" I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Endevoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." ( Eph. 4:1-3)
Paul doesn't deal with any problems in his letter to the Ephesians. All news was good news from the people at Ephesus, and Paul had the joyous priviledge of writing a positive letter to encourage them. The theme of his letter is "Christian Unity". Paul had established many churches and watched them grow, so he knew that without unity nothing else really matters. And with unity nothing can defeat the church.
In his first three chapters, Paul lays the foundation of christian unity. In his last two chapters, he describes the practical results of christian unity. In this post I am going to focus the attention on this forth chapter. Here Paul speaks of (1) the behavior of christian unity, (2) the basis of christian unity, and (3) the benefits of christian unity.
1. The behavior of christian unity (Eph. 4:1-3)
Paul begins with behavior, it has everything to do with christian unity. Often it appears that behavior is more important than beliefs in maintaining unity in the church. For example, in any giving church are many different beliefs concerning prophecy, the second coming of Christ, and social practices, and yet most of these churches are in unity. But a person could absolutely destroy a church by their misbehavior.
Few church splits can be traced to bad theology. But many can be traced to bad behavior. ( I can list several such splits, but I wont.) Therefore, Paul quickly and directly deals with behavior as a matter of priority. " I beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation, wherewith you are called," (v 1). In case the church at Ephesus doesn't understand what kind of behavior Paul is talking about, he spells it out for them. He lists seven characteristics of the kind of behavior that builds christian unity.
A. It is compatable with our calling; If we are to help bring christian unity, we must conduct ourselves in a manner that doesn't reflect poorly on our calling as christians. Since we bear the name of Christ, we must not bring that name into disrepute.
B. It is humble; (v2). With all lowliness and meekness, A very wise person once said, " Egotism is the sedative nature provides to deaden the pain of being a fool."
But how does humility come about? It comes from two things:
1. Self-knowledge. Humility depends on honesty; it depends on having the courage to look at ourselves without the rose colored glasses of self-admiration and self-love.
2. God-knowledge. Humility comes from comparing our life with the life of Christ. As long as we compare ourselves with others, we may come out of the comparison fairly well. It is when we compare ourselves with Christ that we see our own failure. God-knowledge plus self-knowledge brings humility.
C. It is gentle (v 2). Those who are gentle are so God-controlled that they are continually kind and gracious towards others. They are people in whom self has died through whom Christ in all His humility lives. Paul said, " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me..."(Gal. 2:20)
D. It is patient (v 2). Patience has been defined as , the spirit that has the power to take revenge but never does. Patience is the spirit that bears insult without bitterness or complaint.
E. It is magnanimous (v2). as christians we must make allowances for one another; we must be magnanimous towards others and their faults as God has been magnanimous towards us.
F. It is loving (v2). We should not bear with one another through sheer grit and determination, but through christian love. There are four Greek words for love, but the word used here is the highest. It means that we must love others so much that nothing they do or say will keep us from loving them and seeking their highest good. Even though they mistreat us and hurt us, we will feel only kindness towards them.
2. The basis of christian unity ( Eph. 4:4-6)
Behavior is important to christian unity. But a sound basis is absolutely indispensable. What is the basis, the foundation, on which christian unity is built? Paul lays seven foundation stones: one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God.
A. One body; (v4) Christ is the head and the church is the body. The unity of the church is essential for the work of Christ.
B. One Spirit (v4) There is one Holy Spirit, and He is saying and inspiring the same in all He is consistant, He doesn't bounce all over from one thing to the next, and He always speaks from the scripture. He is one Spirit, with one voice, and one motivation.
C. One hope; This is the hope of the ultimate consummation of our salvation in heaven.
D. One Lord (v5). " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me." ( Jn. 14:6)
E One Faith (v5). Paul is not talking about a set of beliefs that may characterize a particular denomination. There is " one faith" by which people come into a saving relationship with Christ as Lord. There may be many "faiths" (denominations), but there is only one by which we are saved-faith in Jesus as Savior.
F. One Baptism (v5). Just as there is one faith through which we come into a saving relationship with Christ, there is "one baptism" through which we make an outward demonstration of that inward experience.
G. One God (v6). There is one God-- and one God unites us into one family of God. Paul says four things about God.
1. He is Father of All-- that is, He created all.
2. He is above all--that is, He controls all.
3. He is through all--that is He sustains all.
4. He is in all-- that is, He is present everywhere.
3. The benefits of christian unity ( Eph. 4:28-32)
Quite predictably someone may ask, "Why all the fuss about unity? Does it really make that much difference? What are the benefits of christian unity?"
The last five verses of this chapter list the benefits of christian unity. Here we learn that unity in the church does make a difference--a big difference! Let's look at what happens when unity prevails.
A. Conduct is changed (v28). When there is christian unity, there is a change in conduct. No longer do we ask, "What can I get?" but rather, "What can I share?" When we are united in allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us, the hope of heaven to challenge us, and the Lord Jesus to guide us, our conduct is changed.
B. Conversation is clean (v29). "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth..." It is difficult, if not impossible, to be in unity with God and His people and still have a filthy mouth. An ancient proverb says," The heart of man is a well, and the mouth of a man is a bucket, and that which is in the well of the heart can be determined by what is in the bucket of the mouth."
C. Commitment is deepened (v30). when we live each moment aware that there is but one Holy Spirit by which we have been born again, we desire to do nothing to grieve Him. One of the benefits of christian unity is that we reach a level of commitment beyond beyond which we will not grieve the Holy Spirit.
D. Conflict is eliminated (v31). Unity gets rid of conflict. Conflict comes from "the sins of the spirit" Paul has dealt with the sins of the flesh. now he deals with the sins of the spirit-- or "christian sins". These are identified as " bitterness,and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking...with all malice." When we are one in Christ, we are free from all such disruptive and divisive conflicts.
E. Kindness is practiced (v32). To be kind means to exercise thoughtful consideration.
When the Roman soldiers on guard at Jesus' crucifixion were dividing the prisoners clothes, they came to Jesus' coat and discovered that it was seamless. To tear it would ruin it. For this reason they decided to keep it intact and to cast lots for it.
The seamless robe of Christ has become a metaphor for the unity of the church. Henry Ward Beecher prayed that the church might be one again, like the seamless robe of his Lord. The metaphor is one of great beauty and it quite appropriate. Strife and divisions within the church have been ugly efforts to tear into pieces the sacred garment of the truth.
The Crucified One must look down sadly at the miserable conflict between those He died to redeem. His look of love and sorrow is reminisent of His prayer, ..." that they may be perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them, as you have loved Me." (Jn 17:23)
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