United in Jesus
Notes
Transcript
# Sermon: United in Jesus (Eph 4:1-6)
## 0. Introduction
**Illustration:** No one likes a hypocrite
Paul understood the dangers of hypocrisy too.
If we say one thing, and do another,
what reasons does anyone have to listen to our message?
Perhaps that's why he begins chapter 4 by urging us to
**live a life worthy of the calling you have received**
Paul is not saying that if you live a good life God will save you,
No, he is saying live the good life _becuase_ God has saved you.
In other words, how we live as believers,
flows out of what we believe God has done for us.
If our beliefs have no impact on our lives,
then we are rightly open to the charge of hypocrisy.
Saying we trust in Jesus, yet denying him through our lifestyle.
So important is the theme of the salvation motivated life to Paul,
he is going to spend the remaining chapters
of Ephesians unpacking it for us.
This morning we are going to look at just one element of it:
unity.
We'll see that
**it is not enough to say we are all unitied in Christ, we have to live like it too.**
That unity works its self out in three ways:
1. Unity in attitude (v2)
2. Unity in danger (v3)
3. Unity in faith (v3-6)
# 1. Unity in attitude
The first thing Paul wants us to see is that we must be united in attitude.
And in v2, he lists five virtues that are to control
our attitude towards one another.
They are:
1. humility
2. gentleness
3. paitence
4. endurance (bearing with one another)
5. and love
At first glance this just seems like a random list of qualities.
But there is more going on here than meets the eye.
_First of all, do you notice that all of these virtues are other centred._
The most obvious example being love.
Love by definite it other centred.
It seeks to serve and sacrifice for the beloved.
Humility requires us to think less about what others can do for us,
and more about what we can do for others.
Again gentleness treats people with the respect they deserve
as people made in the image of God and rescued by the Lord jesus.
Gentleness doesn't try to manipluate others and bulldoze through its point of view.
And of course, paitence and endurance are other centred too.
They remind us that our brothers and sisters are like us,
sinners saved by grace,
Over whom the Holy SPirit hangs a sign saysing
"Attention: work in progress!",
These virtues are essential to unity.
Becuase true unity can only be maintained when
everyone is looking out for everyone else.
The second thing I want us to notice
_is that these five virtues also descri God's attitude to us._
Again, love is an obvious example.
We've already seen in Epheseans
how God loved us so much that he gave his son to save us
and brings us into the new humanity he was creating in Jesus.
But God is also gentle and paitenent with us when we sin,
graciously frogiving us, rather than condeming us.
He doesn't give up on us but He bears with us,
Enduring and helping us overcome our weaknesses.
And of course, the Lord Jesus, Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:8 is our example:
**humbled himself [for us] and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross.**
Now it is important that we don't miss this.
This other centred way of thinking doesn't come naturally to us.
All too often our default approach to others is selfish.
We are interested in people who interest or beneift us.
If we want to to pursue the unity of attitude that Paul describes here,
we need these qualities to come _super_ naturally to us
by being open to the work of the Holy Spirit within us
It won't be easy,
becuase it will require us to be completely dependant
on God's grace towards us,
but it will be worth it.
And perhaps now more than ever,
this other centred attitude it is really needed.
Becuase we are not meeting physically
it can be easy for our lives to turn inwards
We get caught up in our own events
And either forget or just don't make the effort with others.
Remember, just because we're all logging on for an hour on a sunday
doesn't neceassrily mean we are all living like we are united in Jesus.
So can I enourage you this week,
Pick up the phone. Call someone. Text someone.
Meet up for a walk in a socially distanced way.
Ask them how they are really doing.
Ask how you can pray for them.
Whatever it is, remember,
**it is not enough to say we are all unitied in Christ, we have to live like it too.**
and we can only do that with the Lord's help to go the extra mile.
## 2. Unity in Danger
Second, let's hit the pause button a moment
and think about how we sometimes put our chrsitian unity in danger.
In v2, we saw how unity depends on the right attitude,
in the first half of v3,
Paul tell us that unity also requires right action.
He says,
**Do everything to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.**
Notice that Paul doesn't say do everything to '_create_' or _increase_' unity
Instead Paul says, "do everything to _keep_ the unity of the Spirit"
The unity we already have through peace with God
is something we need to protect.
Which implies that is something we can loose if we are not careful.
perhaps that's why Paul is so direct in his command,
It is the responsiblity of every Christian,
to _do everything_ in their power to safegaurd this unity.
Paul also says that it is only through remembering and
reflecting on _the bond of peace_ that now exists
with God and with one another through the death of Jesus
that we'll be able to protect this peace and unity.
One practial way of living that out
is by responding correctly when a christian does something that upsets us.
For example,
if someone has had a bad day and their a little short with us,
well Proverbs 12:16 reminds us that
**"the Wise person overlooks and insult."**
in that situation, we protect church unity
by simply being gracious and letting it go.
But when it goes beyond an off hand comment,
when we believe someone has hurt us or sinned against us?
What then?
Jesus tells us what to do in Matthew 18:15, he says
**“If your brother or sister sins agianst you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you."**
And yet, if we are honest, for tons of reasons
most of us probably hate the thought of doing that.
If that's you (and it is often me too!)
there is a good chance that rather than address the issues
we just ignore it... and bury it
But burying a hurt and pretending it never happened
is not the same as forgiving someone
and being reconcilled to them
In fact it is about as effective
as trying to bury toxic waste.
> You see there are two ways for a company to deal with toxic waste.
>
> The first way is to go through the correct processes,
>
> at a waste disposal facility.
