EPHESIANS 4:1-4 - Life Together: Unity With One Another

Introduction

Isn’t it remarkable that we live in a day and age when we can pick up a device and immediately be connected with someone on the other side of the planet? Full video and audio, in real time. Gone are the days of waiting days or weeks for a letter sent via Air Mail from some distant country (or even having to go through the process of making a “long-distance” phone call) in order to communicate--today, you can share your most immediate thoughts immediately with anyone and everyone all around the world.

You would think this would make us a very connected people, wouldn’t you? But in fact, the exact opposite seems to be the case. We are a people who are increasingly lonely and isolated from one another. In a sense, the very “connectivity” we enjoy is partly to blame--we feel connected when someone “likes” our Instagram status or retweets our comment; the devices we use every day to communicate are specifically engineered to give us that dopamine hit when that notification bell rings that someone has interacted with our content. But all this does is make us crave more connection with people that we aren’t really getting through online and social media platforms.

And the church is not immune from this isolation--I am convinced that one of the Enemy’s greatest victories over the Church (in America particularly) is that he has sold us the notion that there is such a thing as “online church”. A temporary measure borne of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic--that churches could broadcast their worship services online in order to keep contact with each other--has since turned into a permanent feature of many church fellowships. Of course, there is a place for making a worship service available for people who are otherwise incapable of participating (illness, incarceration, closed-access countries where Christianity is outlawed), but the sad fact is that the vast majority of consumers of “online church” simply use it as a convenience. And they are simply that--consumers, not members.

The isolation and self-absorption that has so captivated our day has already begun to affect God’s gathered people in the Church--how often are we are more willing to share our innermost thoughts with our social media followers than with the brother or sister sitting next to us in worship? We are like desert travelers dying of thirst in the middle of a lush oasis because all we want is the trickle of life that comes from our phone screen instead of the waterfall of fellowship ordained by God’s Spirit inhabiting His gathered people in the church.

And consider how many people lost in that barren wasteland of loneliness and isolation out there are looking for real fellowship, real belonging, and are finding it in all the wrong places (if they find it at all)? The atmosphere of our society is full of suspicion, spite, fear, hatred and divisiveness--we all live in a way that automatically assumes that we will eventually be betrayed, that there is no one we can count on but ourselves; no one “has our back”. Where else will they find the kind of fellowship and unity they long for, if not here?

And so that’s the question before us this morning as we come to the Scriptures: In such a time so fractured by division, how can we foster the kind of unity God requires?

I want us to examine three portions of Scripture this morning to help us answer that question--we will examine what the New Testament teaches about Christian unity from three different vantage points. And what I aim to show you as we work through these passages is that

We walk in UNITY with each other as we walk UNITED with Christ

Our first stop is in the passage that I read a few moments ago--the first five verses of Ephesians 4. The first element of unity that we need to establish is

I. The unity in our SPIRITUAL walk (Ephesians 4:1-5)

One of our first principles of Bible study is to look for repeated words, phrases or ideas. Here in verses 4-5, we see a very clear pattern repeated:

Ephesians 4:4–5 LSB

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

Paul is exhorting his readers to remember that

We belong to the same BODY (vv. 4-5; cp. 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 12:5)

Remember how we saw this last week--we belong to one another in the Body of Christ in a way that we belong to no one else outside the faith. Paul reiterates this same idea when he writes to the believers in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 12:13 LSB

For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

And Romans 12:5

Romans 12:5 LSB

so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another,

This is the foundational reality of our unity with one another--we have all had the same calling to salvation, we all are seeking obedience to the same Holy Spirit; we all are seeking to walk in union with the same Savior Whose blood washed all of us clean from our sin. And so just as we belong to the same body,

We have been raised to the same LIFE (v. 5; cp. Rom. 6:4)

Paul points out that we have all undergone the same baptism--as Romans 6 tells us, baptism is a symbol of the death of our sin in the death of Christ, and our resurrection to His righteousness:

Romans 6:3–4 LSB

Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Every one of us deserved the same punishment; we all had earned the same damnation; we all had offended the same infinitely righteous God. But in Christ we have all received the same grace through faith!

