The Basic Bond
Back to the Basics: A First Century Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please meet me in your copy of God's word in Ephesians 4:1–16. Pg.918 in your church provided Bible. This is the Word of the Lord.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Introduction:
Introduction:
We live in a nation that is being torn apart by politics, pride, and personal preference. And far too often, those same divisions creep into the church. But they don’t belong here. In Christ, we are called to be something radically different.
Last week, we heard Jesus declare, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We established that He is the foundation, the builder, and the head of His people. But what kind of church does He build?
Imagine the church like a building with a firm foundation—set solidly on Christ Himself. But without walls, that building lacks shape, strength, and shelter. That’s what the church is like without unity.
Unity is the framework that gives the church its form and function. It’s built with humility, held together by love, and reinforced by the Spirit through spiritual gifts.
If Matthew 16 lays the foundation with Christ’s promise, then Ephesians 4 raises the walls. Ephesians 4 shows us how the church takes shape—not just in structure, but in how we live and relate to one another.
We need to understand that the early church wasn’t perfect, there were doctrinal disputes (Acts 15), cultural tensions (Acts 6), and even sharp disagreements between leaders (Acts 15:36–40). But they were unified around Christ. That unity wasn’t built on personal preference or shared hobbies. It was the supernatural result of gospel-transformed hearts walking together in humility, grace, and mission.
That’s why, in this second message of our series Back to the Basics: Becoming A First Century Church, we’ve turned to Ephesians 4:1–16 to examine what we’re calling “The Basic Bond.”
This week shows us how we’re meant to live, as a Spirit led and formed body, that walks in humility and builds each other up through our God-given gifts.
This Spirit-produced unity doesn’t just hold the church together, it propels its witness to the world. It’s not about shared background or personal preference, but about shared belief, sacrificial love, and Spirit-enabled life together.
Ephesians 4 unveils three pillars that forge this bond of unity:
The Pillar of Humility: Walking Worthy in Christ’s Love (v.1-2)
The Pillar of Shared Faith: Anchoring Unity in Christ’s Truth (v.3-6)
The Pillar of Christ Like Maturity: Growing together in His body (v.7-16)
1.) The Pillar of Humility: Walking Worthy in Christ’s Love (v.1-2)
1.) The Pillar of Humility: Walking Worthy in Christ’s Love (v.1-2)
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
Worthy- Suitable or proper. We might say appropriate. It Paints a picture of balance that reflects the gospel we’ve received.
Chapters 1 through 3 of Ephesians have celebrated God's grace – how we've been chosen, redeemed, sealed, and raised in Christ. Now Paul is urging us to live like it.
But what does that "worthy walk" look like? Verses 2–3 give us four relational virtues that form the soil of christian unity.
A.) Humility
Humility is the starting point of unity. Without it, nothing else can grow. It’s the soil from which gentleness, patience, and love spring.
In a world that celebrates self-promotion, self-expression, and self-importance, humility often feels upside down, but in the kingdom of God, it’s the posture of greatness.
Biblically, humility is not thinking less of yourself—it’s thinking of yourself less. It’s recognizing who you are before a holy God and choosing to lower yourself for the good of others. It begins vertically—with a deep awareness of God’s holiness and our total dependence on His grace. And it extends horizontally—as we consider others more significant than ourselves.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Jesus is our model. Though He was equal with God, He didn’t cling to His status.
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The King of glory stooped low washing feet, welcoming children, forgiving enemies, and bearing a cross. That’s humility.
In the early church, humility held radically different people together, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, former Pharisees and former prostitutes all united not by similarity, but by shared surrender to Christ.
At Heritage, humility means we don’t always have to get our way. It means being quick to listen and slow to speak. It means showing up early to serve, even when no one notices. It means laying aside preferences for the sake of peace and the mission of the church.
Humility resists the urge to be impressive and embraces the call to be faithful. It doesn’t jockey for recognition. It doesn't take offense easily. It is the posture that says, “I am not the center—Jesus is.”
And without humility, unity is impossible—because pride always divides. But where humility leads, peace follows.
B.) Gentleness
Often we think that being gentle means being passive; but that is not the case.
Gentleness is Holy Spirit empowered restraint.
Listen how Jesus described himself in Matthew 11:29
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.
Paul tells us that pastors must not be quarrelsome but gentle in 1 Timothy 3:3,
In Galatians 6:1 the church is called to:
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
In the church, gentleness looks like speaking the truth in love, correcting with kindness, and handling disagreements with grace. It's the posture that makes relationship safe and healing possible.
