Supporting Texts: Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 16:8; John 6:44; Romans 10:12, 12:2; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 5:13-15; Hebrews 6:15.
Identity and actions closely go together. From our earliest days, our actions are linked to our identity. Consider, for example, four-year-old Johnny who falls down on the sidewalk as he is running to greet his father who has just pulled into the driveway. Johnny is tired and hungry. And his two-year-old sister just took a toy away from him. Because of all that, he cries with greater intensity than is really warranted. Daddy picks him up and says, “Come on, now, Johnny. You’re a big boy now. Act like it.” Who he is, a big boy, should affect how he behaves, he shouldn’t cry needlessly.
As a young girl, Princess Margaret, sat beside her mother, Queen Elizabeth, at the princess’s first presentation to the British public. She is required to walk to the microphone and say a few words to the gathered dignitaries. She is visibly nervous as she prepares to stand, when her mother leans over to her and says, “You are a princess. Walk like one!” Since she is a princess, she should walk with dignity.
Eighteen-year-old James has just completed twelve of the toughest weeks of anyone’s life at the Marine Corps boot camp in coastal South Carolina. As boot camp closes, he is forced to crawl under rolls of barbed wire under live machine gun ammunition blazing just inches over his head. James freezes. He begins to sweat. Fear forces his fingers to dig in the red clay beneath. Gripped by panic, he cannot move until a friend crawls up beside him and says, “James, get a hold of yourself. You’re a Marine. Act like one!” Since he is a Marine, he should act with courage under pressure.
Throughout our life, from beginning to end, our identity, is linked to our actions: what we do. Who we are affects how we should act. The same holds true about the Christian life. In the first three chapters of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, Paul defined our Christian identity. He tells us who we are in our Savior, Jesus Christ. He has described blessings and promises our Lord has granted to every child of God. Now, having defined our identity, he follows by applying the basic principles of life to Christians in the final three chapters, beginning in the first sentence of chapter four. In chapters one through three he said, “You are a child of God.” Now, beginning in the fourth chapter he says, “Act like one.” Throughout the rest of the book, he details for us how we are to act. Are you a Christian? Do you act like one?
I must remind you that the people to whom Paul wrote from his prison cell were ordinary people. He was not writing to people hidden away in a monastery. They were people who had to get up every day and go to work. They had families and homes. Most were surrounded by pagan neighbors who did not serve the Lord Jesus. Some were free and some were slaves. Some were wealthy and many were not. Paul’s words were not just for that church or that generation. They are for every generation of the church and they are for us. These principles and imperatives impact the living of holy lives, of building godly marriages and families, and influence our witness to the unsaved members of our families and communities.
He begins by exhorting us to live a worthy life and remain true to the calling we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he gives us four essential graces necessary for unity within the framework of the local church. He finishes his introduction to authentic Christian living by defining seven elements of Christian unity. We begin with the worthy walk.
THE WORTHY WALK. Ephesians 4:1
Therefore. Too many Christians are happy to have the spiritual security, blessings, and promises of the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, however, they have too little of a sense of responsibility in conforming to its standards and obeying its commands. Yet this is an essential part of every Christian’s life. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied that God’s new covenant would include the results of the indwelling Holy Spirit: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:27). It is such a vital part of God’s design in His salvation that if a person claims to be a Christian, but does not live a righteous life, his or her salvation is questionable.
In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul set forth the believer’s identity with all the blessings, honors and privileges of being a child of God. In chapters two and three, he gave the consequent obligations and requirements of being His child in order to live out salvation in accordance with the Father’s will and for His glory. God expects conformity to His righteous standards. This is not a forced legalistic conformity to external rules and regulations but a willing inner conformity to the holiness, love, and will of our heavenly Father, who wants His children to honor Him as Father.
The word “therefore” marks the transition from positional truth to practical truth; from doctrine to duty; from principle to practice; from creed to conduct, from exposition to exhortation; and from indicative to imperative. Paul revealed to Christians that right practice must always be based on right principle. It is impossible to live the victorious Christian life without knowing the realities of the life that Christ has provided. According to these Scriptures, church renewal or revival does not come from new programs, new buildings, better organizations, educational methods or anything else external. Church renewal and spiritual formation come, first of all, from the renewal of the mind. The Apostle Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Walking in a Worthy Manner. Paul reminds us that he is the prisoner of the Lord and in so doing calls our attention to the fact that he knows that the worthy Christian walk can be costly and that he has paid a considerable price himself because he was obedient to the Lord. The word “implore” is an imperative. This is not a suggestion, but the way God intends for Christians to live their lives.
“Walk” is used frequently in the New Testament to refer to daily living and conduct. In this case, Paul was not simply giving advice or suggestions but divine standards; standards that showed that they were truly children of God. Christians should not resent a pastor’s exhorting them in the faith as Paul did. A pastor who approaches his ministry with detachment or indifference is not worthy of his office. Loving concern for the spiritual welfare of Christians in the local church is costly and apart from God’s empowerment can be frustrating and even demoralizing.
The word “worthy” comes from axios, which is a term that referred to the worth of someone or their deeds. Here it indicates that the Christian should live in a manner that reflects the worth or value of the salvation they have been given. The Christian whose walk is worthy is one whose daily living corresponds to their high position in Christ as a child of God.
Our Calling in Christ. It is interesting that Paul used the word “calling” twice in this verse. I think he did this to emphasize the truth that God has called believers to salvation. In every Christian’s life, there was a moment when, through the Holy Spirit’s conviction, God called each one to salvation. I believe this is what Jesus meant in John 6:44, where He said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” Are you saved today? It is because the Father initiated your salvation by calling you. Jesus repeated this in verse sixty-five, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Each Christian has also been called to be part of the body of Christ. Consequently, a Christian’s conduct concerns both his or her personal life and his or her responsibility to other believers in the church.
