son, your toes help you stay on top of the soft sand when we trek across the desert.¨ A few minutes later the baby camel asked, Mom, why do I have these long eyelashes?¨ His mother replied, Well, son, your eyelashes help keep the sand out of your eyes on our trips through the desert.¨ A few minutes later the baby camel asked, Mom, why do I have these great big humps on my back?¨ His mother, who was getting a little impatient with her son, replied, Well, son, your humps store water for our long treks across the desert, so you can go without drinking for long periods of time.¨ That’s great, Mom,¨ the baby camel said. We have huge feet to stop us from sinking, long eyelashes to keep sand out of our eyes, and humps to store water. But...Mom?¨ Yes, son?¨ Why are we in the zoo?¨ Too many of us are like camels in a zoo. We have everything we need to live the way God intended, yet we play it safe and fail to put ourselves in a position to use our God-given gifts and talents in keeping with His purposes (Kerry Bauman).
Let’s stop just living the Christian life in the Church. We need to get out there into the community and BE THE CHURCH there as well! Let us live EVERY moment worthy of God’s calling!
