The Walk of the Believer: To Walk in Unity

Ephesians 4:1-6

Chapter 4 of Ephesians begins a discussion of on the walk of the Christian believer. Chapters 1-3 deal with Biblical doctrine and serve as the foundation and backbone of how we are to walk as believers. Listen to the overview of this and hold on to this as we discuss Christian unity. We are to know and remember:

The eternal plan of God for Christian believers (sanctification)

The great blessings of God

The knowledge and power of God

The work of God’s mercy and the gift of God’s grace: our great salvation

The reconciliation and peace believers have in Christ

The church—the true church—the new body of people God is creating to be the citizens of the new heavens and earth

These doctrines serve, again, as the foundation and backbone of how we are to walk day by day as believers. Here in Ephesians 4, Paul begins his discussion on how we are to walk day by day as believers, dealing with Christian unity

David Jeremiah states this concerning Christian unity, “Unity is not union (“being connected to one another”), uniformity (“being exactly like one another”), or unanimity (“always agreeing with one another”). It is an organic oneness based on Christ as the common center. Believers are not required to create unity but to keep that unity that already is theirs in Christ.”

David writes this in Psalm 133 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.”

We are called, as believers, to walk in unity with one another. And as David Jeremiah alludes to, Christian unity must be rooted and positioned in people being “in Christ.” At salvation, we are divinely united into the body of Christ—by Christ. There are great truths in the understanding of our position in Christ as believers:

In Christ, our salvation is assured & sealed and cannot be lost:

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

John 10:28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

In Christ, are bent has been changed to think on heavenly things, because we are hidden

Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

In Christ, we have been called, justified, and glorified

Romans 8:30 “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

In Christ, we are no longer condemned

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

In Christ, we are at peace with God

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

In Christ, we are a new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Knowing, remembering, and laying a hold of these truths, the question becomes, “How are we to live day by day?” “How does our position in Christ effect our walk with Christ?” The remainder of Ephesians from Chapter 4 on, deals with this—but for today we are focusing on the first

(READ EPHESIANS 4:1-6)

A note on “walk” before we dig in: We are dealing with our walk as believers in Christ: Remember our walk is “intentional, it’s on purpose, it has an aim & goal and carries an understanding one must agree with where they are going—so in opening up this discussion walking in unity, we ALL (beginning with me) must agree that this is how Christ calls us to live-before you can walk in these things, you must agree with these things

God has given us so much—and He continues to give us so much

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

God has placed those of us who are in Christ in such a unique and special position; (1) seated us with Christ, (2) adopted us as sons and daughters, (3) making us co-heirs with Jesus, (4) gifted us eternal life in His presence. God simple could do no more than what He has already done—we may not see it all yet, but one day we will all experience this

And while we cannot “earn,” “maintain,” “sustain” our faith and while we cannot “pay Him back,” there is one thing we can and must do—walk worthy of this position, of this calling—of this honored position that God has placed us, “in Christ.”

I. (v.1-2) The way to walk worthy

Ephesians 4:1-2 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,”

In our surrender to Jesus Christ, in the belief on and in Jesus Christ, we become members of God’s people—His church—and we have the divinely given calling to bring honor to the name of Christ and His church—in all that we do, beginning with how we are to do life with other believers, those who also belong to His church. How is this done?

We must walk in (1) humility, (2) meekness, (3), longsuffering, (4) and in forbearing others in love

REMEMBER THESE TRAITS ARE TO DONE IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BELIEVERS!

We must walk (intentionality/purpose) with all lowliness (humility).

