Endeavouring To Keep The Unity Of The Spirit I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:1-6) Gods desire for the church is unity. To that end, He has supplied instruction in His word such as the text listed above. In fact, this particular series of verses addresses unity more directly and intensely than any other Bible text. Let us note from Ephesians 4:1-6 the unifying attitudes and unifying facts which the Lord has established, that unity might prevail in His body. UNIFYING ATTITUDES Paul identifies himself as ...the prisoner of the Lord.... Granted, Paul did spend time imprisoned for the Lords cause, but that does not seem to be the intent of a statement such as this. Rather, he had made himself a ...slave to righteousness...; he considered himself to be the Lords servant; he counted himself as the Lords prisoner. This, not in a bad sense, but for good. He was subject to the Lords every word. Those who will be ...the prisoner of the Lord... will find that in so doing, they find freedom (Jn 8:31-32). We are called to ...walk worthy of the calling... by which we have been called. There is a certain way in which the children of God are to walk. Paul urged the Philippians to ...only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ... (Php 1:27). Later, Paul told these brethren of some who, because of the manner of their walk, had made themselves ...enemies of the cross of Christ... (Php 3:17-18) The apostle continues, ...with all lowliness and gentleness.... Part of the Christians character is to be humble and meek. We need to esteem others better than ourselves (Php 2), and we need to be willing to yield our own will, that we might accomplish the will of God. Paul addresses, not only our attitude toward the will of God, and toward the Lord, but also, toward our fellow brethren. We are to be ...longsuffering... and are to bear ...with one another in love.... If we are to grow together, it will require patience and love on our part toward one another. UNIFYING FACTS Notice the emphasis on unity through verses 4-6. The apostles identifies 7 ones which are necessary if we are to attain and maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Notice: ...one body... - We must share a unity in our identity. There is but one church (Eph 1:22-23) made up of many members (1 Cor 12:12-14). ...one spirit... - Spirit comes from the Gr. pneuma, which refers to breath or life, that which animates the body. We share unity in the source of our life, the Spirit of God. ...one hope... - Christians share unity in their aspiration. We do not have varying hopes, as can be heard of in the religious realm, but share the hope which is given by the Lord Jesus Christ to His followers, the hope of heaven (Ro 8:23-25; Tit 1:1-3; 3:4-7). ...one Lord... - We are unified under one Master, Jesus Christ. The word Lord comes from the Gr. kurios, which is identified as a sovereign, prince, chief or emperor; one who is the possessor and disposer of a thing, an owner. The Scriptures reveal Jesus Christ as our Lord (Lk 6:46; Mt 7:21-23). May we not rob Him of the reverence which is due (Mal 1:6). ...one faith... - The unity of the Spirit is also reliant upon our unity in doctrine, the one faith. This is not our personal faith, but the Word of God (Jude 3; 2 Tim 4:7). The nature of truth confirms for us that there is only one truth, one faith, one correct doctrine. Thus, we must ...study to shew ourselves approved unto God, a worker that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ...one baptism... - Our unity in the Spirit and unity in the faith demands that we have unity in practice. In stating ...one baptism..., Paul is making a specific statement which contains a general underlying principle. There are several baptisms in the Scripture Matthew 3 - baptism of fire Acts 1 - baptism of the Holy Spirit Acts 18 - baptism of John Romans 6 - baptism of water 1 Corinthians 10 - baptism of the Red Sea We need to ...rightly divide the word of truth..., and understand what we must do in obedience to the Lord. We are called to be ...obedient children... (1 Pe 1:14), for there is punishment for those who do not obey (2 Thes 1:8). ...one God and Father... - Friend, we need to have unity in the direction of our worship and service. Our focus is not upon angels, not upon some earthly organization, but upon God Himself. May we endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. To do so, let us keep these unifying attitudes and unifying facts ever before us: Attitudes ...the prisoner of the Lord... ...walk worthy of the calling... ...with all lowliness and gentleness... ...with longsuffering... ...bearing with one another in love... Facts ...one body... - unity in identity ...one spirit... - unity in life ...one hope... - unity in aspiration ...one Lord... - unity under one Master ...one faith... - unity in the doctrine ...one baptism... - unity in practice ...one God and Father... - unity in reverent service & worship
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 23:41:49 +0000