The Unity of the Church

The Unity of the Church

Ephesians 4:1-6

Main Idea: ​​​​We must diligently maintain unity by walking in Christlikeness and remembering our common confession of faith.

I. The Attitudes of Unity (4:1-2a)

As Paul hits the “hinge” point of his letter to the Ephesians, he exhorts the church in Ephesus to pursue four attitudes necessary for unity: 

1. Urgency

Paul exhorts the Ephesians to “walk” in a manner consistent with their calling in Christ. Our walking in unity will not happen accidentally or nonchalantly, but takes urgency and intentionality. 

Colossians 2:6: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him…”

2. Humility

Humility is an essential attitude to unity, but in Roman culture this concept was used in a derogatory way. Jesus entered this world in the “form of a servant” in ultimate humility, and we are to take up this same mindset in the church, considering others more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2:1-11).

“The truth is this: pride must die in you or nothing of heaven can live in you. Under the banner of the truth, give yourself up to the meek and humble spirit of the holy Jesus. Humility must sow the seed or there can be no reaping in heaven. Look not at pride only as an unbecoming temper, nor at humility only as a decent virtue: for the one is death and the other is life; the one is hell and the other is heaven. So much as you have of pride within you, you have of the fallen angel alive in you; so much as you have of true humility, so much you have of the Lamb of God within you…Humility is the only soil in which graces root” ~ Andrew Murray

3. Gentleness 

Gentleness is not timidity or weakness; it is “meekness” (cf. Mt. 5:5) which has the idea of strength under control. It means dealing with others kindly rather than harshly, and with compassion rather than demanding. This is following after Christ who himself is “gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt. 11:28-29).

4. Patience 

This is the posture of being ‘longsuffering’ with the people around us in endurance and steadfastness, just as Christ has been patient with each one of us. 

II. The Actions of Unity (4:2b-3)

  1. Forbearance in love
    Ephesians 4:15–16: Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

  2. Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
    We are not called to create unity in the church but instead to maintain unity. We are already united in the Spirit as Jesus has made peace (2:15). The church must do this “eagerly,” making every effort to continue on in this work. 

“Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

III. The Anchor of Unity (4:4-6)

Paul appears to be quoting an early “Christian” creed modeled after the OT ‘Shema’ from Deuteronomy 6:4. This creed has a trinitarian structure:

  1. We are one in God the Spirit (4:4): Despite all of our differences, as one body we share the same Spirit and the same hope of our calling. 

  2. We are one in God The Son (4:5): In the Lord, we have one faith and one baptism. 
    ​​John 17:20–23: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

  3. We are one in God the Father (4:6)

“The unity of the church is as indestructible as the unity of God himself. It is no more possible to split the church than it is possible to split the Godhead.” ~ John Stott