We Are Called To Be One Ephesians 4:1-6 Rev. Min J. Chung (Lord s Day Service, January 20, 2019) Ephesians 4:1-6 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Introduction The opening verse of chapter 4 marks the turning point for the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 of Ephesians talks about our identity in Christ. Because of the amazing, theological realties of chapters 1-3, Paul urges us to live a life worth of the calling we have received in chapters 4-6. The latter half of Ephesians talks about how we ought to live practically as Christians. Outline of Ephesians 4-6 4 Unity in the Body The church of Jesus Christ ought to be one. 5:1-14 Purity in the world As a unified body of Christ, we need to live a pure life in the world but not of the word. 5:15-6:10 Gospel centrality in relationships Everything is to picture Christ our marriage, family, and work. 6:11-24 Sober reality in spiritual war Fighting the spiritual war so we can expand the kingdom of God for His glory. Without unity, we are like a disembodied body we are formless. We are like a defused light we are powerless. We are like a single grain of salt we are useless. Therefore, we are called to love one another so that we can be united as the Church. I. We are called by God [1] 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. The word walk in this verse really means to live. How we live ought to picture the Israelites journey from Egypt to Canaan in the Old Testament. A. The comparison is about our calling We are called The Greek translation of worthy is axios. It is the root of the words weight and value. It is also where we derive the word axiom, which means to be of equal weight. Martin Luther describes this word as a scale that has equal weight on both sides. The weight of our calling and the weight of our living must be equal. Therefore, we should always live in comparison. However, we sinfully and wrongly compare ourselves to others. Instead,
we should be comparing our lives to Ephesians 1-3. Are we really living according to who we are in Christ? Ephesians 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints The two main uses of the word call is used in this verse. 1. We are called in oneness in Christ to receive Christ. 2. We are called to oneness to others to display Christ. B. The comparison is not without enablement We are empowered When Paul talks about how he is a prisoner for the Lord, he means both an earthly prisoner in his body and a heavenly prisoner of love in his heart. In the same way, we are living in this world but in our hearts, we live around the heavenly throne of God. We are often discouraged when we think about how we are called because we feel the weight of the responsibility of the calling. However, in our relationship with God, we are always empowered. This is evident in Paul s prayer in Ephesians 3. Ephesians 3:16 - that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being. The Holy Spirit is pouring His grace and strength in the power of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:19-20 - and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us The supernatural love of God that we experience through the Holy Spirit is a love that this world cannot understand, nor can the world understand the power and strength that we receive in Jesus Christ. God can do more than we can imagine. We are enabled supernaturally by His grace, mercy, and love. C. The comparison is not for us individually but corporately as the body We are to do it together We see this corporate analogy in Ephesians 4:16. Ephesians 4:16 - from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. As we strengthen one another with the strength that we receive from God, we grow more worthy, more weighty, more beautiful like Christ. A personal illustration of this is in Ephesians 3:13. As Paul is in prison, he encourages believers who may be discouraged because he is imprisoned. Ephesians 3:13 - So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. As Paul is suffering, he is serving and strengthening other believers. We do not fight for our victory, but we fight from His victory. We are called to fight together. II. We are called to love [2] 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love In verse 2, Paul talks about four traits that are required for unity. Character is necessary for unity because selfishness leads to disunity.
A. Humility A humble person is not easily discouraged by criticism or too uplifted by praise because they do not consider themselves of importance. Humility in its essence is total selflessness. Christian humility is thinking lowly of oneself and highly of Christ. Humility is essential to unity because pride is at the root of all disunity. Pride exists in everyone whether it s high pride of low pride. High pride is the result of thinking highly of oneself. Low pride is wanting to be great but feeling as though you are not. From pride comes selfishness. Employees don t want to hire proud and arrogant people because they bring division. Ability without humility is as useless as a flu without a vaccine. It s as dangerous as a moving car driven by a child. We need to be humble, but at the same time we must be confident. Charles Simeon, an influential preacher of King s College and Holy Trinity College, had to step aside from his position for an extended period of time due to an illness. During his absence others taught and preached in his place and had great success. Once he became healthy, Charles Simeon said, He must increase, and I must decrease. Now I see why God has laid me aside and I bless God for it. His desire was not to exalt himself, but others. B. Gentleness Gentleness can be translated to meekness. It is not weakness but strength under control. A gentle person uses their strength not to defend oneself but to control oneself to exalt Christ and love others. Moses was called the meekest person yet he had the strength to confront pharaoh for the glory of Christ. This word is also used to describe domesticated animals; animals that are trained to be used by their master. In the same way, we are to train our hearts to be useful for our Lord Jesus Christ, to show His character. Humility and gentleness form a natural couple. A humble person thinks less of his personal merits and a gentle person thinks little of one s personal claims. They are found in perfect balance in Christ, as described in Matthew 11:29, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. C. Patience Patience can also be translated to long suffering. Patience empowered by God will allow others to receive the joy of Christ through you. When we are not patient, we don t want to suffer. But if we don t suffer, others will. As we patiently suffer, others will receive of the joy of Christ through us. In the midst of difficult circumstances, a patient person accepts the sovereign plan of God. They are able to say, People may intend evil, but God intends good. To make me more like Christ and to bring salvation to others. Those that are patient, are able to suffer long for the glory of God. D. Bearing with one another in love 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Bearing with one another does not simply mean tolerating others but loving them in the midst of their sins. There are different kinds of love in this world. Lustful love says, I want it. Give it to me. Friendship love is a give and take relationship. But God s love gives to us unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. We can therefore have
