A. The story is told about a man who was walking across a bridge one day, and saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump off.
1. The man immediately ran over and said “Stop! Don’t do it!” The man said, “Why shouldn't I?”
2. The rescuer said: “Well, there’s so much to live for!” The jumper said: “Like what?”
3. The rescuer said: “Well ... are you religious or are you an atheist?” The man said: “Religious.”
4. “Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?” The jumper said: “Christian.”
5. “Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?” The jumper said: “Protestant.”
6. “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?” The jumper said: “Baptist.”
7. “Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
a. The jumper said: “Baptist Church of God.”
8. “Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?” The jumper said: “Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
9. “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?”
a. The jumper said: “Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!”
10. The rescuer said: “Oh no, you heretic, you might as well jump!”
B. I know that story is a bit far-fetched, but it isn’t too far from the reality of the way we tend to divide ourselves into different Christian groups based on very minor things.
1. Certainly, there is a need to stand for the truth and to avoid error, and we must never settle for a unity that dispenses of critical pillars of truth.
2. J.C. Ryle, a 19th century theologian is attributed with this statement: “Unity and peace are very delightful; but they are bought too dear if they are bought at the expense of truth…Controversy, in fact, is one of the conditions under which truth in every age has to be defended and maintained, and it is nonsense to ignore it.”
3. So, we must hold to the truth, but if we are not careful, we move away from critical pillars of truth and we turn every jot and tittle of preference and opinion into a major doctrine.
4. There can never be unity based on my ideas or your ideas, but only on God’s truth.
5. What are the essentials? What are the deal-breakers?
a. Certainly they are the 7 ones of Ephesians 4:4-6.
6. Let’s reimagine that conversation on the bridge between the rescuer and the jumper based on Ephesians 4:4-6.
a. “Are you religious or an atheist?” “Religious.”
b. “Me too. Do you believe in the one body, and the one Spirit, and the one hope, and the one Lord, and the one faith, and the one baptism, and the one God and Father?” “Yes!”
c. “Me too! We have so much in common. So much to be in unity and fellowship about.”
C. God’s master plan is one of unity.
1. One day a minister was talking about the need for unity in his children’s sermon.
a. In dramatic and emphatic fashion, he held up his finger and said, “God wants us to be 1!”
b. A four-year-old little one spoke up and protested: “I’ve already been 1, I want to be 5!”
2. Truth is: God wants us to be one and is pleased when we are one!
3. King David declared in Psalm 133:1: How delightfully good when brothers live together in harmony!
a. God is so pleased and delighted when His people live together in harmony and unity.
4. Jesus thought that unity was so important that it was one of the final things He prayed about on the night before His crucifixion: 20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.” (Jn. 17:20-23)
a. Our unity with each other should mimic the unity that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have with each other.
b. How awesome it is that we can be one with each other and one with God, as God is one with us and is one in the Godhead!
D. But oneness and unity don’t come naturally and they require effort.
1. Paul began chapter 4 explaining that a part of living lives worthy of our calling includes making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
2. Paul explained that effort to keep unity requires the right attitudes.
a. First, we need the right attitude towards ourselves – humility – humility doesn’t mean thinking lowly of ourselves rather it means thinking rightly and accurately of ourselves.
1. This includes knowing that we are loved and valued by God and that we are saved by grace.
2. 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 with a right assessment of ourselves.
b. Second, we need the right attitude towards others – gentleness, patience and forbearance – these are the ways that God treats us and the ways we want others to treat us, so that’s the way we should treat others.
c. Third, we need the right attitude towards unity – a commitment to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.
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.”
E. With that commitment to unity in mind and the attitudes required for unity in place, Paul then named the 7 ones that form the background and bedrock for our unity.
1. These 7 ones are truly wonderful and powerful, and are absolutely essential and uncompromising.
2. We are all equally members of one body – Jesus is the head of only one body; which is the one family of God made up of those who are redeemed and adopted into God’s family.
3. Each member of the body is given the one Spirit who dwells in us, who guides us, gives us spiritual abilities, and seals us guaranteeing that we belong to God.
4. One hope fills each heart of those in the one body and that hope will be realized upon the blessed return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. The members of the one body, who have the one Spirit and one hope, are ruled by the one Lord Jesus who is the head of the church.
6. The one faith is the one set of teachings about the one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the new covenant that brings our salvation and the common commands for followers of Jesus.
7. The one baptism is the thing that brings us into the one body, under the one Lord, with the one Spirit, and is the new birth into the family of God.
8. Finally, the one God and Father is the one who loves us and who has masterminded everything from before time began and His will and His grace is being poured out to everyone through the one body, one Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one faith and one baptism.