This really is the bedrock foundation of our unity with one another--this spiritual unity is what Paul appeals to when he calls the church in Ephesus to

Ephesians 4:3 LSB

[be] diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The word “bond” there in verse 3 has nautical overtones--it was the word used to describe binding the hull of a ship together tightly enough to make it waterproof. Paul says that the reality of our spiritual unity in Christ--the unity of the Spirit--is what binds us together so tightly in the bonds of peace that nothing can get into our midst to cause us to lose our devotion to one another.

We walk in unity with one another when we walk united with Christ--walking in His Spirit, walking with one another toward the same hope, the same calling, the same faith, the same God and Father who is over all and through all and in all (Eph 4:6).

We have seen the unity we are called to in our spiritual walk, and as we turn now to 1 Corinthians 1:10 (p. 952), we come to the second element of the unity we are called to--

II. The unity in our CHURCH walk (1 Cor. 1:10)

1 Corinthians 1:10 LSB

Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

When we look at the broader context of this verse, we see that the specific divisions Paul is addressing here stem from the church in Corinth fighting (essentially) over who published the best study Bible!

1 Corinthians 1:11–12 LSB

For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”

Paul goes on to exhort the Corinthian church to unity based (once again) on their belonging to Christ through faith:

1 Corinthians 1:13 LSB

Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

In other words, no matter what teacher or study Bible or podcast or author or conference speaker we favor, we must never make them the basis of our unity--our unity in our walk as a church must be Christ alone.

But at the same time, our unity as a church cannot survive unless

We seek CLARITY in our CONVICTIONS

This is one of the main reasons that we read a confession of faith or creed before we celebrate the Lord’s Supper each month--it is crucial that we are clear on what we believe as a church. This is why our membership classes take an entire unit to closely examine our doctrinal statement, and why the elders hold membership interviews with prospective members. It is impossible to have real unity with Christians that hold significantly different convictions from one another. If someone wants to join our church, for instance, but does not believe that Jesus Christ is God, or that He did not really rise from the dead, then it is impossible for them to fellowship with us, because they deny the Gospel.

Then there are other barriers to fellowship that arise not from heretical beliefs, but honestly held differences of doctrine that make fellowship practically impossible. For instance, we would have no problem welcoming biblically sound, regenerate Presbyterian friends to join us in worship--in fact, we often do have that pleasure! We can wholeheartedly welcome them as a brother or sister, worship together, study the Scriptures together, pray together, and experience rich and genuine unity in the faith through Christ.

But the one thing we cannot do is form a church together. Because we differ on the nature and timing of baptism, for instance--our Presbyterian brothers’ convictions would lead them to baptize an infant into visible membership of a church, while our convictions would mandate that we have good evidence of a person’s regeneration and confession of faith in Christ before we would baptize them into membership.

You can see, can’t you, that you can’t have it both ways in the same church--it has to be one or the other. And since honest Christians can differ honestly on various issues of Christian doctrine and church life, there will always be the need for different fellowships to gather on the basis of different convictions. But that doesn’t mean that it will always be so--we can look forward to the day when we will all “know fully even as we are fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). But until that Day of perfect understanding and perfect unity arrives, we can fellowship with one another and walk in as much unity as possible in Christ.

In order for us to foster unity in our church walk we seek clarity in our convictions; and I would also suggest from this verse in 1 Corinthians 1 that

We seek CHARITY in our CONFLICTS

Paul says in this verse

1 Corinthians 1:10 LSB

Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The word translated “divisions” is the Greek word schism--in fact, it is used in English to describe a church that splits over doctrine or over quarrels. Paul uses the same word again in 1 Corinthians 12, where he describes the church as a living body. He says that God has so composed the members of the church

1 Corinthians 12:25–27 LSB

so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

When there is a conflict in the church (note it’s when, not “if”) --whether over differences over doctrinal understandings or matters of conscience or even because of our imperfect sanctification when we step on each other’s toes or disappoint each other--Paul brings us back again to our union with Christ as the center--

1 Corinthians 12:27 LSB

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

It is important to see that this description of the nature of the church as a body comes right before Paul’s great description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. How do we deal with conflicts in our church body? We seek love:

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 LSB

Love is patient, love is kind, is not jealous, does not brag, is not puffed up; it does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered; it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This is why, from time to time, we read our Membership Covenant together before the Lord’s Supper--because we know we will inevitably cause one another frustration or disappointment; we will let each other down, we will in fact, from time to time, sin against one another. And so we seek charity in our conflicts, reminding ourselves

To cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy of speech, To be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.

