Unity In The Church
Eph 4:1-6
Intro. Chapter three of Ephesians is filled with verses of love. Then Paul speaks of God’s abundancy toward us.
I. Therefore:
The word therefore refers back to earlier verses. Ephesians like all of Paul’s writings is broken into two parts, doctrine, and practice. The first three chapters Paul covers the beautiful doctrines of salvation, God’s sovereignty and others.
A preacher friend of mine used to say when you see the word therefore you need to check to see what it’s there for. So as he looks back he says I therefore, in other words, he says because God has saved me by his grace and is sanctifying me and has complete charge of all things. Therefore I should walk in such a way as to show this and to honor God.
As I have said before the king’s children have a responsibility to honor their father by acting like children of royalty. We’re like that to; we don’t want our children to dishonor our family.
The first three chapters are doctrinal belief that is wherein lies our faith, so we are talking about using this faith and practice.
1. Put Your Faith Into Operation:
Some people believe that only doctrine is important, they read all of the books on the subjects and feel they have their theology nailed down. They can tell you what you should believe and why you should believe it.
When the problems of life surface they don’t they know how to apply their believe. Doctrine is something that should comfort us when we have problems upon us. I have been in churches where they were steeped in doctrine but there was no love and when this happens churches die.
There’s also the other side of the coin those who say doctrine is not important just love the Lord. This is a life of practice only that leaves out the basic teaching of our Lord. It may draw worldly groups that look at the church like a club where they gather to have fellowship and listen to music.
Why does God’s word teach us both, because we are supposed to use both? Sam Cathey used to say, you are to behave like you believe.
If we major on doctrine only, the church will die, if we major on practice only the church may live but it won’t be a church.
When Jesus walked with the disciples he taught them how they were to live. We call the Bible our rulebook of faith and practice and that is exactly what it is. You can’t stop at the end of chapter three of Ephesians and say the rest is not important.
It’s here in 4, 5, and 6 that he tells us how we are to live because of the doctrine that has been taught to us. Christianity is to be a way of life and not just something we experience on Sunday morning. The earlier Christians were called “Follower’s of the Way.”
The first three chapters tell’s us how we have come to be justified, the last part of the book tells us we are being sanctified. On a larger scale Paul is tying together two teachings that we all desparately need.
2. Love Should Bring Unity: “forbearing one another in love.”
The word therefore means, here in light of what I have just said, or because of what I have said, makes what I’m going to say now true.
Jesus said to his follower’s in John 13 just after he had washed their feet. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another? John 13:34-35
“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” I Jn 3:11
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” I Jn 3:23
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” I Jn 4:20-21
From what Jesus said, and he has never lied, the people that say they hate this one or that one are not Christians. In 1John he said,
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” I Jn 3:14
If we are rooted and grounded in love, and we comprehend this love of Christ and are filled with the fulness of God, our walk of life should show it.
Unity is brought about by love remember Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another?”
You can have a group of people come together for a common cause and they’ll have a certain amount of unity that is until someone disagrees with another.
In the church congregation if everyone was a true child of God you’d never have a problem. If I love you as Christ loves me and your ideas are different from mine, (I’m not speaking of doctrine but church business, I won’t change my belief just to be like you and you shouldn’t either, but we are suppose to believe the Bible) I’ll go along with you. That’s why the Baptist church believes in majority rule and the minority should be willing to go along in love. If everyone was to take the problems to God in prayer and he does answer prayer how can we have such fiery disagreements?
The biggest problem is we are all selfish and we want our way in spite of what the majority does. This is that old sinful nature showing itself in our life.Too many Christians feel that they are right no matter what everyone else says, and they’re willing to tear the church apart to prove it. (Old deacon in a church said, “as long as I’m a deacon in this church there won’t be any unanimous vote.)
Paul says “forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Bearing with one another in love, that means if someone hurts your feelings, you should tell them and then forgive them and continue along in unity. Peter said how often seven times and Jesus replied seventy times seven.
Mt. 18:21,22
II. Walk Worthy Of Your Calling:
God has justified you, now you are to walk in such a way that men can see you are a child of God. This is practicing what you believe. Some believe that God has saved them and they can now walk as they please, not so!