C.) Patience
Patience- a state of emotional calm in the face of provocation or misfortune and without complaint or irritation (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 306.)
It is the long-suffering commitment to love through difficulty.
It reflects God's forbearance with us.
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Patience should show up when others are slow to change and hard to love.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
It absorbs offenses without striking back and trust that God is at work even when people test our limits.
In the church, patience means walking with people through their sanctification process and sticking with them when it would be easier to leave.
D.) Love
Love (Agape)- to have love for someone or something, based on sincere appreciation and high regard (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 292.)
This is the kind of love that God has for us. Agape love is the glue that binds the church together.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
It's not based on feelings but on sacrifice.
It's the love that forgives like Christ forgave.
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
It's the love that covers a multitude of sins.
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
It's the love that perseveres when it's hard.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Jesus said in John 13:35 that this kind of love is the visible proof that we belong to Jesus.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In the early church, love was visible in their generosity, hospitality, and shared lives. (Acts 2:44-47) Here at heritage we practice this kind of love when we find forgiveness for past hurts, embrace those who are different from us, and give joyfully to meet other people's needs.
Meal Team, Visiting shut-ins, having coffee with that person you feel has wronged you so that you can make things right.
This kind of love isn’t always easy, but its the kind of love that we are called to practice in the church and it makes us markedly different from the world.
Application: Church we can immediately begin practicing these today.
Maybe for you it's going up and speaking with a kind word to someone you regularly criticize.
Or perhaps someone has wronged you and you've been holding a grudge, by the way none of us hide that as well as we think we do it shows up on our faces. How about today you just make the choice to forgive and then go tell them you forgive them.
Show up early to help.
Pray for someone who is struggling.
All of these things: humility, gentleness, patience, and Love are not optional extras. They are the relational walls that support and strengthen the unity Christ died to create!
2.) The Pillar of Shared Faith: Anchoring Unity in Christ’s Truth (v.3-6)
2.) The Pillar of Shared Faith: Anchoring Unity in Christ’s Truth (v.3-6)
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
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 not something we create, it is a gift from the Spirit that we are called to maintain.
A.) Why Unity Matters
Unity is theological. It reflects the oneness of God. In vs. 4-6 Paul gives us seven “ones” that form the shared foundation of the church.
One Body – There is only one true, universal church, made up of all believers across time and space (1 Cor. 12:12–13
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
But this unity is meant to be reflected locally in each congregation that walks together in love, doctrine, and mission. A local church should be a living, visible mirror of the unity of the universal church.
One Spirit – The same Holy Spirit who indwells every believer empowers our unity and gifts.
One Hope – We’re heading toward the same future: Christ’s return, resurrection, and eternal glory.
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
One Lord – Jesus is our singular Master. No divided loyalties.
One Faith – The core gospel truth: salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
One Baptism – The outward sign of our inward union with Christ. Spirit baptism brings us into the body; water baptism pictures it.
One God and Father – He is over all, through all, and in all.
These shared realities aren’t just doctrinal bullet points; they’re spiritual anchors. They bind believers together across generations and cultures. And they are meant to unite us here at Heritage.
B.) How Division Grieves God
Division in the church is not just a relational problem, it is a spiritual rebellion against God's design. It dismantles what Christ died to unite Ephesians 2:16
16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
It undermines the very Gospel.
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
It quenches the work of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us to produce peace.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
When we gossip, grumble, hold grudges, or form cliques, we grieve the spirit and distort the witness of the gospel. We tear apart the body of Christ that Jesus gave his life to build.
Division dismembers the body, discredits the message, and distracts from the mission. And it doesn't just harm us, it misrepresents God to the watching world. The church is meant to display his wisdom.
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Division clouds that display with confusion and contradiction.
Application: We must guard the bond of peace. Confess gossip. Forgive offenses. If there is someone you have avoided or judged today should be the day you pursue reconciliation. Your obedience to God doesn’t just keep the peace, it glorifies your creator.
3.) The Pillar of Christ Like Maturity: Growing Together in HIs Body (v.7-16)
3.) The Pillar of Christ Like Maturity: Growing Together in HIs Body (v.7-16)
aIn verse seven fter calling the church to unity and grounding that unity in shared faith, Paul now turns the conversation to how Christ maintains and matures that unity through the gifts of leadership that he has given his people.
A.) Christ Gives Leadership to Equip His Church
7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
But instead of diving into a list of spiritual gifts (like he does in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12), Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit highlights the offices of leader ship, those rolls Christ gives to the church to build it up.
