One Body (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Introduction

I wanted to show you something so familiar you never think of it.

It is a simple rubber band.

You have used one to keep envelopes together or accumulate things in a pile you don’t want to be scattered. Kids use it to torment other kids.

But today, I want you to think of it differently. A rubber band mirrors the church in a way we want to discover over the next few weeks.

If you put a rubber band between a finger on one hand and a finger on the other hand, you can feel the tension. But if you pull on one side of the band, it will affect the other side.

That’s the church. We are one, and what affects one affects all. That’s how God’s body works. It is something we do together, not just in the exact physical location but in life and heart.

In this lesson, Paul introduces the critical thought of the remainder of the letter to the Ephesians. He has described God’s excellent mystery of how in the blood of Christ, Jew and Gentile are brought together as one. The challenge, then, is how do we live as one in God’s kingdom? How do we make the mystery a reality every day in the church?

Discussion

The Umbrella

Let’s step back for a moment to get the lay of the land.

As we said in our last lesson, the prayer that ends chapter 3 is a bridge between two sections. In the next several weeks, we will discuss the practicality now that we have the doctrine.

And further, we can give a single thought to the last three chapters in Ephesians. That comes in the first verse of our lesson today.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” (Ephesians 4:1, ESV)

A construction typical to Greek letters is the use of the word “urge” (or beseech or beg) followed by the object of that verb.

If you want to know why Paul wrote this book, we find it in verse 1. We are to live out God’s plan in the church’s life in a practical way.

How can you take diverse people who have mistrusted each other since the beginning and put them together in the body? Once that is done, how do they achieve the oneness that God planned?

In these last three chapters, he will talk about how we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.” How do we, as God’s children live up to the glorious gift of God?

Let’s start with the “calling.”

The Calling

The calling is the background. Paul wants to remind them of the “why” which makes the “what” worth doing.

A single set of verses in Ephesians 2 captures the critical idea of the first three chapters.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14–16, ESV)

God’s grace and power created the ability for all men to come together in the blood of Christ. In it, God made a new man in the place of two. Peace, true peace, occurred because Christ’s blood paid for our sin.

This work of God creates the conditions in which true unity can happen. So, now we live in this new creation.

The Walk

The second item that needs a little explanation is “walk.”

The metaphor of walking is not far from being literal. We walk through life. It became an idea for the conduct of one’s life.

How we live each day is our “walk of life,” a phrase we use today.

It is even more important to realize what it means in this context.

The Old Testament prophet Amos told Israel how they had departed from God’s paths. In doing so, he uses the same word picture of walking.

“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” (Amos 3:3, ESV)

For Amos, the conduct of the Israeli’s life was out of step with God, and they could not walk together.

The Christian life in the body is a “walking together.” Paul implores that we walk correctly. That brings us to the third element.

The Manner

This verse closes with the concept of a manner “worthy” of the high calling.

The word Paul uses was familiar in a world where commerce meant measuring and weighing. It meant “that which balances the scales.”

So Paul is asking them to evaluate their living against the gift of God in Christ Jesus. How does it measure against how much God loved them?

The worst punishment they can receive for most children is to hear a father and mother say, “I am surprised at how you acted. I thought we raised you to be better than that.” It is that moment that you start living to a higher standard, one you may have been unaware. But once told that you live up or down to a standard, it will change you somehow.

God gives them this standard against which they and us can judge the living. So, we must confront ourselves often with a single question: “Does my life reflect the same measure of devotion that Jesus paid for my life?”

Does it balance?

With this grand sweep of his hand, Paul frames the challenge. Now, it is time to get down to the specifics.

The Walk

How then do we walk in the church? How do we, daily, achieve this high calling of God? It comes down to some complicated things.

Consider what the church is. One of the truths you learn in ministry is Christians are still people with different viewpoints, distinct personalities, and strange behaviors. At least, they are not like us.

It is these differences that cause friction. Why can’t they act like me? I know what to do. We start attributing motives to others when we feel slighted. Language gets twisted into insults. God never intended for it to be that way.

Trust me, I have been down that block and back many times. And I am sure others have done it with me.

How do we handle the “people problem” in God’s kingdom?

Paul presents the foundations of living together in God’s family. Let’s look at the “big three” Paul teaches.

