I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which
you've been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one
another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Amen.
Now, we're all familiar with the issue of disunity in churches, aren't we? Most of us probably have
some type of church hurt story. We've got some type of catastrophic, traumatic event in our past in
relation to our church history that we understand what this does and what it looks like, don't we?
The symptoms of disunity among Christians are typically very obvious, sometimes even explosive,
and those contentions are never random. They're never spontaneous. Disunity is not like spontaneous
combustion. It doesn't just happen. There is something going on underneath the surface for
quite some time before those explosions take place. Long before a congregation goes to war with itself,
long before subsets of Christian groups and traditions fire shots at each other in public,
a spirit of division first invades and then eventually pervades the hearts of the individuals involved.
The issues that Christians often fight about are hardly the real problem.
The problem is an issue of the heart that is left unattended, unrepentant for a significant amount
of time, and it always goes back to the subtle ways that we diminish Christ and his gospel as the
foundation of our unity with one another. This heart issue, if I can illustrate it this way in kind of a
generic way, the heart issue is often revealed in even the subtle way that we shape our prayers.
Perhaps you've prayed for God at some point or another to put another Christian in your path,
assuming that because that person is a Christian, they will see everything from your perspective and
help you to achieve a desired outcome. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of course,
when it comes to things that are explicitly Christian, that the Bible gives explicit instruction for,
and we're in need, we want to pray that God will bless us with other people that will help us and that
will encourage us in those processes. Sometimes we let this bleed over into non-essential areas, don't we?
What happens when your case, in a particular instance, lands on the desk of a faithful Christian
who just simply disagrees with you on the issue at hand?
What happens when Christian integrity for the salesperson means that his conscience will not allow
him to agree to agree to your particular request in whatever it is that you're discussing or negotiating?
When we pray that way and things don't go our way, our tendency then is to assume that either that
individual wasn't actually a true Christian or else they would have thought like I think and acted as I
wanted them to act instead of acknowledging that faithful Christians sometimes disagree.
You see what I'm getting at? Sometimes we assume that if a person is a Christian, he or she must think
like us on every issue, even those things unrelated to the essential truth of the gospel.
We say that we're gospel people, yet at times we judge someone else's standing with God
based on things that are not the gospel. And it shows itself in subtle ways, ways that we don't
always comprehend without somebody helping us to see them. It's a hard issue.
Kind of divisiveness, it peaked during the pandemic years, didn't it? People started equating Christianity
to particular stances on vaccinations and mask mandates and political strategies for dealing
with the outbreak. The issue wasn't that there were disagreements among Christians, but that some
believers started to insinuate that if someone took an opposing view to theirs, that person must not be a
true Christian or at least not a faithful one who's really serious about their Christian experience.
Sometimes it's like we just can't comprehend how other Christians could think differently than we do
on things. Then we get married and we find out real quick it happens a lot.
In the process of that, in the pandemic years, people left their churches that they loved.
Some of them, they'd been there for decades. Why? Because they would have rathered worship with
someone who responded to COVID according to their preference. Disunity surfaced that was totally
unrelated to the gospel. Loved ones, this is a tragedy.
We ought not look at those situations with sympathy and say, well, they were just really passionate.
No, they were being sinful. This is tragic. It's disunity. Of course, the divisive spirit,
it reveals itself in what seems like an infinite amount of ways, doesn't it?
We may judge other congregations not on their gospel fidelity, but on how they employ production
elements in their worship services. Turning our noses up at committed believers who take approaches
to worship that make us uncomfortable. And then we like to make them our favorite punching bags when it
comes to ecclesial conversations with people who think like we think. Making other faithful churches,
gospel churches, the butt of our jokes.