What’s the problem? A strong and active church will always struggle with two problems that rear their ugly heads (strife and empty glory)

Some people will just strive with others; because of spiritual immaturity and their own sin-nature, people give in to

Talking about differences

Jealousy/envy

Desire for position/Desire for recognition

Opposition

Gossip/slander

Loving flattery

Forming cliques

In people not getting their way or what they want, they strive against other members of the body (church) and IT REVEALS THEIR HEARTS OF PRIDE, which begins to create division, disunity, and discord begins to grow within the church—THESE THINGS ARE A TERRIBLE CRIME AGAINST THE CHURCH

Some people desire/seek glory within the church (body); Scripture refers to this as “vain glory,” and reveals these people just want the:

Attention/recognition

Position/flattery

Praise/honor

The focus to be on themselves

To sit on committees and recognized as the leader(s) of the church

Again, attitudes and hearts set to this only serve their pride and create ripple effects of division and disunity within the church

What’s the solution? Humility

Lowliness/Humility (Greek) means to offer oneself as lowly and submissive; to walk in a spirit of lowliness; to esteem oneself as “low-rank,” not to be high-minded, proud, haughty, arrogant, or assertive: (regardless of your position in the church, your power, your wealth, your status). A humble person denies himself for the sake of Christ to help the body of believers:

Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

What the world says about humility

The world looks at humility as a vice; it often looks as says man is a

Coward

Person “with no backbone”

A cringing or despicable type of person

Man themselves fear humility, for they feel it

Shows/displays weakness

Will make them the object of contempt of abuse, persecution/mockery

Be a blow to their ego

What Scripture says about humility?

God exalts the humble

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

Matthew 23:12 “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Humility is needed for conversion

Matthew 18:3-4 “and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Humility is to be developed. How?

Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Romans 12:16 “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”

1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”

What humility requires (2 things); it requires

An honest evaluation of oneself—it takes courage/boldness to look into the mirror and see our self-centeredness, our pride/ego, self-admiration and the truth is we tend to look at ourselves unrealistically—in ways where we are placing ourselves at the center of everything

Humility begins when we take an honest look in the mirror and come to grips with our self-centeredness, b/c self-centeredness weakens and limits relationships within our homes and the body

Courage

We must walk (intentionality/purpose) with meekness

Meekness (Greek) means to be (1) gentle, (2) kind, (3) humble, and (4) considerate, and strongly so

Meekness (power under control) has the strength to control and discipline—and does so at the right time

Meekness has a

Humble stated of mind—again, not as a coward or as a weak person

Meek people love people and love peace, so they walk humbly with people, regardless of status or circumstance

Meek people associate with the poor, needy, cast-out and forgotten and it does not bother them

Strong state of mind

Meek persons looks at situations and wants justice to be done;

Meek persons don’t look evil and wrong doing and ignore it; they don’t look at suffering and run from it, rather

The meek steps in and does what it can to help

The meek steps in to do what it can to stop evil and wrongdoing

Strong self-control

Meek persons control their spirit and mind

Meek persons control the lusts of their flesh, lust of their eyes, and the pride of life

We must walk longsuffering/patience

Longsuffering (Greek) means patience—and patience means bearing and suffering a long time; it’s steadfast and enduring; its constant and persevering; no matter the attack/hardship/trial, patience never gives it—it is never broken

Note two things:

Longsuffering never strikes back

Instead of retaliating, patience endures

Instead of a grudge, patience forgives

Longsuffering/patience is a great trait of God

We must walk (intentionality/purpose) forbearing others in love: Note four things about AGAPE love:

Agape love is the of God, the very love displayed and demonstrated by God Himself; it is love

For the ungodly

For the unworthy sinners

For the underserving enemies

For those utterly unworthy of being of Christ

Love can be difficult and it can be challenging; sometimes we ask, “Well, why should I love them, when they’ve hurt me this way?” The two things which put Christ on the cross—were your sin and God’s love—God did the harder thing in sending His Son to the cross, so we ought not be making excuses as to why we refuse to love others

Agape love is a gift of God

This love can only be experienced if we know God personally—if we are born again into a reconciled relationship with Him

This love should be a gift that we share with others, so they can come to know God personally or be reminded of God’s love if they are backslidden/struggling believers

Romans 5:5 “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Agape love is the greatest possession and gift in life, according to Christ Himself

Mark 12:29-31 “Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,”

1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 3:23-24 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

Agape love is the great possession and gift in life, according to Scripture

1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,”

1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 3:23-24 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

Agape loves bears it’s own characteristics:

Love forgives

Love holds no grudges/ill-will//negativity towards others

Love holds no contempt/criticism/complaints over others’ heads

Love is not partial or prejudiced

Love shows grace/mercy

Love covers a multitude of sin(s)

