Scripture Reference: Ephesians 4:1-16

Unity is Not Automatic – Continued

Please read Ephesians 4:1-3 for the background to this section.

Unity in the local church depends upon each person in it cultivating certain attitudes. They are “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.” Lowliness is taking the lowest place with a view to being the servant of all. The Lord Jesus Christ was lowly, and so was Paul, as we saw in Ephesians 3:8. Disunity cannot survive where lowliness reigns.

With lowliness is to go “gentleness,” or “meekness,” as older translations put it. It means being spiritually and morally strong without being self-assertive, pushy or heavy-handed. Its strength is controlled.

An example of “longsuffering” is being hurt and hurt again, but not complaining, while those who are “bearing with one another in love” are refusing to strike back or be bitter. Such people do not consider that their own feelings matter. What counts is the welfare of others. All the qualities mentioned in these verses are found in our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and His church is to be modelled on Him.

Those who are aiming to have such Christlike lives may truly be said to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” You have to work to maintain unity, but nobody has to create it. It exists already. All divisive barriers have been removed by the work of Christ. The members of the new nation and family are bound both to God and to each other. The Spirit-forged bonds exist. But they have to be preserved.

Sadly, many believers make no effort in this area, and I have witnessed it first hand in ministries I have worked at in the past and this is why Paul is writing about it here. It is sadly still a problem today. War is waged where Christ has already made peace. The God-given bonds are forgotten. Ungodly attitudes, words and actions raise the old divisions again. Many such people believe Ephesians chapters 1-3 in theory, but sadly, openly contradict it in practice. God’s sanctifying call is forgotten and the redeemed church disgraces itself by resembling the perishing world.

Paul therefore, pleads for different behavior. He calls for the execution of self and all else that smacks of “me first.” So, although unity is not automatic, steps must be taken to preserve it. Work is needed. As with all things spiritual, it takes actions for spiritual fruit to be manifested. Who among us will make the necessary effort?

Unity is Logical

Please read Ephesians 4:4-6 for the background to this section.

Do you sometimes look at other Christians and wonder how much you really have in common with them? We are such an assorted and diverse bunch of people! We come from different backgrounds and nations; we vary in intellect, achievement, social status and wealth; we represent a whole spectrum of characters, hang-ups and eccentricities, and express widely contrasting likes and dislikes! There are so many differences between us. What really do we have in common?

All the distinctions we have mentioned however, truly are temporary. But there are seven eternal realities which we possess in common with all believers everywhere. What we share is immeasurably greater than what differentiates us. It is not logical that we should live in any form of disunity.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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