A Unified Church

I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which

you've 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. There is one body

and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord,

one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Amen.

Now, we're all familiar with the issue of disunity in churches, aren't we? Most of us probably have

some type of church hurt story. We've got some type of catastrophic, traumatic event in our past in

relation to our church history that we understand what this does and what it looks like, don't we?

The symptoms of disunity among Christians are typically very obvious, sometimes even explosive,

and those contentions are never random. They're never spontaneous. Disunity is not like spontaneous

combustion. It doesn't just happen. There is something going on underneath the surface for

quite some time before those explosions take place. Long before a congregation goes to war with itself,

long before subsets of Christian groups and traditions fire shots at each other in public,

a spirit of division first invades and then eventually pervades the hearts of the individuals involved.

The issues that Christians often fight about are hardly the real problem.

The problem is an issue of the heart that is left unattended, unrepentant for a significant amount

of time, and it always goes back to the subtle ways that we diminish Christ and his gospel as the

foundation of our unity with one another. This heart issue, if I can illustrate it this way in kind of a

generic way, the heart issue is often revealed in even the subtle way that we shape our prayers.

Perhaps you've prayed for God at some point or another to put another Christian in your path,

assuming that because that person is a Christian, they will see everything from your perspective and

help you to achieve a desired outcome. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of course,

when it comes to things that are explicitly Christian, that the Bible gives explicit instruction for,

and we're in need, we want to pray that God will bless us with other people that will help us and that

will encourage us in those processes. Sometimes we let this bleed over into non-essential areas, don't we?

What happens when your case, in a particular instance, lands on the desk of a faithful Christian

who just simply disagrees with you on the issue at hand?

What happens when Christian integrity for the salesperson means that his conscience will not allow

him to agree to agree to your particular request in whatever it is that you're discussing or negotiating?

When we pray that way and things don't go our way, our tendency then is to assume that either that

individual wasn't actually a true Christian or else they would have thought like I think and acted as I

wanted them to act instead of acknowledging that faithful Christians sometimes disagree.

You see what I'm getting at? Sometimes we assume that if a person is a Christian, he or she must think

like us on every issue, even those things unrelated to the essential truth of the gospel.

We say that we're gospel people, yet at times we judge someone else's standing with God

based on things that are not the gospel. And it shows itself in subtle ways, ways that we don't

always comprehend without somebody helping us to see them. It's a hard issue.

Kind of divisiveness, it peaked during the pandemic years, didn't it? People started equating Christianity

to particular stances on vaccinations and mask mandates and political strategies for dealing

with the outbreak. The issue wasn't that there were disagreements among Christians, but that some

believers started to insinuate that if someone took an opposing view to theirs, that person must not be a

true Christian or at least not a faithful one who's really serious about their Christian experience.

Sometimes it's like we just can't comprehend how other Christians could think differently than we do

on things. Then we get married and we find out real quick it happens a lot.

In the process of that, in the pandemic years, people left their churches that they loved.

Some of them, they'd been there for decades. Why? Because they would have rathered worship with

someone who responded to COVID according to their preference. Disunity surfaced that was totally

unrelated to the gospel. Loved ones, this is a tragedy.

We ought not look at those situations with sympathy and say, well, they were just really passionate.

No, they were being sinful. This is tragic. It's disunity. Of course, the divisive spirit,

it reveals itself in what seems like an infinite amount of ways, doesn't it?

We may judge other congregations not on their gospel fidelity, but on how they employ production

elements in their worship services. Turning our noses up at committed believers who take approaches

to worship that make us uncomfortable. And then we like to make them our favorite punching bags when it

comes to ecclesial conversations with people who think like we think. Making other faithful churches,

gospel churches, the butt of our jokes.