Love breaks down walls/barriers

Love is the outpouring of God’s love towards us:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”

II. (v.3) The purpose for walking worthy: The purpose in walking worthy in all of what we just discussed in onefold—UNITY

Ephesians 4:3 “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Believers are to work (in God’s strength and armor, not our own) at keeping the peace, so we might stay bound together, b/c of what Jesus Christ has done for us—b/c we are all precious in the sight of God

Anyone who approached God through Jesus Christ—come as anyone else

On equal footing/the same ground—at the foot of the cross

There is no “first in line at the cross”

There is no “last in line at the cross”

No better or no worse than anyone else

Regardless of wealth, position, status—we are all seen as precious; fearfully and wonderfully made in His image

As people in need of God’s forgiveness/grace/mercy/love

Anyone who comes to Christ has the Spirit of God indwelt in his heart and we are instantly bound to other believers, again in Christ.

There is a great spiritual bond b/t believers

There is a great need for divisiveness, differences, prejudices, and partialities to be laid aside, and

There is a great need for a spirit of love, peace, and unity to exist within the body of believers

Believers possess a prevailing spirit of peace given by God’s Holy Spirit; yet too often we, as believers can walk not so much in the Spirit, but in our flesh and self-centeredness,

Holding on to old:

Prejudices/partialities

Differences

Hurts/jealousies

Complaints/criticisms

Grumblings/gripes

Pride/arrogance

Comparisons/dislikes

Holding on to these things:

Creates divisiveness, disparity, discord, and a disturbance in the peace and unity within the church (body of believers)

The great root in each of these attitudes and behaviors is pride. Pride says we know better than God—pride says we don’t need God—pride reveals a heart dedicated to self, self-preservation, and self-exploitation, rather than the humble attitude of self-denial.

If the body of the church cannot learn and walk in the Biblical truth of self-denial—the root of division, discord, and disunity will be it’s ripple effect, and a divided church will be left in it’s wake.

Note the word “endeavor”—this means to be diligent, working to take care and make haste to walk worthy and keep the unity within the body.

Reasons:

People are different—in their personalities, ideas, strength’s, weaknesses, giftings, and talents

People aren’t always going to agree—not always going to get along—not always see eye to eye

Yet, believers share what Paul describes, as “seven” attributes we share as being “in Christ,” which are to be more prevalent in the believer’s walk/life/attitude then the differences they share

We must remember, as we go through these, a truth about God and divisiveness:

Divisiveness cuts the heart of God deeply, b/c it risks tearing the church apart—the very thing God created

If there will be no other spirit other than love and unity in the new heavens and the new earth—He expects to live in these today—in the now. We cannot live and treat others the way WE want only to think we will love them as we should when we get to heaven

Because of the reasons and b/c of what God thinks of division, we must “endeavor” to hold on to unity, and be reminded of the following, seen in verses 4-6:

III (v.4-6) Seven reasons for doing so

Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

A note on Paul’s use of the word unity: (David Jeremiah) “This is the only chapter in the NT that mentions the word unity (one). Paul, using the word “one”, describes Christian unity in seven ways:”

There is only, “one body”

There are not two bodies or several bodies of believers, though b/c of an imperfect world there are many denominations and churches. What God is doing through all of this, is creating only ONE body of people who trust and follow His only begotten Son and when a person places their faith and trust in Christ—in genuine surrender:

We are given new birth—quickening him spiritually

John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Titus 3:5 “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”

1 Peter 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,”

1 John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.”

We are a new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Ephesians 4:24 “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”

We are given His divine nature

2 Peter 1:4 “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

We are given and indwelt with God’s Holy Spirit

John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

We are given over to bear spiritual fruit

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

We are placed into a new body of people (the church—the people He is creating)

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

Note the last two:

There is no way a believer can be in conflict with another unless he/she is walking in the flesh (if there is conflict—there is sin and there’s a backslidden condition)

There are simply some things that are contrary to the love, joy, and peace that cause and bring hurt:

