A TRANSFORMED LIFE: PRESERVES THE UNITY
Ephesians 4:1-6
In the late 1800¡¦s there were two deacons in a small Baptist church in Mayfield, KY. These two deacons didn¡¦t get along and they always opposed each other in any decision related to the church. On one particular Sunday, one deacon put up a small wooden peg in the back wall so the minister could hang up his hat. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged that he had not been consulted. People in the church took sides and eventually there was a spilt. To this day, they say you can find in Mayfield, KY the Anti-Peg Baptist Church.
One of the saddest things that can happen in a church is when people begin to fight against each other instead of working together. Yet it happens all the time. History is full of sad stories about Christians fighting among themselves. Let me share one that I recently heard about.
Tradition claims that Jerusalem¡¦s Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built over the cave where Christ was buried. In July 2002 the church became the scene of ugly fighting between the monks who run it. It turns out that Ethiopian and Coptic monks have been arguing over the rooftop of the church for centuries. In 1752 the Ottoman Sultan issued an edict declaring which parts of the church belong to each of six different Christian groups.
The rooftop had been controlled by the Ethiopians, but they lost control to the Coptic monks when they were hit by a disease epidemic in the 1800¡¦s. Then in the 1970¡¦s the Ethiopians regained control when the Coptic monks were absent for a short period. The Ethiopians have been squatting there ever since with at least one monk always remaining on the roof to assert their rights. But in response to this, a Coptic monk has also been living on the roof to maintain the Coptic claim to the church¡¦s roof.
Thus, in July 2002, when the Coptic monk on the roof moved his chair into the shade where the Ethiopian monk was sitting, harsh words led to pushing and shoving and then to an all-out brawl. 11 monks were injured, including one who was taken to the hospital unconscious. Amazingly, all this took place in a church that is supposedly built on the same location of Jesus¡¦ tomb.
When the church is divided it produces some very tragic results. On the other hand, when the church is unified it unleashes a power that can hardly be stopped.
In the book of Ephesians, more than any of Paul¡¦s other letters, he calls the church to be unified. Paul mentions the unity of the church 18 times in Ephesians. If you read through the entire book you¡¦ll begin to think Paul is repeating himself. And you¡¦d be right. He is. Both Paul and Jesus agree on this: unity in the church is not just a good thing. Unity is essential.
Moments before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed for the church that he knew would be established after his death and resurrection. He didn¡¦t pray for large buildings. He didn¡¦t pray for ministry programs or administrative finesse or creative worship. He asked for only one thing: ¡§I pray that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.¡¨ If we¡¦re going to be the kind of people God intends, then we need to take this to heart. I¡¦d like to explore this today by exploring Ephesians 4:1-6. Follow along with me as I read this passage. (Read)
In verse 1 Paul urges every person who claims Jesus as the Lord and Forgiver of their lives to live in a particular manner. We¡¦re to ¡§live a life worthy of the calling you have received.¡¨ In other words, our conduct is to bring honor to Christ in all that we do. Do you know why living in a manner worthy of our calling is so important? Because the greatest cause of unbelief in the world is not the theory of evolution, it¡¦s not postmodernism and it¡¦s not secularism. The greatest cause of unbelief in the world is the poor testimony of those who profess to be Christ-followers. Far too often we who preach love in reality practice hate. And far too often we who proclaim unity are divided over the most trivial issues.
All the while the world looks on. People are amazed at what we believe and then they¡¦re scandalized by the way we act. Bertrand Russell, the great atheist philosopher, once said that if Christians practiced what they believed they would change the world. Ghandi said he would love to become a Christian. He was just waiting to meet someone who sincerely lived out what Jesus taught.
This is what we¡¦re urged to do in verse 1. We¡¦re to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ. This begins to be fleshed out in verse 2. Notice the text says we¡¦re not just to be humble¡Kwe¡¦re to be completely humble. To be humble literally means to have ¡§lowliness of mind.¡¨ In other words, we don¡¦t think too highly of ourselves. But, on the other hand, it¡¦s not thinking less of ourselves, either. Humility helps us to see our lives as a gift from God. We recognize that any ability we have has been given to us by God.
Walter Cronkite tells a story about when he was sailing down the Mystic River in Connecticut, going through shallow water, when a boat filled with young people sped past him. The young people were shouting and waving their arms. Cronkite waved back a cheery greeting. His wife asked him, ¡§Do you know what they were shouting?¡¨ He replied, ¡§Why it was hello Walter.¡¨ ¡§No,¡¨ she said. ¡§They were shouting, ¡¥Low water. Low water.¡¦¡¨ Such are the problems when we have too high a view of ourselves.
