August 28, 2022

So far in Ephesians, Paul has spent the first three chapters speaking about the incalculable riches of Christ. And this great gift of grace we have been given. Today, Paul makes a shift in his teaching to speak about practical truths for the Church. He gives us instruction and knowledge that will better help us operate as a church in which Jesus Christ is the head. And they are things I feel we all need to remember especially these days.
Ephesians 4 is the beginning of what appears to be a powerful sermon on living as a Christian in a difficult, even hostile world. And all of this begins the chapter with an encouragement that leads to a life worthy that brings unity in different ways.
And the first unity is Unity in our walk (vv. 1-6)
I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. - Ephesians 4:1 Paul begins with a plea (“I beg you”) from a prisoner. He has surrendered his will to another. He has given over his desire to see his goals accomplished. As a prisoner, he invites us into a new way of living. As a captive, he wants to show us how to be free. Plus, he reminds us that this life is not an achievement on our parts. This is not a goal we reach or a level we surpass. This is a gift. Salvation, new life, new freedom, forgiveness is a gift. Our job is to realize the gift and live it.
And what is the calling that they have received? Paul has just spent three chapters explaining that! We are elected, predestined, adopted, redeemed, we are part of the family of God, we have the inheritance of God, we have access to the incalculable riches of Christ! So Paul says that therefore we are to live or walk as another translation says in a manner that is worthy of this calling.
In other words, we should have unity in the way that we live. These first verses place such a powerful emphasis on unity and we cannot help but see this through the repeated use of the word “one” throughout these verses. Paul goes on to characterize, or describe, what it looks like to walk worthy of the calling. He says in verses 2 “ with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, How are you with those?
Remember Ephesians Part one tells us everything we do is a response. This call to live in certain ways works only if we understand that we aren’t doing it to receive the grace that comes from God. It becomes possible only if we understand that we aren’t doing it to earn God’s love, Christ’s sacrifice, the gift called salvation. It has to be this way. All that we do as Christians, as followers, comes only after we are set free to love. What does that life look like? Humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
So we are to be humble, meaning we think of others’ needs ahead of our own. We are to be patient, meaning we don’t prioritize our time and desires ahead of others. We are to bear with one another meaning that we put up with other people.
Notice that our bearing with one another is based in love! If we love each other (and we should) we should bear with one another. It is essential to our unity! Pause here for just a moment and ask yourself if these are qualities that describe you? Are these attributes that describe our church? Humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love.
Well, what happens when we are humble, patient, and we bear with one another? Go to verse 3: 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” it maintains the unity of the Holy Spirit and it binds us together in peace! Church don’t miss this: we don’t have to create unity. The work of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit has already given us unity. We are bound together by the calling of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are humble, patient, and we bear with one another, we maintain the unity that God has given us through His Holy Spirit.
Likewise, when we are not humble, when we are not patient, and when we don’t bear with one another, we tear down the unity that God has given us. Think about it: I’ve never heard of a church split because the people were too humble and patient with each other. No! Disunity happens in the church because we do the opposite of what Paul tells us to do.
Sometimes we are a bear to other people, but I’m not sure how good we are at bearing with other people. One of the great philosophers of our congregation posted this: God Grant Me the Strength. Klyne Snodgrass commentary on the book of Ephesians says, “The Christian life is a life of putting up with other people.” Amen to that! You might say, “Well PJ you don’t understand; it’s really hard to bear with so and so.” You don’t think that I understand? I have to bear with all of you and I love you anyway! Y’all have to bear with me and you love me anyway! So, also, you love one another and you bear with one another. Friends we will never be a fully unified church unless we are humble towards one another, patient towards one another, and we bear with one another.
We are free to be all that Christ calls us to be. We are free to be humble and gentle and patient and loving; we are free to live in peace because the captivity of our nature has been made captive in Christ. Therefore, we can begin to approach leading a life worthy of this capturing, this calling. There is unity found in the way that we live and the way we act towards one another.
