The Church and Unity

Ephesians 4:1-16 The Church and Unity Sunday, July 30, 2023 Pastoral Prayer Introduction As we continue with our study of the book of Ephesians this morning. We are helped in being reminded that this letter is broken up into 2 parts. Part 1 covers Ephesians 1-3. It focuses on God's new people and their identity in Christ Jesus. And part 2, which we begin this morning, shifts to how to live in light of that new identity in Christ. Part of the new identity in Christ is that those who have been united to Christ Jesus by faith in him have been made alive after having been dead in sin, having been saved by grace. That in Christ, we receive every spiritual blessing from the LORD. That we are a people who have been reconciled into one new people, the church. This is the new identity for the Christian, for the believer in Jesus. So now what? The main idea of Ephesians 4:1-16 is, "The church is to labor for unity, a unity in pursuing Christian maturity together." We are going to unfold this in 2 parts, (1) a unified people and (2) a maturing people. I. A Unified People Verse 1.... By starting with the word therefore, we are being shown that what begins here in Ephesians 4:1 is the result of what has already been described. It is in light of the calling in which we have been called. We are not called to walk in a worthy manner and then be called. No! We are called to a calling to be born again in Christ by his grace, and in light of that new birth now walk in a worthy manner of our calling, of our new identity in Christ! The message of the gospel is not a message of do and then be saved. The gospel message, the good news of Jesus is that Jesus has come to take away the sin of the world. We need but to look to him and believe that salvation comes through him and him alone. It is this calling, the calling to believe that we have been called. And because of that belief, we are now therefore called to walk in a worthy manner of our calling. Friend, if you are in the midst of exploring or wrestling with the Christian faith this morning. We are glad you are here. But you need to know this, for you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, you must first hear Jesus call to come and rest in him for salvation. His call to turn from your allegiance to your sin and to turn and follow him as your King! This is the first step for you. And apart from that step, you will never be able to walk in a worthy manner of the LORD. Nothing you do can save you. Salvation comes alone through faith in Jesus! Through turning and bowing your knee to him as King and by trusting him in all he says to do. This is the way, the call in which all who are to be a Christian are called to. And it is in that call then we begin to walk in a new and worthy manner. A manner that seems strange to the world. Verses 2-3.... The manner worthy of our calling is a call to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That is the main call here. The calls to walk with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love is how we are to walk in order to maintain that unity. Unity is a vital part for God's one new people. A people who have been together united to Jesus. For the two peoples, that of the Gentiles and Jews are now one new people, the church. And the center of their unity is to be found in their faith. For note here in verses 4-6 in how Paul grounds his reasoning of why we must walk in a worthy manner of pursuing unity. It says there, starting in verse 4 (read through 6).... The unity in which the church is to have is founded upon the unity of our faith and our God. For the LORD, though existing in three persons is one. We find the great Shema, the first teaching of God's law in Deuteronomy 6:4 which teaches us, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Now, if you are a baby Christian or exploring Christianity, you might be confused here, especially as we are talking about the God of the Bible existing as three separate and distinct persons, but the three existing as one God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism helps us to sum up this a bit more tightly. In Question 6 of the Shorter Catechism, it asks, "How many persons are there in the Godhead?" The answer, "There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory." And it is with these three, we see distinctly tied to our faith in oneness. One body, one Spirit. Just as there is one Spirit sent by Jesus, so there is to be one body of Jesus. Likewise, we were called to one living hope, and this is the one call we who as Christians have been called to. Then there is the comparison in verse 5 of one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. The oneness that runs through our God is what runs through our faith. We are not called to different hopes or different faiths as Christians. We are called to the one hope of being reconciled to our Holy God through the blood of Jesus! And it is this truth, this reality that is to drive us to the pursuit of unity within the church! This unity is to be pursued by every member of the people of God. And friend, if you are here this morning and you have never considered the vital importance of the local church, let me challenge you with this. Apart from belonging to a local church as a member of that church, it is impossible for you to labor to maintain the unity that the Apostle calls for here. For while you remain uncommitted to a local body, a particular local church, you cannot labor to maintain unity with a particular group of people. It's impossible. Consider this one of many vital reasons to join a local church, whether this one or another. For it is this calling to believe in this truth that we who are Christians have already been called. But now, in light of that calling, we are now being called in response to our salvation to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. We have been called to eternal life now through our faith in Jesus, and because of now being made alive, we are to walk accordingly. How? By pursuing unity within the new people of God, the church. Verses 2... If we are to pursue unity within the church we must be walking in all humility, gentleness, and patience For the record, let it be noted, by it being stated for us to walk in these is the norm of our lives. That doesn't mean we will do it perfectly, but it should mean that these describe us far more than they