We may denigrate other Christians because of disagreements on secondary and tertiary doctrines,

like divine election, like the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, like the age and mode of baptism,

like Bible translations, like denominational and network affiliations, like style of preaching,

and countless other things. And from there, we tend to create these factions. I'm speaking as

Christians at large. We create these factions and these events and these conferences that aren't

known primarily for their faithfulness to the gospel, but they're primarily mostly known for the way that

they want to distinguish themselves from other Christians. And the worst of it is seen when those

disagreements become slanderous and believers begin to wage war on one another, oftentimes with deceptive

means and harmful rhetoric. And don't misunderstand me. I don't want you to. I don't mean to say that

these disagreements are unimportant. Of course they're important. I don't mean to say that we should soften

our convictions to achieve some lowest common denominator type of unity because that's not actually

real unity. Still, it is ungodly and sinful to belittle, disparage, and castigate other true Christians.

And of course the disunity is as much an issue inside local churches as it is between local churches.

We tend to take matters that fit the dynamics of Christian freedom and individual conscience of

Romans 14 and we treat them as cases that demand correction and separation.

Rather than letting the love and the grace of God rule our hearts, we draw lines of fellowship

based on what someone does or does not eat or drink. That's directly from Romans 14.

Which media companies we allow our kids to enjoy for entertainment?

Whether we use traditional or natural medicines. How we choose to educate our kids.

What celebrity preachers or networks we want to associate with.

In what ways we respond to issues of race in our community.

And on and on and on the list of issues goes.

Again, it's not that these things are unimportant.

But neither are they the things that bind us together as a people.

To make these matters issues of Christian fellowship

is to significantly diminish and functionally deny the centrality of the gospel

in the unity of God's people.

Again, we say we're gospel people.

We say we're centered on the gospel in all things.

And yet, the way that we relate to one another,

the way that we relate to other believers outside of our congregation even,

is not based on gospel unity.

It's based on secondary unity and secondary divisions

that are unrelated to the gospel message.

This ought not be so.

I'm happy to be a Calvinist.

Arminians are not lesser Christians.

And they are not less serious about Bible doctrine than I am.

They are not my enemies.

They are my brothers and sisters.

And they're yours too.

If you're in Christ as they are.

I am Baptist by conviction.

If I can be honest,

one of my biggest regrets for when we started the church

is that we didn't just say that we're a Baptist church.

And we can save that conversation for another day.

But I'm Baptist by conviction.

But the many denominations and churches

that practice infant baptism

or follow other forms of church polity

that aren't congregationalism,

look, they're not our enemies.

They're our brothers.

Continuationists.

They're not my enemies.

Congregations with more contemporary worship styles.

They're not my enemies.

What binds us together is not these things.

What binds us together is God's work of grace

in our common salvation.

I love that Spurgeon quote.

I'm sure you've heard it before.

Spurgeon said,

I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house,

that is the Metropolitan Tabernacle

where he pastored in London,

as long as this platform shall stand

and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers,

shall be the person of Jesus Christ.

I'm never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist.

I do not hesitate to take the name Baptist.

But if I am asked what is my creed,

I reply,

it is Jesus Christ.

Now Spurgeon had deep convictions.

Spurgeon was honest about those convictions.

Yet he understood that the basis of Christian unity

is not those things.

unity is not uniformity.

Unity is not freedom from disagreement.

So if you're looking for a church

where everybody's gonna agree with you

and think like you,

you might as well just do it at home

because you're never gonna find it.

You're not meant to.

Unity is freedom from unnecessary divisions.

among true Christians.

It's freedom from a derisive spirit

regarding things unrelated

to what God has used to bring us together.

Namely, the gospel of Jesus.

And these six verses in Ephesians 4

provide explicit instruction.

This is not implicit.

It is straightforward.

Explicit.

On how to relate to one another in the church.

And to unbelievers outside of the church.

And I want you to notice that this command

leads off with tremendous urgency.

Look again at verse one.

Paul says,

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling

to which you have been called.

There's nothing casual about this.

Obedience to this instruction is not optional.

Urge here, of course,

is the root word for urgency.

Emphasizing the critical importance

of the concerns Paul addressed

in the final three chapters of this letter.

