Out of many, One

Paul begins a more application focus in chapter four that I think could be very beneficial for us as a church.

We will spend the next 5 weeks in Chapter 4 & 5 seeing how this can help us to identify who we are going forward.

You have probably seen the signs, t-shirts and banners with the phrase

For the Gospel, For the City

I want that to become a phrase, a mission statement, a commitment we embrace as a church.

I want us to first be focus on the Gospel and then committed to reaching our city.

From that commitment, we will grow our ministries and our eventual mission focus.

Ephesians 4:1–6 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is a joke in seminary that if you do the same thing for two Sundays, it is a tradition. Well, we have had, 9464 Sunday’s since this church first began.

How many traditions do you think we might have?

I only highlight that to say that each of us here today have tradition

Talk vs. Walk

We hear tons of talk today. Republican and Democrat

If we keep expressing why no one should trust each side, no one will trust either side.

Church must be different than that. We will talk more about that in a minute.

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (41.11 περιπατέω; πορεύομαι)

peripateo - περιπατέωb; πορεύομαιd: to live or behave in a customary manner, with possible focus upon continuity of action—‘to live, to behave, to go about doing.’

Paree-Patoh

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (33.98 ῥῆμα, τος; λόγος, ου)

Logos - ῥῆμαb, τος n; λόγοςa, ου m (derivative of λέγωa ‘to say,’ 33.69): that which has been stated or said, with primary focus upon the content of the communication—‘word, saying, message, statement, question.’

Logos

James 1:22–25 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains (42.42 ἔργον, ου)

Acts - ergon - that which one normally does

I pray that we are a people who normally live out our calling in an effort to edify one another, and to represent Him well in the community around us.

How do we walk worthy of this calling?

Ephesians 4:2–6 ESV

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

We have one major uniting force, one common belief, one common purpose that should be more important than worldly differences.

The world thinks the object is to remove certain people so that a particular agenda or philosophy can prevail.

Dyshporia - a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life.

Body integrity dysphoria is a psychiatric condition characterized by a persistent desire to acquire physical disability (e.g., amputation, paraplegia).

Body integrity dysphoria is also termed as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder, and xenomelia.

Body integrity dysphoria is an extremely rare phenomenon, in which patients prefer to cut off their healthy limb (especially one’s arm or leg) because they feel a mismatch between their mental and physical image.

Ephesians 4:4 ESV

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

Unity is achieve not by sameness, it is accomplished by common belief.

Ephesians 4:5–6 ESV

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Matthew 10:1–5 ESV

1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

A Zealot and A Tax Collector

Consistency of Character

Each member has a role. Each member is needed.

There is no dysphoria in Christ

We must be unified in Christ, or nothing else will ever do it.

When you think ill of another brother or sister, think on Christ

When you are tempted by the world and its divisions, think on Christ

If we are going to truly be a people “For the Gospel, For the City”

we must first be a people united in Christ despite our differences.

because Christ is greater than our differences. His name is worthy of praise.

If they, the lost people of Princeton, are to know any name

I want it to be Jesus

I do not want it to be republican, democrat, zealot or tax collector.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful for the city around us to answer the question

Who is First Baptist Church?

A People United in Christ