We may denigrate other Christians because of disagreements on secondary and tertiary doctrines,
like divine election, like the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, like the age and mode of baptism,
like Bible translations, like denominational and network affiliations, like style of preaching,
and countless other things. And from there, we tend to create these factions. I'm speaking as
Christians at large. We create these factions and these events and these conferences that aren't
known primarily for their faithfulness to the gospel, but they're primarily mostly known for the way that
they want to distinguish themselves from other Christians. And the worst of it is seen when those
disagreements become slanderous and believers begin to wage war on one another, oftentimes with deceptive
means and harmful rhetoric. And don't misunderstand me. I don't want you to. I don't mean to say that
these disagreements are unimportant. Of course they're important. I don't mean to say that we should soften
our convictions to achieve some lowest common denominator type of unity because that's not actually
real unity. Still, it is ungodly and sinful to belittle, disparage, and castigate other true Christians.
And of course the disunity is as much an issue inside local churches as it is between local churches.
We tend to take matters that fit the dynamics of Christian freedom and individual conscience of
Romans 14 and we treat them as cases that demand correction and separation.
Rather than letting the love and the grace of God rule our hearts, we draw lines of fellowship
based on what someone does or does not eat or drink. That's directly from Romans 14.
Which media companies we allow our kids to enjoy for entertainment?
Whether we use traditional or natural medicines. How we choose to educate our kids.
What celebrity preachers or networks we want to associate with.
In what ways we respond to issues of race in our community.
And on and on and on the list of issues goes.
Again, it's not that these things are unimportant.
But neither are they the things that bind us together as a people.
To make these matters issues of Christian fellowship
is to significantly diminish and functionally deny the centrality of the gospel
in the unity of God's people.
Again, we say we're gospel people.
We say we're centered on the gospel in all things.
And yet, the way that we relate to one another,
the way that we relate to other believers outside of our congregation even,
is not based on gospel unity.
It's based on secondary unity and secondary divisions
that are unrelated to the gospel message.
This ought not be so.
I'm happy to be a Calvinist.
Arminians are not lesser Christians.
And they are not less serious about Bible doctrine than I am.
They are not my enemies.
They are my brothers and sisters.
And they're yours too.
If you're in Christ as they are.
I am Baptist by conviction.
If I can be honest,
one of my biggest regrets for when we started the church
is that we didn't just say that we're a Baptist church.
And we can save that conversation for another day.
But I'm Baptist by conviction.
But the many denominations and churches
that practice infant baptism
or follow other forms of church polity
that aren't congregationalism,
look, they're not our enemies.
They're our brothers.
Continuationists.
They're not my enemies.
Congregations with more contemporary worship styles.
They're not my enemies.
What binds us together is not these things.
What binds us together is God's work of grace
in our common salvation.
I love that Spurgeon quote.
I'm sure you've heard it before.
Spurgeon said,
I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house,
that is the Metropolitan Tabernacle
where he pastored in London,
as long as this platform shall stand
and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers,
shall be the person of Jesus Christ.
I'm never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist.
I do not hesitate to take the name Baptist.
But if I am asked what is my creed,
I reply,
it is Jesus Christ.
Now Spurgeon had deep convictions.
Spurgeon was honest about those convictions.
Yet he understood that the basis of Christian unity
is not those things.
unity is not uniformity.
Unity is not freedom from disagreement.
So if you're looking for a church
where everybody's gonna agree with you
and think like you,
you might as well just do it at home
because you're never gonna find it.
You're not meant to.
Unity is freedom from unnecessary divisions.
among true Christians.
It's freedom from a derisive spirit
regarding things unrelated
to what God has used to bring us together.
Namely, the gospel of Jesus.
And these six verses in Ephesians 4
provide explicit instruction.
This is not implicit.
It is straightforward.
Explicit.
On how to relate to one another in the church.
And to unbelievers outside of the church.
And I want you to notice that this command
leads off with tremendous urgency.
Look again at verse one.
Paul says,
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling
to which you have been called.
There's nothing casual about this.
Obedience to this instruction is not optional.
Urge here, of course,
is the root word for urgency.
Emphasizing the critical importance
of the concerns Paul addressed
in the final three chapters of this letter.
This urgency that he speaks of here,
it implies that what follows
are matters of success and failure.
We might even say matters of life and death
when it comes to local churches.