This urgency that he speaks of here,

it implies that what follows

are matters of success and failure.

We might even say matters of life and death

when it comes to local churches.

And the umbrella principle

that he introduces in verse one

and is gonna continue,

everything in chapters four through six

is gonna follow underneath

this first verse in chapter four.

The principle thing that he introduces here

is the necessity of walking worthy of our call.

Living up to the reality of who we are in Christ.

That's the umbrella thing.

Walk worthy of your call.

Walk, of course, it indicates motion.

You know this.

It refers to our manner of life.

Walking worthy, in this case,

means that our lives are characterized by our call.

But what exactly is our call?

Well, that was answered for us.

Beginning first in chapter one in verse five.

Just set your eyes on it.

Notice what Paul says.

God predestined us for adoption to himself

as sons through Jesus Christ

according to the purpose of his will.

What is our call?

We were chosen.

We were called by God

to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.

In other words, our call from God

is to be his children,

taking his name as our own,

living in a manner that is worthy of that name

that we receive through the gracious work

of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.

This text and text like it always reminds me

of something that my dad used to say

when we were growing up.

Whenever I went somewhere without him,

perhaps your parents did something like this.

He understood the potential of embarrassment

that I might bring on the family name.

And dad would always ask me to tell him my full name

and we would go,

we would rehearse this whole process

and he would remind me

that everything that I did

was a reflection on the name

that he and I share.

The Blankenship name.

As Harold Blankenship's son,

I represent him to some extent.

And he wanted me to be mindful of that

whenever he wasn't around

in case I did something stupid.

But he would always follow the statement

by arguing from the lesser to the greater.

That's what the writer of Hebrews so often does.

First, he would say,

what's your name?

I'd say, Jared Blankenship,

you need to remember that you and I share a name

and what you do reflects on me.

He said, but more important than that,

you're a child of God.

You share his name.

And living worthy of that name

is far more important

than living worthy of the Blankenship name.

As Christians, everything we do,

it reflects on the name of our Father,

on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is the idea Paul was conveying here

with such urgency in this opening verse.

He's saying,

Christians, live worthy of the name

to which you have been called

and adopted into the family of God.

And eventually, Paul's gonna get to

various areas of purity and holiness in this book.

Areas that must be tended to

if we are going to walk worthy of our call.

But the very first issue he tackled

is Christian unity.

Many of you know my brother.

And you know that there's a lot of things

that Jonathan and I are similar in.

There's a lot of things that Jonathan and I

are dissimilar in.

And you know us both well enough to know that.

We can argue.

We can annoy each other to no end.

But on Thursday,

when I called and said,

hey, Julie had to be taken to the hospital.

I'm not there.

Can you help me get the girls?

You know what he did?

He didn't say,

well, if you had a better perspective

of the plurality of elders

in a local congregation,

maybe I would consider helping you.

No, he said, I'll be right there.

You know why?

Because he's my brother.

What binds us together

is our family name.

And Paul's saying right from the very beginning,

what binds us together

is our call,

our common call to salvation in Jesus Christ

that we share the same Father.

And it is with that understanding

that he works into these principles

of Christian unity.

Just three basic ones

that are easy to figure out.

You can, you're sensible people.

You can sort this out on your own.

But let me just give you some direction here.

The first thing I want you to see

is the mandate for unity.

The mandate for unity.

And for this,

we're going to directly to verse three.

We're going to come back to verse two,

but we're going to go first to verse three.

Notice what Paul says.

We are to be eager

to maintain the unity of the spirit

in the bond of peace.

All of the instruction in these verses here,

in verses two through six,

all of them revolve around this statement.

Pay very close attention

to the language that he's using.

Notice that the Christian's task

is not to achieve unity,

but to maintain the unity

that the Holy Spirit has already provided.

Do you see that?

Just look at the verse again.

Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit.

No Christian can create unity.

And if you're here today

and you're not a Christian,

I'm glad you're here.

I really am.

We have the greatest news

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It will change your life.

But you cannot create

what Paul is talking about here.

