Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Greetings...

As we dove into “The Glorious Church Of Christ” within the pages of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians this is what we have unearthed thus far.

The body or church of Christ is that which has been eternally planned ().

When we are “outside of Christ’s body” we are dead in our trespasses and sins which is why it is so important to be a part of the “body of Christ” ().

God made it possible to “enter into the eternally planned church” through the blood of Christ and His Law it created which unified all peoples both Jew and Gentile () into one.

That brings us to our text today, wherein Paul continues to stress unity between God’s people.

This time he does this by focusing first on the unity between God and man which leads to the unity of all adopted sons.

Then he turns his attention to the unity kept & matured by the leadership of the “eternally planned body or church of Christ.”

Unity Of The Spirit

Unity of the Spirit walks according to its calling.

Eph 4:

Those focused on their unity of spirit with God will walk in a manner worthy of their calling.

Those focused on their unity of spirit with God will walk in a manner worthy of their calling.

God is humble and we are called to be united with Him in humility.

Php 2:

They will walk with humility ().

God is gentle and we are called to be united with Him in gentleness.

Is 40:11

Pr

They will walk with gentleness ().

God is patience and we are called to be united with Him in patience.

They will walk with patience ().

This unity of spirit between God and His children, when achieved, renders an effect between each of the members of the body of Christ.

The apostle John would call this effect “fellowship” between one another.

They will bear with one another in love for unity and peace ().

John would later write this fellowship is “held together” by our love for God.

1 Jn 4:

This unity of spirit between God, man, and his brethren helps us understand the bond of peace.

Unity of the Spirit strives to keep the bond of peace.

Eph 4:3-

We can only keep the bond of peace with God and our fellow brethren when we grasp what makes this peace.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding () is based in cohesion not chaos, comprehension not confusion.

().

True peace only comes from one things.

1 Cor 14:33

The most peaceful congregations are those that seek the pure and unadulterated Word of God.

That’s the understanding of God’s love for us ().

Summery

Unity of spirit between God, man, and the church begins with understanding our calling and ends with a peace that surpasses understanding.

This great unity requires biblical leadership to thrive and mature as God would have it.

That brings us to our next point...

Unity Of The Faith

Leadership was given to attain unity of the faith.

The great difficulty of any congregation is that of differing levels of faith and maturity.

Eph 4:11-

The apostle Paul dedicated great swaths of writing to this challenge ().

test

Rom 15:1

When there are different maturities of faith there can be a tendency to “divide the faith” rather than attain the unity of the faith.”

This is why God gave the church leaders, to accomplish this painstakingly difficult task.

Today, because we have the completed Word () we no longer need apostles or prophets but we still need shepherds, gospel preachers (evangelists), and teachers.

It is the shepherds, preachers, and teachers job to help the “whole church” be one in voice (), be on in mind (), and one in spirit ().

If leadership does its job for God the church we will see this...

Unity of the faith develop into maturity.

Eph 4:13-

God has never told mankind, His creation, to find complacency in the church.

In other words...

Unity Of The Son Of God

Being a “young child of God” is no excuse for not trying to learn more and work harder every single day.

Being an “older child of God” is no excuse for not trying to learn more and work hard every single day.

It’s not the job of the “middle in Christ” to work the hardest and do all the work every single day.

This doesn’t mean the younger and older are expected to always to the same things.

Let’s face it there is more endurance in youth but much more wisdom in age.

Let’s face it the is more endurance in youth but wisdom in age.

If God never told His children individually to be complacent then He certainly never told a congregation to be complacent.

The leadership of the church is to mature the congregation to keep the unity of the faith.

Eph 4:

This means making sure we are all on the same page concerning God’s Word.

This means making sure we are all on the same page concerning the direction, plan and goals for the church.

No, God has never told His children to sit back in complacency and watch from afar.

Everyone in Christ was made a “new creation” for the purpose of doing “good works” for God.

Summery

Everyone in Christ was made a “new creation” for the purpose of maturing doctrinally.

Leadership whether shepherds, preachers, or teachers have a responsibility to train a congregation to maturity and every congregation has a responsibility to make that as painless as possible ().

Conclusion

Our unity of the Spirit with God will create a fellowship with our brethren and when that fellowship is combined into a local church it is the leaderships responsibility to make certain the church attains the unity of faith that will propel it forward to maturity.

The church here in Ramona must strive to always be “united in God’s Word” and “united in God’s expectations for us.”

Invitation