And the umbrella principle
that he introduces in verse one
and is gonna continue,
everything in chapters four through six
is gonna follow underneath
this first verse in chapter four.
The principle thing that he introduces here
is the necessity of walking worthy of our call.
Living up to the reality of who we are in Christ.
That's the umbrella thing.
Walk worthy of your call.
Walk, of course, it indicates motion.
You know this.
It refers to our manner of life.
Walking worthy, in this case,
means that our lives are characterized by our call.
But what exactly is our call?
Well, that was answered for us.
Beginning first in chapter one in verse five.
Just set your eyes on it.
Notice what Paul says.
God predestined us for adoption to himself
as sons through Jesus Christ
according to the purpose of his will.
What is our call?
We were chosen.
We were called by God
to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.
In other words, our call from God
is to be his children,
taking his name as our own,
living in a manner that is worthy of that name
that we receive through the gracious work
of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.
This text and text like it always reminds me
of something that my dad used to say
when we were growing up.
Whenever I went somewhere without him,
perhaps your parents did something like this.
He understood the potential of embarrassment
that I might bring on the family name.
And dad would always ask me to tell him my full name
and we would go,
we would rehearse this whole process
and he would remind me
that everything that I did
was a reflection on the name
that he and I share.
The Blankenship name.
As Harold Blankenship's son,
I represent him to some extent.
And he wanted me to be mindful of that
whenever he wasn't around
in case I did something stupid.
But he would always follow the statement
by arguing from the lesser to the greater.
That's what the writer of Hebrews so often does.
First, he would say,
what's your name?
I'd say, Jared Blankenship,
you need to remember that you and I share a name
and what you do reflects on me.
He said, but more important than that,
you're a child of God.
You share his name.
And living worthy of that name
is far more important
than living worthy of the Blankenship name.
As Christians, everything we do,
it reflects on the name of our Father,
on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is the idea Paul was conveying here
with such urgency in this opening verse.
He's saying,
Christians, live worthy of the name
to which you have been called
and adopted into the family of God.
And eventually, Paul's gonna get to
various areas of purity and holiness in this book.
Areas that must be tended to
if we are going to walk worthy of our call.
But the very first issue he tackled
is Christian unity.
Many of you know my brother.
And you know that there's a lot of things
that Jonathan and I are similar in.
There's a lot of things that Jonathan and I
are dissimilar in.
And you know us both well enough to know that.
We can argue.
We can annoy each other to no end.
But on Thursday,
when I called and said,
hey, Julie had to be taken to the hospital.
I'm not there.
Can you help me get the girls?
You know what he did?
He didn't say,
well, if you had a better perspective
of the plurality of elders
in a local congregation,
maybe I would consider helping you.
No, he said, I'll be right there.
You know why?
Because he's my brother.
What binds us together
is our family name.
And Paul's saying right from the very beginning,
what binds us together
is our call,
our common call to salvation in Jesus Christ
that we share the same Father.
And it is with that understanding
that he works into these principles
of Christian unity.
Just three basic ones
that are easy to figure out.
You can, you're sensible people.
You can sort this out on your own.
But let me just give you some direction here.
The first thing I want you to see
is the mandate for unity.
The mandate for unity.
And for this,
we're going to directly to verse three.
We're going to come back to verse two,
but we're going to go first to verse three.
Notice what Paul says.
We are to be eager
to maintain the unity of the spirit
in the bond of peace.
All of the instruction in these verses here,
in verses two through six,
all of them revolve around this statement.
Pay very close attention
to the language that he's using.
Notice that the Christian's task
is not to achieve unity,
but to maintain the unity
that the Holy Spirit has already provided.
Do you see that?
Just look at the verse again.
Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit.
No Christian can create unity.
And if you're here today
and you're not a Christian,
I'm glad you're here.
I really am.
We have the greatest news
in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It will change your life.
But you cannot create
what Paul is talking about here.
It's not possible.
It is something that is provided to us
in Christ.
God himself is the creator
and sustainer of the church's unity.
The Father determined it
in divine election.
