A. I’m excited to begin a new sermon series this morning – a series that I am calling “7 Ones Equal Unity” and will be based on Ephesians 4:4-6.
1. Over the years, I have preached many sermons using verses from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, including a sermon series on the entire letter back in 2002 – I’m sure you all vividly remember that series! Haha!
2. But I’ve never focused a series on the 7 Ones of Ephesians 4:4-6: There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (What a passage!!)
3. We will devote a sermon to each of the 7 Ones: Body, Spirit, Hope, Lord, Faith, Baptism, God.
4. But before we examine each of them, I want us to spend some time thinking about unity – what it looks like and how to achieve it and preserve it.
5. I also want us to look at the context of Ephesians 4:4-6 – It is never a good idea to lift verses out of their context, rather, Scripture should always be understood in context.
B. Let’s start with an acknowledgement that unity is not easy nor it is automatic.
1. Take a look at this cartoon of an announcement at church: “and the church unity workshop has been postponed until the deacons can agree on the date, time, and color of the participant’s name tags.”
a. Sounds like that church really needs a unity workshop!
2. Sadly, that’s way too close to reality – not just out there in the world, but in here in the church.
3. Far too many people have approached unity as uniformity, but that doesn’t work and it isn’t the kind of unity that God desires.
4. Here’s a saying that expresses that wrong kind of uniformity:
Believe as I believe, no more no less
That I am right and no one else, confess;
Feel as I feel, think as I think,
Eat as I eat and drink as I drink;
Look as I look, do as I do
Then I’ll have fellowship with you.
5. A better saying, although not a perfect one, expresses the kind of unity that God desires is this:
In essentials, unity. In nonessentials, liberty. In all things, charity.
C. As we will learn during this sermon series, there are aspects of unity that require uniformity of doctrine and belief, but there is also a unity of spirit and purpose that is required for there to be unity.
1. It’s the kind of spirit and purpose that brings people together from diverse backgrounds and diverse positions to carry out the mission of God.
2. A good illustration of this kind of spirit of purpose is the way 130 artists came together to paint what is known as the Pantheon de la Guerre.
3. This painting was painted in France between 1914 and 1918 and was a gigantic panorama of the first world war.
4. The painting was 402 feet long and 45 feet high and it contained images of battlefields, flags, monuments and life-sized portraits of 6 thousand war heroes and leaders of 15 countries.
5. What an amazing undertaking and an incredible example of cooperation and single purpose.
6. The completed painting was displayed in Paris in a specially built building beginning in October of 1918 and was visited by 3 million people between 1918-1927.
7. Today, only about 7% of the original is still in existence, a large portion of what remains is a portion that emphasizes the United States contribution to WWI and can be seen in the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
8. This illustration reminds me of the importance of unity in the body of Christ and how all the individual parts of the body of Christ have to work together for the body to function properly and accomplish God’s mission which is much more important and lasting than a painting of WWI.
D. Now, let’s turn our attention to the context of Ephesians 4:4-6.
1. In Ephesians 4:1 Paul urges us Christians “to walk worthy of the calling we have received.”
2. “Walking worthy” does not mean that we should try to deserve our place in God’s favor, rather, it means that we should recognize how much our place in God’s favor deserves from us.
3. The focus is not on our worthiness, but on the worthiness of our calling.
E. If we look back in Ephesians chapters 1 through 3, then we can catch a glimpse of the amazing calling Paul was referring to.
1. 1:3 – God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.
2. 1:4 - God chose us for Himself before the world was created.
3. 1:5 – God predestined us to be his children which means we are heirs of all our Father owns!
4. 1:6 – God lavished us with His glorious grace through His Beloved Son.
5. 1:7 – In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins.
6. 1:8 – God has richly poured out His grace on us with all wisdom and understanding.
7. 1:9 – God has made known to us the mystery of His will and pleasure that is purposed in Christ
8. 1:13 – In Christ we are sealed us with his Holy Spirit which is the down payment of our inheritance.
9. 2:6-7 – God has raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
10. 2:19-22 – Each of us are fellow citizens and members of God’s household who are part of a holy temple where God’s Spirit dwells.
11. 3:10 – God has given us the mission as a church to display his wisdom, even to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
12. From all of this we can see that the privilege and purpose of our calling as Christians is greater than any other the privilege or purpose.
13. Therefore, we should strive to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling.
14. I love that the motto of our Trail Life Ministry to boys is “walk worthy” – it is such an important goal!
F. In chapter 4, the apostle Paul goes on to tell us how spiritual unity requires the right attitudes.
1. The right attitude towards ourselves - humility.
2. The right attitude towards others – gentleness, patience and forbearance.
3. The right attitude towards unity – make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.
4. Let’s spend a few minutes looking at these attitudes and how they contribute toward unity.
G. Let’s start with humility.
1. Ultimately, pride is the enemy of unity.
2. Pride insists on its own way, even in matters of opinion and preference.
3. Here in Ephesians 4:2, Paul says that we should be “completely humble” or “with all humility,” depending on your translation.
4. Humility doesn’t mean thinking lowly of ourselves rather it means thinking rightly and accurately of ourselves.
5. This includes knowing that we are loved and valued by God and that we are saved by grace.
6. It means that we accept whatever gifts and opportunities that God has given to us or withheld from us and simply seek to belong to God and serve God appropriately.
7. The humble follower of Christ, recognizes that Christ is on the throne, not self; and that our individual lives have been turned over to His direction and purpose – we are not our own, we belong to Him.
