Keeping Unity

Curtis Gordon

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Ephesians 4:3

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Keeping unity through the bond of peace Eph. 4:3

Bro. Jiles is a man that comes to my church every so often from St. Lucia a friend of Bro. Addison Deallies. About 15 years ago I think he had a kidney translplant because of health issues, his body was not working together like it should have been. Today his body is beginning to reject that kidney which happenes after a while and he is needing another one because his body is not in harmony. The writer of Ephesians is talking about a body that is working together to bring about some good.

There are some diseases, infections, viruses, cancers, etc. that can all cause our bodies to not function properly.

I. There are outside influences –

a. Our food and water – may lack or contain too much of things or be contaminated

b. Injuries, accidents

c. Lack of personal hygiene

II. There are inside influences

a. Diseases that are hereditary

b. Weak immune systems or organ functions

c. Cancer cells or other things that begin to grow and destroy from inside

Ephesians 4:2-3

Paul listed three virtues that are to enhance a believer's walk. The first of these is humility. In Greek culture, humility was thought of as a vice, to be practiced only by slaves. But Paul stated that saints should be completely humble in their daily walks. This is the opposite of pride.

(from Bible Knowledge Commentary/Old Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries; Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved.)

Ephesians 4:2-3

his virtue is listed first because of Paul's emphasis on unity (pride promotes disunity; humility promotes unity) and to counteract their past pride, so as to facilitate obedience to and dependence on God. Christ was the supreme example of humility (Phil 2:6-8).

Ephesians 4:1-16

Unity is already present, but it must be preserved; it can be lost. The bond of peace, i.e., the bond which consists of peace, produces the unity. In vv. 4-6 seven

<START GREEK>ei)$

<END GREEK> phrases describe the content of this unity.

Ephesians 4:3

By virtue of his having the Spirit, the believer is in union with every other spiritual man, and this is the unity which he is to endeavour to keep.

1. This unity of the Spirit is manifested in love

Ephesians 4:3

How to get and maintain peace: --

1. Take heed of giving offence.

2. Avoid taking offence.

3. Guard against beginning any contention.

4. To keep peace, get pure hearts.

(Paul Bayne.)

Ephesians 4:3

Bind not thine hands, but bind thy heart and mind. Bind thyself to thy brother. They bear all things lightly who are bound together by love. Bind thyself to him, and him to thee. For to this end was the Spirit given,

Ephesians 4:3

St. Paul would have us linked and tied one to another; not simply that we be at peace, not simply that we love one another, but that in all there should be but one soul. A glorious bond is this: with this bond let us bind ourselves together, alike to one another and to God.

(Chrysostom.)

Ephesians 4:1-16

Note that Paul does not tell us to manufacture unity, but to maintain the unity already existing in the body. This is not organizational uniformity, a "super church"; this is organic, living union and unity. Note John 17:20-23.

Ephesians 4:1-16

As each saint grows and wins others, the entire body grows in Christ. Verse 12 should read: "For the maturing of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the body of Christ." Each saint shares in the growth of the church. Unfortunately, there are some Christians who are still babies (v. 14, and see 1 Cor 3:1 ff) who are unstable and easily led astray. Satan and his ministers (see 2 Cor 11:14-15) are waiting to tear down the church with their lies. The church is edified (built up) through the Word of God (Acts 20:32 and 1 Cor 14:4). Churches are not built up and strengthened through man-made programs, entertainment, recreation, or "drives." The church is a body and must have spiritual food; this food is the Word of God. When the body is completed, Christ will return and take His body (of which He is the Head, 1:22-23) home to glory.

Believers are to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. To be eager or to hurry (spoudazō) captures the urgency with which unityis to be maintained. In the NT, the term for unity (henotēs) is unique to Ephesians (cf. also 4:13). It is a unity of the Spirit, meaning a unity the Spirit makes possible (cf. 2:18). Unity is a divine gift to humanity and has been purchased at enormous cost (2:14–16). Even so, this gift is fragile, and its maintenance and ongoing realization require all the energy and resourcefulness, all the eagerness and zeal, with which God has endowed believers through the Spirit.

The irony returns to full view in the final image of this sentence: the bond (sundesmos) of peace. Sundesmoscan mean “joint,” “tie,” “band,” or “chain”—anything that binds things. Peaceis the fetter of unity. Humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance are the links in this chain of peace (4:2–3).

Peace is more than harmonious relations in a particular congregation, however, as much as it includes them. As chapter 2 shows, Christ’s work of peace results in a new humanity, a body of reconciled enemies. The horizon of such peace clearly extends beyond the local congregation to the church at large and then beyond to all things. The church is the beachhead for a peace that is to extend to the cosmos (notes for 1:10 and 2:11–22). So the focus shifts now from the interpersonal relations (4:2–3) to the universal church (4:4–6), and indeed, to the one God and Father who is over and through and in all things (4:6).

[1]

NT:5083

1. The basic meaning

<START GREEK>thre/w

<END GREEK>. "to keep in view," "to take note," "to watch over:"

In the bond of peace; i.e. in peace as the bond which keeps the members or parts of the church together, which by dissensions are dissipated and scattered. The first step to this unity is humility, for where that is not, there will be no meekness nor forbearance, without which unity cannot be maintained. Poole

Endeavoring (σπουδάζοντες)

Not strong enough. Originally the verb means to make haste. So the kindred noun σπουδή haste, Mar_6:25; Luk_1:39. Hence diligence. Rev., here, giving diligence. VWS

Porcupines

The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter’s night. He said, “The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth’s winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.”

Christ has given us an alternative—to forgive each other for the pokes we receive. That allows us to stay together and stay warm.

Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan, quoted in Leadership, p. 68

[2]

We Were Just One

During World War II, Hitler commanded all religious groups to unite so that he could control them. Among the Brethren assemblies, half complied and half refused. Those who went along with the order had a much easier time. Those who did not, faced harsh persecution. In almost every family of those who resisted, someone died in a concentration camp.

When the war was over, feelings of bitterness ran deep between the groups and there was much tension. Finally they decided that the situation had to be healed. Leaders from each group met at a quiet retreat. For several days, each person spent time in prayer, examining his own heart in the light of Christ’s commands. Then they came together.

Francis Schaeffer, who told of the incident, asked a friend who was there, “What did you do then?” “We were just one,” he replied. As they confessed their hostility and bitterness to God and yielded to His control, the Holy Spirit created a spirit of unity among them. Love filled their hearts and dissolved their hatred.

When love prevails among believers, especially in times of strong disagreement, it presents to the world an indisputable mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Our Daily Bread, October 4, 1992

[3]

Two Ways of Being United

There are two ways of being united—one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then they may expect to have power.

Moody’s Anecdotes, p. 53

[4]

• There can be union without unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. - Anon

• Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together. - Vesta Kelly

[5]

Unity

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

[6]

NT New Testament cf. compare notes Explanatory Notes in sequence of chapters/verses [1]Neufeld, Thomas R. Yoder: Ephesians. Scottdale, PA : Herald Press, 2001 (Believers Church Bible Commentary), S. 173 [2]Galaxie Software: 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002 [3]Galaxie Software: 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002 [4]Galaxie Software: 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002 [5]Galaxie Software: 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002 [6]Galaxie Software: 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002

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