When we walk united with Christ as members of His Body, loving one another with the same love with which He loved us, we will walk in unity together. We have unity in our spiritual walk, unity in our church walk, and as we turn to our next passage we see what God’s Word says about

III. The unity in our DAILY walk (1 Corinthians 6:5-7)

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6--it’s on page 954 in the pew Bible. There were numerous crises of fellowship going on in the church at Corinth--fighting over teachers (as we saw), fighting over access to the Lord’s Table (Chapter 11), fighting over spiritual gifts (Chapter 12), and here in Chapter 6 we see that the fighting had even spilled outside the church’s boundaries--the members of the church in Corinth were taking each other to court!

1 Corinthians 6:5–7 LSB

I say this to your shame. Is it really this way: there is not one wise man among you who will be able to pass judgment between his brothers? On the contrary, brother is tried with brother, and that before unbelievers! Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

Paul was dealing with a breakdown in the unity of the Corinthian church, for sure! He addresses the sin of their disunity by asking two questions. The first one is in Verse 5:

1 Corinthians 6:5 LSB

I say this to your shame. Is it really this way: there is not one wise man among you who will be able to pass judgment between his brothers?

In other words, isn’t there anyone in the church you can trust to help resolve a dispute you have with another member? Now, of course God has ordained the civil magistrate to bear the sword of justice--if there is a criminal matter that arises in the church, there is a point at which crimes (such as sexual abuse, rape, assault, fraud and so on) have to be turned over to that ordained sphere of authority. But the idea here seems to be that the Corinthians were trying to sue each other in the equivalent of a “small claims court”--Judge Judy-level of stuff. And Paul is astonished that so-called Christians (who, as he points out in verse 3 “will someday judge angels!”) can’t trust one another to decide whether your fellow church member who caved in your kitchen wall while trying to put in new cabinets should help repay you for damages or not!

The point that Paul is making here in Verse 5 is that, when it comes to settling the disputes that we have with one another,

We trust the SAINTS over the WORLD (v. 5)

If we truly believe that we have the mind of Christ; if we truly believe that the relationship we share is stronger than any other natural bond of blood, nationality or common culture; if we are really convinced that our brother or sister in Christ is (as C.S. Lewis said) one of the holiest things ever presented to our senses, why would we trust Judge Judy over them? it is, as Paul says, “a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another” (v. 7). The unity we are called to demonstrate with one another in the church is utterly negated when we decide to trust the judgment of the world over that of the saints.

But the question comes back, “But what about my rights? What about getting what is owed to me over all of this? That law firm on TV says I’m ‘entitled to compensation’ because of what Brother So-and-So did; if we just settle it between ourselves with members of the church mediating, I’ll lose what’s coming to me!!”

That’s the objection Paul is addressing at the end of Verse 7, isn’t he?

1 Corinthians 6:7 LSB

...Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

That is a question that pulls us up short, doesn’t it? We are a people intensely conscious of our rights--our rights as citizens, our rights as church members, our rights as human beings, our rights as employees, and so on. And so it is only as we are walking in union with Christ that

We treasure our FELLOWSHIP over our RIGHTS (v. 7)

This is the kind of unity that walking in union with Christ produces--that you would rather not pursue your “rights” because the unity of the body of Christ and the reputation of the Gospel of Christ means more to you than “getting your day in court.”

Once again--this is not referring to criminal matters. If a church’s fellowship is in such ruins that believers are committing actual crimes against one another, clearly those crimes must be dealt with by the civil magistrate, acting within his own sphere to restrain the evildoer and bear the sword of God’s justice (Romans 13). Crimes that take place within the walls of a church must be reported to the authorities--and such crimes cause a devastating ruin to the reputation of the Gospel.

But consider the damage that is done to the reputation of the Gospel by believers who would rather hang on to their “rights” than preserve the unity of the Body of Christ. Consider the way the testimony of a church is poisoned when its members complain about each other to outsiders; when unbelieving friends and family members and co-workers hear all about how unfairly you have been treated by the people at church; those grudges you bear over not being properly recognized or respected, when you feel cheated by a lack of recognition or thanks--or even when you really have been let down or hurt by a brother or sister in Christ.

