The Gathering and Confession

INTRODUCTION

Teamwork is achievable when a goal is in mind. But all have to participate. But teamwork is tested at no greater extent than in the family. That is why parents must be clever.

Note the following story. The loaded minivan pulled in to the only remaining campsite. Four children leaped from the vehicle and began feverishly unloading gear and setting up the tent.

The boys rushed to gather firewood, while the girls and their mother set up the camp stove and cooking utensils. A nearby camper marveled to the youngsters’ father, “That, sir, is some display of teamwork.” The father replied, “I have a system; no one goes to the bathroom until the camp is set up.”[1]

The reason this family worked so well together is because it had something to look forward to.

Unity is achieved by sharing a vision when everyone is involved. There is an importance for the church to meet together.

To share some of the background to the letter of Ephesians, you may have noticed that it seeks the unity of God’s people: Jew and Gentile, slave and free, husband and wife, parent and child.

This morning, you may have come with a relationship that has become disjointed, a partnership that has gone sour. Could it be that God has something to say to you today?

The importance of being together for giving and receiving ministry is the topic for today. We can do more, receive more and be more if we are together. In our passage this morning, we see that God provides everything we need to achieve ministry as He works in our lives. We first learn that…

AS GOD’S PEOPLE, HE CALLS US TO COOPERATIVE MINISTRY.

Ephesians 4:1 states

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

It is no mistake that Paul calls Himself a prisoner of the Lord. Prisoners have no egos. Paul submitted his whole life to Jesus Christ. This is why we call Christ our Lord.

One of Paul’s points in this letter is that through the blood of Christ, God has united all Jewish and Gentile believers, Paul encourages these believers to live like it. He implores these Christians to imitate him and walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called… . The Greek verb περιπατέω; means “to live or behave in a customary manner, with possible focus upon continuity of action—‘to live, to behave, to go about doing.’ (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 504.)

It implies conduct, a way of living. Where the verb is used, the NIV translates it, to live. Most often it is translated to walk as the King James and New American Standard tells us in Ephesians 5:2 to walk in love… . Paul is getting at a lifestyle choice, a mindset that is to never leave the Christian.

This is the way our faith is to be lived out in the area of relationships, especially within the church. The apostle lists several qualities here: humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love. Let’s take humility for a moment. We define humility as the quality of being without pride; voluntary self-abasement. It means giving yourself a backseat to the welfare of others. I love the way Philippians 2:3 puts it.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Humility is about dying to self. In this case, putting Christ first and yourself second. Humility in some instances takes submission. Here, it is in special reference to Christ. I’m reminded of how Peter had to submit to Christ, even before the Lord went to the cross. Peter said in John 13:8,

"You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

Humility is something basic to the Christian faith. It is the quality that shows when we recognize Jesus as Lord of our lives and we desire to live like He is our king. To illustrate, I like the Christian Endeavor pledge.

Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, I promise Him that I will strive to do whatever He would have me do; I will make it the rule of my life to pray and to read the Bible every day; I will support the work and worship of my church in every way possible; I will seek to bring others to Christ; And so far as I know how, I will endeavor to lead a Christian life.

Seeing Christ as your King and yourself as His servant. It is basic to the Christian faith.

Finally, humility cannot be done in isolation. It is accomplished through mutual faith, support and service. It is more than just attending a church or putting something in the offering plate. It involves engagement.

But we live in a segmented and segregated society. We are ultra-individualized. This was recently expressed by our last president when asked where he would attend Easter services. He responded: “I’m no longer in office; I do not have to go to church.”

Our pride and thirst for convenience is an obstacle to ministry. And unity takes work; It is not a given. But unity takes humility and submission. It also takes cooperation with others. We are not in a long-distance relationship with one another.

There were two teenagers that were “talking.” This did not mean going on dates or spending time together. Their “talking” was confined to texting, snap-chatting and other non-confrontational activities, although they attended the same high school and may have even had classes together. After a while, the young lady grew discouraged because the young man never asked for a date. Her mother responded: “It is like they’re in a long distance relationship minus the long distance.”

Church, our members should not be in long-distance relationship with each other. This is why church attendance and meeting together is essential to church health.

The early Christians we are told …were together, and had all things in common; (Acts 2:44). But this is not achieved by human effort. Rather,…

AS GOD’S PEOPLE, HE ENABLES US TO BE A FAMILY, STRONGER TOGETHER THAN APART.

Ephesians 4:4

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

As believers, it is important that we be reminded that this is Christ’s Church. Our teaching must honor and represent our founder. New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce teaches that what you have in verses 4-6 is an early confession of faith. This was teaching that the early church united under. Notice the ones listed in this passage.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father .

These are all opposed to many. We are not divided into several bodies. We are not subject to diverse spirits. There are not different hopes. We do not serve multiple Lords. What we have is a unified theology for a unified people.

At other times, Jesus makes obedience and submission a testing ground of discipleship. In John 8:31,

Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

This way of life is in disagreement with the existentialism that we see so prevalent today. This line of thinking states that the individual is the determiner of truth. But the Christian faith has always presented truth as objectively revealed from God. We are told in Acts 2:42 that the early disciples,

… were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Church is best practiced when we are together; we are strongest as a church when we are in concert.

Truth is truth, regardless if it is popular. To see man’s wisdom as equal to God’s is to usurp His authority and reduce His glory.

Was there anything material that bound the people of God together? The answer is yes. For the Israelites, circumcision was the sign of submission to God in the Old Testament (Genesis 17:10)

When Christ came, the sign of baptism was instituted, a symbol of cleansing, as a unifier of God’s people, representing the work of salvation in the person’s life (Romans 6:3-4).

I ask you this morning, where do you place the teachings of the Lord in your life? Are they optional for you? To be debated and mulled-over, adhered to when you feel like it? Or are you a part of His family, united under His precepts, living to honor Him and love others in His family?

CONCLUSION

Today, we have learned two valuable lessons, as Paul has taught us about unity in the home and in the church. We realize that unity is something we are called to, but it is never to be taken for granted. It takes humility, patience, and love.

Secondly, we have discovered that God enables us to achieve unity as His Spirit works in us, producing a unified confession of faith.

The legendary coach of Alabama’s Crimson Tide, Bear Bryant, once said:

I’m just a plow-hand from Arkansas, but I have learned how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm down others, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat together, a team. [2]

If anything goes good in the church, it is because God did it through us. He is …over all and through all and in (you) all. He works in our lives through the Holy Spirit to accomplish what He wants.

[1]Lowell D. Streiker, Nelson’s Big Book of Laughter, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2000. [2]Morgan, Robert J., More Real Stories for the Soul, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers) c2000.