That's chapter one.
The Son secured it
through his death and resurrection.
That's chapter two.
The Holy Spirit supplies it
as he regenerates,
seals,
and indwells each believer.
That's all through the letter.
The mandate here
is not for us to create something
that isn't there.
The mandate
is to maintain something
that God has already supplied.
It is already ours
in Christ.
We are united.
We are one.
We are brothers
and sisters.
He has done that.
Now I want you to notice
the spirit
with which
we are to maintain
the unity of the spirit.
Look again at the verse.
Paul says
we are to be
eager.
This is important language.
What does he mean here?
Eager.
Enthusiastic.
Ambitious.
Yearning
to pursue
this unity.
unity.
We are all eager
about a lot of things.
We have a lot of passions.
Many really
good
and important
things.
But when was
the last time
that you
yearned
to maintain
unity
and peace
with other
believers?
believers.
Most of the time
our objective
with other
believers
in relation
to disagreement
is to try
to win them
to our side.
And there's
a place
for that.
But when's
the last time
you entered
in a conversation
with a believer
with whom you
have a significant
disagreement
and your goal
was to find
the path
of peace.
That what you
were enthusiastic
about in that
moment was not
whether or not
they believed
the same thing
about the Holy
Spirit and his
continuing work
as you.
What you wanted
to find
was a way
that despite
your disagreement
you can maintain
the unity
of the body.
That's what
he's saying.
When was the
last time
you went out
of your way
to pursue
peace
because your
heart's
longing
is to
preserve
the unity
with your
Christian
brothers and
sisters
that was
won for you
on the cross
and supplied
to you
by the gift
of the Holy
Spirit.
In our
zeal for
truth
we must
remain
zealous
for the
unity
of the
Spirit.
That's the
mandate here.
Eager
enthusiastic
pursuant
of.
Finally
notice the
expression
of unity
is listed
as the
bond
of peace.
When was
the last
time
that other
believers
could genuinely
refer to you
as peaceful?
A peacemaker
that Jesus
said will
inherit the
earth
and will
be blessed.
peace.
Of course
the peace
that Paul
is referring
to here
is first
of all
peace with
God.
Isn't it?
It's all
rooted in
the gospel.
This peace
with God
is what
makes
possible
our peace
with one
another.
That's what
John says
in 1 John
chapter 1.
He uses
that koinonia
word that I
like so much.
He says
as we have
koinonia
fellowship
unity with
the Father
through Jesus
Christ
we then
have
fellowship
with one
another.
And how
is it that
God has
made this
peace
possible?
Through the
gospel.
Through the
death and
resurrection
of Jesus
for those
who are
called to
be God's
children.
This
gospel of
peace
Paul says
is our
bond.
The gospel
is sticky.
That even
when we're
running
different
directions
the thing
that keeps
pulling us
back together
like a
magnet
is the
bond of
the peace
of Jesus
Christ
provided
on the
cross.
And God
has called
us to it.
And he
has saved
us.
And he
has made
us one
with him
so that
we might
now be
one with
one another.
It's
peace.
It's our
bond.
It's the
gospel.
Paul didn't
say that we
are to be
eager for
the bond
of Calvinism.
He didn't
say we have
to be eager
for the
bond of
denominationalism
or non
denominationalism.
He didn't
say we need
to be eager
for the
bond of
cessationism
or continuationism
or whatever.
Fill in the
blank with
whatever isms.
He said we
are to be
eager for
the bond
of the
peace,
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ,
pursuant
of it.
Now if
that isn't
enough for
you to
recognize how
serious of a
matter
Christian unity
is,
let me
just give
you a few
other examples
in the
New Testament.
John chapter
10 and
verse 16.
Jesus said I
have other
sheep that
are not of
this fold.
I must
bring them
also.
They will
listen to
my voice.
So there
will be one
flock,
one shepherd.
In the
end,
there is one
flock,
there is one
bride,
there is one
people of
God.
John 17.
I do not
ask for
these only,
but also for
those who
will believe
in me
through their
word,
that they
may all
be one.