H. With humility providing the right attitude towards ourselves, we can then have the right kinds of attitudes towards others – gentleness, patience and forbearance.
1. Gentleness is an important attribute – it is one that Jesus displayed and it is a fruit of the Spirit.
2. Gentleness or meekness, as it is sometimes translated, is “power under control.”
3. The word originally meant “to domesticate a wild animal” like to tame a wild horse.
4. Spiritually speaking, we all need to be “broken” or “tamed.”
5. Our natural or worldly inclinations are towards self-satisfying drives, hungers and ambitions, but when God’s Spirit works in us and on us, the results include humility and gentleness.
6. Humility and gentleness reveal themselves in courtesy and considerateness toward others, and even a willingness to waive our rights for the good of others or the purpose of God.
I. Paul moved from humility to gentleness and then to patience.
1. If unity was going to prevail in the church at Ephesus or anywhere else, Christians were going to need to be patient with each other regarding differences of opinion and personal shortcomings.
2. To be patient with others includes being slow to take offense when others have hurt us or are making things difficult for us.
3. People who are not humble or gentle are not very patient with others, so all three go hand in hand, and for that matter this fourth attitude fits right in with the others.
J. The fourth attitude or attribute is tolerance or forbearance.
1. Tolerance or forbearance has to do with bearing with one another in love.
2. Patience and forbearance go hand in hand as forbearance is the outworking of an inner spirit of patience.
3. To tolerate other people does not mean that we are blind to their faults or shortcomings, but does mean that we recognize that we also are less than perfect, and therefore we must accept that others aren’t perfect either.
4. Our love for others should cause us to leave room for their individual failures and struggles as we all try to grow and mature in Christ.
5. Having humility and gentleness, patience and tolerance will enable us to treat others with respect, will cause us to do good to each other, and will enable us to encourage each other to fulfill God’s purposes.
K. The final attitude that Paul mentions is a desire for unity – “making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
1. There can be no worthy walk before God without a burning desire for unity in the fellowship.
2. We can’t simply wish for a greater sense of unity; we must be “diligent” to make it a reality in our relationships with each other.
3. Paul’s word for “diligent” or “make every effort” is a combination of two Greek words – one that means “to hurry” and the other that implies “zealous effort.”
4. Literally, Paul was saying, “Let’s hurry and work toward achieving unity.”
L. But let’s make an important clarification – it is not our responsibility to create unity, rather it is our responsibility to maintain or keep unity.
1. It is the Spirit of God who has created the unity through the shed blood of Christ on the cross.
2. We are united in the sight of God because He has put all of us into one body and has given us all the other “ones” of Ephesians 4:4-6.
3. God has provided a place and experience of unity, and it is our job to keep or maintain it.
4. The unity of the church must be preserved and protected and we must see ourselves as agents of peace and unity.
5. Making every effort to maintain this unity will include asking for forgiveness when we have hurt others and offering forgiveness when others have hurt us, even before it is sought.
6. Nothing makes us more like our God than taking the initiative to restore broken relationships.
a. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.
b. We are called to be peace-makers, not peace-breakers!
7. How well we “walk worthy” of our calling is reflected in how diligently we strive to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
8. The Bible warns us about people who create strife and division.
a. Paul says that they are not serving God but their own appetites (Rom. 16:17-18).
M. As I said earlier in the sermon – unity is not easy or automatic.
1. These right attitudes sound great in the abstract or in theory, but they are a real challenge to maintain in the concrete situations of life.
2. I am so glad Paul said we must bear with each other.
3. This frees us from the need to think that we, or anyone else in the church, are perfect.
4. Perfect people don't need to be endured or forgiven, but we do, and often.
5. Paul was not naïve – he knew that there will always be immature and unspiritual disciples – who are grumpy or critical or unreliable or finicky.
6. He knew the even someone like himself, an apostle and leader has gaping holes in the fabric of their sanctification.
7. The preacher before you this morning is far from perfect – I am certainly not sinless and I don’t know everything – I still need to grow in my knowledge and Christ-likeness.
8. No one is perfect, except God alone and that’s why we all need to be humble, gentle, patient and forbearing, and make every effort to maintain unity in the Spirit.
N. This is what it means to really love each other and to love the church as a whole.
1. How else will imperfect people be able to show a common care for each other and a common care for the unity of the church?
2. How else will you be able to keep on caring about a person who doesn’t like you?
a. How could anyone not like me or you? Right?
3. How do you keep unified with a person who likes the spiritual songs you don’t like?
4. Or a person who opposes you and wants to frustrate your ministry?
5. How do you maintain the unity of the Spirit with them instead of becoming hostile and cold?
6. Paul's answer: be lowly in spirit so that you can patiently endure their differences and their sins.
7. A person of humility is keenly aware of the immensity of their own debt toward God and they are also keenly aware of God's amazing grace that saved a wretch like them and they are aware of the grace and patience that others likely show them on a regular basis.
O. So, with God’s help, let’s not be puffed up, but be humble and gentle.
1. And let’s not be impatient or resentful, but long-suffering and forgiving.
2. Then the unity that Christ died to create will be able to be maintained in our church, and we will not bring any disrepute upon the great God who called us into His kingdom.
3. Then we will be walking worthy of our calling.
4. I hope this review of the context of Ephesians 4 provides a good foundation for us to explore the meaning and application of seven ones that equal unity as our sermon series proceeds.
Resources:
• Ephesians and Philippians, Jay Lockhart and David Roper, Truth for Today Commentary, 2009.
• Maintain the Unity of the Spirit, John Piper, desiringgod.org.
