How To Have Unity
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Introduction
Introduction
I had the privilege of being raised in a pastor’s home. My Dad has been a pastor now for over 40 years.
That means that I have some insider information when it comes to the life of the local church.
I’m curious to see if my experience out in CA compares to things here in NE.
Over the years I have know churches that split over seating, chairs or pews.
I have seen people lose their tempers over the color a wall got painted when they chose not to be part of the decision beforehand.
When we do things, how we do things, how often we do them, and even who gets invited! All of these have led to conflict and disunity in churches.
The heart-wrenching reality is that conflict and disunity render the church ineffective in its purpose and mission.
Here is the truth.
Disunity stunts the growth of believers, cripples the mission of the church, and leaves people hurting and broken.
There is a desperate need for unity today.
To illustrate this need, let’s turn to the timeless wisdom of the comic strip Peanuts.
Lucy’s statement has application far beyond getting to watch your favorite TV show.
"These five fingers, individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
Individual members of the body of Christ can be, and have been, taken out by the enemy.
And yet…
Scripture reveals that when the body of Christ is unified in purpose our march for Christ shakes the gates of hell!
We need unity and unity is possible. This morning we are going to learn How to have unity.
First, let’s pray.
Go with me to Ephesians 4.
As you turn there let my give a 40K foot overview.
I know you have recently had a couple messages in Ephesians, so if I repeat what others have said, please bear with me.
The Ephesian Church was started by Paul in Acts 19.
This church had a pretty rough start.
When the church was only about 2 years old there was a riot because of fear that Christianity would make the worship of false gods in Ephesus obsolete.
Roughly 5 years later, Paul writes the Ephesian church this letter.
The letter to the Ephesians has 2 parts.
In chapters 1-3 Paul is explaining the doctrine that the Ephesians have been taught and need to be reminded of.
This is what they need to believe.
Here in chapter 4 Paul begins to explain the practical outworking of what they believe.
Basically, Paul is showing them how to live out what they believe, what does faith in Jesus Christ look like on a day to day basis?
What is fascinating to me is that the first thing Paul addresses is the need for unity.
The Ephesian church was facing division along cultural, ethnic, religious, and economic lines.
Not at all like today.
In that division and difficulty, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls them to unity.
Here is what we are arguing for today.
For the body of Christ to be effective, there must be unity.
Let me personalize this.
For the body of Christ in Wayne, Nebraska to be effective there must be unity.
One step farther.
For the body of Christ at Calvary Bible Church, in Wayne, NE to be effective at the mission and call of God, there must be unity.
With that thought in mind we turn to our passage.
There are three requirements for the church to experience unity.
When these requirements are met, the body of Christ will experience unity and effectiveness in the mission and call of God.
Requirement #1…
Unity Requires Engagement vv. 1-2
Unity Requires Engagement vv. 1-2
Throughout this message, there is an image I want us to keep in mind.
That image is tug of war.
When you trust Jesus as Savior, it puts your hand on the rope.
Whether or not you will pull as part of the team is up to you.
Look with me at v. 1
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
In light of everything just said.
In light of all that you are to believe, walk worthy of your calling.
Paul mentions his imprisonment to remind us that there is a cost to following Jesus.
The Ephesians knew this already.
But so often we need to be reminded of what we know.
Paul, as someone in prison for the cause of Christ, is begging the Ephesian believers to walk worthy of their calling.
Paul is not introducing a new topic, he started talking about calling all the way back in chapter 1.
Here is the reality:
Every single believer has been called by God.
God has called you to be on His side of the rope, to pull for His team.
Our goal, our task is to glorify God as we make disciples and then equip them to make more.
1 Peter 2:9 says this
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
We have been called from darkness, into light.
What a difference!
Because we have been called into the light we are to walk in the light!
Walk worthy of the calling of God.
How?
Good question.
Look at v. 2
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
This is what it looks like to walk worthy of our calling.
Lowliness - humble.
Gentleness - even-tempered.
Long-suffering - patient.
Bearing - endure something unpleasant or difficult.
The only way we bear with difficult people is love.
The love of Christ flows through us to others.
Notice that the focus of these attitudes is external.
These are to be true of us as we engage with other people.
Why? Because these attitudes promote unity.
Let’s use our tug of war rope to illustrate.