It's not possible.

It is something that is provided to us

in Christ.

God himself is the creator

and sustainer of the church's unity.

The Father determined it

in divine election.

That's chapter one.

The Son secured it

through his death and resurrection.

That's chapter two.

The Holy Spirit supplies it

as he regenerates,

seals,

and indwells each believer.

That's all through the letter.

The mandate here

is not for us to create something

that isn't there.

The mandate

is to maintain something

that God has already supplied.

It is already ours

in Christ.

We are united.

We are one.

We are brothers

and sisters.

He has done that.

Now I want you to notice

the spirit

with which

we are to maintain

the unity of the spirit.

Look again at the verse.

Paul says

we are to be

eager.

This is important language.

What does he mean here?

Eager.

Enthusiastic.

Ambitious.

Yearning

to pursue

this unity.

unity.

We are all eager

about a lot of things.

We have a lot of passions.

Many really

good

and important

things.

But when was

the last time

that you

yearned

to maintain

unity

and peace

with other

believers?

believers.

Most of the time

our objective

with other

believers

in relation

to disagreement

is to try

to win them

to our side.

And there's

a place

for that.

But when's

the last time

you entered

in a conversation

with a believer

with whom you

have a significant

disagreement

and your goal

was to find

the path

of peace.

That what you

were enthusiastic

about in that

moment was not

whether or not

they believed

the same thing

about the Holy

Spirit and his

continuing work

as you.

What you wanted

to find

was a way

that despite

your disagreement

you can maintain

the unity

of the body.

That's what

he's saying.

When was the

last time

you went out

of your way

to pursue

peace

because your

heart's

longing

is to

preserve

the unity

with your

Christian

brothers and

sisters

that was

won for you

on the cross

and supplied

to you

by the gift

of the Holy

Spirit.

In our

zeal for

truth

we must

remain

zealous

for the

unity

of the

Spirit.

That's the

mandate here.

Eager

enthusiastic

pursuant

of.

Finally

notice the

expression

of unity

is listed

as the

bond

of peace.

When was

the last

time

that other

believers

could genuinely

refer to you

as peaceful?

A peacemaker

that Jesus

said will

inherit the

earth

and will

be blessed.

peace.

Of course

the peace

that Paul

is referring

to here

is first

of all

peace with

God.

Isn't it?

It's all

rooted in

the gospel.

This peace

with God

is what

makes

possible

our peace

with one

another.

That's what

John says

in 1 John

1 John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

He uses

that koinonia

word that I

like so much.

He says

as we have

koinonia

fellowship

unity with

the Father

through Jesus

Christ

we then

have

fellowship

with one

another.

And how

is it that

God has

made this

peace

possible?

Through the

gospel.

Through the

death and

resurrection

of Jesus

for those

who are

called to

be God's

children.

This

gospel of

peace

Paul says

is our

bond.

The gospel

is sticky.

That even

when we're

running

different

directions

the thing

that keeps

pulling us

back together

like a

magnet

is the

bond of

the peace

of Jesus

Christ

provided

on the

cross.

And God

has called

us to it.

And he

has saved

us.

And he

has made

us one

with him

so that

we might

now be

one with

one another.

It's

peace.

It's our

bond.

It's the

gospel.

Paul didn't

say that we

are to be

eager for

the bond

of Calvinism.

He didn't

say we have

to be eager

for the

bond of

denominationalism

or non

denominationalism.

He didn't

say we need

to be eager

for the

bond of

cessationism

or continuationism

or whatever.

Fill in the

blank with

whatever isms.

He said we

are to be

eager for

the bond

of the

peace,

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ,

pursuant

of it.

Now if

that isn't

enough for

you to

recognize how

serious of a

matter

Christian unity

is,

let me

just give

you a few

other examples

in the

New Testament.

John chapter

John 10 · chapter mention

10 and

verse 16.

Jesus said I

have other

sheep that

are not of

this fold.

I must

bring them

also.

They will

listen to

my voice.

