One Body – The Unity of the Church
Please read Ephesians 6: 1-16, reading verses 1-6 a second time; Almighty God, as you build your Church through your Son Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, enable us to see the importance of maintaining and working hard to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, to the glory your name. Amen!
We are again exploring Paul’s great letter to the Ephesians. As Chapter 3 ends, Chapter 4 marks a significant turning point as Paul progresses forward to teach his audience about the practicalities of the Christian life or walk, and the place believers are privileged to know within the body of Christ which is the Church. Paul concludes chapter 3, the first half of his letter, with a magnificent prayer for the Church, revealing the fact that God’s own mighty power is at work within this body of people. Listen to the concluding doxology which will stir up hope within your soul;
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (3:20-21)
And with this grand conclusion to his thoughts about what the Church is, who it is made up by, and for what purpose, Paul moves on to write about the outworking of the faith of the believers who together form the Church under the Headship of the Lord Jesus. As he gets into the practicalities of Christian faith, Paul immediately turns his attention to the very great importance of the unity of the Church. His starting point concerns the subject which our Lord Jesus prayed about on the night before his crucifixion. At the heart of Jesus’s high priestly pray was this plea to His Father;
My prayer is not for them alone (his disciples nearby). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (the future Church), that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. (John 17:20f)
The apostle Paul begins the practicalities of Christian living with this matter of the unity of the body of Christ. This will later be followed by his call for the holiness of the Church (4:17-5:21), which we will dip into next week. The apostle ends with the great battle the Church faces in the world. (6: 10-20).
Here at Christchurch, we have a desire to promote and uphold the unity of the Church. This vision is at the heart of our Church constitution and ecumenical ethos. And so, it is good today to remember how this unity is to be promoted, protected, and maintained, and this is Paul’s key message in Ephesians 4: 1-6. (Read again Ephesians 4: 1-6). How do we practically maintain and reveal this unity which has already been achieved by the death of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit? Paul stresses in verse 3 that we are to maintain something that has already been established by God: the “unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” which Jesus has brought about through his death on the cross, his resurrection, and the pouring out of his Spirit (2: 14-17, 1:18-23, 4:7-8)
Paul begins by highlighting the call and the subsequent need to live in a particular way, practically expressing specific character traits which are essential for maintaining unity. His message begins with this urgent call to all believers which emphasises their calling from God, and the kind of life and obedience this special calling demands.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
This calling (our calling) is lived out as we aim to practice and pursue several important character traits without which unity will not be possible. They are;
- Humility
- Gentleness
- Patience
- Forbearance with love
The first two (humility and gentleness) belong together, and the second (gentleness) leads on from the first. Humility concerns possessing that lowliness of heart, that personal poverty of spirit, that sees and understands our status before a holy and awesome God, and humbly understands our own imperfections and need for God’s grace and help. We are not better or more important than others. Whenever Paul pleads for unity in the Church in his pastoral letters, he always stresses the need for humility and condemns conceit and pride. He points to Jesus as the ultimate example of this humility. Reading Philippians 2: 1-8 will help us to understand this point. To maintain unity, there can be no lifting up or promotion of self, self-importance, or selfish-ambition. Putting others first is key, whilst never thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. (Romans 12:3)
Gentleness here is often translated meekness, and rightly so, because this is how, through that disposition of humility, we must relate to others in the Church. Treating other members with gentleness, care, and kindness, whilst seeking to avoid being aggressive and self-assertive. Paul then, starts with humility and gentleness, and reveals this is how the people of the Church can promote unity. For us there is a personal challenge. All members of the Church, all who belong to Christ, must strive to be like Jesus – “gentle and humble in heart.” (Matthew 11:29) Praying for greater humility and gentleness, and consciously, with the help of God’s grace, seeking to live in this manner in the Church community, is the responsibility and calling of each one of us – without exception. We all must seek to practice this and be an example to others. Humility and gentleness should work hand in hand.
Paul then moves on to highlight two more important character traits that enable unity to be maintained – and they are – patience and forbearance. This is the willingness and even the eagerness to exercise self-control is the way we relate to people we find different or difficult. We do not give up on people in the Church but seek to carry them along with us on our shared journey. Our love and care for them persists and never gives up, even when we are tempted to stop trying. The practical challenge again for every one of us is this; can you aim to be patient and forbear in love with those who you struggle with most? This is what God does with us. God is endlessly patient with us. We must be patient with those we struggle with, who let us down or who irritate us. God forgave us in Christ. We must forgive others and exercise patience. What a corporate challenge!
Remember and note that when Paul writes about the “unity of the Spirit” here, he is teaching that this unity is possible with the power of the Holy Spirit living and working within us. These character traits that promote and maintain unity are in fact the fruit of the Spirit’s life – and as Christians this fruit grows within us and manifests itself in our behaviour. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) Can we all pray for more of the Spirit’s presence and activity in our own hearts and in our patterns of behaviour in the Church – for this will help maintain unity.
Or think of Paul’s great message about the excellence and superiority of love in 1 Corinthians 13 and especially verses 4-7, where the practical nature and expression of love is emphasised. (Read)
We can therefore read 1 Corinthians 13 alongside Ephesians 4 to see how unity can be kept safe and sound. These then are the 4 great character traits that need to be practiced with the grace of Christ and with the power and help of the Spirit; humility; gentleness; patience; forbearance in love; all four are expressions of the ultimate quality which is love. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you – for by this love all will come to know that you are my disciples” – my people – my Church.
