08 Preserve Unity! Ephesians 4:1-16

Ephesians 4:1 NET I, therefore, the
prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live
worthily of the calling with which you have
been called, 2 with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, 3 making every effort to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. 4 There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you too were called to the one
hope of your calling,

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one
God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all. 7 But to each one of
us grace was given according to the
measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Therefore it
says, "When he ascended on high he
captured captives; he gave gifts to
men." (Psalm 68:18) 9 Now what is the
meaning of "he ascended," except that he
also descended to the lower
regions, namely, the earth?

10 He, the very one who descended, is also
the one who ascended above all the
heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 It was
he who gave some as apostles, some as
prophets, some as evangelists, and some
as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the
saints for the work of ministry, that is, to
build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God —

a mature person, attaining to the measure
of Christ's full stature. 14 So we are no
longer to be children, tossed back and forth
by waves and carried about by every wind
of teaching by the trickery of people who
craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 15
But practicing the truth in love, we will in all
things grow up into Christ, who is the head.

16 From him the whole body grows, fitted
and held together through every supporting
ligament. As each one does its part, the
body grows in love.
God calls Christians to live worthily of the
calling by making every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
among Christians.
It challenges our selfish tendencies towards
division and strife & to re-examine how
fervently we are striving for unity.

A boy happened to be an “only child.” He
had two loving parents whose lives seemed
to revolve around him; their only aim in life
seemed to be to keep him happy.
Grandparents spoiled him rotten– that‟s
what Grandparents do. The house was all
his! The toys were all his! He was the center
of the universe! And things were good, and
then, the most awful & unexpected thing
happened!

On a cold January morning when he was
five years old, his Mom & Dad came to pick
him up when he had spent the night at his
grandparent‟s house and introduced him
(for the first time) to Debbie . . . his new
baby sister! He didn‟t realize at first what
happened. He was happy to meet her, she
seemed harmless enough. But he soon
came to realize that his previous way of life
was in jeopardy.

Now, instead of having everyone‟s full
attention all the time, he would have to
share it with his new sister. And he really
couldn‟t see what all the fuss was about.
She couldn‟t do very much. She couldn‟t
run around, play ball, couldn‟t do anything
but fuss & cry all the time. As she grew
though, you might have expected things to
improve, but they only got worse!

Before she could even walk she was
following him around the house on her
hands & knees wherever he went! When he
wanted to go outside and play, Mom would
want him to take her with him? She had
toys of her own, but what she really wanted
was to play with his all the time. She never
respected his privacy and she just assumed
that if something was his it was hers, too.

But that didn‟t quite seem fair, because her
toys were all girl toys (dolls & stuff) and so
he couldn‟t really play with her stuff. Fights
& squabbles became a routine event at
their house with Mom playing referee all the
time. And again, it just wasn‟t fair. There
was no way for him to win a fight.

When his sister got mad she would come at
him with arms flailing, but he couldn‟t really
fight back, partly because she was five
years younger than him and partly because
she was a girl. So, she‟d dig her fingernails
into him or punch him with her little fists and
all he could do was hold her down until she
gave up...or Mom came in and broke up the
fight.

Why is it often so difficult for brothers and
sisters to get along?
There‟s just something about being family
that makes it tough for us to get along with
each other sometimes. That‟s true for
spiritual families, too, isn‟t it?
Often, Christian brothers and sisters
squabble, fuss & fight, and usually over the
most trivial of matters. Why is it that we just
sometimes have a tough time getting along
as family?

Paul is writing to the Christians at Ephesus
to encourage them to BE the CHURCH that
God wants them to be! The church is
family, members of God‟s household
together. They have been „blessed with
every spiritual blessing…in Christ‟ (1:3) and
been given the power from God to change
their lives.

They have gone from life „in the world‟ to life
„in Christ‟ and that has made all the
difference! He has shown them “through the
church the multifaceted wisdom of God
should now be disclosed.” (3:10) It all hinges
on whether or not you “know the love of
Christ that surpasses knowledge.” (3:19) In
today‟s text, he turns towards what all of
this means for individual Christians, the
ethical section, the “So What” part of his
letter.

1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge
you to live worthily of the calling with which
you have been called,
Paul is languishing under Roman guard in
prison where he writes many of his letters.
He regards himself as a prisoner for the
Lord and he‟s continuing his work of
ministry EVEN under difficult
circumstances.

Verse 1 stands as an introduction to this
entire section. He‟s still going to talk about
the church and will continue building a
theology of the church (so to speak), but his
primary emphasis in Chapter. 4-6 are going
to be on holy living, on living the Christian
life. He calls us to live worthily of the calling
with which you have been called. He has
saved us. We are Christians, so ACT like
it, he says! Well, how?

2 with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in
love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The very FIRST thing Paul mentions
towards this „holy living‟ is unity among
believers.

Paul says, I want you to live worthily of the
calling by PURSUING UNITY! Oh, but that‟s
SO difficult today! We all love the idea of
unity, but it‟s really hard to practice. We
remember Jesus‟ prayer in John 17 where
he prays for unity among believers who
would come after him.

