A Unified Body

Introduction

As we turn to our passage in Ephesians chapter 4, please stand with me in honour of God’s word.

We are reading Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6.

Read .

This morning we have the image of a body before us … I would like to begin with presenting three pictures and then three teaching points from our passage.

Let’s look first at our own health.

We are made up of multiple parts or components … body, mind, emotions, spirit … more clearly our bodies are made up of many parts (limbs, organs, etc.).

One part definitely affects the whole … the smallest part can struggle and dampen our overall health … like Bob, an accident can remove the use or strength of our mind or arm or legs … sometimes this is life threatening and other times more life-altering.

That one part that struggles or fails on us may be physical, but we also see it play out through mental health matters and spiritual battles. We must also see how these play into life, accepting them and walking through them rather than judging or ignoring them.

It takes all of our parts to make the whole … and all our parts are dependent upon the others.

We can also look at the well-being of any group - whether a business, government, nation, province, community, church, or organization.

Each of these is a collection of individuals working towards a common goal.

It only takes one person to stir the pot or go against the flow or insist on their own way to upset the trajectory of the group.

However, when everyone works together there is success.

ill. - local elections, proportional representation, trade talks … there should be positive and supportive efforts made for the good of the whole even when we represent different parties or views.

Each member of the group, regardless of role, contributes to the well-being of the group.

This morning we will end the service by coming around the communion table; this also expresses our unity amongst individuals.

Communion is an individual act of worship (it is between each of us and God), but too often we ignore the corporate reality of it (as we serve one another the body and blood of Christ).

Participating in communion expresses our personal unity with Christ but also our unity with one another; before participating, we are called to examine ourselves to see if we are right with Him and with each other.

These are pictures of parts of our lives that depict the reality of what our passage is speaking of.

All of Ephesians (at least our look at it) is focused here in today’s passage … being ONE, being united, being centred personally and together in Christ.

It is life-giving to know and understand what it means to be ONE With Christ and ONE With Each Other.

Living As Who We Are (1)

With those three pictures in mind (to help us apply the passage), let’s now look more directly into our verses to see the specific points it is making.

The first teaching point is to live as who we really are.

This may seem simple and basic, but we all struggle to fully live out our faith / we all struggle to fully accept who we are as people.

Here Paul gives a very direct instruction.

Most translations use the word “therefore” here (the NIV uses the word “then”).

“Therefore” / because of what has all been written in chapters 1-3 / because of who you are in Christ, “I call you to live like Christ.”

Paul writing from prison shows how seriously he has taken this (to the point of being willing to be imprisoned because of living up to Christ’s calling.

Paul “urges” us to live as who we are in Christ.

Other translations use “beseech” and “beg”.

He is exhorting us to apply the truths of our salvation and faith.

But, it is not an admonishment or correction.

More so the word means we are being called to action in a way that both strengthens and comforts us.

He is not nagging us - he is encouraging us!

In war, there are two versions of a call to action.

There is the one where a leader sends the men off to battle but remains at home, and there is the one where the leader leads them into battle himself.

This is a call to “charge” (as in war), but it is a “charge” where Paul is right in there with them and is motivating and supporting them in the battle.

What is our “call to action” as NCC?

We seek to be Christ-Centred and Community-Serving.

This is not meant as a nice slogan or something that makes us feel good.

It determines who we are / who we intend to be / who we are working towards being.

This is the purpose that holds us together.

We have our struggles with unity and trust, but we see a greater purpose.

We look outward / we choose to look outward so we are a community of believers that not only build one another up but also reach and serve our community.

This is our central reality that holds us together.

Paul calls us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling”.

To “walk” is to put into action; it is a word that defines how we are to live.

Each person walks a certain way - some fast and some slow, some people have distinctive gaits, some prefer to run … but we must walk in order to get anywhere.

We also see this kind of distinction in our marriages and families. Each one has their own idiosyncrasies, but that does not matter as long as we work together to strengthen and support each other.

It does not matter so much how we walk or how we are the same or different from others, it mostly matters that we are “walking” / that we are making every effort to get where we are going, to build up others, to live by faith.

We are to “be who we are”!

Ryan as Ryan, the van Kuik’s as the van Kuik’s, NCC as NCC, Christ-follower as a Christ-follower.

We are to live in Christ - living out our salvation!

We are to be who we are in Christ.

We are to match our outward life with who we are inwardly.

We are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling”.

We are called … to faith and adoption, to holiness and unity.

We are to live and walk in this reality.

When I am on a team, I fulfill my role on the team.

In my occupation, I fulfill the duties of my job.