Why?
How?
Just as
you,
Father,
are in
me,
and I
in you,
that they
also may
be in
us,
so that
the world
may believe
that you
have sent
me.
The glory
that you
have given
me,
I have
given to
them,
that they
may be
one.
Even as
we are
one,
I in
them,
you in
me,
that they
may become
perfectly
one,
so that
the world
may know
that you
sent me
and loved
them as
you love
me.
Oh,
that's a
powerful
passage.
What is
Jesus'
illustration
for our
unity together?
His unity
with the
Father and
the Spirit.
1 Corinthians
1,
verse 2,
to the
church of
God that
is in
Corinth,
to the
sanctified in
Christ Jesus,
called to
be saints
together with
all those
who in
every place
call upon
the name of
our Lord
Jesus Christ,
both their
Lord and
ours.
1 Corinthians
1,
10-13,
I appeal to
you,
brothers,
by the name
of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
that all of
you agree
that there be
no divisions
among you,
but that you
be united
in the same
mind and the
same judgment.
for it's
been reported
to me by
Chloe's people
that there is
quarreling among
you,
my brothers.
What I mean
is that each
one of you
says,
I follow
Paul,
or I
follow
Apollos,
or I
follow
Cephas,
or the
really spiritual
ones,
I follow
Christ.
Is Christ
divided?
Was Paul
crucified for
you?
Were you
baptized in
the name
of Paul?
What's he
getting at?
To a church
that really
struggled with
this unity,
he said,
this ought
not be
so.
1 Corinthians
10,
17,
because there
is one
bread,
this is a
reflection on
communion,
because there's
one bread,
we who are
many are
one body,
for we
partake of
the one
bread.
Philippians
2,
complete my
joy,
being of
the same
mind,
having the
same love,
being in
full accord
and of
one mind.
Philippians
4,
2-3,
I entreat
Yodia and
Syntyche to
agree in the
Lord.
And then he
says,
and I also
ask you,
true companion,
help these
women who
have labored
side by
side with
me in
the gospel.
How would
you like to
be the ones
Paul called
out in
the letter?
Romans
12,
16,
live in
harmony
with one
another.
Do not
be haughty,
associate
with the
lowly.
Oh,
here's the
hard one,
isn't it?
Never be
wise in
your own
sight.
Isn't
that where
these divisions
typically come
from?
I just
think that
I'm smarter
than you.
And maybe
I am.
But that's
not the
spirit with
which we
are to
approach one
another,
is it?
Romans 14,
17 to
19,
the kingdom
of God
is not a
matter of
eating and
drinking,
but of
righteousness
and peace
and joy
in the
Holy Spirit.
Whoever
thus serves
Christ is
acceptable to
God and
approved by
men.
So then let
us pursue
what makes
for peace
and for
mutual
upbuilding.
Romans 16,
I appeal
to you
brothers,
watch out
for those
who cause
divisions
and create
obstacles
contrary to
the doctrine
that you've
been taught.
Avoid
them.
They don't
serve the
Lord Christ.
Galatians 2,
11 through
14,
Paul confronts
Peter,
but when
Cephas came
to Antioch,
I opposed
him to
the face
because he
stood
condemned.
For before
certain men
came from
James,
those were
Jews,
he was eating
with the
Gentiles,
but when
they came,
he drew
back and
separated
himself,
fearing the
circumcision
party,
and the
rest of
the Jews
acted
hypocritically
along with
them,
so that
even
Barnabas
was led
astray
by their
hypocrisy.
But when
I saw
that their
conduct
was not
in step
with the
truth of
the gospel,
I said
to Peter
before them
all,
if you
though a
Jew
live like
a Gentile
and not
like a
Jew,
how can
you force
the Gentiles
to live
like Jews?
Significant
issue.
You can study
that on
your own.
How about
Galatians
chapter 5?
Are you tired
of these yet?
I could go
on and
on.
Galatians
chapter 5.
Now the
works of
the flesh
are this,
and he
lists a
bunch of
things.