What’s the opposite of humility? Pride.
A proud person cannot win at tug of war. Why? Either bragging or trying to do it alone.
Opposite of even-tempered? Angry. Can’t win because not thinking.
Patient - hasty - doesn’t wait for right time.
Endure - give up. Can’t win if you quit.
Here’s what I’m driving at with this point.
If we want to have unity we have to engage.
We have to grab the rope and pull with the team.
There is a second element to this.
We are to be humble, gentle, and patient with one another.
Unity is not getting along perfectly. Unity is responding correctly even when you don’t want to.
We have a responsibility to help one another be unified.
Let me give you an example.
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
Here we see personal responsibility.
These two women need to get along.
Why? Because can’t pull if fighting.
But the next verse says this.
3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
The rest of the local church in Philipi had a responsibility to help these women live in unity!
Stand around and watch = no one pulling.
Help them!
Why? Because of the mission and call of God!
Call to commit:
I will engage in actions and attitudes that promote unity.
Engage. Get down there and pull on the rope with the team!
That means being humble, gentle, patient, and enduring.
It also means helping others get along.
Why? Because we have a goal! We have a responsibility given to us by God and we are going to put in all our effort to achieve it.
3 requirements for the church to experience unity.
Requirement #1: Unity Requires Engagement.
Requirement #2…
Unity Requires Effort v. 3
Unity Requires Effort v. 3
Look at v. 3
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Endeavoring - NIV make every effort.
σπουδάζω (spoudazō) be zealous; to be eager, to have or show keen interest, intense desire, or impatient expectancy.
This is to be our attitude toward unity.
This Greek word is a present active verb.
That means that it is something we do and keep on doing.
We are to do everything within our power to keep our unity.
This word “keep” is important because it means “maintain.”
Here’s what Paul is saying.
We already have unity. It is up to us to maintain it.
Let me emphasize that.
We HAVE unity, we must maintain it.
More than that, this unity is “of the Spirit.”
When we place our faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation, the HS comes to live in us.
He gives to the body of Christ unity.
We then mess it all up with our pride, anger, impatience, tendency to give up.
Do everything necessary to keep the unity that the Spirit has given.
This unity is in the bond of peace.
2 kinds of peace.
Peace with God - salvation. The satisfaction of God’s wrath by the blood of Jesus.
Peace of God - practical peace in our daily life.
Peace with God is a one time thing.
The peace of God comes as we give Him everything in prayer and leaves when we take things back.
Peace with God binds us together in the body of Christ.
Since we have peace with God and have access to the peace of God, we should be at peace with one another.
The peace of God should flow out of us into our relationships with others.
From everything we have looked at so far, we can make the following statement with confidence.
The reason unity requires effort is because unity faces opposition.
The moment we, as the body Christ, attempt to pull together, we face resistance.
The time has come to talk about who is on the other end of the rope.
Brothers and sisters, we have an enemy.
This enemy constantly and consistently opposes the activity of the church.
Our enemy wants us to be ineffective in our work for Christ!
Our enemy, Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, he is on the other end of the rope pulling against us.
Here’s the problem, sometimes we help him more than oppose him.
Family on the rope
Not pulling, he doesn’t care.
The moment we start to pull, we face opposition.
When we seek to walk worthy of our calling, our enemy resists us!
How?
Deception - whispers - not good enough. Not accepted, not loved.
Distraction - look at the activity of others.
Discontent - gossip etc = actually pulling on his team.
This is not what Paul is describing.
We need unity!
When we are doing everything we can to preserve unity, we present to the enemy something he cannot overcome!
Here’s what I’m saying,
A Unified Church gives Satan no opportunity to attack.
Them next week.
This is what Paul is arguing for. A unified church.
Listening to the whispers of the enemy kills unity.
Being more concerned with others than ourselves kills unity.
Spreading discontent kills unity.
How we combat the lies in a moment.
Call to commit:
I will identify and eliminate unity killers.
We are on the rope. Our brothers and sisters surround us!
Will we pursue unity? Will we give every effort to keep the unity given to us by the Holy Spirit?
3 requirements for the church to experience unity.
Requirement #1: Unity Requires Engagement.
Requirement #2: Unity Requires Effort.