As a member of a family, we fulfill our roles as parent, child, etc.

As part of NCC, we each play a part in prayer, volunteering, leading, following, giving, serving.

This is not just to fit in but because it is who we are.

There is not room for a dichotomy or for riding the fence; we cannot be who we are not. We must live as who we are.

We must live as who we are in Christ.

We are called to align our values, practices, patterns, attitudes, goals, ministries, and every other part of life with Christ.

We are to fall in line with both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission … loving God and loving one another, working to bring others to Christ.

If we say we are Christ-centred and Community-Serving, we must then live like it.

If we say we are Christ-followers, then our lives must reflect it.

In order to be the body of Christ, we each must live as who we are in Christ.

Living Into Unity (2-3)

When someone begins telling a good story, everyone quiets down and leans in to listen.

When we buy into the goals of any event, we get involved by helping plan, promote, and participating.

We have already refer to our vision and purpose as a church. Have we bought into it? Are we individually and corporately “leaning in” to relationships, action steps, and process that promote and accomplish being Christ-Centred and Community-Serving?

The next point Paul makes is that in order for us to be unified, we must “live into it”.

We must lean in / make distinct choices to build and maintain unity.

We must live as who we are in Christ in order to live in unity.

Like 1st century, we live in a society governed by pride … and yet Paul here calls us to the opposite.

5.21 - “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (, ESV)

All of chapters 4 & 5 call us to submission … to inter-dependence instead of independence … to service instead of success.

We are called to humility, gentleness, and patience.

Not at all what our society is known for … and yet clearly the outcome of the Christian life.

It is the fruit of our faith and identity in Christ (the “fruit of the Spirit” as in ).

It is a natural expression of who we are in Christ.

So much of Christ is focused outward, serving others instead of self.

When we live into unity, we join our lives to that of others … demonstrated through marriage, family, church life.

We live then not as an organization or utilitarian group where we come and go but where we actually get “in each other’s business” (an image we considered last week) / integrating our lives with one another.

We “bear with one another”.

Our relationships are defined by genuine love.

This also includes an “eagerness” to live in and maintain unity and peace.

This has been a big one for our church family these last few years, but we are reminded then all that more how "living into unity” should define us.

Many of us are battling relationship struggles … in marriages, with friends, family … unity and peace is no easy task, it is not always reciprocated, sometimes we are left in a state of disunity.

What is our response?

Are we “eager” (at least open) to reconciling?

Are we leaning to unity or do we leave a wake of broken relationships behind us?

If we are to truly experience the body of Christ, we each must live into unity.

Living As One (4-6)

Read - we see parts and yet a whole / individuality and yet unity.

A car is the sum of its parts … quality parts are important but are ineffective on their own … only together can they make a car.

A quilt is also the sum of its parts … all this fabric is cut into little and odd shaped pieces, which are useless alone … but then they are sewn together to not only make a functional blanket but an artistic quilt.

The whole series centres here in many ways.

ONE - this complete unity is most clearly expressed in these three verses.

And it is expressed in a list of aspects.

ONE With Christ, ONE With Each Other.

One in identity, one in function.

One in faith, one in expression of our faith.

One in the present and one in the future.

One in doctrine.

As Father, Son, and Spirit are ONE, so we are with them and with one another.

All believers make one body.

Coloured and white. Persecuted and free. Man or woman. Adult or child.

We truly do pray for our brothers and sisters around the world.

Do we live on ONE in faith?

This does not mean we see everything the same or always look alike ...

… but we do pursue unity and peace, giving and taking, submitting and serving … in our church, between our churches (denominationally and locally), with our families.

Conclusion

I am still in process on my fence work.

The problem is that I cannot just think it into being … the boards will not just put themselves in place.

Even though all the pieces are there, it still needs me to put them all in place.

Just because we each come to service here and call NCC our home, it does not make us a unified body.

We each must contribute.

We each are one part of the whole, and when we hold back the whole body is held back.

We may be trying to live out our faith on our own, but we cannot fully experience who we are in Christ until we fully participate in the body of Christ.

Communion

In coming to the Communion table now, we come to participate in the body and blood of Christ … but to do so together as the body of Christ.

If we are right with Christ / committed to Him, then we are invited to participate in this expression of our faith and unity with Christ and one another.

If we have not yet turned to Christ, then please allow the bread and juice to pass you by, instead using this time to prayerfully turn ourselves to Him.

If you have never yet participated (particularly if you are a child or youth), we look at your baptism as a key measurement for your readiness to participate; talk with your parents or another adult after the service if you have questions.

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