Unity In Christ
Text: Eph. 4:1-10
Introduction
1. Illustration: A farmer noticed a highway department truck pulling over on to the shoulder of the road. A man got out and dug a hole, then got back into the truck. Then the other occupant got out, filled up the hole and got back in the truck. Every fifty yards this amazing process was repeated. ’What are you doing?’ the farmer asked. The driver replied, ’We’re on a highway beautification project, and the guy who plants the trees is home sick today.’ What’s the bottom line (morale)? No Unity, no Productivity! God blesses those who work together in unity.
2. Henry Webb in his book In Search of Christian Unity, had this to say about the early Church: "Although they possessed neither formal organization nor institutional resources, their unity expressed itself powerfully in table fellowship, in the fellowship of prayer, and in the very tangible fellowship of shared possessions" (Webb, In Search of Christian Unity, 18).
3. The second half of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is all about unity in the church. In this passage, he talks about:
a. The call of Unity
b. The challenge of Unity
c. The Catalyst of Unity
4. Read Eph. 4:1-10
Proposition: It should be the desire of every Christian to work towards unity.
Transition: First, let us consider...
I. The Call of Unity (1-2)
A. Worthy of Your Calling
1. Paul begins this chapter with what seems like a familiar phrase. He says "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord..."
a. As you might recall, he began chapter 3 in a similar way referring to himself as "the prisoner of the Lord."
b. However, there is a subtle difference here. There he is the "prisoner of the Lord," here is a "prisoner for serving the Lord."
c. Literally in Greek it is "prisoner in the Lord."
d. The NLT rightly interprets that he is in prison because he serves the Lord.
e. By mentioning his imprisonment he gently reminds his readers that he knows the worthy Christian walk can be costly and that he has paid considerable cost himself because of his obedience to the Lord (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
f. He is saying that serving Jesus is not always easy, but always worth the price.
2. He goes on to says I "beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God."
a. The word translated beg carries the idea "to ask for something earnestly, to plead for, to appeal to, earnest request...(Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. There is a passion and force to what Paul is asking.
c. He begs them to live a life that is worthy of the name Christian.
d. Colossians 1:10 (NLT)
Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
e. You will run across a lot of people who will claim "yes, I’m a Christian," but they are not living lives that are worthy of that name.
f. The name Christian means "little Christ," and if we are going to claim that name we need to live like He did.
3. By referring to our life in Christ as a "calling," Paul is referring to our salvation.
a. Acts 2:39 (NLT)
This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
b. We would not be Christians if God did not call us.
c. Jesus said that "no one can come to me unless the Father draws him."
d. "Calling" is used of the salvation and responsibility of every Christian, not of the "professional ministry" or an elite group.
e. This one call is for all Christians to live in accord with what God has done (Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Ephesians, 196).
f. We are all called to live worthy of the name of Christ Jesus.
4. Paul then shows us how we can live a life worthy of the name. First, he tells us to be humble.
a. John Wesley observed that "neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility." The very concept was so foreign to their way of thinking that they had no term to describe it.
b. It has to do with lowliness of mind. In other words, to see yourself in a relaistic way.
c. Philippians 2:3 (NLT)
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
d. While humility is necessary characteristic, it is also a dangerous one. Once you realize that you have it, you’ve just lost it.
5. Paul also says that we must be gentle. This word is also sometimes translated "meekness."
a. Gentleness is power under control.
b. It is the idea of a broken horse, who while he is now tamed still possesses all the power and strength as before. However, now that strength and power is under control.
c. It means that we are under the control of Christ.
6. Most importantly, Paul says "Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love."
a. This is the idea of bearing with someone and giving them the opportunity to grow.
b. The Christian life is a life of putting up with other people, and this tolerance finds its ability and motivation in love (Snodgrass, 197).
c. One pastor said that the ministry would be a great job if you didn’t have to deal with people. However, the reality is it comes with the territory, and not just in the ministry but also in life.
d. We need to think of it like this, we want others to be patient with our faults and we need to return the favor.
B. Living Lives of Unity
1. Illustration: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship” (A.W. Tozer in "The Pursuit of God").
2. Unity begins by submitting ourselves to Christ.
a. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
b. We will never obtain unity be simply saying we are going to be unified.
c. It requires surrendering our lives to Christ and allowing Him to change us.
d. It means allowing Him to prune away the bad limbs in our lives so that new healthy ones can grow.
3. Unity requires humbling ourselves before Christ.
a. James 4:7-8, 10 (NLT)
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
b. Before we can submit to Christ, we must be willing to humble ourselves.
c. We must recognize that He is in control and we are not.
d. We must come to the place where we acknowledge that without Him we are helpless.
4. Unity requires becoming more like Christ.
a. This means being humble because He was humble.
b. It means loving others enough to lay down you desires, wants, and even your lives for them the way He did.
c. It means putting the Father’s will first the way He did.
d. It means putting others before yourself the way He did.
e. John 15:13 (NLT)
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Transition: Next, Paul talks about...
II. The Challenge of Unity (3-5)
A. Make Every Effort
1. In verse 3, Paul issues a challenge to "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace."
a. The phrase "make every effort," means " to be eager to do something, with the implication of readiness to expend energy and effort (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. He is telling us to put forth a concerted effort to maintain unity.
c. He is telling us that we will need to work at it.
d. It is not something that comes naturally, and it will require effort on our part.
e. Any time you are dealing with people you are facing the possibility of disunity.
