Ephesians 4:4-8
“The Unity of the Spirit”
February 18, 2024
These verses teach us that unity is not just a possibility; it is a divine requirement if we are to be everything God wants us to be as a church. Paul begins this passage with the use of the word “therefore,” and this word draws our attention back to the previous chapters, where Paul has been laying a foundation of biblical, Christian doctrine. As he begins his remarks in chapter 4, Paul is saying that there is no divorcing Christian doctrine from Christian duty! He is saying, “You know the truth, now walk in it!” The bottom line is this: Where there is genuine faith, there will be genuine works to back it up! James 2:18. This morning, I want to take this passage and talk to you on the thought: “Unity of the Spirit” I want us to see that being one in the Lord is God’s will for His people, Philippians 1:27 “…that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” That is a tall order, but this passage gives us the necessary details. If we are to be united in the Lord, what is to be the basis for our unity? We are all here today from different backgrounds and different lifestyles and different politics… how can we find what is common among us?
I. V. 4-6 We Share a Common Ground - The night before Jesus was crucified, He prayed for His people. In John 17, one of the things He prayed for us that His people would be “ONE”. To ensure that we would have the foundation upon which to build in unity, the Lord provided us with 7 great possessions that every Christian in this room shares in Him: one Body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God & Father. Did you notice that everything is about Him? When our lives, our desires, our will and our interests stop being about us and start to focus on Him, we are headed for Common Ground. As believers, we may come from different places, but we stand on common ground! It isn’t important that we stand together is our politic or that we agree on climate change or fossil fuels. It is, however, absolutely imperative that we all have the same basic foundation of truth. Paul lists some common ground that we all stand on. He says that we have:
1. One Body - The Church is the Body of Christ! Each child of God has their own place! 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. He asks… Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Are we all workers of miracles? Do we all have gifts of healings? Do we all speak with tongues? - But earnestly desire the best gifts! Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing… the greatest gift is love!
2. One Spirit - The Holy Ghost that dwells in every believer, John 14:16 “God will give you another Comforter and He shall abide with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth!” He will not lead us in a way that is contrary to His written Word - John 16:13 “He will guide you to all truth.”
3. One Hope - The Return. We all look forward to the same Heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:19 “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
4. One Lord - Jesus Christ! 1 Corinthians 12:3 “…No man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost.”
5. One Faith - The is only one Way to God, and one Word from God. We must agree on this! Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
6. One Baptism - The baptism of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” Water Baptism is ONLY a sign! The baptism of the Holy Ghost is already done at the moment of salvation!
7. One God and Father - We are members of the same family. If we are truly the children of God, then we ought to be able to walk together in unity. Unity is not something we manufacture. It is something we possess right now! Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. All we must do is find out where our place is in the body of Christ, fill that place and do what the Lord has called us to do. As we participate in the area of our giftedness, our love for Jesus and for each other will be seen, and that will draw men unto Him. John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
II. V. 7 We Share a Common Grace - Verse 7 begins “But to each one of us grace was given” in which Paul will speak of the spiritual gifts that are given to the ministers of the church to profit the church. Of course, it is good to note here that every believer possesses at least one spiritual gift, 1 Corinthians 12:7 “the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given to every believer to profit the whole body.” That gift that you have been given was given to you to use for the glory of God and to be a blessing to the church! As each believer uses the gifts he or she is given, the unity of the church is strengthened, and the church is helped! The source of our unity lies in what we share in common and in the fact that we have each been specially equipped by the Lord to be a blessing and a help to the church! Back in 1986 when I was a Junior in High School on January 28 around noon we heard over the PA System that NASA had a tragedy. I don’t remember even knowing that a launch was planned that day because they were going into space so much it was common to us. On that historic date, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just seventy-three seconds into flight. Seven families were robbed by death and an entire nation was racked with grief. All of this loss was ultimately blamed on one inexpensive O-ring. Records revealed that the space shuttle was comprised of one million components. In this sea of mechanical makeup, it took just one part to destroy the whole. One million parts did their job, but one failed and disaster occurred. Most people feel their role within the church is not only small and insignificant, but inconsequential as well. This erroneous doctrine of the church causes individuals to believe their behavior can’t hurt the church. But like that small and seemingly insignificant O-ring, one failed performance can produce catastrophic results.
III. V. 8 We Share a Common Gift - Verse 7 ends with “the measure of Christ’s gift.” Therefore He says: (v8) "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." This is a quote from King David in Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Captivity is here put for captives, and signifies all our spiritual enemies, who brought us into captivity before. He conquered those who had conquered us; such as sin, the devil, and death. Indeed, he triumphed over these on the cross; but the triumph was completed at his ascension, when he became Lord over all, and had the keys of death and hades put into his hands. David taught that even despite our own rebelliousness there is a gift that is greater than the gift of the apostles, greater than the gift of the prophets, greater than the gift of the evangelists, greater than the gift of the shepherds and teachers… “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting live.”