>
> The second option is to dig a big hole, push it all in,
>
> cover it over and walk away.
>
> The first option is time consuming, costly, but effective
>
> the sceond option, burying it,
>
> is quick, cheap, but ineffective.
>
> The problem is that buried waste eventually makes its way to the surface
>
> And as it heads to the surface
>
> It posisons everything it comes into contact with.
>
> Worse still by the time the effects are felt,
>
> it is too late, the damange has already been done.
In the same way when we bury the issues we have with other Christians,
On the surface that feels like we've forgoriven them,
but really only ignore the sin they've commited against us.
And like buried toxic waste it eventually begins to fester,
become bitter, and affect other areas of our lives.
Perhaps we become cynical and stop trusting other believers,
Perhaps w stop reading the bible
or find it hard to pray for certain issues or people
Maybe we speak badly of them, we gossip, we ignore them, we harsh with them.
When really what we need to do is speak one-to-One
And address the issue with grace, paitences and, _gentleness_
trusting the Holy Spirit
to retore the bond of peace and unity between us.
---
Doing everything to keep the unity of the Spirit
requires us to face up to the hurt others Christians have caused us
instead of burying it and pretending like it never happend.
It requires us to be willing to take the time,
and pay the cost to our comfort
so we can _actually_ forgive and be reconciled
to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
It will take time and it will be costly,
but their is too much at stake for us to simply carry ike it nver happened
It won't be easy, but as we've already seen,
our father is paitent and loving,
willing and able to provide us all that we need
to live in unity as he intends for us to.
Remember,
**it is not enough to say we are all unitied in Christ, we have to live like it too.**
Even when we don't want to.
# Unity of faith
Finally, unity of faith (v3-6)
**Illustration:** All organisations share a common set of beliefs
- British Arachnological Society (what is it?)
- Different backgrounds; same core beliefs
The same is true for the church
We might be a supernatural community created by God,
but we still have a strain of common beliefs that we all share.
In fact, this common strand is even more important
since it is they underpin our unity.
This is point Paul is making in v3-6.
Even a quick skim of the verse reveal this.
Notice that seven times Paul uses the word 'one'
Sometimes in the bible the 'One' is used to expres unity,
like in Genesis 2:24 were 'one flesh' is used to describe
the unity that exists between a man and woman
through marriage and sexual intermacy.
But here, Paul uses one in a numerical way, as in 'only only'
For example, there is only one church of which Ash Cong is local expression.
There is only one Lord and saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Offers forgiveness for all who trust in him.
One true faith, or confession about him,
Jesus alone can save us from our sins
restore our relationship to God and one another.
All Christians share in the one and the same Holy Spirit
through who we all have access to the one Heavenly Father
who is one and only ruler of all things
On closer inspection we also see hints of the Trinity,
the fundemental Christian belief in one God
who exists as three seperate persons.
The father is God,
the Son, the Lord Jesus, is God,
And the Holy Spirit is God,
and yet there is only ever one God.
These basic beliefs that Paul states in Eph 4:3-6,
form the foundation of the Christian faith
and with it the foundation of our unity in Jesus.
> In many ways the beliefs Paul lists are like the sticks
>
> in the children's game kaplunk.
>
> Maybe you know the game,
>
> the more sticks you pull out
>
> the more marbles go tumbling down into the hopper below.
>
> The name kaplunk coming from the noise
>
> the marbles make when they hit the bottom.
These core beliefs are like those sticks.
the more we remove, the more biblical Christianity
begins to go tumbling through the gaps
and our churches unity along with it.
So far from being dry, disconnected from life
and a source of division,
an understanding of basic Christian theology
is partical, useful, and necessary
not jsut for undestanding what we believe and why,
but also for 'Keeping the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace'
as Paul commands us to do here in Eph 4:3.
And one of the best ways to work to get grounded that theology
is by joining and reguarlly attending a small group.
A place where we can ask questions,
and apply be truths to our lives.
---
Now I get that it is hard to do that at the moment,
video calls are not the easiest way to talk about deep and personal things,
especially if you been sat at a computer all day
or in and out of zoom meetings.
But maintaining unity often requires sacrificing our comfort
and sacrafice drives us to the lord for strength.
So please can I encourage you to make small group a top priority
Not just during lockdown but every week...
our church unity depends on it.
If you are not yet part of a small group and want to join one,
the do get in touch with Rachel Turner
or drop Marty an email and she'll put you in touch.
## Conclusion
> I began by saying that no one likes a hypocrite.
>
> and I think we can all agree that is true.
>
> No one likes it when some one acts
>
> as if there is a rule for them and rule for everyone else.
>
> Recent anger at Dominic Cummings is an obvious example of that too.
>
> whether he did anythign wrong or not,
>
> his actions where seen to be hypocritical.
>
> the governement telling the nation to do one thing,
>
> and then he goes an seemingly does the another.
>
> But people eespecially hate it when Christian act this way,
>
> and so should we, becuase it undermines the credibilty of our message,
>
> It undermines the life transforming power of Jesus death for our sins
>
> and his resurrection from the dead.
In Epheseans 4:1-6 we seen already seen that
hypocrisy has no place in the christian church,
Living a life that is worthy of the gospel
is a vital part of our response to the gospel.
A response that requires us to believe and act
like we really are united in Christ.
A unity that is expressed in an other centred attitude,
An attitude that works to protect the unity
from the dangers of our own sinful nanture.
A unity founded and built upon a common set of beliefs.
remmeber,
**it is not enough to say we are all unitied in Christ, we have to live like it too.**
By the grace of God, let's seek to do just that.
Let's pray.