FOUR GRACES ESSENTIAL FOR UNITY. Ephesians 4:2-3
Humility. Verse three instructs us to “preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Unity in the local church does not happen by accident. Local churches have always been mixtures of diverse people working together to serve Christ. Redeemed people who are the members of the local church have always had different personalities, temperaments, skills, and talents. Some are extroverts and some are introverts. All have special spiritual gifts. Because of the differences, in order for the church to serve the Lord with unity, requires these four essential graces. These are given to the individual Christian by the Holy Spirit and worked out through the Christian’s life in the body of Christ.
The first mentioned is patience. Humility means putting Christ first, others second, and self last. The Bible gives a wonderful definition of humility: in the second chapter of Philippians, Paul wrote, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). For the church to have unity it must begin with the spiritual discipline of humility.
Gentleness. Gentleness is power under the Holy Spirit’s control. In fact, gentleness is listed in Galatians five as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). It is the opposite of self-assertion, rudeness, and harshness. In the eleventh chapter of Matthew, the Lord Jesus claimed that He was gentle, yet He drove the money changers from the temple. In the original language, this word was used to describe as soothing medicine, a colt that had been broken and a soft wind. In each case it shows power under control. This gentleness must be on display here, in the local church.
Patience. Believers should exhibit patience. Patience is the spirit which never gives up because it endures to the end even in times of adversity and difficulty. It is the self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate a wrong. The writer of Hebrews informs us that after God made a promise to Abraham, that he “waited patiently and obtained the promise” (Hebrews 6:15).
Patience is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the believer’s life and is designed to be on display in the church as well as all other aspects of life. To the Thessalonians, Paul put it this way, “Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:13-15).
Tolerant Love. Tolerance or forbearance is a grace that cannot be experienced apart from love. We are to invest our time and service to helping others to grow spiritually. Whether that ministry is focused on children, teenagers or adults, it always requires forbearance. People always need time to understand and apply biblical principles to their lives. We are called alongside of our brothers and sisters in Christ to help them see the truth and offer a living example of how to use that truth in life.
Without these four graces, which are essential to their life together, the local church would have no hope of maintaining the unity of the Spirit. To keep the unity must mean to maintain it visibly: it must be out where people can experience it. For Paul to urge unity among the church means it must be possible! Spiritual unity is not and cannot be created by the church. It is already created by the Holy Spirit and when Christians walk in spiritual unity, it brings a deep and abiding spiritual peace to the church.
SEVEN ELEMENTS OF TRUE UNITY. Ephesians 3:4-6
Unity in the Spirit. Embedded in these three verses are seven elements of true unity that are centered on the three Persons of the Trinity. These provide the basis for the spirit of unity that should exist in the body of believers. The one Holy Spirit places us in the “one body” of Christ. The “one Spirit” indwells the church. The fact that each believer is the personal possession of the Holy Spirit is the reality that brings the church to unity. The “one hope of our calling” reveals to us that all believers have a common hope regarding their future with God, a confidence that began at the very moment they were called to salvation in Christ. The Holy Spirit is presently comforting the church by reminding us of our blessed hope which is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Unity in the Son. “One Lord” refers to Jesus Christ who is the Head of the church. Romans 10:12 tells us, “There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him.” “One faith” does not likely point us to objective faith, that is the body of truth revealed to and believed by Christians, but subjective faith which is exercised by all Christians in Christ their Lord. It was this believing in Jesus that brought them into the body of Christ.
“One baptism” probably refers to water baptism because it is listed under the Lord Jesus rather than the Holy Spirit. In this case it identifies immersion in water as the outward symbol of the inward reality of salvation in Christ. It also shows the believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This action by the believer in and through the local church shows spiritual unity because all Christians should follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. Water baptism is not a means of salvation; it only pictures the believer’s immersion into Christ. Believers are not baptized in the name of the church but in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Unity in the Father. The Bible has already told us about the oneness of God. The mighty words of Deuteronomy six: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” and in that same Old Testament book, “The Lord, He is God, there is no other besides Him.” There is “One God and Father.” God the Father “is over all and through all and all in all.” This refers to God the Father and His relationship to all believers. The fourfold use of “all” refers to “all believers in Christ,” not “all mankind.” Certainly, these characteristics are not common to all people. God is the Father of all who believe; they are His children. And He is over all them as their Sovereign. He lives through them and reveals Himself in them.
We must notice something about this list of seven true unifying elements. The Trinity is the central part of the list. The one body of believers is vitalized by one Spirit, so all believers have one hope. That body is united to its one Lord by each member’s one act of faith, and its identity with Him is depicted by one baptism. One God, the Father, is supreme over all, operative through all, and resides in all. All seven components are united in the Trinity.
Christian, God has commanded that we live our Christian lives as a vital part of the local church. He has placed us here to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He intends for you to grow through the ministry of your fellow believers in this church. This requires us to faithfully practice the four Spirit-given graces essential for church unity. Permit me to repeat them again as questions: since humility is so important, how do you show humility? How do you display humility at church, in your family, and in your marriage? How have you developed a gentle spirit since you have become a Christian? Would you consider yourself a patient person? How are you showing loving tolerance with your brothers and sisters in Christ? How are you helping others to strengthen these areas of their lives?
At this time of the year, we focus on the giving of thanks. We must give thanks to the Lord for He is good. Christian, as we bow our heads in prayer, will you express your gratitude to the Lord for His blessings in your life?
If you are here today and have never invited the Lord Jesus Christ into your life to save you and forgive you of all your sins and transgressions, will you do that as we go in prayer before His throne of grace?