So there

will be one

flock,

one shepherd.

In the

end,

there is one

flock,

there is one

bride,

there is one

people of

God.

John 17.

I do not

ask for

these only,

but also for

those who

will believe

in me

through their

word,

that they

may all

be one.

Why?

How?

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.

The glory

that you

have given

me,

I have

given to

them,

that they

may be

one.

Even as

we are

one,

I in

them,

you in

me,

that they

may become

perfectly

one,

so that

the world

may know

that you

sent me

and loved

them as

you love

me.

Oh,

that's a

powerful

passage.

What is

Jesus'

illustration

for our

unity together?

His unity

with the

Father and

the Spirit.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:2

1,

verse 2,

to the

church of

God that

is in

Corinth,

to the

sanctified in

Christ Jesus,

called to

be saints

together with

all those

who in

every place

call upon

the name of

our Lord

Jesus Christ,

both their

Lord and

ours.

1 Corinthians

1,

10-13,

I appeal to

you,

brothers,

by the name

of our Lord

Jesus Christ,

that all of

you agree

that there be

no divisions

among you,

but that you

be united

in the same

mind and the

same judgment.

for it's

been reported

to me by

Chloe's people

that there is

quarreling among

you,

my brothers.

What I mean

is that each

one of you

says,

I follow

Paul,

or I

follow

Apollos,

or I

follow

Cephas,

or the

really spiritual

ones,

I follow

Christ.

Is Christ

divided?

Was Paul

crucified for

you?

Were you

baptized in

the name

of Paul?

What's he

getting at?

To a church

that really

struggled with

this unity,

he said,

this ought

not be

so.

1 Corinthians

10,

17,

because there

is one

bread,

this is a

reflection on

communion,

because there's

one bread,

we who are

many are

one body,

for we

partake of

the one

bread.

Philippians

2,

2,

complete my

joy,

being of

the same

mind,

having the

same love,

being in

full accord

and of

one mind.

Philippians

4,

2-3,

I entreat

Yodia and

Syntyche to

agree in the

Lord.

And then he

says,

and I also

ask you,

true companion,

help these

women who

have labored

side by

side with

me in

the gospel.

How would

you like to

be the ones

Paul called

out in

the letter?

Romans

12,

16,

live in

harmony

with one

another.

Do not

be haughty,

associate

with the

lowly.

Oh,

here's the

hard one,

isn't it?

Never be

wise in

your own

sight.

Isn't

that where

these divisions

typically come

from?

I just

think that

I'm smarter

than you.

And maybe

I am.

But that's

not the

spirit with

which we

are to

approach one

another,

is it?

Romans 14,

17 to

19,

the kingdom

of God

is not a

matter of

eating and

drinking,

but of

righteousness

and peace

and joy

in the

Holy Spirit.

Whoever

thus serves

Christ is

acceptable to

God and

approved by

men.

So then let

us pursue

what makes

for peace

and for

mutual

upbuilding.

Romans 16,

I appeal

to you

brothers,

watch out

for those

who cause

divisions

and create

obstacles

contrary to

the doctrine

that you've

been taught.

Avoid

them.

They don't

serve the

Lord Christ.

Galatians 2,

11 through

14,

Paul confronts

Peter,

but when

Cephas came

to Antioch,

I opposed

him to

the face

because he

stood

condemned.

For before

certain men

came from

James,

those were

Jews,

he was eating

with the

Gentiles,

but when

they came,

he drew

back and

separated

himself,

fearing the

circumcision

party,

and the

rest of

the Jews

acted

hypocritically

along with

them,

so that

even

Barnabas

was led

astray

by their

hypocrisy.

But when

I saw

that their

conduct

was not

in step

with the

truth of

the gospel,

I said

to Peter

before them

all,

if you

though a

Jew

live like

a Gentile

and not

like a

Jew,

how can

you force

the Gentiles

to live

like Jews?

Significant

issue.

You can study

that on

your own.

How about

Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5?

Are you tired

of these yet?

