Unity of the Spirit!

Scripture Text

Ephesians 4:1-7

Intro: There is something every church of Jesus Christ needs to be able to carry out the work of the church. It is the one thing that the devil tries his hardest to destroy. The apostle Paul addresses unity in the scripture before us today. We are to walk worthy of our calling as Christians and work to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I. Paul exhorts the church to walk worthy of it's calling. Ephesians 4:1 (NKJV) I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

a. Because Jesus gave His all for our salvation, we should live in obedience to Him. It is a call to walk on a plane corresponding with the position we have in Christ.

II. Paul tells the church how to walk worthy of it's calling. Ephesians 4:2 (NKJV) with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

1.In lowliness and gentleness. We should walk in humility, as if we are unimportant, not thinking to highly of ourselves and Treat others with gentleness. We are Not be rude harsh or with others. Lowliness and gentleness is the Opposite of conceit and arrogance.                                     2. With patience. Not being impatience with others because of their faults.

    We all have faults so we should bear with one another as Christ bears our faults.

    3. Bearing with one another in God's love. Those that sometimes irritate,disturb us. We can bear with one another because of the unity of God's Spirit within us.

   4. Attempting [always to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 (NKJV) endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We don't create unity, the Spirit does that, we are to keep the unity the Spirit has provided. The Spirit Himself has unified us. God's Spirit is never divided.

III. Why we should keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:4-6 (NKJV) ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of 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 you all.

1. We are all “one body” in Christ. Jews and gentiles, male and female. We are one no matter the race, color, nationality, culture or sex. Lack of unity is the main cause of churches being divided and having many problems. Lack of unity hinders God's work.

2. "One Spirit" There is one Holy Spirit who baptizes each believer into the body of Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is to unify believers in Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NKJV) ¹² For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. This is the unity that the believer is instructed to keep.                     3. "One hope of your calling" All Christians responded to the Spirit's calling to salvation. All Christians have the same hope, and they should therefore be one. We are all looking forward to the same heaven; we hope for the same joy beyond the grave in Heaven with Jesus and the Father God. Ephesians 1:4 God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.                                                           4. "One Lord" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (NKJV) ⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. ⁵ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), ⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. His lordship over all believers brings the unity of the church. There is but one Lord. He belongs in common to all as their Savior; and He is the Head of the church. There should be unity among Christians because we all have the same Savior. He is the Lord Jesus Christ.                                 5. "One faith" refers to the body of truth called the apostles' doctrine (see Acts 2:42). it means that Christians should be united because we hold the same great doctrines found in the bible, and, because we have the same faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.                                                                            6. "One baptism" has reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit when we were saved, which is real baptism. Ritual baptism is by water. Water baptism is a symbol of the real baptism of the Holy Spirit by which believers are actually made one in the body of Christ.                                                                       7. "One God" One God refers to God's fatherhood of all believers. Therefore there should be unity. There is only one God. If there were many gods to be worshiped, there could be no more hope of unity than there is among the worshipers of other religions.                                                                        8. “Father of all” The meaning here is, that God is the common Father of all Christian people- the rich and the poor; the bond and the free; the learned and the unlearned. He is no respecter of persons. We are all one in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is above all. Father God is the supreme sovereign and He presides over all.

And through all. He pervades universal nature, He is omnipresent. His presence is everywhere. He works through His people to accomplish His purpose and plans.

And in you all. There is no Christian in whose heart he does not dwell. We are His temple; and He abides in us individually and as a body. Ephesians 2:22 (NKJV) in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

9. Since the same God dwells in every heart, we ought to be one. Jesus prayed for our unity with the Godhead in John 17:20-21 (NKJV) Jesus prayed that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. There is nothing impossible to a unified church! That's why the devil works so hard to divide God's church!

Invitation: You can't be in unity with other believers until you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Have you ever stopped and confessed your sins to Jesus and asked Him to forgive you and save you for Heaven? If not now is the time, today is the day of salvation.