don't. Let's look at these characteristics then. First, there is the call to walk with all humility and gentleness. These two are similar and paired together. But they are distinct too. Opposite of humility is pride. John Stott brings great insight to us at the danger of pride and the necessity of humility. He writes, "Pride lurks behind all discord, while the greatest single secret of conford is humility."1 Pride insists on its own way which is at the root of all discord, of disunity. Prideful people are difficult to teach, for they resist teaching in thinking they already know everything. Therefore, humility is of great importance for us as Christians to walk in as we pursue unity within the church. For humility is the exact opposite, it prefers one another over self. It recognizes others as fellow image bearers of our Holy God. Gentleness is not a call to weakness. In fact, gentleness is a call to strength. For the gentle are those who are self-controlled and able to control themselves from outbursts of anger and tempers. It is with this first pair that we see that humility and gentleness which are looked upon as weakness by the world are signs of strength within the church and essential characteristics for a unified body of Christ. For did not our Savior, our redeemer say this of himself, "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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30)?" These are essential characteristics to pursue. Another is the call to patience. In his commentary, John Stott, compares patience to long suffering. And that is truly a great definition of patience. The call to walk in patience is a long suffering, a long suffering with one another. A long suffering with the most difficult and challenging individuals. Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we a people marked regularly with long suffering for each other? Or are we quickly annoyed and agitated with each other? The manner we are called to walk in is that of patience with one another. For we are a stubborn and difficult people, and we must bear with one another with patience, because the process of growth and sanctification is slow. Consider for a moment, Christian, how slow your own growth in the process of sanctification is. Consider how often you continue to struggle along the way. Brother or sister, so is the one next to you in the pews. Their growth is slow going, they too are in the messy process of sanctification. And the same patience we hope for is the same patience we are to give. And still further, the patience that the LORD, our God has shown with us. For if he had the patience, or lack thereof, that many of us have for each other, what hope would there be? O Christian, let us walk in all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. For this is the manner in which we are to walk in all of these, a bearing with one another in love. We bear with one another in love when we count others as significant as ourselves. We bear with one another when we are gentle with one another, showing self-control in the most challenging of situations. We bear with one another in love by showing patience with one another. But note the addition of this phrase in love. We aren't called to simply bear one another begrudgingly. We aren't called to simply tolerate one another. We are called to bear with one another in all humility and gentleness and patience with love for one another. For we are to love one another out of Christ's love for us, as a whole body, as a new people in Christ. This is how we labor to maintain our unity as the church. Verse 3.... If you noticed, the ESV here uses the word eager to maintain. But if you have a NIV, you notice it says make every effort to keep the unity. These two different translations help us to better understand what it is that we are to pursue. We are to eagerly labor for the maintenance of our unity of the Spirit. Unity isn't kept without effort, without work. We must labor for it with an eagerness, with a desire for it. But observe the language here. Our instructions here to labor are not to create unity, but maintain it. The unity of the Spirit isn't something we can create, that we can start. It comes through that of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God. He creates unity, and we are to labor to maintain that unity. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be committed to laboring for the unity of our one faith, one hope, one LORD, one Spirit, one baptism, one Father. But unity isn't just for unity sake, there is a clear unity in which we are called to pursue. And that is where we turn in our second point this morning. II. A Maturing People Verse 7... Grace was given to us for the labor of maintaining unity. Grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. While we do not find in this epistle much detail regarding the measures of Christ's gift that has been given to each one of us, we know from other places, in other letters by the Apostle Paul, that these gifts are the various gifts in which members of the body of Christ have been given. Every member of the church has been given various gifts to put to use in order to serve the body of Christ. Gifts that vary from one another in both the measure of grace, as well as giftings themselves. Consider some of the various giftings that are found in the New Testament. Gifts of prophecy, of service, of teaching, of generosity, of leading, of zeal, of mercy, of cheerfulness. There are the gifts of tongues that are prominent in 1 Corinthians. The specific gifts given here in Ephesians 4 in verse 11 of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. These various gifts, and many more, have been given to Christians throughout the ages. But not every Christian is given the same gifting or measure of gifting. The gifts are diverse throughout the body of Christ as given by Christ himself. They are gifts from his spoils. Verses 8-10.... Verse 8 hopefully is familiar. We read it in its context earlier in our service as our Scripture Reading. There in Psalm 68, it describes the Father ascending on high, to the top of Mount Zion. And as he does, he leads a host of captives with him, setting them free. And the LORD received gifts among men, the gifts of the spoil of war. But turning back to Ephesians 4:8, the Apostle Paul points out here and with verses 9-10 added in to aid, that Christ is the one who