I could go

on and

on and

on.

Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

Now the

works of

the flesh

are this,

and he

lists a

bunch of

things.

Right in

the middle

he says

enmity,

strife,

jealousy,

fits of

anger,

rivalries,

dissensions,

divisions,

envy,

and then

he says

just in

case he

missed

something

that we

would try

to excuse

he says

and all

the things

that are

like these

things.

These

are the

works of

the flesh

he says

but instead

we are to

be filled

with the

fruit of

the spirit

which is

the opposite

of these

things.

It's

love,

joy,

peace,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

self-control.

There are many

more but is this

not enough?

is this not

enough for us

to see what

it is that

God actually

desires of

his people?

Need we

any more

proof that

walking worthy

as a

Christian means

being ambitious

to maintain

the peace

that the

Holy Spirit

has supplied

through the

gospel?

That's the

mandate.

Maintain what

is already

yours in

Christ and

maintain it

with joy and

eagerness and

ambition.

Second,

notice the

method for

maintaining

Christian unity.

This is where

we go back to

verse 2.

Look at it

with me.

We do this

with all

humility.

See,

this is hard.

These little

words,

they make a

difference,

don't they?

He doesn't

say,

we do this

with a

little bit

of humility.

Oh,

no.

He says,

all humility

and gentleness

with patience,

bearing with

one another

in love.

eagerness to

maintain the

unity of the

spirit is a

fundamental mark

of Christian

maturity.

Just set your

eyes on verses

12 and 13 to

see that in

the same

chapter.

That Christ

gives leaders

to equip the

saints for the

work of the

ministry, for

the building up

of the body

of Christ,

until we all

attain to the

unity of the

faith and of

the knowledge of

the Son of

God, to

mature manhood,

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ.

Disunity,

then, is a

mark of

spiritual

immaturity.

No matter

how well-versed

one may be in

their doctrinal

understanding and

convictions,

disunity

reveals

spiritual

immaturity.

humility.

Fortunately

for us,

God doesn't

make the

demand for

maintaining

unity without

telling us how

to do it.

Five

intentional

attitudes of

the heart are

listed here.

The first,

humility.

Unity

cannot exist

apart from

it.

Disunity

is always,

always the

result of

pride,

self-promoting

arrogance.

The one

who is

humble is

the one

who constantly

understands

himself in

relation to

the gospel

and therefore

never sees

himself as

better or

more significant

than anyone

else.

Good

theology

has

produced

many

arrogant

jerks,

others.

But the

gospel always

leads to

humility of

heart.

It can

only lead

to

humility of

heart.

Paul

described it

this way

to the

Philippians,

do nothing

from selfish

ambition or

conceit,

but in

humility

count

others

more

significant

than

yourself.

let each

of you

look not

only on

his own

interests,

but also

to the

interest of

others.

Oh,

and here's

the nail

in the

coffin,

isn't it?

Have

this mind

among

yourselves,

which is

yours in

Christ Jesus.

And that's

when he

gives us

that wonderful

Christology,

isn't it?

He says,

be humble

like Jesus

is humble.

The

second one

is gentleness.

Gentleness.

This word is

often translated

as meekness,

isn't it?

Biblical

gentleness is

often misunderstood.

It doesn't

mean soft.

It doesn't

mean delicate.

It doesn't

mean weak.

It's the

same word

we used

for taming

a horse.

Sometimes we

may call it

gentling a

horse,

don't we?

To gentle

a horse

does not

remove its

power.

It doesn't

remove its

knowledge.

It doesn't

handicap it.

It brings

all of those

things under

control,

doesn't it?

That's the

word Paul's

using here.

It's the

word that's

often employed

in the New

Testament.

So it is

what the

essential

characteristic

of gentleness

among Christians.

It is power

under control.

It is zeal

that is ruled

by humility.

That's gentleness.

It's the

opposite of

harsh.

It's the

opposite of

judgmental.

It's the

opposite of

sarcastic.

It's the

opposite of

degrading.

It's

self-control.