Humility and Gentleness

In verse 2, Paul says we need to approach our walk:

“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,” (Ephesians 4:2, ESV)

It appears that Paul speaks of two traits, but we want to take them together for one reason. They are conjoined twins of attitude.

Until Christianity arose, humility and gentleness were signs of weakness. If someone had lowly thinking, he must be servile, not strong.

Yet, it was Jesus who took the words and wrapped them around his life and the lives of his followers. He told people:

“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.” (Matthew 11:29, ESV)

He described himself with these terms. But what do they indicate?

The humble person sizes themselves up against God, not others. It is easy to compare ourselves with other people and become a giant (at least in our own eyes). Yet, when we see ourselves compared to God, we realize our proper miniature size. When we can size ourselves right, we are humble.

The second trait is often translated (especially in the Beatitudes) as “meek.” Meekness seems mousy and easily manipulated. It doesn’t have much of a solid reputation.

Tragically, we have arrived at that idea. It is a strong word. Aristotle said it was the mid-point between anger and apathy. John 8 shows this clearly. Here, the Jewish leaders brought to him a woman caught in the very act of adultery. They demanded that Jesus declare his allegiance to either law or compassion. Jesus did not dismiss the sin, but only that attitude brought the woman there.

It shows what gentleness truly is. Meekness gets indignant at wrongs done and the resulting suffering of others but not moved to anger because someone insulted them.

They are not slaves of self but only of right and wrong. That’s what makes this a golden trait so elusive to the emotions of humanity.

Patience

Patience we believe, is the hurry to get something done. We tensely tap our foot while the line at Walmart tops 100, waiting in the “express” line.

Again, it is unfortunate we put this overlay on this spiritually regal term.

The old word is the literal one—longsuffering. Longsuffering removes heat from a situation. It can wait. It sees beyond how I feel to where we both need to be. The longsuffering person wants to solve the problem, not feel better. He reduces personal hurt because he can see the greater need to maintain a brother in Christ.

Think about these three traits. People are aggravating. I know I am not, and you are not, but I have heard the church has aggravating people. They can be stubborn and willful. They can say awful things and hurt feelings.

These three traits are a fire hose on a blazing relationship. Think about what would happen if you calmed down and tried to understand instead of getting upset. You listen to them. You hear of the pain of their life. You can empathize and realize how hard their life is and how blessed yours is. Relationships mend when we truly understand.

Only by reflecting on what Jesus did with us can we live together in the body.

The Glue

When I was a younger preacher, I read many books by Lyle Schaller. He started as a city planner but then became intrigued by local churches and how they grew or didn’t

I remember precisely one idea. Schaller observed that every church has a glue that holds it together. If you lose the glue, the church will fall apart.

Over the years, I have watched this happen. People died or moved away, and the glue loosened. The excitement of building a new building ends when the ribbon gets cut. The glue is gone. A beloved preacher leaves, and the glue is gone. The glue is gone. People are part of congregations for their children. Once they grow up, parents drift away.

Indeed, God’s glue is more substantial than these “ties that bind.”

Paul speaks of the “glue” glue of the church.

“eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3, ESV)

The “bonds of peace” is the glue. The word refers to that which holds something together. We must show diligence, take the effort, work up a sweat to keep the “glue” in place.

We need something potent that won’t change.

In high school, I had a part-time job at a pharmacy. One day, we received a new product called “Super Glue.”The maker said it would glue anything together permanently.

I had a skeptical co-worker….and rash. So, he opened a bottle, squeezed a drop on his index finger, and pressed it against his thumb.

That’s when he realized he was in trouble. He tried to pull them apart, and it didn’t release. He tried water, and nothing worked. Finally, the pharmacist had to pour the corrosive acetone to loosen it. It let go. And, he didn’t have to worry about the FBI being able to take a fingerprint anytime soon!

God puts the “super glue” in the church, the things that hold us together. For a church to be one, it has to have “one” as its glue. Seven times in four verses, you hear the percussive drumbeat of “one.”

Let’s look at the glue that holds the church together.

One Body

The church is the only body Christ has. It is a body comprised of Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female.

To accomplish the purpose of “one-man” God created one body.