When you harden your heart toward them and appeal to others outside the fellowship to affirm your hurt feelings— “Oh my, I can’t believe you would be treated that way by those people--and they call themselves Christians!?!”--when you care more about having your rights vindicated than you care about preserving the fellowship and unity of your church family, then you are tearing down with your own hands what your Savior established with His own blood.

Because the alternative to insisting on your rights at the expense of the unity of this body is hard--it means that you have to be willing to forgive your brother who wronged you; you have to be willing to ask forgiveness from your sister who your sin has estranged. Pursuing the unity in fellowship God demands of His church can only happen when you are first walking in unity with Christ--forgiving others as you have been forgiven; loving others the way He first loved you; recognizing that you have sinned against God infinitely more than your brother or sister has sinned against you, and if He freely forgave your thousand-talent debt, you can forgive their one hundred denarii debt!

The temptation to turn your back on a church fellowship because they don’t sing the kind of music you like or don’t read from the Bible translation you prefer or don’t promote the authors or teachers you wish they would is a constant one for some people. Loving your brothers and sisters in Christ gathered here more than you love your own preferences for music styles or Bible translations or Sunday School curriculum is only possible when you ground that love in the fact that you all love Christ more than you love your own preferences!

But it is even harder not to turn your back on a church fellowship where you have been sinned against--to seek unity with someone who has wronged you. You can see here, can’t you, that it is only possible to seek that kind of reconciliation through the power that comes from the New Birth in Christ. The world out there cannot comprehend how two people who have hurt or betrayed or slandered or used one another can ever be in the same room together again (much less stand in unity with one another!)

But you are a Christian--and that means that you have been brought into unity with the One Who you have yourself offended, betrayed and slandered with your sin against Him. Christ brought you to Himself while you were still His enemy, granted you repentance and faith and washed you from your guilt so that you could belong to Him as His precious child. And if He did that for you, then you are called to do that for your brother in Christ. Jesus could not be plainer in His command to do this, nor more clear in His warning:

Matthew 6:14–15 LSB

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Have you received that forgiveness? Do you walk in unity with Christ by faith? Then it lies in you now to walk in a manner worthy of your calling--it lies in you now to agree and have no divisions among you; it lies in you now to be made complete in the same mind and the same judgment.

Is there a conversation you need to have with another member of Bethel this morning? Is there unity that you need to guard with a brother or sister in Christ? Is there clarification you need to seek in the convictions we share as a congregation? Is there a need for charity in the conflicts that are arising here? Do you treasure these saints more than the “rights” you would claim at their expense? Does this gathering represent the most precious unity to be found anywhere in your life?

Then take comfort and strength for the unity you seek from the promise of the Scriptures in Ephesians 4:7

Ephesians 4:7 LSB

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Beloved, you possess the grace necessary to walk in unity with this church family. That grace was given you “according to the measure” of Christ’s gift to you. What is His gift but His own life’s blood? What is that gift but the promise of cleansing for sin and peace with God? What is that gift but the assurance of eternal life in His presence, enjoying perfect unity with Him throughout endless ages? If such is the measure of Christ’s gift to you, then how much grace to walk in unity do you possess? Rest in that grace as you fight for this kind of unity in fellowship; draw on it as you seek forgiveness for the ways you have sinned against each other; draw on it as you freely grant forgiveness sought from you. Rest in it as you draw together in worship, as you spend time in each others’ presence, as you build up and encourage each other until the Day when the unity of your walk with one another leads to your final and perfect and eternal union together with your Savior, Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION:

Romans 15:5–6 LSB

Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION:

What are some of the ways people you know suffer from isolation and loneliness in our communities? Would the fellowship that characterizes our church be a comfort to them? Why or why not?

In Ephesians 4:1, Paul calls his readers to “walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called”. How does our unity demonstrate that “worthy walk”?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10 again. In the context of this chapter, what kind of “divisions” were taking place in that church that threatened their unity? How does Paul say those divisions can be prevented? (Hint: Read 1 Corinthians 1:13). How do these verses help explain why we read confessions and creeds before the Lord’s Supper each month?

Are there any ways that your unity with another member here at Bethel is being threatened? Are there steps that you need to take to help preserve the fellowship of this body of believers? Pray through these verses this week and seek God’s wisdom for how you can walk in a manner worthy of your calling to unity together in Christ!