this kind of love towards others though we get nothing we can still love because God gives us everything. Matthew 5:46-48 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Real love is overcoming our sinful nature and responding out of our spirit s nature. Others are able to see Christ through us if we display the supernatural love of God towards those who are difficult to love. We are to forbear others hatred and still be able to love. We are to love like Christ. Unity is difficult because we are sinful and selfish. We like to be with those who are like us. However, unity is worthy it because in our differences we display different aspects of Christ. We are differently beautiful. We need one another in order to fully picture Christ. (Story about a neighbor stealing water from a Christian farmer s field that was uphill from his. By digging a hole from the Christian s rice field, he was able to steal his water so that it drained downhill into his own rice field so that he wouldn t have to water it every day.) In this day and age there must be so much justice. The word justice is thrown around but we need to be wise with justice and mercy. The goal of justice is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to pray through the balance of justice and mercy. What would glorify God more? Our justice has to be merciful justice and our mercy has to be the goal of justice so that God will be honored and glorified. III. We are called to unite [3-6] 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Throughout these verses, the word one is used seven times. It s used to emphasize that the root of our unity is rooted in the oneness of God in the Trinity. A. In God the Spirit [3-4] Eager to maintain The word maintain implies that believers do not need to create unity, but we are to preserve the unity that is already established by God in Christ. The Greek word for eager means to spare no effort. We are to diligently and continuously purse unity. We are called to be peace makers. We are to fight for peace, not by fighting others but our own hearts. There are peace breakers in the body of Christ those who gossip. There are also peace fakers those who create the illusion of peace through the absence of conflict. We are not called to create or hide problems but deal with them through love. The unity of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the agent of unity in the Church. We each have a spirit s nature that is empowered by the Holy Spirit to represent God. bond of peace Bond describes a belt that holds an outfit together. The Holy Spirit that supplies us individually with peace will enable peace within the body of Christ. One body The Church is the body of Christ comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. One Spirit The body of Christ comes together through one Spirit the Holy Spirit. One hope We have one hope. The Holy Spirit will continuously pour Christ-likeness into our spiritual nature so that we can be like Christ together. B. In God the Son [5] One Lord Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. One Lord refers to Jesus Christ. One faith This verse is referring to the content of faith. One faith means the doctrine, or truth, commonly confessed by Christians. One baptism It s referring to our union with Christ through the physical act of baptism. C. In God the Father [6] One God and Father of all Through Jesus, we receive the sonship of Christ. Therefore, God the Father loves us as He loves His one and only Son. There is one Christian family embracing us all because there is one God and one Father. over all through all in all There is only one God so there is only one church: the universal Church. This means that church is not somewhere you go but a family you belong to. The unity of the church is as indestructible as the unity of God himself. Though there may be divisions among local churches, it is impossible to split the universal Church. God has the love to connect and protect us eternally. While we are a part of the universal Church, the Bible also commands us to belong to a local church. Make sure to always commit yourself to the local church wherever you go in life.
Conclusion There is clearly disunity within families and churches. But when we get to heaven, when all our sin nature is gone, there will no longer be disunity. The hatred and disunity caused by our selfishness will be replaced by true love for one another. In heaven, we will love Jesus there will be no more jealousy. When someone is better than us, we will love them and be thankful for them because of their ability to serve Christ better than we can. The oneness that we will experience will be unlike anything else. Romans 8:18 For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Paul uses the same word axiom that he used in Ephesians. He uses the word axio which means to compare or weigh. This time Paul weighs the suffering with the glory that is coming. The weight of believers suffering is huge. However, it is nothing in comparison to future glory. One will look at Jesus and we will say, My goodness, it was worth it. Yes, our calling is very heavy. But the gravity of our calling is nothing in comparison to the grace of our calling. His grace is far more available for us, more than we can imagine. Don t worry about your past. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. The empowerment of God includes justification and forgiveness. Not only did you fail in the past, but you will fail again in the future. But God will forgive us and He will use us. You are not alone, we are in this together.