An ill-spirit

Struggle for position

Self-centered differences

Reactionary spirits

Feelings of superiority

Seeking our own way

Forming cliques

Selfishness/enviousness/anger/pride/arrogance

These things have no place in the church (within the body) and if they exist we must heed what God calls us to do: repent and turn back to God

There is only, “one Spirit”

The same Holy Spirit that dwells in one believer, dwells in all believers (members of the body)

God’s Spirit causes a man to be born again

God’s Spirit calls/gifts/directs each member to fit in and work within the body

Each believer, indwelt with the same Spirit must do his/her part to carry out the mission of the body—for Christ

Anyone acting contrary/acting independent of the body-is of a body of a different spirit—for there is only ONE creating the body of Christ

To act/behave/think/treat others, any other way than how Christ treats them—is acting contrary to the work of the Holy Spirit, and there should be repentance!

There is only, “one hope”

We all share the same hope as believers: the great day of redemption; the life eternal in presence of Jesus Christ and God the Father in the new heavens and new earth: This life will be a life of

Love/joy/peace

Oneness/unity/brotherhood & sisterhood

Perfection

What then does God desire for us today, as believers

For us, as believers, to live as we WILL LIVE together—in the now

This is what should be driving our peace and unity

There is only, “one Lord”

There is only one Master and King—and we are not Him—so we best drop the prideful attitudes of it’s about me and what I want or think is best

Every believer has bowed and surrendered to Jesus Christ as both Lord AND Savior

Every believer is subject to Christ and how He calls us to live

As He instructed, bearing the fruit of His Spirit

To walk obediently as one body

Matthew 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

1 Corinthians 12:5 “There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.”

Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is only, “one faith”

There are not two faiths or several faiths

There is only ONE faith that leads man into God’s presence—this faith is founded in Jesus Christ

There is no other approach to God (not works, rules, religion; nor is it our misplaced sense of morality

There is only, “one baptism”

Submitting to the Biblical ordinance of baptism serve as a believers public witness to their faith and serve as identifying them as being members of the same body

If we all entered the “church” through the same ordinance---who are we to become divisive towards another

Divisiveness is a reflection of our depth of commitment and shows our lack of sincerity in being baptized and the witness it carries

Divisiveness shows that we care little for Christ and for our baptism experience---b/c through this ordinance we are initiated into the church (not salvation—but into the body)

There is only, “one God and Father of all.”

What do these descriptions teach us?

“One God”—God is creator of all and b/c of this, He is supreme over all

“One Father to all”—as Father, God loves all—this is the basis for Christian belief

“Above all”—God controls and is sovereign over all

What do these descriptions mean?

If there is only one God and Father of all believers, how then would He/could He be leading two believers to stand toe-to-toe against another?

He could not

God is not evil—nor does He promote evil

God is not a God of division—but unity

God is not a God of disorder—He is a God of order

God is not a God of chaos—He is the God of peace

This means that one or both of the believers:

Are living fleshly

Not following after God

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(CLOSING)

Any church that is seen growth, especially and primarily spiritually, is sure to face opposition from the enemy. Many times this comes from the outside, however, sadly this can be seen from within the church.

My prayer is that as we is a local church body begin to see growth, we will hold onto and in God’s strength, keep the unity we have in Christ. We all come from different backgrounds, families, and situations. We all have varying personalities. As people we share one distinct quality—we are broken. As believers though, we all share one amazing gift—living under and in God’s grace; we are all bound with one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all.

We all have a role in the body—we all have gifts and strengths God has equipped us with to serve Him and His church

My ask, is that for each of us to take a look at our own walk, to take a look in the mirror, and to see if we are walking and patience, meekness, and love. And if there is anything in us, that is, has, or might create any divisiveness within the body, that we first repent, and confess of that to the Lord, and then to anyone who needs it.

Walking in unity takes spiritual discipline. It requires God’s strength and grace. It also requires His armor

David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:38-39 “So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.” )

I love our church family, and I love what God is doing within the body of believers here. And as we grow, there will be birthpangs however, if we strive for unity and walk worthy in the position of being in Christ, we will have a much better foundation as we move forward.

Will you pray with me that as we continue to do life together, that we as a church family will (beginning with me) put aside ourselves and in God’s strength keep the unity we have in Christ?