Right in
the middle
he says
enmity,
strife,
jealousy,
fits of
anger,
rivalries,
dissensions,
divisions,
envy,
and then
he says
just in
case he
missed
something
that we
would try
to excuse
he says
and all
the things
that are
like these
things.
These
are the
works of
the flesh
he says
but instead
we are to
be filled
with the
fruit of
the spirit
which is
the opposite
of these
things.
It's
love,
joy,
peace,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control.
There are many
more but is this
not enough?
is this not
enough for us
to see what
it is that
God actually
desires of
his people?
Need we
any more
proof that
walking worthy
as a
Christian means
being ambitious
to maintain
the peace
that the
Holy Spirit
has supplied
through the
gospel?
That's the
mandate.
Maintain what
is already
yours in
Christ and
maintain it
with joy and
eagerness and
ambition.
Second,
notice the
method for
maintaining
Christian unity.
This is where
we go back to
verse 2.
Look at it
with me.
We do this
with all
humility.
See,
this is hard.
These little
words,
they make a
difference,
don't they?
He doesn't
say,
we do this
with a
little bit
of humility.
Oh,
no.
He says,
all humility
and gentleness
with patience,
bearing with
one another
in love.
eagerness to
maintain the
unity of the
spirit is a
fundamental mark
of Christian
maturity.
Just set your
eyes on verses
12 and 13 to
see that in
the same
chapter.
That Christ
gives leaders
to equip the
saints for the
work of the
ministry, for
the building up
of the body
of Christ,
until we all
attain to the
unity of the
faith and of
the knowledge of
the Son of
God, to
mature manhood,
to the measure
of the stature
of the fullness
of Christ.
Disunity,
then, is a
mark of
spiritual
immaturity.
No matter
how well-versed
one may be in
their doctrinal
understanding and
convictions,
disunity
reveals
spiritual
immaturity.
humility.
Fortunately
for us,
God doesn't
make the
demand for
maintaining
unity without
telling us how
to do it.
Five
intentional
attitudes of
the heart are
listed here.
The first,
humility.
Unity
cannot exist
apart from
it.
Disunity
is always,
always the
result of
pride,
self-promoting
arrogance.
The one
who is
humble is
the one
who constantly
understands
himself in
relation to
the gospel
and therefore
never sees
himself as
better or
more significant
than anyone
else.
Good
theology
has
produced
many
arrogant
jerks,
others.
But the
gospel always
leads to
humility of
heart.
It can
only lead
to
humility of
heart.
Paul
described it
this way
to the
Philippians,
do nothing
from selfish
ambition or
conceit,
but in
humility
count
others
more
significant
than
yourself.
let each
of you
look not
only on
his own
interests,
but also
to the
interest of
others.
Oh,
and here's
the nail
in the
coffin,
isn't it?
Have
this mind
among
yourselves,
which is
yours in
Christ Jesus.
And that's
when he
gives us
that wonderful
Christology,
isn't it?
He says,
be humble
like Jesus
is humble.
The
second one
is gentleness.
Gentleness.
This word is
often translated
as meekness,
isn't it?
Biblical
gentleness is
often misunderstood.
It doesn't
mean soft.
It doesn't
mean delicate.
It doesn't
mean weak.
It's the
same word
we used
for taming
a horse.
Sometimes we
may call it
gentling a
horse,
don't we?
To gentle
a horse
does not
remove its
power.
It doesn't
remove its
knowledge.
It doesn't
handicap it.
It brings
all of those
things under
control,
doesn't it?
That's the
word Paul's
using here.
It's the
word that's
often employed
in the New
Testament.
So it is
what the
essential
characteristic
of gentleness
among Christians.
It is power
under control.
It is zeal
that is ruled
by humility.
That's gentleness.
It's the
opposite of
harsh.
It's the
opposite of
judgmental.
It's the
opposite of
sarcastic.
It's the
opposite of
degrading.
It's
self-control.
Thirdly,
and fourthly,
we'll bring
these two
together.
He says we
do this with
patience and
with bearing
with one
another.
