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Unity

Adam Smith
04/09/17 - Sunday

Ephesians 4:1-3

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

 

4/09/17

Adam Smith "Unity"

When we are a Christian, we must be the person we are called to be = "walk ... worthy..." Eph 4:1-6

In v3 we are exhorted to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit because we are ONE body and we already have unity in that we have ONE Lord, faith and baptism common to all of us.  We agree on all these things, which gives us a bond of peace.

Paul tells the Ephesians they have the unity of the Spirit because of the basic principles of their beliefs.  They/We will grow together in this unity as faith/knowledge grows.  We must work to attain a strong knowledge of the word and encourage and study with others as they strive to grow.

When we are not at the same level of knowledge, we are as a child, but must strive to grow so that we will not be tossed around by other doctrines and will gain the unity of faith with our brethren.

Eph 5:22-33 Paul writes as if simply addressing the relationship of husband and wife, but this also relates to relationships within the church.  The way a husband looks after (loves) his wife is like God and the church.  We are to honor God as our father/husband.  Our earthly relationships echo our spiritual relationships.  Unity is so important among us - in our relationships with each other, we learn about our relationship to God. 

I Corinthians 12:12-23 We are the BODY of Christ.  We need to find the part of the body that we are - are we the eyes that see when someone needs encouragement, the feet that make sure the building is clean and ready for worship?  None of us are the same, but we need all our members to work.

This also goes to unity - how do you separate a part from the body and it continue to function.  When our physical body is injured, other parts jump in to take up the slack.  Our spiritual body should be the same.  When a member tears themselves away from the church, it is painful, but we must pull together and continue to function while at the same time trying to repair our body(church) and unity. 

Colossians 3:11 At times, we must overlook differences, that do not affect salvation, among us to maintain our unity.  Because Christ is all and in all, we are not looking at an individual but at Christ.

The story of the song writer, John Fawcett, of "Blessed be the Tie" illustrates how the unity of a church can keep a soul drawn close to God.  The writer had the opportunity to leave the small, rural congregation he grew up in to take a position at a much larger, more prestigious congregation.  On the last Sunday at his home congregation, the words to the song were his sermon.  As he spoke of fellowship and sharing the burdens of those that he loved so long, he made a decision.  He decided to stay there among the body of believers who had loved him, supported and encouraged him throughout his life.  He remained with the Westgate congregation for 54 years. The bond of unity and Spirit could not be broken.