Requirement #3…
Unity Requires Education vv. 4-6
Unity Requires Education vv. 4-6
Anyone just get a leap in their spirit?
You just love to learn?
Just me? Okay.
At first glance the concept of education does not seem glamorous or even appealing to many people.
But let me assure you, education is not only amazing, it is essential to unity.
That is where Paul takes us in these last few verses.
Look at v. 4
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
One Body = Universal church (body of Christ)
One Spirit – We all have the same Holy Spirit.
This should inform our interactions with one another.
Called and calling mirror v. 1.
Here Paul references the end result of our calling. The hope that we have.
Hope = confident expectation.
What is our confident expectation? We will be with Jesus!
“To live above with saints we love, oh that will be glory! But to live below with saints we know… Now that’s another story.”
You will spend eternity with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
In light of that reality, how should we treat one another now?
This combats Satan’s lie of distraction.
Look at v. 5
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
We have the same Lord.
I want us to grasp this truth and examine it.
Lord - master.
Every single believer has been redeemed, not with silver and gold, but the precious blood of Christ!
We are blood bought servants of the king!
This bears on our identity.
Remember what the enemy whispers?
You are not enough. You can’t do it. Nobody wants you.
Scripture says we are more than conquers through Christ!
Scripture says we are accepted in the beloved.
At the very beginning of Ephesians it says we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world!
That is who we are!
When the enemy calls you a failure, quote Scripture to prove Him wrong!
Now here’s the unity connection.
Your brothers and sisters in Christ, even the ones you don’t get along with, are equally chosen, equally loved, accepted, and made conquerors.
We all serve the same Lord.
One faith - Two-fold idea.
1 – we all come to Christ the same way. By grace through faith.
2 – The core of our beliefs is the same.
There truths that one must hold to in order to be a true believer, a true Christian. For example - the diety of Christ.
One baptism - Could be spirit, water or both. Here’s the point. We all are placed into the body of Christ the same way, it is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
None of us earn or merit eternal life.
Look at v. 6
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We serve one God. Deut. 6:4
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
One God in trinity but trinity in unity.
One Father – He is our father! Loving and faithful.
If you had a good father figure, God is better. If you didn’t, God is everything you need and could ever want!
This God is above all, through all, and in us all.
God Himself lives within the soul of the believer.
Above – preposition of location.
Through – preposition of causation.
In – preposition of location
What is Paul getting at?
God is above all. He is over all. He is supreme. There is none like Him!
He is through all. This is similar to the statement of Colossians 1:17 where we are told that all things hold together in Christ.
He is above all things, holding them together, and yet… He has indwelt every believer.
Our maker, our creator, the sustainer of the universe, the only wise God, the Alpha and Omega, the great I Am; God Himself lives within us!
This answers the lie of discontentment. We have a high and holy calling! We have a mission! We have God Himself in our lives!
Here’s what we need to remember.
When we look at a brother or sister in Christ, no matter how mad they make us, they too have God Himself living within them!
If we are going to have unity, these are the truths we must know and hold to.
These truths enable our unity and make us effective in our service.
This is the education we need.
We must understand our unity. When we do, we can accomplish our mission.
Let’s turn to our tug of war rope one more time.
My wife Jessica grew up in the AWANA program. As her and I talked about this sermon and illustration she explained how at the AWANA games there were tug of war matches.
It was not the strongest team that won.
The teams that won knew how to play.
They were educated on how to pull, when to pull, how to find and maintain a rhythm; in short, their education enabled them to do better.
To be effective for Christ, we need education.
We have one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father!
We have unity, we must maintain it.
Knowing the depths of our unity strengthens our bond.
Call to commit:
I will stand firm in the unity God has given.
That means we don’t listen to the lies of the enemy!
We resist him, stand against him with the truth of Scripture.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we wrap this up, let’s review.
Engage
Engage
- doesn’t makes sense. Do you know Jesus?
Will you join the team and strive for the goal?
Give every effort
Give every effort
- Unity requires work but the result is worth it.
Where there is unity there is powerful and effective service for Christ.
Understand and defend
Understand and defend
- We have unity, we must keep it.
Final thoughts as we wrap this up.
Unity is essential to achieving the mission of the church.
Therefore,
Unity is possible.
As we each do our part, unity will be the result.
My prayer for each of us is that we will keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
PRAY