Endeavoring to Guard the Unity of the Spirit -- 9/2/07 (The Lord's Church)

Sunday, September 2, 2007

ENDEAVORING TO GUARD THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
Eph. 4:3-6

Some 25 years ago I preached a message on unity from John 17. When I finished the message, a very elderly man slowly walked up to the front. I don’t remember his exact words, but he urged us to take to heart what we had heard. It’s hard to explain, but the Spirit of God was moving in a powerful way. We had an unusual sense of the Lord’s presence. Then a young lady said, "Let’s sing ‘They Will Know We Are Christians by our Love,’" a popular song at the time. We sang the song, but we lost something in doing so. The words of the song are nice. They talk about Christian unity, but they didn’t produce or promote true Christian unity.

What is your concept of unity within the body of Christ? Is there some magical formula for attaining that unity? How important is unity?

Let’s read Eph. 4:1-7 again this morning…
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

We looked intently at the first two verses a few weeks ago. The key command of Ephesians is Paul’s urgent plea that we should walk worthy of the calling with which we are called. And that worthy walk begins with the attitude described in these verses. The one who walks worthy of this calling will live with humility, meekness, longsuffering, and will bear with others in love. Now in verse 3 we find the words, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." While we might describe this as part of the same worthy attitude, we can see that now Paul goes beyond attitude. Though this too begins with attitude, there is also action involved in keeping this unity of the Spirit.

Let’s look for a moment at that word "endeavoring." Different translations will render it in various ways. As a matter of fact, the King James itself will translated this word in the following ways… endeavor (3), be forward (1), study (1), labor (1), be diligent or give diligence (5). A couple of the passages in which it is used are very familiar to many of us. II Tim. 2:15, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I’m not sure why the King James translators rendered it "study," except that the person who diligently endeavors to show himself approved unto God with regard to the Word will have to study. Also Heb. 4:11, "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest…" "Labor" is an interesting translation in light of the fact that in the previous verse we read, "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his." How can we labor to enter into rest? The idea is, "Be diligent to enter into that rest. Make it your first endeavor to enter into that rest. Make haste to enter into that rest." This word combines the idea of haste, eagerness, and zeal (Vaughan, Ephesians, p. 89).

So regardless of how we translate this particular word, it is clear that the keeping or guarding of this unity is to be a priority. This is not a fringe activity. The guarding of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is a vital part of walking worthy of our calling. To put it another way, it is impossible for a Christian to walk worthy of his calling, if he does not give diligence to guarding the unity of the Spirit.

Now we must ask again the big question: What is the unity of the Spirit? It is essentially the unity which the Holy Spirit produces. This is not the unity we must somehow achieve. Rather, it is the unity which the Spirit has already obtained for us. This is very important. We are not striving for unity, but only to guard that unity.

We have taken a good look at how this unity was achieved. Remember that when Jesus was praying to His Father in the presence of His apostles, He said: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (Jn. 17:20-21). As we verified from the scripture itself, the Father answered that prayer. The apostle Paul could say to the Galatian churches without qualification, "…For ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). In Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 that same apostle Paul emphasizes that though we who belong to the Lord are many members, we are one body. He paints a picture of great diversity within this Spirit-produced unity.

Please hear me. This unity is not an ideal that Jesus sets forth and then men strive to live up to it. How hard would we have to try in order to become one, even as Jesus and the Father are one? That is an impossibility. This unity came through the cross, through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Jesus prayed this prayer, and He knew full well that the Father would answer His prayer. But Jesus also knew what would be involved in bringing the answer to His prayer; it would mean His own death on the cross. Yes, Jesus’ death would be the answer to His own prayer. Having ascended back to the right hand of the Father, He then sent the Spirit into the lives of those who truly put their trust in Him. So, we see that this is indeed "the unity of the Spirit." Everyone who possesses the Spirit is a part of this unity. No one who fails to possess the Spirit can be a part of it.

