4:1-6 The Unified Body of Christ Part I - Vital Christianity

2The goal of our existence is to live a life that is worthy of our calling. We were chosen and called toplease Him, to worship and serve Him. This is our highest calling. Paul’s point in the next verse is that such acalling should bring humility and devotion. Devotion to Christ expresses itself in loving attitudes andbehavior:“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”(Eph. 4:2)Only such attitudes and behavior show we are worthy of our high calling. It is these same virtues thatpromote unity in the body of Christ. When each member serves gently in love with great patience in an attitudeof humility, then unity is maintained. Without these virtues, it is impossible to have any semblance of unity.Where pride, harshness and impatience are manifested, there is rebellion, envy, confusion, chaos and division.But where love is evident there is peace and unity among the members.HUMILITYHumility is the grace which, when you think you have it, you have lost it. There is the story of a townwhere they attempted to find the most humble citizen. When they decided on whom it was they gave him amedal. But when he began wearing the medal, they took it from him.A young preacher, looking up from his reading, asked his wife, “How many really great preachers doyou think there are?” She replied, “Well, I don’t know, but there is one less than you think.”We all want to be great. It is part of human nature to want to be important. Everyone wants to lookgood. Someone pointed out, “Sometime in the future somebody is going to invent a mirror that is willing tolie—and he’s going to make himself a fortune.”impress.What nervous energy is spent in our feverish attempt to “be somebody!” Countless masks are worn toIt was pride in the heart of Lucifer, the most beautiful and honored angel, that was the first sin evercommitted in the universe. Lucifer’s beauty, position, power and honor simply were not enough.Pride, like greed, is never satisfied!Humility finds contentment everywhere it goes.

3To be humble means to be realistic about who we are. Paul put it this way:“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highlythan you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with themeasure of faith God has given you” (Rom. 12:3).The word sober can also be translated “sane.” The opposite of sane is insane. Insanity means being outof touch with reality. So Paul is telling us not to be in touch with reality about yourself, that is, we are to berealistic about ourselves. Humility means recognizing and accepting our strengths and weaknesses.The idea of Paul’s phrase, “in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you,” is that, sincethe power or ability that we have comes from God, there is no basis for a superior attitude or selfrighteousness.Pride, the opposite of humility, is what “changed angels into demons and men into angels.”(St. Augustine). The humble person is self-effacing, unpretentious, and modest and therefore does not seek attentionor tries to impress others. He is content to put others first and give them the benefit of the doubt. While hereceives praise graciously, he feels uncomfortable and awkward by it.Humility is not to be confused with humiliation, which is the act of making someone elsefeel ashamed, and is something completely different.GENTLENESSGentleness and meekness are closely related. Neither gentleness nor meekness is weakness. Rather, itis strength under control. Jesus described Himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (Mt. 11:29). This was thesame Jesus who drove out the money changers in the temple. The word is also used in reference to a soft wind.We know how powerful the wind can be, but when under control it brings a gentle breeze. Gentleness issensitivity to the feelings of others.Gentleness is strength expressed in tenderness, consideration and sensitivity. It was used inreferring to the taming or domestication of animals. A gentle person is one who is mild towardothers in trying and difficult circumstances, tender when others are rough, and quiet and kindwhen others are loud and coarse.

4To be gentle is to possess that humble spirit which, in climbing higher, refuses to trampleon others.The gentle person is one who does not fight (II Tim. 2:24,25). Instead he is one who gentlyrestores another in humility (Gal. 6:1,2). Such a virtue will always unify. Is it any wonder thatour Lord who was “gentle and lowly of heart” (Mt. 11:29) pronounced His blessing upon thosewho are of like mind and spirit (Mt.5:5)!PATIENCEPatience has been defined as positively putting up with others when severely tried. Itmeans the ability to suffer discomfort for a long time without losing hope.The primary meaning is patience with people although it includes patience in difficultcircumstances. It means “forbearance” or “longsuffering” (I Cor. 13:4). It is the willingness to“suffer long” for the benefit of others.The Greek word paus is commonly used in the New Testament to describe the attitude ofGod and Jesus towards people (Rom 2:4; I Pet. 3:20). Continually in the Bible we see the pictureof God the Father and Jesus suffering long, bearing with people in all their sinning and rebellion,all their apathy and unconcern. He does not draw back when people spurn His love.Patience is manifest when we do not get angry and antagonistic and refuse to retaliate forwrong done to us. Christ has left us a great example in this respect (I Pet. 2:20-25). When we arepatient we show forth the Spirit of Christ. It is developed best under trial (Rom. 5:3) when wepainfully learn to rely totally on God.LOVELove was defined by Thomas Aquinas as wanting the best for others and willing to helpto bring it about.Paul in speaking of the fruit of the Spirit begins with love which really captures the restof the fruit. Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-controlare different manifestations of love. This is clearly seen in Paul’s description of love in ICorinthians 13 (as illustrated on page 23). John Wesley said,“Love is the root of all the rest.”“God is love” (I Jn. 4:8,16) and, therefore, the greatest of all virtues is love (I Cor.13:13). The word love (agape) that Paul uses here is descriptive of that love for God and mandescribed by The Great Commandment (Lev. 19:18; Gal. 5:14; Mt. 7:12; Mk. 12:31). The entirelaw (the Law and the Prophets) is summed up by love for God and neighbor.