Now if those are the expressions of love needed to maintain Church unity, what are the spiritual realities and truths which undergird this essential unity? What are the common bonds which unite all Christians? Of all the things that stand out in this section of Scripture (Ephesians 4: 1-6), the most clear and noticeable is Paul’s use of the word “one.” Strikingly it used seven times verses 4-6. There is, writes Paul;
- One body
- One Spirit
- One hope
- One Lord
- One faith
- One baptism
- One God and Father
Here, God the Holy Trinity stares us in the face within the creation and unity of the Church as the first three “ones” relate to the Spirit, the second three relate to the Lord Jesus, and the final “one” draws us to the Father, “who is over all and through all and in all. Let us look at these significant unifying links in the chain of Christian unity.
There is only one body – one Church – one single unified family of God – one single visible community. We are fully aware of differences and divisions in the Church through its different denominations and expressions, but nevertheless, Paul asserts that ultimately there is only one Church – one body consisting of all those of faith who are about to be described and linked, and who Paul has already written about in detail in chapters 1-2. All are saints, all are “in Christ Jesus” – all have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus. The one body stretches across all branches of the Church and every nation of the world. Christ has only one body! Not several! One – and one alone!
The body is united through the one Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers who together in love make up the Church. This teaching is everywhere in the NT and is previously highlighted by Paul in 2: 21-22. Each believer is a temple of the Spirit, the dwelling place of the Counsellor who Jesus promised, and together, with all God’s people they are all being made into a God-filled Temple.
The Spirit is given as a solemn pledge and downpayment of our hope to come. There is one hope and this is the hope of the glory of Christ and our sharing in that glory for all eternity. All the Church is heaven bound – “Christ in us – the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) One glorious eternal hope.
All in the Church are united and bound together through our common allegiance to the one Lord who is Jesus Christ. All have been called, saved, and justified by Jesus, and all call upon Him as Lord and Saviour – and declare Jesus to be their Lord and God! The cry “Jesus is Lord” is the most basic yet powerful creed of each believer! One Lord!
There is one faith all centred in, around and upon the Chief Cornerstone – Jesus Christ. People in the Church are united through their belief, trust and faith in the Son of God who gave himself up for our salvation. This is a faith that is built upon the facts of His birth, life, perfection, death, resurrection, ascension, and present and future reign.
That one faith is symbolised, signified, and personally embraced through the act of baptism. One baptism. Baptism was commanded by Christ (Matthew 28:19) as the way of expressing a believer’s identification and union with Him in His death and resurrection, a way of the blessings and benefits of salvation being sealed, a way of uniting with all other Christians in the life of repentance and faith; for as Pauls writes in Corinthians; we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
This then leads Paul on toward the final “One” which is the One God and Father. Unity with the Father, our Father who art in heaven, the Heavenly Father of all Christians – Christians who have been individually called and adopted into God’s family. (1:4) All come to God as “Abba” Father.
I invite and urge you all, as Paul does, to think carefully about each of the “ones” in this passage, and how they have impacted and transformed your life and destiny. Ponder over what is means for you to be part of the “one body” with the “one Spirit” and the “one hope.” Reflect again on Jesus and how in the Church we proclaim “one Lord” – and only one Lord – and “one faith” which is symbolised through “one baptism.” This all leads to your knowledge as God as Father, with you as his adopted child.
Just as the Godhead is perfectly united in love, so the Church is called to unity within her community. Just as the Father and Son and Spirit are One – this is the ultimate calling of all God’s people – oneness! And as I conclude, let me share this: Paul knew, and we must understand, that the Church can only be strong in the world if it embraces, maintains, and practices both unity and holiness. These are Paul’s two overriding concerns – the Church’s unity and the Church’s purity and faithfulness. As Jesus said in one of his shorter parables – a divided house will fall! (Matthew 12:25f). If we are going to maintain strength and build up our witness of love and light to the world around us – our unity will be essential. When Paul moves towards the end of his letter, he writes passionately about Christians being soldiers of Christ with armour, and the Church together forming the army of God. Unity in and among the ranks is vital as in any army. Let us maintain it, pray for it, pursue it, and intentionally guard it with care.
This last week has revealed just how much our nation needs a united and faithful Church to serve it. Many of our communities and streets have reached boiling point. In the last 10 years knife crime has risen by 78 percent. As we have tragically witnessed this week, no community is safe. Southport mourns! We mourn with them. Many people of all ages and backgrounds are now falling victim to stabbings and losing their lives, including little children. It hardly bears thinking about. But during this present darkness, in which the “evil day” has now arrived (6:13) the Churches must shine as one with the light and love of Jesus our Lord. We must pray fervently for our nation, for its peace and calm, for its protection and unity, for its government and people. The Church must be ready above all things to demonstrate the unity and reconciliation that is possible among all people through Jesus Christ. Jesus alone can bring down all diving walls of suspicion, tension, racial divide, and outright hostility. (2:14-18) He alone can unite enemies and expel and overcome the power of dark forces. He is Lord. Let us demonstrate this and reveal it to the world through our united community of faith, hope and love.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Rev Peter J Clarkson (4.8.24)