In verses 8–10 he quotes from Psalm 68, reminding us that the ascended Christ, having conquered sin and death, now gives gifts to his people. And in this passage, those gifts are leaders: Men who are called and set apart to guide, teach, and Shepherd the church.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
1.) Apostles- These men were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ commission to lay the foundation of the church.
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
They were missionaries, doctrinal guardians, and church planters. While the office of a parcel in this foundational sense has ceased, their teaching lives on in the New Testament.
2.) Prophets- These were spirit empowered messengers (men and women) who spoke God's word in the early church before the new testament was complete. Today, we don’t have the office of prophet in the same way—but we do have their legacy preserved in the Bible.
We see this clearly in Acts. In chapter 11, a man named Agabus stood up and predicted a coming famine. He wasn’t one of the Twelve. He wasn’t writing Scripture. But God used him to prepare the church.
Later, in Acts 21, the same man warned Paul about what would happen in Jerusalem—and he was right.
Then you’ve got Judas and Silas in Acts 15. Luke says they were prophets who ‘encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.’ They weren’t founding churches or penning letters—but they were instruments of God’s voice in a very specific way.
And in Acts 21:9, we read about Philip’s four daughters who prophesied. We don’t know what they said, but Scripture honors their role as Spirit-filled, truth-speaking women.
3.) Evangelists- These are more than just itinerant revival preachers. Biblically, evangelist were more like missionaries and pioneering church planters, those who carry the gospel into new territory.
Phillip in the book of Acts is an example of this.
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
4.) Shepherds (Pastors) and Teachers- These are paired together into one office in the New Testament, this describes shepherds who lead by feeding, guiding, and protecting the flock.
The new testament consistently presents a pattern of a church having multiple of these called elders whose job it was to lead the local church.
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—
You may remember about a year ago we mentioned that we were beginning to explore what this might look like at heritage. A team of shepherds, sharing the load, complementing all another's gifts, and working together under Christ.
This is biblical and this is healthy. It reflects exactly what this passage describes: leaders equipping the body so that every member is doing their part.
B. Equipped People Grow a Unified Body.
The purpose of these leader ship roles is made clear in
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
Ministry isn't reserved just for pastors, it belongs to every member! God gives leaders not to perform the ministry role, but to prepare the people to do it together.
Paul lays out a progression:
Equipped saints engage in gospel ministry.
That ministry leads to maturity. Ephesians 4:13
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Maturity produces stability. Ephesians 4:14
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Ultimately, it leads to Christlikeness Ephesians 4:15
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
“Speaking the truth in love”- This is more than just being nice, it's how we disciple each other in gospel truth. We correct gently, encourage boldly, and build one another up with scripture saturated, gospel centered love.
Paul then zooms back out in vs. 16
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Though the emphasis in this passage is on Christ gifts of leadership, Paul still affirms that every part matters.
When every believer stays connected to the Head (Christ) and faithfully plays their part, the church grows. Not just in size, but more importantly in health, love, and spiritual depth.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
When you look at Ephesians 4, you don’t just see theology—you see blueprints. Christ is building His church and He’s calling us—right now—to pick up our tools and join Him.
We’ve seen three pillars today:
The Pillar of Humility—that if we’re going to walk worthy, we must walk low, like Jesus.
The Pillar of Shared Faith—that our unity isn’t about style, race, or background, but about one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
The Pillar of Christlike Maturity—that God gives leaders not to impress us, but to equip us, so that every part of the body grows strong.
We must function in a biblical manner so that the world sees the church not as a divided institution, but as a living, breathing, loving display of Jesus Himself.
Because here’s the truth: the church isn’t just something we attend—it’s something we become. And Christ is building us, stone by stone, into something eternal.
But here’s the question: Are you part of the body?
Some of you have never truly responded to the gospel. You may have attended church, known the lingo, even served but you’ve never turned from your sin and trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord.
You cannot walk worthy until Christ has made you new. You can’t live out the gospel until you’ve believed the gospel.
And the gospel is this: though we were dead in our sins and separated from God, Christ came to bring peace. He died in our place, rose in victory, and now offers forgiveness and new life to all who repent and believe.
So today, if you haven’t surrendered to Christ, don’t wait. Turn to Him in faith. Lay down your pride. Call out to Jesus. Be reconciled to God—and to His people.
Prayer:
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
You are the builder of Your church and the Savior of our souls. Thank You for calling us to something greater than ourselves—into a body marked by humility, truth, and love.
For anyone here who hasn’t yet trusted You—draw them now. Let today be the day they turn from sin and trust in You alone for salvation.
In Your name we pray,
Amen.