Today, the distinctions are different but the reality is the same. We are one body, whether black or white, whether we speak English or Spanish.

One Spirit

From the beginning of the church, the Holy Spirit invaded its work and life. We receive the Holy Spirit at baptism, he helps in our weaknesses and is the guaranteeing deed of the promise of God.

Without the Spirit, the church becomes aimless and impotent.

One Hope

We all share the same hope to go to heaven and live with God in the church. We encourage each other this way because we want no one left behind.

It becomes the rudder of our faith as we set our course for the future together. We ask, “where will we end up together?”

One Lord

We have one to whom we bow our knees. Christ governs the church. His will is supreme, trumping the desires of any human being whether in the church or out of the church.

Our allegiance is to Jesus, not to some self-appointed representative. If we start listening to the voice of men rather than the voice of the Lord, we will go our separate ways.

One Faith

The term is objective. Faith is the standard of our belief. It is what we rest our lives on as accurate, genuine, and dependable.

Tragically today, men are making the faith a buffet of ideas. Decide what fits you and leave the rest. When there is no standard upon which to rest our lives on, the glue becomes water that evaporates.

One Baptism

This item is probably the most obvious to us. We witness a Christianity that has wrestled baptism into an entangled knot. And as Alexander the Great, in his exasperation, just cut the Gordian knot.

Today, baptism is a moving target.

Is it essential, recommended, or optional? Does it wash away sin or just an expression of faith that cannot do anything for anyone? Is it a dip, a drop, or a dumb idea?

We can see clearly how central a role baptism played in the pictures of salvation in Acts. We are around a Jerusalem pool on Pentecost praying with 3000 new Christians. We are crouching behind a chariot, watching a nobleman of Ethiopia going down into an oasis pool. We are in a darkened corner of a dark room as the blind Saul grapples with what he has seen. We hear the voice to “arise and be baptized, washing away your sins.”

Many examine this list and see this one as the zebra in the Kentucky Derby. It doesn’t seem to fit with the vaulted ideas of the Lordship of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, of the Fatherhood of God.

But it is not odd. It is essential.

I want you to stop for a moment. Close your eyes and think of your baptism. Now, open your eyes. Every New Testament Christian can tell a similar story. We can tell of the moment, the place, the feeling. Nothing ties us together more practically than our common experience.

Don’t dismiss it, for God made it as important as the Holy Spirit and the Faith in keeping the church together.

One God and Father

The final is what seems a “duh” moment. God and Father. But it essential to hear the entire phrase.

one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Families are bound together in the blood that flows through their veins. The father defines the family. He is over the family of God, works through the family of God, and is woven into the spiritual DNA that is part of what makes us a child of God.

I want to step back and see what it means. While the world produced barriers that separated people, God put the values in the church in which we share. We have these six things in common whether we were a Gentile baptized into Christ in Antioch or a Nigerian coming up out of a muddy river or an American submerged in a heated baptistry in an exquisite church building.

God has put the things together that remove the barriers of culture and heritage. We are one not because we go to the same building. We are one because we are of the same Father.

Conclusion

Paul is just scratching the surface. But what he has started within this lesson will become the foundation on which he builds the remaining instructions about accomplishing God’s purposes.

It is vital to see a central truth from this passage. The church is a body created by God, not an organization created by men. God builds bridges and doors into his family. Men build walls to keep themselves in and others out.

And you see it in this passage.

Several years ago, our family went to see an exhibit called Bodyworks. It was a strange thing. It was cadavers with the skin removed and the insides preserved in plastic. It was fascinating because you saw how the body worked, not how it looked.

I reflected on that exhibit of athletes, older men, and babies. I realized something so profoundly simple we all miss it. The strength of a body is on the inside, not the outside.

Too often, we think the church is strong because of the organization and programs. Because it does not get its strength beneath the surface, it has no strength, just looks.

We are joined together and derive our lives from the same root.

I grew up in the mountains of northern New Mexico, where the deepest forests of aspen trees flourish. Hundreds of trees hug hillsides. They withstand snow and hurricane-force winds.

What gives the aspen its strength? Beneath the surface of this multitude is that they grow off of a single root. The root system is intertwined with this taproot. It gives nourishment and endurance.

And we do like the aspen are many with a single root. That is what gives us our life.