And here's
the thing that
I want to
note about
this.
These twin
characteristics,
they expose
the work that
it takes to
maintain unity.
Patience is
endurance,
which implies
suffering.
Oh, give me
your eyes on
this one.
What Paul is
calling us to
in Christian
unity is a
call to
willingly
suffer,
to bear with
one another.
Forbearance,
it indicates the
reality that we
will encounter
irritating,
annoying,
difficult
people
in our
faith
that belong
to Jesus
the same way
that we belong
to Jesus.
That's hard.
If unity
were an easy
thing,
if it was
something that
we could just
put on autopilot
and it just
work out,
there would be
no threat of
disunity among
Christians.
And while some
of us battle
more with
arrogance or
harshness,
others of us
battle with
more of a
persevering
kindness with
people that,
let's just be
honest,
we just really
don't like that
much.
Some people are
just hard to
like.
Paul says,
no, if we're
going to do
this, we're
going to have
to be patient.
We're going
to have to
suffer through
some difficult
relationships.
We're going
to have to
bring a
burden, and
that burden
is other
Christians
sometimes, and
we're going
to have to
bear it in
order that we
might enthusiastically
maintain the
unity of the
Spirit.
And then finally,
the fifth one
is love.
Bearing with
one another in
love.
Love is what
binds it all
together, isn't
it?
Of course, we
have to understand
love the right
way.
We can't
understand it as
an emotional
state.
We have to
understand it as
a relational
commitment.
That's the
biblical presentation
of love.
And if we're
going to be
obedient to the
Lord, we're
going to have
to get over
the fact that
sometimes our
emotions just
don't want to
like other
people, or
we're moody,
or whatever.
It's a
relational
commitment.
It's a
choice.
Choosing to
love other
believers is the
only heart
attitude that
can possibly
produce humility,
gentleness,
patience, and
forbearance.
And if you're
struggling with
those areas, as
I often do, it
is undoubtedly
because you have
not loved others
the way Christ has
loved you and
commanded you to
love.
John 13, a new
commandment I give
to you, that you
love one another.
just as I have
loved you, you
also are to love
one another.
By this all
people will know
that you're my
disciples, if you
have love for one
another.
Romans 12, let
this love be
genuine.
Oh, this isn't a
fake it till you
make it.
love for one
else.
No, this is
supplied to us
when we focus on
the gospel above
all else.
That's where this
comes.
When in humility
we set aside the
things that are
dividing us.
Abhor what's evil,
hold fast to what's
good.
Love one another
with brotherly
affection.
Outdo one
another in
showing honor.
That's the
method.
Finally, and
we'll be done,
the motivations
for it.
The motivation
for Christian
unity.
This is verses
four through
six.
There is one
body and one
spirit, just as
you were called
to the one hope
that belongs to
your call.
One Lord, one
faith, one
baptism, one
God and Father
of all who is
over all and
through all and
in all.
There are seven
one statements
that show the
reason why we
should be eager
to maintain the
unity of the
spirit and the
bond of peace.
Just briefly note
them.
First he says
there's one body.
What is that?
It's the church.
One church.
Now the reality
is that we have
separations.
We have lots of
churches, don't we?
We have lots of
churches that disagree
on things that are
important and
sometimes it's
necessary.
We see this even
in Paul's own
ministry.
It's necessary to
make amicable
separations in
order for us to
best pursue peace
with one another
and faithfulness to
the Lord.
I understand that.
I'm not denying
that all of that's
true.
But at the end of
the day, there's
only one of us.
There's only one
church.
There's only one
body.
That's a reason for
us to take this
serious, he says.
Second, he says
there's one spirit.
What is that?
It's the Holy
Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
that regenerates,
seals, guarantees,
enables, unifies
all the things.
There's only one of
those.
There's not multiple
of them.
There's not like the
Baptist one that's
over here and he
does kind of this
thing over here and
then there's the
Presbyterian one and
then there's the
non-denominational one.
No, there's one
spirit and he's at
work in all of them.