Do you see it? This is the unity of the Spirit. The reason all true believers are one is because they all have the Spirit. If a person does not have the Spirit, then he doesn’t belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). Believers are unified because they share the same life, the life of the Spirit of Christ. How is it possible? Only through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Jesus died and rose in order that we might share His life.

The Basis for Unity (Eph. 4:4-7)

Now let’s come back to our passage here in Ephesians 4. After telling us to guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Paul then describes the nature of that unity in verses 4-6 ,"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." In these verses, Paul uses the word "one" seven times, emphasizing the unity of all believers.
All believers are united in one body. We will read about that a little big later in Ephesians 2. All believers share one life through the one Holy Spirit. Notice how these two "ones" are also linked in I Cor. 12:12-14…
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14. For the body is not one member, but many.

One body and one Spirit. These are vitally connected. All believers are a part of one body because they share the life of the one Spirit.

In the same way, we are all called in one hope of our calling. This hope is related closely to the concepts of one body and one Spirit. Surely our ultimate hope is to share the glory of God. Rom. 5:1-2, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." I John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." In that same prayer, where Jesus prayed that we all might be one, He also made this request: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (Jn. 17:24). That is the one hope we share.

Now verse 5, where we have another trio of "ones," "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Make no mistake about it, there is only one Lord. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. True Christians recognize that truth and rejoice in it. The time will come when all of creation will recognize this truth. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11). While the world recognizes many gods and many "lords" (I Cor. 8:5), we know that there is one Lord, and we joyfully submit to His lordship.

One faith. The term "faith" is used in different ways in the New Testament. Sometimes it is used to speak objectively of the beliefs which make up Christianity. However, it is most often used to speak of a personal and active trust in the Lord Himself. I take it to be used in the latter sense here. We all come to the Lord in exactly the same way – through faith. There are no exceptions. The emphasis is not upon the quality or quantity of our faith, but upon the sufficiency of the Lord in whom we trust.

One baptism. While there are those who take this to refer to "Spirit baptism," of which we have already read in I Cor. 12:13, it seems best to take this as a reference to water baptism, which is the norm in the New Testament. There is one baptism, baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The pattern in the book of Acts is seen on the day of Pentecost. "Then they that glady received his word were baptized…" (Acts 2:41). Put this in the context of the one Lord and one faith. "…There is one Lord who is to be obeyed and adored; one believing experience that brings people into saving union with that Lord; and one outward, visible ceremony by which believers confess their faith and are openly incorporated into the fellowship of God’s people" (Vaughan, p. 90). Remember that in the New Testament, baptism is not an option. The New Testament cannot conceive of an unbaptized believer, and this passage further emphasizes that truth.

Finally, "One God and Father of all." He is the ultimate source of all unity. Let’s read all of verse 6, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." This is the climax, as this is where everything begins. "In the beginning, God…" (Gen. 1:1). All true believers acknowledge only one God. Not only is He our God, but He is also our Father. When His disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He responded, "When ye pray, say, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" (Matt. 6:9).

We must make it absolutely clear what Paul means, when he says, "One God and Father of all." If you take it out of context, you might conclude that God is the Father of all human beings. However, the rest of the scripture makes it clear that this is not the case. Those who do not have eternal life in Jesus Christ are the enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), not the children of God. Those who come to genuine faith in Christ are adopted into the family of God. Before that, they are without God (Eph. 2:12; more literally, "apart from God"). God is the Father of all believers. That is a vital part of the unity Paul is describing.

Paul goes on to say that this God and Father of all is above all, and through all, and in you all. We have little trouble understanding that He is above all. God is sovereign over all creation. This is affirmed throughout the Bible. For example, Ps. 96:3-8…
Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 6. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

He is also "through all." Paul seems to be emphasizing that God is not a Creator who is absent from His creation. It’s not like God created this universe and then retired to watch it run. He not only created, but He also sustains. We see Him throughout His creation. He is active in His world. His presence pervades everything.