2. However, the encouraging thing for us that it is possible because it comes from the Holy Spirit.
a. As Paul makes clear, this is the unity of the Spirit working in the lives of believers.
b. It does not come from the outside but the inside, and is manifested through the inner qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearing love (The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Ephesians).
c. So on the one hand Paul is telling us to make every effort, but on the other hand he is encouraging us by saying that the Holy Spirit will assist us in keeping unity.
3. He further encourages us by illustrating the unity of God and our life in Christ. He says "For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future."
a. By saying that we are one body, he indicates that there is on church.
b. The church is not Assemblies of God, or Baptist, or Methodist, or Lutheran, but it is Christ.
c. When we get to heaven we won’t be asked what denomination we belong to, but we will be asked if we were in Christ.
d. Furthermore, there is not an Assembly of God Spirit, or a Baptist Spirit, or a Methodist Spirit, but there is just one Holy Spirit.
e. That one Holy Spirit is alive and working within the church today just as He did two thousand years ago.
4. Likewise, "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all."
a. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
b. There is one Lord, one Gospel, and one Savior.
c. There is one faith.
d. There is one baptism.
e. There is one God.
f. What Paul is trying to say is that the unity of God should be reflected in the church
B. Working Towards Unity
1. Illustration: Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. The turtle tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a branch watched and laughed at his sad efforts. Finally, the female bird turned to her mate. "That turtle is an idiot to think he can fly!" she chirped, "I think it’s time we tell him he’s adopted."
2. Some efforts are worth it and some aren’t!
3. John 17:21 (NLT)
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
4. Making the effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit is worth it because that is what Jesus wants of us.
a. He prayed that we would be united.
b. He gave us His Holy Spirit so we could be united.
c. He gave us His word so that we would be united.
5. Making the effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit is worth it because God’s word commands it.
a. Make every effort is not a suggestion; it is a command!
b. Unity is not an option; it is a requirement.
c. It is every bit as much a command as the Ten Commandments.
d. God’s word said, so do it.
6. Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit will be worth it because the world needs it.
a. We live in a world that is lost and on its way to hell.
b. We live in a world that needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
c. We live in a world that needs to see that giving there lives to Christ makes a difference.
d. The last thing they need to see are churches claiming the name of Jesus fighting over the color of the carpet, or what songs we sing.
e. What they need to see is a church that practices what they preach.
Transition: There is also...
III. The Catalyst of Unity (7-10)
A. The Generosity of Christ
1. Paul shows us that unity is possible through the example and sacrifice of Christ.
2. He says that Christ has "given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ."
a. The special gift that God has given us is grace.
b. That grace is possible through the sacrifice and death of Jesus on the cross.
c. It is through His generosity that we are able to receive salvation by grace.
d. He gave of Himself so that grace, salvation, and unity are possible.
3. In verses 8 and 9, Paul further illustrates Jesus as the catalyst of our unity. He says “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world."
a. Jesus made a sacrifice for us long before He went to the cross. He made His first sacrifice for us when He came to earth and became like on of us.
b. Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
c. Jesus made a sacrifice when He humbled Himself by becoming human.
d. If we are to be like Jesus then we need to do what He did for us.
e. He humbled Himself and sacrificed for us, therefore, we need to be willing to make sacrifices for one another.
4. Paul further illustrates this when he says "And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself."
a. You see, because Jesus was willing to make that sacrifice, He was glorified by the Father.
b. Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT)
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
c. When we humble and submit ourselves, God rewards us for our efforts.
d. If we make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit God will reward us also.
B. Christ Gave For Unity
1. Illustration: "Christian spirituality isn’t about sitting at the feet of some guru for a seminar at a retreat. It isn’t about having a nice comfortable, safe dose of spirituality in your life to make you feel good whenever your thoughts run deep about ultimate questions and eternal destinies. Jesus called people to follow Him – and there was only one place He was going: a cross. The true nature of spiritual living involves sacrifice, duty, and commitment" (James Emery White, You Can Experience the Spiritual Life. Nashville: Word Pub., 1999, 194).
2. Maintaining unity is not easy.
a. At times, it is like trying to stick a square peg in a round hole.
b. You can have fifty people, and you will get fifty different ideas has to how things should be done.
c. You can tell some people that the sky is blue and they will want to argue about what shade of blue.
d. Isaiah 53:6 (NLT)
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
3. However, maintaining unity is not impossible.
a. Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
b. By ourselves it is impossible, but with God everything is impossible.
c. He is able to give us humility, gentleness, patience, and love for one another.
d. He is able to take imperfect and fallen people and give us unity.
4. But it will require submitting to His will.
a. It means not insisting on our own way.
b. It means loving the difficult.
c. It means being patient with the slow to mature.
d. It means becoming more and more like Jesus.
Transition: Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is peace.
Conclusion
1. As Christians we are:
a. Called to unity.
b. Challenged for unity.
c. Catalyst for unity.
2. Are you making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit?
3. Are there some people you need to learn to be patient with?
4. Are there some areas that you need to submit to God?