John 17:20 "I am not praying only on
their behalf, but also on behalf of those who
believe in me through their testimony, 21
that they will all be one, just as
you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I
pray that they will be in us, so that the world
will believe that you sent me.

God‟s plan was that all believers would be
ONE! Unified! It was never his design that
when someone says, “I‟m a Christian” we‟d
have to ask “what kind?” Denominations are
certainly NOT what God intended! And it
seems a crying shame that so many
throughout the world CLAIM to serve the
same Lord and yet cannot work with one
another.

It‟s even more shameful (in my opinion) that
many in Christian Churches/Churches of
Christ cannot get along with one another.
Jesus‟ prayer may explain why we‟ve not
been as successful at evangelism as we‟d
like. We can‟t get along with one
another, so what kind of testimony is that to
the world? How we need to understand and
have unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
today!!! But how can we get it?

By what means should we seek unity? I
suppose there are at least three options.

This is where we try to gather folks into the
church who pretty well are just like us. They
look like us, talk like us, walk like us, etc.
That way there won‟t be any
disagreements. We‟re all from the same
culture; the similar backgrounds; interested
in the same things.

And you just MIGHT be able to get a
consistent enough group to have some sort
of „unity.‟ But, folks, that‟s NOT Biblical
unity, that‟s unnatural uniformity! God
created each of us different and unique and
for a purpose. In fact, I‟d suggest that trying
to achieve unity on this basis is sinful!

God calls all kinds of people from all kinds
of different cultures and all kinds of different
backgrounds into his Kingdom. To not
recognize that fact is to go against the will
of God! The biggest challenge in the 1st
century church perhaps was in getting
Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians to
come together, but they did! They
worshiped together, ate together and loved
one another.

Galatians 3:28 NET There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor
free, there is neither male nor female — for
all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if
you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham's descendants, heirs according to
the promise.

This is where we only accept folks who
agree with us on all of the important
„issues.‟ The problem is in getting folks to
agree on what those fundamental „issues‟
are. Do we have to agree on every issue in
order to have unity? Then we‟d have a lot of
churches of one! If not, on how many of
them must we agree in order to have unity?

Does the fact that we disagree on even one
of them mean that we must break
fellowship? Well, you say, let‟s just go by
the Bible and do what it says, then we can
have unity on what the Bible says. Okay, I
agree with you, but let‟s at least admit that
it‟s a lot harder than we would like to think it
is. For example, I believe it is wise to pool
our resources together with other churches
to sponsor a missionary in the field.

You might strongly believe that would be
wrong. That a missionary needs to be under
one church or one Eldership. Does the fact
that we disagree mean that we must break
off our unity?
Or you might think that because Jesus
instituted the Lord‟s Supper by taking „a
cup‟ that we need to only use one cup today
in the assembly. Just pass it around as is
the practice of some churches.

I don‟t think that example is particularly
binding on us today. The point is in
remembering Jesus and partaking
together, NOT on the cup. If we disagree
over this issue, can‟t we still find some way
to worship together? You see how difficult
trying to achieve unity on this basis can be?

What Paul calls us to in this text is unity
based on Theological fact.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as
you too were called to the one hope of your
calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who
is over all and through all and in all.

By that I mean, because there is one
body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one
baptism! That‟s the way God designed it!
That‟s the way it is! God is one! Jesus, the
Lord is one with God! They are one with the
Spirit! And if we‟re to be one with them, we
are to be one with each other!

For example, my brother and I are vastly
different. Growing up we were nothing alike.
He was the cowboy in the family and was
very involved in FFA raising hogs & cattle. I
enjoyed riding my horse, but you would
usually find me on the ball field, on stage
with the High School Choir, or in the woods
with my squirrel dog. We‟re different, but
we‟re family. We‟re brothers NOT because
we‟re alike, but because we have the same
FATHER!

We are brothers & sisters, not because
we‟re alike or even think the same on the
same things, but because we have the
same Father!
If people have the same Lord, believe the
same gospel, have experienced the same
reality of being baptized into the same
Christ, should they not live out this same
unity? The Bible says so. Wouldn‟t it be a
sin not to?

7 But to each one of us grace was given
according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. 8 Therefore it says, "When he
ascended on high he captured captives;
he gave gifts to men." (Psalm 68:18)

9 Now what is the meaning of "he
ascended," except that he also descended
to the lower regions, namely, the earth? 10
He, the very one who descended, is also
the one who ascended above all the
heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 It was
he who gave some as apostles, some as
prophets, some as evangelists, and some
as pastors and teachers,

God has given each of us gifts, that‟s the
point of another one of Paul‟s „asides‟ here
in verses 8-10. The God who „descended‟ to
this world in the form of Jesus, taking on the
very nature of man in the flesh is the same
Jesus who „ascended‟ back into the
heavens after his resurrection from the
dead. This all powerful & mighty God gave
gifts to men.