Thirdly,

and fourthly,

we'll bring

these two

together.

He says we

do this with

patience and

with bearing

with one

another.

And here's

the thing that

I want to

note about

this.

These twin

characteristics,

they expose

the work that

it takes to

maintain unity.

Patience is

endurance,

which implies

suffering.

Oh, give me

your eyes on

this one.

What Paul is

calling us to

in Christian

unity is a

call to

willingly

suffer,

to bear with

one another.

Forbearance,

it indicates the

reality that we

will encounter

irritating,

annoying,

difficult

people

in our

faith

that belong

to Jesus

the same way

that we belong

to Jesus.

That's hard.

If unity

were an easy

thing,

if it was

something that

we could just

put on autopilot

and it just

work out,

there would be

no threat of

disunity among

Christians.

And while some

of us battle

more with

arrogance or

harshness,

others of us

battle with

more of a

persevering

kindness with

people that,

let's just be

honest,

we just really

don't like that

much.

Some people are

just hard to

like.

Paul says,

no, if we're

going to do

this, we're

going to have

to be patient.

We're going

to have to

suffer through

some difficult

relationships.

relationships.

We're going

to have to

bring a

burden, and

that burden

is other

Christians

sometimes, and

we're going

to have to

bear it in

order that we

might enthusiastically

maintain the

unity of the

Spirit.

And then finally,

the fifth one

is love.

Bearing with

one another in

love.

Love is what

binds it all

together, isn't

it?

Of course, we

have to understand

love the right

way.

We can't

understand it as

an emotional

state.

We have to

understand it as

a relational

commitment.

That's the

biblical presentation

of love.

And if we're

going to be

obedient to the

Lord, we're

going to have

to get over

the fact that

sometimes our

emotions just

don't want to

like other

people, or

we're moody,

or whatever.

It's a

relational

commitment.

It's a

choice.

Choosing to

love other

believers is the

only heart

attitude that

can possibly

produce humility,

gentleness,

patience, and

forbearance.

And if you're

struggling with

those areas, as

I often do, it

is undoubtedly

because you have

not loved others

the way Christ has

loved you and

commanded you to

love.

John 13, a new

commandment I give

to you, that you

love one another.

just as I have

loved you, you

also are to love

one another.

By this all

people will know

that you're my

disciples, if you

have love for one

another.

Romans 12, let

this love be

genuine.

Oh, this isn't a

fake it till you

make it.

love for one

else.

No, this is

supplied to us

when we focus on

the gospel above

all else.

That's where this

comes.

When in humility

we set aside the

things that are

dividing us.

Abhor what's evil,

hold fast to what's

good.

Love one another

with brotherly

affection.

Outdo one

another in

showing honor.

That's the

method.

Finally, and

we'll be done,

the motivations

for it.

The motivation

for Christian

unity.

This is verses

four through

six.

There is one

body and one

spirit, just as

you were called

to the one hope

that belongs to

your call.

One Lord, one

faith, one

baptism, one

God and Father

of all who is

over all and

through all and

in all.

There are seven

one statements

that show the

reason why we

should be eager

to maintain the

unity of the

spirit and the

bond of peace.

Just briefly note

them.

First he says

there's one body.

What is that?

It's the church.

One church.

Now the reality

is that we have

separations.

We have lots of

churches, don't we?

We have lots of

churches that disagree

on things that are

important and

sometimes it's

necessary.

We see this even

in Paul's own

ministry.

It's necessary to

make amicable

separations in

order for us to

best pursue peace

with one another

and faithfulness to

the Lord.

I understand that.

I'm not denying

that all of that's

true.

But at the end of

the day, there's

only one of us.

There's only one

church.

There's only one

body.

That's a reason for

us to take this

serious, he says.

Second, he says

there's one spirit.

What is that?

It's the Holy

Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

that regenerates,

seals, guarantees,

enables, unifies

all the things.

There's only one of

those.

There's not multiple

of them.

