EPHESIANS 4:1-16
September 10, 2006
New Covenant EPC
“KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT”
Body Life - The Book of Ephesians
I. Unity is hard. Why?
A. Because we come from so many backgrounds, so many experiences and with so many needs and wants.
1. Unity is hard however because of sin and the Devil. Our sin nature is to want what we want more than what anyone else wants.
2. Unity is hard because in our sin natures we believe we know what is best for the church and others.
B. Even in our diversity - we need unity -
1. Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (NIV)
II. (Display vs 1-3) Live up to your calling - humble, gentle, bearing with one another, keep unity of spirit bond of peace
A. Verse 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
1. As a prisoner for the Lord - Paul has sacrificed himself for the Lord.
a. He has given up his own safety, his own personal opportunities so that the church of Christ might advance.
2. Paul was not only a defender of the faith but a defender of the unity of the church
a. Paul openly chastised Peter for letting the Judaizers (Galatians 2:11) try to split the church in Antioch.
b. The Judaizers were quick to criticize and cause derision.
c. The Judaizers had an air of superiority believing they were living rightly and could tell others to live rightly.
d. They created a spirit of judgmentalism and grumbling.
3. It destroyed the unity of the spirit.
4. Live up to the calling you have received.
a. Divisiveness within the Church, causes the Church not to live up to its calling.
b. Satan is smiling and even laughing when the Church of Christ is factious.
c. Unity is an essential for the church.
B. Verse 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
1. be completely humble and gentle - completely means fully, always, at all times.
a. In all things be humble and gentle.
b. The word in the Greek of “Humble” comes from two other Greek words which mean “cast” and “lower”.
c. Humbleness, humility means willing to be lower than others
d. 2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. (NIV)
e. In this age of self esteem and self actualization this is a radical word.
f. But the standard for our view of ourselves is our measurement with God, with Christ and what they expect of your life and mine.
2. John Huffman, "The Fruit of the Spirit Is Patience," PreachingToday.com
a. A young father in a supermarket was pushing a shopping cart with his little son, who was strapped in the front.
b. The little boy was fussing, irritable, and crying.
c. The father seemed to be very calm; as he continued down each aisle, he murmured gently:
d. "Easy now, Donald. Keep calm, Donald. Steady, boy. It’s all right, Donald."
e. A mother who was passing by was greatly impressed by this young father’s solicitous attitude.
f. She said, "You certainly know how to talk to an upset child—quietly and gently."
g. And then bending down to the little boy, she said, "What seems to be the trouble, Donald?"
h. "Oh no," said the father. "He’s Henry. I’m Donald."
3. “Bearing with one another”
a. The King James literally translates this Greek word “Long Suffering.”
b. “Your killing me” Long suffering and patience.
c. Is the willingness and ability to endure another’s behavior or words which cause you suffering or an awful feeling.
4. In On This Day by Carl D. Windsor, the page for Valentine’s Day includes this anecdote:
a. A grandmother, celebrating her golden wedding anniversary, once told the secret of her long and happy marriage.
b. ’On my wedding day, I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook,’ she said.
c. "A guest asked the woman what some of the faults she had chosen to overlook were.
d. The grandmother replied, ’To tell you the truth, my dear, I never did get around to listing them.
e. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, Lucky for him that’s one of the ten!’ "
C. verse 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
1. Unity of the Spirit
a. The word in the Greek for “UNITY” can mean “oneness” and “unanimity”
b. Where does unity come from?
c. Unity is a by product of being lead by and filled with the Holy Spirit.
d. Gal 5:22-2 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NIV)
e. Where does disunity come from?
f. Plain and simply it comes from our sin nature and from Satan.
g. A.W. Tozer in The Next Chapter After the Last. Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 13. It is too bad that anything so obvious should need to be said at this late date, but from all appearances, we Christians have about forgotten the lesson so carefully taught by Paul: “God’s servants are not to be competitors, but co-workers.”
2. “Bond of peace”
a. There is a reality today which we in the church fail to realize, - when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior, we were not only united to Him, but to all who believe in Him.
b. The word bond can mean possession.
c. As God is our Father and we are His children, in the bond of peace, now through Jesus you are my brother and sister and vice versa in the body of Christ.
3. The object of the church is to promote peace, unity and purity.
a. Truman Dollar in Leadership, Vol. 7, no. We have never achieved perfect unity in a local church any more than any of us has been completely transformed into the image of Christ.
4. Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Zondervan, 1997); quoted in Men of Integrity
a. He Charges every new member this way:
b. "And now, I charge you that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone—myself, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else—that you stop that person in mid-sentence and say, ’Excuse me—who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let’s go to his office right now. He’ll apologize to you, and then we’ll pray together so God can restore peace to this body. But we won’t let you talk critically about people who aren’t present to defend themselves.’
c. "I’m serious about this. I want you to help resolve this kind of thing immediately. And know this: If you are ever the one doing the loose talking, we’ll confront you."
d. “I know what most easily destroys churches. It’s not crack cocaine, government oppression, or even lack of funds.
e. Rather it’s gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit.
III. (vs 4-6 Display) Unity because of the Reality of our oneness in God
A. One of the major characteristics of God is the oneness in His being.
1. As He is one so His church is called to be one, building in its oneness, and a reflection of Him.
a. Unity is a reality within the gospel and within God.
b. The true manifestation of the Christ Church is unified.
2. The church is the body of Christ.
a. 1 Cor 12:25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. (NIV)
b. 1 Cor 12:26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (NIV)
c. 1 Cor 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV)
3. The church of Christ should reflect the God we believe in.
a. God is diverse and unified.
b. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
c. Each person of the God-head is unique and diverse.
d. Yet they are together one and unified.
4. From Sports Illustrated - Matt Emmons had the gold medal in sight.
a. He was one shot away from claiming victory in the 2004 Olympic 50-meter three-position rifle event.
b. He didn’t even need a bull’s-eye to win.
c. His final shot merely needed to be on target.
d. But in what was described as "an extremely rare mistake in elite competition," Emmons fired at the wrong target.
e. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three.
f. His score for a good shot at the wrong target??0.
g. Instead of a medal, Emmons ended up in eighth place.
5. It doesn’t matter how accurate you are if you are aiming at the wrong goal.
a. There are many Christians within the church that have a highly accurate eye for what is wrong with people and certain things within a church, but they are firing at the wrong target which if people follow them will not receive God’s award
b. The reality of God and the faith we believe in is unity.
c. Oneness is a primary goal of the church as God is one and yet three.
IV. So Unity is our call, it comes from the Diversity and yet unity of God, and it is our primary goal within the church. - Give me something practical Preacher.
A. A study reported in Psychological Science discovered that the "best" arguers are those who don’t point their fingers.
1. According to the study, the person who says "we" the most during an argument suggests the best solutions.
2. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used statistical analysis to study 59 couples.
a. Spouses who used second-person pronouns (you) tended toward negativity in interactions.
b. Those making use of first-person plural pronouns (we) provided positive solutions to problems.
3. The study concluded: "’We’ users may have a sense of shared interest that sparks compromise and other ideas pleasing to both partners.
4. ’You’-sayers, on the contrary, tend to criticize, disagree, justify, and otherwise team with negativity."
B. - One simple suggestion, when we speak of our church, let us consciously use not “THEM” or “YOU” but “WE”, “US”, “OURS”
C. We will continue in this passage on Unity next week