At least some of these „gifts‟ include the
roles of
apostleship, preaching, evangelism, shephe
rding and teaching. We shouldn‟t get too
hung up on this list, Paul doesn‟t claim that
it‟s an exhaustive list, there are certainly a
number of other „gifts‟ he gives Christians
and a number of other roles in his church
(like deacon) that aren‟t mentioned. But it‟s
good to be encouraged that we ALL have a
part to play in the work of the church!

Too many times the impression some
churches give is that people come, listen to
a preacher and do little else. Their picture of
the body of Christ must be one big mouth
with a lot of little ears! But his point is to
emphasize that all of these different
functions (or body parts) all work together
for the common goal.

12 to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, that is, to build up the body of
Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God — a mature person, attaining to the
measure of Christ's full stature.

14 So we are no longer to be
children, tossed back and forth by waves
and carried about by every wind of teaching
by the trickery of people who craftily carry
out their deceitful schemes. 15 But
practicing the truth in love, we will in all
things grow up into Christ, who is the head.
16 From him the whole body grows, fitted
and held together through every supporting
ligament. As each one does its part, the
body grows in love.

You‟ve been given a gift, a talent, an ability
that not everybody has! And God‟s given it
to you for a reason, to build up the body of
Christ, the church. How are you using what
God has given you for the kingdom? Are
you using it to build up or tear down? Or
(maybe worse) are you not using it at all?

The using of our gifts towards the building
up of the church helps us to mature. That‟s
the point in verse 14. We will “grow up”
more and more into Christ. Notice the
fundamental characteristic present in
verses. 15-16 . . . LOVE! Love is the key to
achieving Biblical unity!

See, I don‟t think the problem is that we are
so much unalike that we just can‟t achieve
unity. And I don‟t think the problem is so
much that we just can‟t get in agreement on
the „issues.‟ I think the problem is a heart
problem.
Do we really value unity in the church like
Jesus did?

If so, why do we tend to focus on our
differences rather than on commonalities?
Do you do that in your families?
Do you pray for unity like Jesus did? Do you
even really want unity?
Every family has squabbles and
disagreements, right?
Not every family is even alike?

Right there in your own family you might
have Republicans & Democrats, obnoxious
Cardinal fans & fanatic Royals
supporters, those in a higher tax bracket
and those in a lower, but you all still sit
down at the same table at Thanksgiving
and eat together, don‟t you? You‟re still
family, right? Why?

Because you love one another! Love is
present FIRST- and you know THAT
whenever you disagree or fuss. And
because there is love, you can still sit down
at the end of the day and enjoy just being
family, even if you have to agree to
disagree on some things. Why, in the family
of God, do we allow fusses and honest
disagreements to divide us so bitterly?
Could it be that there was never really
LOVE there to begin with?

In our lesson from chapter 3 when we
talked about the love of God, that if we
didn‟t know that love we wouldn‟t
understand the rest of the letter. This is
what I meant.
The kind of love God has for us is the kind
of love that we‟re to have for God and for
each other! It‟s the kind of love that goes
out of its way for someone else.

It‟s the kind of love that rejoices with
someone else over their celebrations. It‟s
the kind of love that bears itself out in
action. It‟s the kind of love that
demonstrates self-sacrifice. And it‟s the kind
of love that is unconditional- that
says, regardless of what you do, I‟m going
to love you- whatever it takes!
Folks, that‟s a challenge for the church
today! I‟m not sure we exhibit this kind of
love for our brethren! In fact, I‟m sure we
don‟t always!

Are we “bearing with one another in love”
as Paul says in verse 2? In other words, do
we “cut each other some slack?” Do we
“give each other a break?; the benefit of the
doubt?” Strong‟s Concordance says, that
is, (figuratively) “putting up with one another
in love.” Sometimes its difficult to „put up
with each other‟, but that‟s exactly what
God calls us to do!

Are we really “making every effort” to
demonstrate this unity? In other words, “are
we zealous” for unity? Do we “strive for it?”
Are we “working at it?” What kind of priority
is it in our Christian walk? Too often instead
of „making every effort‟ we sacrifice it at the
first sign of disagreement. We jettison it at
the first airing of differences!

Do we value differences over unity or over
people? Isn‟t there something about us that
wants to set ourselves apart from others?
Isn‟t this a form of egotism? Disunity
originates in pride!
Are you ready for the test: this is the “Heart
Test” for unity What is your initial response
to the proposal: “What if all believers did
truly become one?” “Praise God?” or
“Oh, I‟m not sure it‟ll work!” or “Oh, there‟s
some I really don‟t want to be one with.”

I‟d suggest that if you‟re reaction was more
like the second then there‟s something in
your heart that is standing in the way of
your pursuing unity among Christians. What
is it? You need to get it out of your heart
today so that you can get your heart right
with God!

Well, again I‟ll suggest that if you don‟t
know the love of Christ, you‟ve had a
difficult time understanding how we might
even want to get along with one another.
You need to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge!
God loves you so much he sent his Son to
die for you. Won‟t you accept that love this
morning? Won‟t you commit your life to him
this morning? How can we encourage you
as we sing this invitation song?

08 Preserve Unity! Ephesians 4:1-16

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08 Preserve Unity! Ephesians 4:1-16