There's not like the

Baptist one that's

over here and he

does kind of this

thing over here and

then there's the

Presbyterian one and

then there's the

non-denominational one.

No, there's one

spirit and he's at

work in all of them.

Third, let me just

give you a verse on

that.

1 Corinthians 12, 13.

For in one spirit we

were all baptized into

one body.

What brings us into

the church?

Baptism of the

Spirit.

Same spirit.

Jews, Greeks,

slaves, free, all

were made to drink of

one spirit.

It's clear.

Third, one hope.

What's the hope?

The gospel.

The gospel through

Jesus Christ.

One Lord.

Who is that?

Jesus.

Jesus is our Lord.

One faith.

This is sound doctrine

especially on first

order issues related to

the gospel.

One baptism.

What is this?

Well, it's water

baptism but not like

you think.

This is not about age

and mode and all those

things.

This is about being

baptized in the name of

the Father and Son and

Spirit.

Whether that happened to

you as a baby or whether

it happened post

conversion.

That's the emphasis

here.

Let me give you a verse

on that.

Galatians 3.

For as many of you as

were baptized into

Christ, that is into the

name of Christ, have put

on Christ.

And in Christ there is

neither Jew or Greek,

neither slave nor free,

neither male nor female,

for you are all one in

Christ Jesus.

There's one baptism in the

name of Jesus Christ.

And then finally there's

one God and Father.

He is the one to whom we

all belong.

Now what's the point Paul's

making?

We should be eager to

maintain the unity of the

Spirit because unified is

what we are in Christ.

This is who we are.

And what is the guidelines

for this unity and kindness

and love amongst Christians

that disagree?

It's these seven marks.

These seven characteristics

is the basis of all

Christian unity.

Nothing more and nothing

less.

Again, that doesn't mean

that we don't have important

points of disagreement

that sometimes demand a

measure of ecclesial

separation.

I understand that.

Still, it doesn't mean,

it does mean that we must

be ambitious about loving

and displaying Christian

unity with all people

that share these seven

characteristics with us.

You say, well how am I

supposed to know how

friendly I am to be with

this other person that

claims to be a Christian?

Well, are they a part of

the one body?

Do they have the one

spirit?

Do they maintain the one

hope?

Do they follow the one

Lord?

Do they have the one

faith, the gospel faith?

Do they have the one

baptism in the name of

Jesus?

Are they a child of the

one God and Father?

And if that's true, all

of those other

disagreements are

non-essential to our

unity together.

Everett Ferguson has

such a wonderful

statement here.

These seven items are

givens of Christianity.

Unity is already

provided by God in the

most important things.

Sharing them gives a

broad and strong basis

for unity.

And in view of what

unites, the things that

divide seem less

formidable.

In a sense, to be

divided, unnecessarily

that is, to be divided

is to say God has not

done enough to produce

unity.

It is to minimize the

most important aspects of

the Christian faith.

That is the gospel of

Jesus.

You've been patient with

me and you have

forborne me for the

last hour.

Let me just finish with

this.

I truly believe we have

a congregation here that

is generally faithful

and pure.

That doesn't mean that we

can survive or withstand

certain measures of

disunity.

Because the truth is we

can't.

That's the urgency that

Paul is giving here.

We expect that less

pure churches like

Corinth will have

these problems.

But we need to

remember that the

danger of disunity was

addressed even in the

most pure churches in

the New Testament.

One of them being

Philippians.

And the main issue Paul

has to deal with there is

this issue of disunity.

We're going to get into

the Thessalonian letters.

It was a very pure group

of churches.

Disunity was still a

threat.

The church in Ephesus

obviously was a faithful,

faithful church.

And they had issues with

disunity.

This is not an issue that

only belongs to churches

that are less pure.

No.

It's a danger for all of

us.

That's the point in me

bringing it up today.

If we don't continually

repent of and give

attention to the issues

of our hearts, we will

destroy ourselves.

We will destroy this

church.

All the right theology

will not save a

congregation that is

ruled by pride and

division.

So I implore you,