The Uniting Spirit
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1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Our church has become so diverse --- started as a Filipino church.. aren’t you glad we are different
There is a celebration here, we may have come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds but the Spirit of God united us.
UNITY IS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Still in the sermon series of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Worldly Unity and a Godly Unity.
Unity versus uniformity.
Equity versus equality.
The world and the culture wants to highlight division by race, gender and social status.
The Bible teaches us that unity was made a reality by Jesus
Unity is a product of the work of the Holy Spirit.
It is not a Spirit of camaraderie or friendliness. It is not manufactured.
Wonderful book, the book of Ephesians.
Different from all other epistles, while most of the other epistles address specific issues in a particular church, the book of Ephesians does not, so in effect, it is like a letter written for all churches and for all generations.
Ephesians Chapters 1 to 3 is all doctrine.
These majestic chapters teach us how:
We have been united with God through our redemption in Christ (Chapter 1)
Jews and Gentiles have been united by the salvation by grace through faith (Chapter 2)
A unity in the revealed mystery of God and the manifold wisdom of God.
We are all fellow heirs, we are of the same body, the church, we all share in a spiritual inheritance
We are partakers of the same promise in Christ through the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Paul gives us insights on the work of the Holy Spirit in the church by two prayers and a plea in the book of Ephesians:
Two prayers and a plea.
Prayer for wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
2. Prayer for strengthening.
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
3. A plea to preserve unity.
We come to today’s text on unity:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
You notice that Paul did not pray for unity.
The oneness of believers in Christ is already a spiritual reality. Our responsibility is to guard, protect, and preserve that unity - Warren Wiersbe
We have a responsibility, Paul did not pray that we become one, but he gave a plea..
I beseech you - is a plea out of love .. God no longer talks to us the same way He talked to the Old Testament Jews --- “If you obey Me, I will bless you” but rather because of the Lord Jesus, God says “I have already blessed you, now in response to My love and grace — obey Me.”
How is unity achieved.
The qualities of unity.
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
lowliness or humility - powerful
gentleness or meekness - is not weakness
longsuffering - long-tempered (enduring without outbursts)
Forbearance - “bearing with one another in love” - sticking it out because of love
2. The demand of unity
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Endeavoring - there is an eagerness to this action of keeping.. present participle, we must actively be working to keep the unity — stay on guard or Satan will move in to wreck it.
“The Bond of Peace”
We have peace with God, there is a bond between the believer and God, you are no longer at war with your creator.
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The enemy steals this peace through the carnal mind.. the carnal mind..
“those who do not have peace with God will never have peace with other believers.”
3. The Basis of Unity.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
One Body - we belong to the Global church
One Spirit - The Holy Spirit indwells every believer
One Hope of your calling - We all look forward to the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus (the rapture).
Read the scripture together...
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Unity is only made possible by the Finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Lastly, unity is the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.