9. How blessed we are to know and to experience all these seven ones and to be able to be unified with everyone else by these seven ones!
F. But let me remind us of 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 putting the needs and preferences of others head of our own at times and for certain reasons.
6. Making every effort to maintain this unity will also include asking for forgiveness when we have hurt others and offering forgiveness when others have hurt us, even before it is sought.
7. 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!
8. Let’s keep in mind that 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).
b. Creating strife and division in the body of Christ should be the last thing that we want to be guilty of.
9. In the end, 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.
G. This unity that we are called to keep isn’t unity in general, but is a oneness in mind and belief.
1. A. W. Tozer made an important point about unity in his book called “The Pursuit of God” when he wrote: 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.
2. The kind of unity that Paul charges us to keep doesn’t come from focusing on “unity” itself, but comes from focusing on the one God and Father, the one Lord, the one Spirit, the one body, the one faith, the one hope, and the one baptism.
3. Like the classic triangle with God at the top and people at each bottom corner - people draw closer to each other by drawing closer to the one God at the top of the triangle.
4. These 7 ones of Ephesians 4 are the right target for us to focus on to draw together in unity.
H. We’ve spent the past 8 weeks exploring the truths contained in Ephesians 4:1-6 and I hope it has been as rich an experience for you as it has for me.
1. This banner hanging at the front of the auditorium to my right will continue to hang here for a period of time, and I hope it will help us all to remember the 7 ones that equal unity.
2. I hope it will remind us which truths about God and the church are critically important and must not be altered or abandoned.
3. I want to conclude today’s sermon and this sermon series by giving attention to the other banner on my left that contains the words from 1 Timothy 2:5-6.
4. I chose those two verses for this banner because they contain two of the 7 ones from Eph. 4.
I. Let’s look at the context of those verses in 1 Timothy 2.
1. Paul wrote: 1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time. (1 Tim. 2:1-6)
2. Paul began by encouraging us to pray with all kinds of prayers, petitions, intercessions and thanksgivings – prayer should be well-rounded including prayers of thanks, prayers for ourselves and prayers for others (intercessions).
a. Those prayers for others include everyone and therefore, should include kings and all those in authority – we should be praying for our political leaders, law enforcement leaders, educational leaders, household leaders, and spiritual leaders.
3. Paul then said that our prayers should result in lives of godliness and dignity – we should be good examples and good community members – which pleases God.
4. Next, Paul declared that God wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
a. Aren’t you thankful that God’s real desire is for everyone to be saved?
b. God isn’t the kind of God who only wants a few to be saved, rather He is a God who would love for everyone to be saved.
c. God would love to have everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth – that’s why God has made truth readily available through the revelation of God found in creation and Scripture.
5. One of the main truths that God has made readily available is that there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind.
a. The one mediator is Jesus Christ who gave Himself as a ransom for all when He died on the cross.
b. The price He paid to set us free from bondage to the effects of our sin has made a path to salvation for all, but not all choose to take that path of salvation.
7. Jesus declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6)
a. This coincides perfectly with Paul’s statement that there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind – Jesus Christ – He is the way, the only way to the Father.
8. Jesus also declared: 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. (Mt. 7:13-14)
9. Satan has convinced people that there are many paths to God and a lot of them are much easier and broader than the way of Jesus, but they only lead to destruction.
10. The way of Jesus is narrow and difficult, but it is the only way to the Father.
J. God wants all of us to be saved and God has provided the way of salvation through Jesus.
1. I hope and pray that all of us will choose the one way that is the one faith and one hope, that comes from the one God and Father, through the one Lord and Savior, is empowered by the one Spirit, by the one baptism, that adds us to the one body.
2. Praise God for the one and only way that leads to life – life abundant and life eternal!
3. If you haven’t yet chosen to get into Christ and to follow Christ, then I pray that you will today.
4. If you already have chosen Christ and are following Christ, then I pray that you will stay with Christ on the narrow way and that you will help others to find the way of Christ.
5. If you are ready to enter through the narrow gate that leads to life, then you begin by confessing your faith, repenting and being baptized into Christ, being immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins.
6. If you are ready to do that today, then come forward as we stand and sing.
Resources:
• Ephesians and Philippians, Jay Lockhart and David Roper, Truth for Today Commentary, 2009.
• The Basis for Christian Unity, Steven Cole
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-26-basis-christian-unity-ephesians-44-6
• Ephesians 4:4-6 Basis for Church Unity, http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/eph4v4.html
• The Basis for Unity, Brent Kercheville, Westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com
