Ephesians 4:1-6 - Called to Unity

One thing that drives me crazy is walking in step.

At the police academy, you walk in step EVERYWHERE you go.

A good marching band marches in step—that’s what makes them absolutely impressive.

I sinfully judge the ones who don’t.

Military parades practice this exact same thing.

Marching in step is a practice in unity.

Moving together in one pace, one fluid motion.

Big Idea: We are called to unity

4:1 is the hinge of the letter

Paul transitions from reminded them of gospel doctrine to gospel unity.

Paul has reminded them of the core realities of being a Christian who has been transformed by the gospel

Now he tells them how they are to conduct their lives individually and together as a church.

As he says, “therefore,” he is calling it back to the first 3 chapters we’ve covered in Ephesians.

He calls them back to the theological foundation that he has laid, and now he’s going to move toward practical commands.

He is going to begin applying this amazing theology to their everyday lives.

“In light of all this…”

Stand to read

Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV

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.

Leader: This is God’s Word

Everyone: Thanks be to God

Explanation

Paul writes this from a Roman prison as “a prisoner for the Lord.”

He is here on behalf of the gospel.

What he is going to tell them to do with the rest of the book has some umph because he has taken these matters so seriously as to suffer imprisonment for them in the Lord’s service.

Walking worthy is a call to align their lives with their identity in Christ.

He is calling them to match their lives with the doctrine that they believe.

Their lives should match up with what they believe.

If you believe that Jesus died to set you free from your sins, you should not live in it.

Your manner of living should reflect your identity in Christ.

When the Lord called you to Himself to believe in Christ and be saved from your sins, He gave you a new identity—a new breath—a new life.

When God calls us to Himself, He calls us to live for His glory through His power.

This changes everything about us

Paul prescribes how we are to live out this calling (v. 2-3)

Paul gives us three practical elements to live out our call, involving 1. living in humility, 2. tolerating others lovingly, and 3. setting aside preference to pursue unity.

Walk in humility and gentleness (v. 2a)

This was distasteful in Paul’s world.

Pride was more highly prized and confidence ruled the day.

You looked at someone who pursued glory and you marveled at them.

Humility, gentleness, and patience as a Christian is displaying Jesus’s own character.

When we live with these, we are showing that we have been changed by Jesus because Jesus was humble, gentle, and patient toward us.

The problem with a love of church people is that they have forgotten the heart of Jesus.

Jesus is humble, gentle, and patient toward us in our sins—When we forget what He has saved us from and how He continually is toward us—we forget to live and treat others with these things.

When we live in humility, gentleness, and patience, that makes working with sinners much more useful because we’re able to bear with them (which is our next practical step)

Bearing with one another in love (v. 2b)

We are called to be patient with other’s faults and recognize that spiritual growth takes time.

Everyone here is a real piece of work (in progress).

Everyone in the room has a next step to take toward Jesus.

We are called to be patient with one another

When someone doesn’t love you like you’ve tried to love them.

When those who are younger in the faith seem unreliable or lazy.

Perhaps you don’t struggle like someone else has, so that may mean that humility, gentleness, and pateince are difficult for you.

Spiritual arrogance is a real sin that strangles the grow the of a church because it pulls the church in different direction.

Our calling is humility and tolerating one another in love for the sake of growth and unity.

Which is what we are eager to maintain.

Unity of the Spirit (v. 3)

When we set ourselves aside and give ourselves over to what God has for our church, He gives us an urgency to maintain unity in the bond of peace.

Paul gives this strong word: “Bond”

Meaning to mend together—same idea used for marriage.

You are TOGETHER.

We our bound to one another by the blood of Jesus.

We don’t live in petty avoidance or passive-aggression.

Neither of those things have any place within the church.

Those things are enemies of unity and peace.

We are bound by Jesus—who can’t/will not be divided.

Paul earlier said that “in Christ the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (2:21)

I had surgery on my hand—de Querveins.

The sheath that held my tendons became inflamed with no relief.

I could see my bone—doc knocked on it—so cool.

He cut the sheath and I could see my tendon travel as I wiggled my thumb.

The tendon connected my thumb to the rest of my arm.

Jesus’s blood chains/bounds us together and holds the church body together.

The key ingredients to this peace include humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and ultimately, sacrificial love (the kind that Jesus gives us).

Church

We’ve gotta stay together (vv. 1-3)

If we are going to walk worthy of our calling, we have to stay together as Christ’s church.

When you get out of the habit of gathering with the Church, you don’t even realize your drift.

The church functions on the local body working together in unity.

If one part of the body fail to do what God has created and called it to do, then the entire body is affected.

I’ve had a sliver of my screen protector in my thumb for about two weeks.

I know, “Go to the doctor.” Get off me.

That small area of my thumb, just in the corner of my nail, has been extremely sensitive.

It has made doing normal things challenging, because of it’s sensitivity.

My thumb is not doing what it is supposed to, so it makes other parts suffer.

God has gifted and call you to this church at this time for the sake of building it up in unity!

This is a time for you to grow in faith and in your calling so that the name of Jesus may be made known through the church!

When we come together with our strengths, abilities, and skills, the Lord uses the Church to do incredible things.

It lets the outside world marvel how the Church moves in step with itself.

It is very distracting when the Church does not function in unity.

There’s a major disconnect, so much so that people outside the church see it.

This is not how God called His Church to be—He is not divided, so to walk worthy of our calling, we have to stay together.

This is why Paul gives us the framework of our unity.

Transition

Paul lists seven “ones” that lay the theological framework for Christian unity.

Ephesians 4:4–6 ESV

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.

These “ones” are organized around the three Persons of the Trinity.

One God, three Divine Persons—Father/Son/Spirit.

Unity of the Christian community is rooted in the Trinitarian nature of God.

Being a Christian is NOT an individual endeavor, but a life lived in community with God’s people.

One body and one Spirit (v. 4)

God the Holy Spirit gives dwells within and gives life to God’s people: the Church.

One Lord, one faith one baptism (v. 5)

God the Son, Jesus Christ, unites us all by faith in Him.

We all share in the finished work of Christ and have access to God by faith in Him alone.

Only Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross saves you from sin and makes you right with God.

One God and Father (v. 6)

God the Father is supremely over all creation and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

The unity of the church is rooted in the unity Trinity.

The Spirit would have never come if it wasn’t for the Son, and the Son would have never come were it not that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

God being Trinity unites us all.

God dwells within a community within Himself.

The Spirit glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, the Father glorifies the Spirit.

God is a perfect unity within Himself

We must be one because God is one.

If we are God’s people, we must live in His unity.

Church

God is our foundation for unity (vv. 4-6)

This implication transcends human division—this gives us a new way to exist.

This type of theology is deeply applicable for us and should be a MASSIVE comfort.

We don’t have to be alone anymore, because God is not alone within Himself.

This gives us the freedom to invite other believers into our lives to promote spiritual growth and encouragement.

We push and pull one another toward Jesus.

We want walk in a manner worthy of our calling together (4:1)

You cannot fulfill 4:1 on your own—Our calling requires us to live in unity with other believers, exercising our gifts, and building one another up.

The Church grows in unity as we grow together by faith in Christ.

This unity requires us to march in step with the Spirit.

When we march in step as a localized body, the outside world can see that we are unified in mission and in calling: eager to maintain unity of the spirit walking in a manner worthy of our calling.

When we take the next step together, we grow in unity.

Let’s take the next step of faith toward Jesus together as His Church.

Take the Next Step

Recognize and live your calling

Pursue unity with God and His people.

How can you be an agent of unity for the church?