Untitled Sermon (3)

Ephesians 4:3 ESV

eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In v. 4, Paul asserts that ther is "one body," that which is created by the Holy Spirit & is therefore indestructible. What then, can he mean by exhorting us to "keep the unity..."? The apostolic exhortation is to preserve the actual concrete relationships of love ("the bond of peace") that result in a visible testimony of unity to a watching world.

The unity Paul has in mind is not external, ecclesiastical unity (as in all the various denominations getting together), but a heart unity that concerns relationships and attitudes, rather than an organization.

[Illus: Your immediate & extended family is indeed a unit...a family "unit," a biological unit, yet its one that can utterly fail to demonstrate any sense of relational unity whatsoever. Can be divorce, estrangement, animosity, repudiation of one another, etc. But John is still the father of Mary's children, who is the mother of John's....the brothers & sisters can do nothing to eradicate the biological unity, even if they completely sever every relational tie.]