Third, let me just
give you a verse on
that.
1 Corinthians 12, 13.
For in one spirit we
were all baptized into
one body.
What brings us into
the church?
Baptism of the
Spirit.
Same spirit.
Jews, Greeks,
slaves, free, all
were made to drink of
one spirit.
It's clear.
Third, one hope.
What's the hope?
The gospel.
The gospel through
Jesus Christ.
One Lord.
Who is that?
Jesus.
Jesus is our Lord.
One faith.
This is sound doctrine
especially on first
order issues related to
the gospel.
One baptism.
What is this?
Well, it's water
baptism but not like
you think.
This is not about age
and mode and all those
things.
This is about being
baptized in the name of
the Father and Son and
Spirit.
Whether that happened to
you as a baby or whether
it happened post
conversion.
That's the emphasis
here.
Let me give you a verse
on that.
Galatians 3.
For as many of you as
were baptized into
Christ, that is into the
name of Christ, have put
on Christ.
And in Christ there is
neither Jew or Greek,
neither slave nor free,
neither male nor female,
for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.
There's one baptism in the
name of Jesus Christ.
And then finally there's
one God and Father.
He is the one to whom we
all belong.
Now what's the point Paul's
making?
We should be eager to
maintain the unity of the
Spirit because unified is
what we are in Christ.
This is who we are.
And what is the guidelines
for this unity and kindness
and love amongst Christians
that disagree?
It's these seven marks.
These seven characteristics
is the basis of all
Christian unity.
Nothing more and nothing
less.
Again, that doesn't mean
that we don't have important
points of disagreement
that sometimes demand a
measure of ecclesial
separation.
I understand that.
Still, it doesn't mean,
it does mean that we must
be ambitious about loving
and displaying Christian
unity with all people
that share these seven
characteristics with us.
You say, well how am I
supposed to know how
friendly I am to be with
this other person that
claims to be a Christian?
Well, are they a part of
the one body?
Do they have the one
spirit?
Do they maintain the one
hope?
Do they follow the one
Lord?
Do they have the one
faith, the gospel faith?
Do they have the one
baptism in the name of
Jesus?
Are they a child of the
one God and Father?
And if that's true, all
of those other
disagreements are
non-essential to our
unity together.
Everett Ferguson has
such a wonderful
statement here.
These seven items are
givens of Christianity.
Unity is already
provided by God in the
most important things.
Sharing them gives a
broad and strong basis
for unity.
And in view of what
unites, the things that
divide seem less
formidable.
In a sense, to be
divided, unnecessarily
that is, to be divided
is to say God has not
done enough to produce
unity.
It is to minimize the
most important aspects of
the Christian faith.
That is the gospel of
Jesus.
You've been patient with
me and you have
forborne me for the
last hour.
Let me just finish with
this.
I truly believe we have
a congregation here that
is generally faithful
and pure.
That doesn't mean that we
can survive or withstand
certain measures of
disunity.
Because the truth is we
can't.
That's the urgency that
Paul is giving here.
We expect that less
pure churches like
Corinth will have
these problems.
But we need to
remember that the
danger of disunity was
addressed even in the
most pure churches in
the New Testament.
One of them being
Philippians.
And the main issue Paul
has to deal with there is
this issue of disunity.
We're going to get into
the Thessalonian letters.
It was a very pure group
of churches.
Disunity was still a
threat.
The church in Ephesus
obviously was a faithful,
faithful church.
And they had issues with
disunity.
This is not an issue that
only belongs to churches
that are less pure.
No.
It's a danger for all of
us.
That's the point in me
bringing it up today.
If we don't continually
repent of and give
attention to the issues
of our hearts, we will
destroy ourselves.
We will destroy this
church.
All the right theology
will not save a
congregation that is
ruled by pride and
division.
So I implore you,
loved ones, be eager to
maintain the unity of the
spirit and the bond of
peace.
With one another, yes,
it will be hardest with
one another.
Do it with others outside
of this congregation too.
And if you do, you will
walk worthy of your call.
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