Notice that Paul does not say that God is "in all." Rather, after stating that He is through all, he then says He is "in you all." It is common in our world for even professing Christians to think that God is in everything. He is in the trees and the clouds and in every person. That is pantheism, and it is far from the truth. God is through all, but He is not in all. On the other hand, He is "in you all." In other words, God is in all those who belong to Him by virtue of faith in Christ. How can the Creator of the universe be in us? By His Spirit. He has put His Spirit within every one of His children. What a basis for unity. We share the life of the Creator! That thought is almost too wonderful to be true, and yet the scripture affirms it. And this brings us back to where we started – the unity of the Spirit (4:3).

This series of seven "one’s" gives us a strong basis for unity. Obviously, if we can’t agree on these seven things, there can be no unity. In reality, these beliefs are a part of every true believer. We need to make much of these. There will always be areas of disagreement among believers. That is very difficult for us. We wish it weren’t true. Why is this? Because we are have been messed up by sin. Also, because our understanding is imperfect. The creatures do not see things as clearly as the Creator. We can expect the Lord to continue to give us more light on His Word. However, we do not have to agree on all issues in order to walk together in unity.

This Unity as Seen in Ephesians

The truth of this unity of the Spirit is attacked by the individualism of our present society. Without even realizing it, as 21st century Americans, we tend to look at the world through the glasses of individualism. We find this to be true of our interpretation of scripture. For example, look back to Ephesians 3. Many times we have gone through the great prayer of Paul in verses 14-21. Let’s read it again… (Eph. 3:14-21)
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18. May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Would you note especially verses 18-19, "[That you] may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ…" We have a tendency to ignore those words "with all saints." Literally, "together with all the saints" (don’t know why KJV omits the article, as it appears to be in all Greek texts). Paul included those words in his prayer for a reason. I will never be able to fully comprehend the love of Christ, unless I do it together with all the saints. "All" must be taken in the context, as Paul is speaking to the church in Ephesus. When you stop and think about it, it is absolute foolishness to think I can comprehend the love of Christ as an individual. Remember, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (I Jn. 4:20). We can’t even begin to conceive of the Lord’s love, unless we include all the brothers and sisters. Love is a body thing, not an individual thing.

And then look at the end of verse 19, "…and that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Again, we routinely interpret that individually. In other words, "that I might be filled with all the fulness of God." How can I live in such a way, that I will be filled with all the fulness of God? I suggest to you that in so doing, we are doing great violence to this scripture. Surely in light of what we just read in the previous words and in light of what Paul says almost immediately after about guarding the unity of the Spirit, he is speaking about the body of Christ being filled with all the fulness of God. Let’s go back and read what he says at the end of chapter 1. Eph. 1:22-23, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23. Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."

Now let’s come to chapter 2. In general, I would have to say that most Christians know the first half of the chapter much better than the last half. Verses 1-10 describe what we were, as opposed to who we are in Jesus Christ. The dividing line is in verse 4, where we read those words, "But God…" The rest of 4-7 tell how God has made us alive in Christ, raised us up in Christ, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ. Then we read the most familiar words of the chapter in verses 8-10, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Certainly you as an individual can look to this passage as a record of how God has delivered you out of darkness and has translated you into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:13).

But notice that chapter 2 does not end with verse 10. Verses 11-22 expand upon the theme of verses 1-10. Just in case anyone should get the idea that God’s salvation is a private experience, God destroys that concept in the last half of the chapter. Let’s read it again… (Eph. 2:11-22) [Note the emphases below]
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17. And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21. In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

We could go to other passages in Ephesians, but this is enough to plant this concept in our minds and hearts. May God give us grace to read His Word with "body-colored glasses." A great part of guarding the unity of the Spirit is reminding one another that we are one, that Jesus died to make us one.