So first we¡¦re instructed to be completely humble, then Paul urges us to be gentle. Gentleness could also be translated meekness. We talked about meekness when we studied the beatitudes. Jesus said, ¡§Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.¡¨ Meekness is strength under control. The word was used of wild horses that were broken and trained. One commentator writes, ¡§meekness is the quality of a strong personality who is nevertheless master of himself and the servant of others.¡¨
Next, we¡¦re instructed to be patient. Patience means having a long fuse with other people¡Keven when they mess up. Two men were riding a tandem bicycle when they came to a very steep hill. It took a great deal of struggle for the men to finally get to the top. When they got there the man in the front turned to the guy in the back and said, ¡§Man, that sure was a hard climb!¡¨ The fellow in the back replied, ¡§Yes, and if I hadn¡¦t kept the brakes on all the way up I¡¦m sure we would¡¦ve rolled back down the hill.¡¨
To be patient means to be long-suffering toward people who are aggravating to us. Sometimes people are difficult. People will irritate us. They¡¦ll disappoint us. They¡¦ll do things that hurt us. That¡¦s why at the end of verse 2 we¡¦re told to ¡§bear with one another in love.¡¨ Literally this means to suffer with one another. The story is told of a little boy sitting on his front steps with his face cradled in his hands, looking upset. His dad had just come home from work and he asked the boy what was wrong. The boy looked up and said, ¡§Well, just between us, dad, I¡¦m having trouble getting along with your wife.¡¨
At times life is tough. Relationships won¡¦t always be easy. But to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ means we¡¦ll be humble, gentle and patient with each other. And we¡¦ll bear with each other in love. By God¡¦s grace, we¡¦ll stick together through thick and thin. This is the ¡§for better or for worse¡¨ part of marriage applied to the church.
And please notice that we¡¦re to bear with each other in love. Not with sarcasm but with love. Not begrudgingly but with love. We¡¦re reminded of this again in Colossians 3:14. ¡§Over all virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.¡¨ Love is the bedrock. It¡¦s the foundation of all we do as Christ-followers.
With all that in mind, Paul then takes us to the next level. And that level is a call for unity within the church. In verse 3 he tells us to make every effort¡Kto be diligent and committed to keeping the unity of the Holy Spirit. The verb which we translate ¡§make every effort¡¨ is a quite strong. One commentator writes, ¡§It is hardly possible to render exactly the urgency contained in the underlying Greek verb. Not only haste and passion, but a full effort of the whole man is meant, involving his will, sentiment, reason, physical strength, and total attitude.¡¨
In other words, we¡¦re to apply a full-court press to the business of keeping the unity of the Spirit. Referring to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin said, ¡§We must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately.¡¨ There¡¦s a similar sense of urgency in verse 3. For the church to be all it can be and for each of us to become all that God intends, we need to hang together.
I want you to notice that our responsibility is not to create the unity, but to keep the unity. There¡¦s a huge difference. Paul says, ¡§Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.¡¨ So what¡¦s the basis of this unity? What¡¦s it founded upon? That¡¦s what Paul spells out for us next. In verses 4-6 Paul offers the seven essential ingredients of Christian unity. The first is this: Christ-followers are part of one body.
1. One body. It¡¦s important to understand that the church is not one monolithic organization. It never has been and never will be. The church is not one organization, but it is one body. Our human bodies are comprised of thousands of cells, but there¡¦s only one life. A body is produced because one original cell begins growing until it becomes the creation we call a human body. Yet, every cell shares the original life. In a similar way, the body of Christ has an infinite number of expressions. It¡¦s shaped by culture, by the personality of its leaders, by historical context and many other factors. But the one constant is that the true church all around the globe shares the life of Christ.
We all have our druthers about things we prefer to see in the church. That¡¦s fine. In fact, I believe that¡¦s one reason God has allowed so many different expressions of the church. People are different and we experience God in a myriad of different ways. But just because there are different church organizations doesn¡¦t diminish the fact that we¡¦re all part of one body. I¡¦ve worshipped and sensed God¡¦s presence in Lutheran churches, Presbyterian churches, Catholic churches, Pentecostal churches and Baptist churches, to name just a few. We need to be careful not to get hung up on secondary issues that divide. This happens far too often, as you know.
A man was out on walk when he saw another man about to throw himself from a bridge into the river. He ran over to save him. ¡§Why do you want to kill yourself?¡¨ the man asked. ¡§I¡¦ve nothing to live for.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t you believe in God?¡¨ ¡§Yes I do.¡¨
¡§What a coincidence-so do I! Are you a Jew or a Christian?¡¨ ¡§A Christian.¡¨
¡§What a coincidence-so am I! Protestant or Catholic?¡¨ ¡§Protestant.¡¨
¡§What a coincidence-so am I! Anglican or Baptist?¡¨ ¡§Baptist.¡¨
What a coincidence-so am I! Baptist Union Church or Independent Baptist?¡¨ ¡§Baptist Union.¡¨
¡§What a coincidence-so am I! Premillenial or amillenial?¡¨ ¡§Premillenial.¡¨
¡§What a coincidence-so am I! Pre-tribulation rapture or mid-tribulation rapture?¡¨ ¡§Mid-tribulation rapture.¡¨
At that the first man pushed the suicidal man into the river shouting ¡§Die heretic, die!¡¨ ƒº
This is a sad story, but it has so much truth in it that it hurts. We get caught up in so many secondary things. I know of one Christian tradition that had a falling out over whether to wear buttons on their clothes or whether little hooks and eyes were better. Those folks actually separated over the issue and members of the button group were shunned by members of the hook-an-eye group. Come on!! We¡¦re to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit because there¡¦s only one body. And that¡¦s the body of Christ. And anyone who claims the shed blood of Christ for their salvation is part of that body.