Paul then goes into a beautiful description of the unity that is found in the work of God. Look at verses 4-6. He says, “4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at 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 all.”
We already share all of these things listed in verses 4-6; we should also share unity together. The way of God is oneness and unity, and we can model that unity in the way that we, the church, live our lives. Let us develop unity in our walk.
Second Unity in our ministry(vv. 7-13)
These next verses speak to the gifts that God has given to churches for ministry, which leads to unity and maturity in the faith. Paul first says 7 But to each one of us grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The work of Christ has made it possible for us to experience the grace of God and the riches of God, which includes God gifting us with abilities to serve in ministry. Some of the gifts that God gives to the church are found in verse 11. It says, “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.” These positions were positions of leadership in the church that pointed people to the truth of the Gospel in different ways. Paul is saying that God has given leaders to the Church who teach and tell about the work of Jesus.
As one writer relates:
What a gift it is to be sent out into the world to be a sign that God is still at work – apostles.
What a gift to be sent out as ones who tell the truth to a world that loves comfortable lies – prophets.
What a gift to be the one who can find and proclaim good news even when everyone else sees negativity – evangelists.
What a gift to be those who provide care for others, for the hurting and the broken – pastors.
What a gift to be those who bring knowledge, who lift up those who don’t understand this world and their place in it – teachers.
What a gift to build up the body!
We then see the reason that these leaders are in the church. We see the result of their teaching and telling the church about the Gospel of Jesus. Look at verses 12 and 13: “12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”
Look at these various results of God giving these leaders to the church:
(1) to equip the saints,
(2) to build up the body of Christ,
(3) to reach maturity in the faith,
(4) to reach maturity in the knowledge of Jesus,
and (5) to grow in maturity like Jesus wants us to look.
Wow! That’s a lot of benefits!
Catch this, church: God wants to use leaders in ministry to help others grow in ministry and maturity for the benefit of the church! In case you didn’t realize what’s going on here, everyone in the church is ministering! Some are ministering as leaders and some are ministering in other ways, but they are all working in unity for the benefit of the church, for the growth in knowledge of the church, and for growing like Jesus in the church.
Members of Nolensville First are you ministering for the good of the church? Are you doing your part to develop unity, maturity, and knowledge in the church? We will be talking about that very thing soon…Nominations… We should remember we are a Lay-led Church. Once we find a direction we need to get to work! It's us not staff! … find your story to serve…
Why? Because pastors are not supposed to do all the ministering. Our role is to equip the saints. The main ministries for pastors in the Bible is on teaching, praying, leading, and equipping. We are to teach you, pray with and for you, lead you, and equip you for ministry. Well, who does all the other ministry? You do! That’s God’s design! So, when you are tempted to say something like, “Well that’s just the job of the pastor,” Paul says no. The job of the leaders of the church is to equip the church to be the church, for the good of the church, to be like Jesus wants the church to be, all for the glory of God! Let us continue to develop unity in our church and let us do so by unity in our ministry.
And last Unity in our growth (vv. 14-16)
Paul says what the result will be if the church follows these instructions towards unity. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Paul says that if we walk in unity, if we serve in unity, and if we grow into maturity, then we will no longer be like little children, who are easily drawn away by false teaching.
Paul goes on to say in verse 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Let us speak what is true to each other, but let us do so in love. Let us encourage each other, unify each other, build up each other. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
As we speak the truth in love, we will grow into Jesus who is the head of the Church. As we grow in Jesus we are fit together and knit together, we are bound together, and we are supporting each other. Every individual member of the body of Christ is important to its unity, stability, and growth. Paul says at the end of verse 16 that the church is unified and built, “ . . . by the proper working of each individual part.”
Church, let us find unity by maturing together, teaching one another, encouraging one another, and stabilizing one another. Let us find unity in our growth. We find unity in our walk, we find unity in our ministry, and we find unity in our growth. Let us live a life worthy of our calling.