has now ascended. And in his ascension, how he has received the spoils of defeating sin and death. And with these spoils, he now gives to his one new people, the church. Again, verses 9 and 10 help us to understand who it is that the Apostle is clearly referring to. For in saying that the one who is ascended is the one who descended, who is this but the Christ? Now there is much debate here about what particularly is being referenced about in Christ's descent. Was it his descension from heaven to earth in taking the form of a servant by adding human flesh? Was it his descension into hades for 3 days following his death, prior to his resurrection? Both are certainly true. Christ did descend both from heaven to earth in taking on our human form for the purpose of going up to the cross and descending down into hades to defeat the curse of sin and death. But more importantly here than his descension is his ascent. Jesus did not remain on earth, he did not remain in the grave. He rose and now has ascended once more into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, as the victorious King where all will be now set under his footstool. And because of his victory over sin and death, as he has begun the process of turning back the curse of sin and death, he has gathered the spoils of victory. Spoils that he holds not himself, but now pours out on his new people who are united to him by faith. Spoils that are in the form of diverse gifts for his people to have and use, to use with a purpose. In verse 11, Paul describes some of the diverse gifts that Christ has given his people. We read.... Two of these gifts are no longer gifts we find in the modern church. Both the gifts of apostleship and prophets were for the early church in the days of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. These gifts ceased when the twelve apostles, along with Paul died. For the apostles are those who would have been with Christ in his life and ministry, and been eyewitnesses to his death and resurrection. No other would have been recognized as an apostle. Similarly with the prophets. The prophets were those who heard the revelation of the word of God and proclaimed it and recorded it. But, with the canon of Scripture closed, there is no new prophecy. Therefore the office of prophet is no more. But with both the office of apostle and prophet closed, we today as the church are dependent upon them. For it is there offices that we still see hold authority over us today. It is their teaching and instruction that we hold before us in the pages of the Bible. And it is these two offices that we continue to look to and submit ourselves to the teaching of the Bible. Besides these two, there is also that of the evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. Now while the gift of evangelists is given, it is important to note here that though some, not all are called to be evangelists, this does not remove the great duty we all have to do personal evangelism. We will touch on that momentarily. But for now, let it be said that with the gift of evangelists, these are those who are constantly moving to advance and spread the gospel to new places. We can equate this to our missionaries and church planters who are going to the frontlines with intentionality to take the message of the gospel and sow its seeds where it has not been sown. Now to the shepherds and the teachers. Some have combined these two referring to one gifting of office. And there is overlap in one direction. For in noting that of shepherds, the office here is that of pastor, of elder. And part of the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 for elder is men who are able to teach. Therefore, all shepherds must be teachers. Teachers of God's word, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with the cornerstone being Christ. But, not all teachers are shepherds. There are those who teach and instruct others within the church, both men and women. They do so in a variety of ways. Those who teach in Sunday School and children's ministry. Also those who teach in one on one in private settings. Those who instruct through discipleship. These too are teachers, teachers who have been gifted by Christ for a particular purpose. The giving of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers were given for a particular purpose. That purpose, verse 12... The gifts of those found in verse 11 are for the purpose of equipping the saints, those born again by faith in Jesus, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. That is the church. The giftings given by Jesus are not to be wasted, they are to be put to use in equipping the entire church for ministry. That means, each and every Christian is to be doing ministry. While it starts with the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, the work of ministry is to be carried out by every Christian. No one is to be on the sideline or in the stands watching as ministry happens. We are all to be working together until we attain maturity. Verse 13.... As Christians, we are called to be maturing, growing in Christ. Look there at verses 15-16.... We are to grow up into Jesus, who is the head of the body. We are to be as a body, joined and held together with each part of the body working properly and growing in love. The body of Christ cannot grow into maturity if it is malnourished from the teaching of the word. The body of Christ cannot grow in maturity if there are parts of the body being neglected. We must labor together. For if we do not labor towards this maturity, we will remain as those tossed about by the waves and the wind. Verse 14.... If we fail to see that we are to labor together as the body of Christ for a unity rooted in pursuing maturity, we will find ourselves not walking in a worthy manner of our calling. We must see the great need as the people of God to join ourselves to the local church and to ensure that as the church, we are laboring for spiritual maturity. And to do this, we are going to need one another and the diversity of gifts the body of Christ has been given. To drive this further hope, hear these words from John Calvin, "No member of the body of Christ is endowed with such perfection as to be able, without the assistance of others, to supply his own necessities."2 1 Stott, John. The Message of Ephesians. 2 Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Ephesians 4:1-16, Page #1