2. One Spirit. There¡¦s also only one Spirit. The same Holy Spirit dwells within every believer so there¡¦s an interconnectedness among us. And it¡¦s the Holy Spirit which produces Christian unity. We don¡¦t create the unity. It¡¦s a gift from God. Our job is simply to preserve the unity which God gives us out of his grace.
3. One hope. There¡¦s also only one hope and that hope rests solely in Jesus Christ. Because we believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, we have the hope of eternal life. Jesus said ¡§I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.¡¨ Jesus is our hope. We have no other.
4. One Lord. And we serve only one Lord, Jesus Christ. The word for Lord used here is KURIOS. Jesus is the one and only supreme ruler of the universe.
5. One faith. And we have one common faith. This one faith rests squarely on Jesus Christ. This is the truth that was given to his church. There¡¦s no middle ground. Either your faith is in Jesus Christ or it¡¦s not. There are no kindas or sortas available. Jesus said, ¡§if you¡¦re not for me, then you¡¦re against me.¡¨
Faith in Jesus Christ unites people like nothing else. They tell the story of one Sunday in the 1920¡¦s when the invitation was given at Calvary Baptist Church. They say from one side of the building a woman came forward to confess Christ. She was a domestic, uneducated, simple, nobody even knew here name.
At the same time, from the other side of the church a man came forward. He was distinguished, tall, well-dressed, and everyone knew his name. He was Charles Evans Hughes, the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. And as these two very different people arrived in front, they each took one of the pastor¡¦s hands. The pastor recognized the significance of that moment and he said, ¡§The ground is level at the foot of the cross.¡¨
6. One baptism. The sixth thing that unites Christ-followers is baptism. Paul is referring to the ordinance of baptism. This is where the believer is baptized into the body of Christ after accepting Jesus. This is a signal to the world that we belong to the family of God.
7. One God and Father. Finally, there¡¦s one God and Father. Once we accept Christ into our lives we become part of his forever family. And it¡¦s a family like no other.
A few years ago at the Special Olympics in Seattle, WA, nine physically or mentally challenged runners lined up at the starting line for the 100 meter run. At the sound of the gun, all the runners eagerly started out¡Kexcept for one boy who stumbled. He tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight runners heard the boy cry and slowly turned around and paused. Then they all turned back¡Kevery one of them. One girl with Down syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said, ¡§That will make it better.¡¨ Then all nine of them linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood and the cheering went on for a solid 10 minutes.
That race paints a picture of what God¡¦s family is like. We¡¦re all wounded. We¡¦re all challenged in one way or another. But God, in his infinite mercy and grace, makes us part of his forever family through faith in Christ. And it¡¦s with our spiritual family that we journey through life helping each other along the way.
Why, then, are we called to be unified? What¡¦s the basis for unity in the church? Why should we make every effort to keep this unity of the Spirit? Why? Because we¡¦re all part of one body; because one and the same Spirit dwells every Christ-follower; we all have one common hope; one common Lord; one common faith; one common baptism; and we all bow in worship of the same God and Father.
Conclusion
The University of Texas and Texas A&M are arch-rivals. Every year before their big football game, Texas A&M has a pep rally with a huge bonfire. Several years ago, the bon fire collapsed and killed a number of Texas A&M students. As a sign of their support and shared grief at the tragic loss of life, a number of University of Texas students attended the memorial service at Texas A&M. I want to share with you an article that was written by Eric Opiela, University of Texas Student Body Vice-President describing the memorial service.
¡§I had the great privilege of attending the memorial service at A&M tonight and was deeply moved by the events I experienced. The A&M student body is truly one of the greatest treasures of our State. As part of the UT delegation, we sat on the floor of Reed Arena, and immediately following the end of the service, I heard this rustling sound behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw the sight of 20,000 students spontaneously putting their arms around their neighbor¡¦s shoulders, forming a great circle around the arena.
The mass stood there in pin-drop silence for close to five minutes, then, from somewhere, someone began to quietly hum ¡¥Amazing Grace.¡¦ Within seconds, the whole arena was singing. I tried, too-I choked, I cried. This event brought me to tears. It was one of the defining moments of my college career.
I learned something tonight. For all us Longhorns who discount A&M in our never-ending rivalry, we need to realize one thing. Aggieland is a special place, with special people. (Why?) It is a family. It is a family that cares for its own, a family that reaches out, a family that is unified in the face of adversity¡K¡¨
What a picture of what the church should be. The first characteristic Paul identifies of a transformed life is unity. Would to God that we would all live worthy of our calling; that we would be humble, gentle and patient; and that we would keep the unity of the Spirit.