5John tells us how we can experience this fruit of love: abiding and obeying (Jn. 15:9-10,12). At the basis of love is self-sacrifice. The ultimate expression of that love is laying downone’s life for someone else (Jn. 15:13; Rom. 5:6-8).Peter pointed out that love covers a “multitude of sins” (I Pet. 4:8). It functions as shockabsorbersin human relations. Just as we feel every bump on the road when we ride in a car withdefective shock-absorbers, so we see every weakness of others when love is missing. Loveenables us to emphasize each others strengths and minimize each others weaknesses.UNITY IS MAINTAINED THROUGH HARD WORK (4:3)unity.As God is one, so is the church. If the church is to serve Christ she must maintain its“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”(Eph. 4:3)Paul commands the believers in the region of Ephesus to work hard at maintaining keepthe unity of the Spirit. He says “Make every effort.” It is not just something that happens. Theremust be concerted effort otherwise our human nature will show its ugly head. Divide andconquer is Satan’s great strategy .“The bond of peace” provides harmony to relationships. Peace has been defined as thecessation of strife and well-being (harmony). The word peace (shalom) is used 88 times in theNew Testament. Next to joy it is the most popular Christian greeting in the New Testament. Paulrefers to the peace of God as “surpassing all understanding” (Phil. 4:7)--peace that goes beyondour reasoning powers.As Jesus spoke of the Comforter to come He assured His disciple, “Peace I leave withyou; My peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives” (Jn 14:27). The peace that theworld gives is based on circumstances (happenstances).God’s peace is grounded in His character, His promises and faithfulness. Therefore peaceis being secure in His love (Rom. 8:38,39). It comes from experiencing God’s forgiveness. It isthe presence of God in our lives and not just an absence of strife and inner conflicts. The sense ofsuch a presence contributes to the peaceful atmosphere in any situation or relationship.THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY (4:4-6)Paul finishes this section by showing the nature of Christian unity:“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when youwere called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, whois over all and through all and in all” (vv. 4-6).The one body refers to the body of Christ, the church, in which each believer is amember, placed there at the time of conversion by the Spirit of God (I Cor. 12:12-31).

6splits.The one Spirit in our lives leads us to be one church, not a church with divisions andThe one hope in Christ, the return of the Lord to take His church to heaven, is a greaterreason for unity than any disagreements which might separate us.The one Lord is the One who died, rose again and will return to take us to be with Himforever. He is the sovereign Lord who reigns supreme in our lives.One faith is the body of truth given by Christ to the church. Jude calls it “the faith oncefor all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).One baptism probably refers to the baptism of the Spirit, that act of the Spirit when heplaces the believer into the body of Christ at conversion (I Cor. 12:13). Baptism emphasizes theunity of Christian believers because they are baptized into one body, through one Spirit, by onefaith, in the one Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism does not guarantee this unity, but baptism signifiesthis unity in the one Lord. That is why Paul exhorted the Ephesians to “keep the unity of theSpirit through the bond of peace” (v. 3). If we do not keep the unity of the Spirit with our fellowbelievers in the body of Christ, we are contradicting what we confessed in our baptism.Our commitment to the one Lord and His church made in baptism should lead to unitydespite all temptations to divide.One God and Father speaks of God’s fatherhood and thus family to which all believersbelong. God’s purpose is to create a great family—the family of God. Jesus had prayed that Hisfollowers would be as united with each other as he was with the Father (Jn. 17:20-23).In the Old Testament, God’s family was the nation of Israel; in the New Testament it isthe Christian church. In the church the Spirit initiates (by regeneration) new believers into thechurch and begins to transform them into persons who love. God’s Spirit seals them so they willnot be lost, gives them gifts by which they may serve the church and so serve Christ. The Spiritguides and empowers the church on its world mission, fosters worship in the church, and alwaysreminds the church about Christ, her Head. In all of this, the Spirit is creating the church, acommunity of faith who share a common life. This is the fellowship created by the Spirit.In verse 6 Paul points to God’s sovereignty, that is, God is superior to and has power andauthority over all persons and things in the universe.

7APPLICATIONSpiritual unity is not something we manufacture, but something we already have inChrist. As fellow members of the body of Christ we are literally “blood brothers,” that is,brothers through the blood shed on the cross by our Lord. This is why we must protect our unityand nurture it.1. Humble yourself by putting others first and serving them.2. Gently reach out to people, especially those who are hurting.3. Show patience by enduring difficult circumstances and people.4. Have a peaceful attitude which will encourage others to have the same.This in turn will foster and thus maintain unity.5. Love fellow believers since it is the ingredient that lubricates the relationships in the body.NOTES1Warren Wiersbe, Be Rich (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987), 93.