Sanctification is the Christian’s walk in life, it is a combination of man’s responsibility and the grace of God. Look at Phil 2:12-16
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
Paul is writing to Christians, he isn’t telling them how to be saved but as Christians how they are suppose to act. God indwells the heart of the child of God. He is speaking of sanctification, he is telling us to walk in a way that will bring glory to the name of Jesus.
Look at Gal 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
We are to walk close to our Lord, it’s when we stray away from him that we desire to sin. (Sheep that stray from the fold.)He deals with some of the sins later in this chapter in vs. 28-32.
How are we to be sanctified? It is certainly not by living as we think is right. Jesus told us in Jn. 17:17 when he prayed to the Father he said, “Sanctify through thy truth thy word is truth.”
Why should Christians attend the church? “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Later in Eph. He said he gave to the church certain individuals to teach them, Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets, Pastors, and Teachers.
Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments.” His commandments are found in the Bible. If we cannot love one another we are probably not truly Christians, we need to examine ourselves, in
2 Cor 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
1 Pet 1:15-16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
What did he mean by that? Put away your sin from you, we should with all our heart desire to be holy. Hymn says, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
1. Calling:
The word translated church is Ek’klesia, which means the called out ones. Our calling came from our Lord not some preacher. Called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
III. Our Unity:
You can have church without a preacher but you can’t have church without unity. Paul wants us to understand the principle. He doesn’t mean you have to agree with every jot and every tittle but we are not to fall out with one another because we don’t always agree.
1. One Body: This is speaking of the body of believer’s, the church, the Elect of God, or whatever name you know it by. Even the whosoever will, those that have come to God through and by the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one body, not a body of Jewish believers, and a body Gentiles.
Even today we are in danger of not understanding this. Some denominations feel they are the only ones going to heaven and with some this is taught. But there is but one body of believers they are scattered throughout the world. Peter called it a holy nation.
2. One Spirit. There’s also only one Spirit. The same Holy Spirit dwells within every believer so that we are linked together. 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 by his grace.
A church should be a place where a rich man might sit beside a poor man and they be taught together. They should fellowship together in the Lord. They may not be able to discus the stockmarket but their bond is not Wall Street but the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
3. One Hope. Some of the older Christians I know refer to this as our blessed hope. The word hope is not just a maybe it will happen or I certainly hope it does. The word speaks of an anticipation of our glory in heaven. It is a confidence that we are looking at Jesus and we trust in Him. The word hope here is based upon the finished work of our blessed Lord.
4. One Lord. There is but one Kurios or Lord of lords. This is what is meant here, the Greek word is ku’ rios, not just a lord, but the Lord over all. He said in Mt. 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
The word used here for power means authority and/or ability. Jesus has the authority and the ability to manage and control this universe.
Col 1:16-17, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
It says he not only created this universe but everything in it runs because he makes it so. Not one star flickers except he allows it. In Rev 20 it says that heaven and earth would flee from his face, it is he that keeps them in place. They speak about the laws of gravity and the laws that keep the planets in their orbit the laws are in Jesus. It is by his authority everything runs on schedule.
5. One Faith. There are many denominations but there is but one faith. I believe we are speaking here of the gospel. There is but one faith or true belief in the God of the universe and how he sent his son down to earth that he might die for his people. The bible speaks of the plan of God from before the foundation of the world and through the death burial and resurrection of His precious son, and how the Apostles went on to establish the church as they were directed.
6. One Baptism. The sixth thing that unites Christians is baptism. Paul is not referring to the ordinance of baptism. He is telling us we are all baptized into the body of Christ after receiving Jesus. He speaks of this in detail in Romans 6. There is no water in Rom. 6, but a clear teaching of the baptism of each believer into the Lord and how we are responsible to walk because of this baptism.
Our water baptism is to show that we have been baptized into Christ Jesus. This is why we as Baptist hold so firmly in Immersion, it signifies our being buried with Jesus, and our resurrection in Jesus to a new and spirit filled life.
7. One God and Father. Finally, there’s one God and Father. Once we receive Christ into our lives we become a part of his eternal family. We become a child of God’s by adoption He literally makes us to be a child of his. We become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
A beautiful picture of this is found in the O.T. where Mephibosheth the cripple grandson of Saul ate at the king’s table the rest of his life.
2Sam. 9:13
He continued to use the number one to show us we are all in the same body we are suppose to get along and will get along if we look to the Lord to be the ruler in our life.