We guard the unity of the Spirit when we celebrate our unity in Jesus Christ. But how do we celebrate our unity in Christ? By spending time with one another. If I don’t want to be around my brothers and sisters, I am not endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. When I pray for my brothers and sisters regularly and fervently, I am guarding the unity of the Spirit. Suppose I am offended by a brother. I feel he has wronged me. When I obey the scripture and go to him in love, I am guarding the unity of the Spirit.

On the other hand, when I guard myself, not letting my brothers and sisters know where I am, I am hindering the unity of the Spirit. When I refuse to submit to brothers and sisters in the body, I am hindering the unity of the Spirit. When I gossip about my brothers and sisters, I am siding with the enemy, helping him obscure the unity for which Jesus died and rose.
I’ll let you complete the list of things that guard the unity of the Spirit and the things that hinder than unity.

Conclusion

So as we have been talking about the Lord’s church, why this emphasis on unity in the body of Christ? If you recall, we departed from Acts 15, where we were confronted with the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas about taking Mark with them on a follow-up missionary trip. You will remember that they couldn’t resolve their differences at that time. Paul took Silas with him, and Barnabas took Mark with him. However, later in Paul’s letters, we see that the differences have been resolved. The time came when Mark was a valuable asset to Paul.

This issue of unity is vital in understanding what is the Lord’s church. I have been hinting at this for the last few weeks. Perhaps sometimes I have done more than hint, in saying that there is a great difference between the professing church and the true church of Jesus Christ. We can never hope to have unity among all those who profess Jesus as Lord. This unity is a reality only among those who are true children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

As many of you know, we have been in a transition period here at La Luz for a number of years.
Who is a part of this church? We aren’t sure. Years ago, we had a very official church membership. It was very typical of Southern Baptist churches. A person who is a member of a Baptist church in one locality moves to a different town. He finds a Southern Baptist church and joins that church. That is, he tells the church that he was a member of another Southern Baptist church and he is accepted as a member. Traditionally, it is called "moving your letter."

We chose to move away from that model, primarily because it was what I call "paper membership." It didn’t mean anything. Nothing was required of the person joining the church. He could come once or twice, join the church, never come again, and still remain a member of the church. What good is that? Membership was a formality without reality. So for many years, the situation has been like this: Some people who come officially join the church. Others do not. While some might say, "That is more like the New Testament, because they didn’t have membership rolls." While that is true, we are finding that our present stance has lead to quite a bit of confusion.

The best way I know to illustrate this confusion is by bringing up another biblical issue. What about church discipline? We are finding that it is very difficult to practice church discipline, when we don’t know who is really a part of the church. Of course, discipline begins with teaching, with discipling those who are a part. However, the New Testament is very clear that there will be times when the negative side of discipline must be exercised. In these extreme situations, people who are part of the church are to be excluded. And this is where we encounter the problem. How do we exclude people, if they were never included in the first place?

These difficulties are causing us to ask lots of questions about what it means to be a part of this local church. I believe the concept of unity must be a vital part of where the Lord leads us concerning membership in the church. A church that does not guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace will not be a strong church used greatly for the glory of the Lord.
I don’t have all the answers to the questions we are facing, but our Lord does. On the one hand, a person may say, "The crucial thing is that the individual has a relationship with Jesus Christ." While there is much truth in that statement, the New Testament has no concept of an individual having a relationship with Christ and not a relationship with the body of Christ. Though our religious world doesn’t like to hear that, we must face that biblical truth. Perhaps no book in the New Testament emphasizes this truth more than Ephesians.

So what are we to do with this message this morning? What should come out of it?

1. Meditate on this concept of unity and "endeavoring to guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."
2. Pray about how the Lord wants us to live out this unity in the La Luz body
3. Ask this question: "What am I doing to contribute to the guarding of the unity of the Spirit?"
4. Ask the Lord to show us how to practically define the "membership" of this body
5. Above all, may our prayer be, "Father, glorify thy name."