Who Are We? // Walking In Unity [Ephesians 4:1-6] (Bardoe Besselaar)

Yes, gracious God, we are just thankful for your goodness and

your gifts to us and for your word.

And we thank you this morning that you have given us Bardo and

we trust you've worked with him in a study of this text.

And I pray that you would speak through him now.

Give him wisdom and clarity, and give us minds and hearts to hear

what you have to say through Him.

So we just pray over this time, and we pray over Bardo in Jesus

name. Amen.

Thank you. Good morning, Church.

We live in a divided world, a desperate world trying to

convince itself that it's united.

A world that boasts about diversity and acceptance of

fluidity, where someone can call themselves one thing one day and

something completely different the next.

An approach to relieve misery, to transform the inner

condition, is by changing what's on the outside, by jumping

between religions or changing our environment or changing our

prepositions or our appearance in the hopes of finding,

belonging or understanding who we are.

But the Triune God of Scripture has put a great light into the

world that answers this longing and confusion, the promise of

identity, contentment, unity, and diversity.

He's provided a way out of the darkness, and the church must be

the tower from which that great light can be seen.

So we're carrying on in our series and Ephesians this

morning we'll be looking at the first few verses of Chapter 4.

If you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me just to

bring the memory. Some of the previous chapters

before we start, Ephesians 1 spoke about the blessing of the

believers in Christ, our predestination, our adoption,

our redemption, and the ceiling of the Holy Spirit.

Shane Wildemoth, I think, stressed the importance of

prayer to us and our dependence on God.

Lewis then introduced us to Ephesians Chapter 2 and the

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Doctrine of salvation by grace through Faith.

Jeff then just helped us grasp the scandal of foreigners

sharing in the promises given to the Jewish patriarchs.

The reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles in Christ and He went

on in Ephesians chapter 3 to explain the revelation of the

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

mystery of Christ, the fact that God has equalized us and how

we've come into the spiritual blessings of Israel.

He challenged us to be so full of Christ that when someone

knocks at the door, they find Jesus.

And he made us, made it clear to us last week that Chapter 4

moves from information to instruction, the living out of

these Jews and Gentiles and the coming together of this new

body. So this morning as we look at

Ephesians, chapter 2, verses one to six, and I want to echo

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Paul's exhortation to you. To walk worthy of the calling to

which you've been called. And we'll consider the

inclusivity and the exclude exclusivity of the nature of

unity that reveals the Triune God that will cause the world to

look to him. So firstly, from verses 1:00 to

3:00 we'll examine the inclusive nature of unity.

It's call, it's manner, it's focus.

And then from 4:00 to 6:00, the exclusive nature of unity.

Let's read together now. 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.

And 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 overall and through all and in all.

So to start, we'll be looking at the inclusive nature of unity.

We've already recalled the previous chapters, as Paul

intended us to do, with the opening words.

Therefore, we've acknowledged these biblical truths.

Therefore, walk in alignment with them.

Be what you are. Be what you're called to be.

But before we can even begin, before we can consider the

exhortation, what does Paul mean by called?

Or can I phrase it this way? Have you been called?

Because if not, why go on? And if so, how do you know?

This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance

that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

He lived a perfect life, the perfect obedient life to the law

of God At all times. He suffered, He died on the

cross and perfection He took upon him the sin of the world.

He didn't stay dead, but he rose from the dead.

He overcame death and he offers life.

To all those that will believe in him, this is the essence of

the gospel. But it's also just a statement

of fact. As James 219 indicates, faith

isn't just knowing the facts. So, so faith is more than

knowing the facts. What does this calling look

like? How do you know that you've been

called? Because Paul assumes that you

know. First Corinthians chapter one,

verse 9 tells us God is faithful who has called you into

fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

So calling is fellowship with Christ.

Hebrews chapter 3. This one says that believers

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

share in the heavenly calling and first Peter reminds us that

we have been called. Out of darkness into fellowship

with Christ to Timothy chapter one, verse 9 also says he has

called us to a holy life not because of anything that we have

done, but because but for his own purpose and grace.

Similee back in Ephesians chapter two we read for grace

you have been saved through faith.

And this is not of your own doing.

It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one

may boast. So here is the probing

consideration, as you ask yourself, have I been called?

To start with the obvious? Do you have faith in Jesus

Christ as your Lord and Savior? A faith that not only recognizes

your need for God's grace and forgiveness, but also?

A deep desire to have a relationship with Him.

You want to commune with God, to follow Him.

But not only do you long for this deep relationship, you want

to read and understand His word, to commune with Him in prayer

and in worship. Do you have an inner conviction?

Or a sense of God's presence that draws you to seek Him and

understand His will for your life?

Are there evidences in your life that can give you this

assurance? Has there been a change in your

attitude, your behavior, your priorities, the things that you

value so that they align more closely with God's purposes and

they're growing in your faith from year to year?

Perhaps, probably. Not as quickly as you would

like, but you see it, and I hope that others see it too.

And finally, importantly, as it relates to our passage, to do

that today, do you desire fellowship with other believers?

Do you feel yourself drawn toward godly men and women if

you cannot identify with these things?

My dear friend, I plead with you.

Start right now. Plead with God.

Speak to him until your inward disposition changes.

Don't stop until you can say that you've been truly born

again. For those of you who Paul named

as called, let's now consider this exhortation.

To have a relationship with God is not a trivial thing.

A close relationship with an earthly king is not something to

be despised or a relationship that's readily neglected.

It's a special position of immense value and benefit.

It would be one thing if you and this king grew up together as

childhood friends, but if he sought you out though, you had

nothing to offer him. At great cost to himself, and

called you into fellowship with him.

Would this not be an even greater privilege?

Paul says I, a prisoner of the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy

of your calling as a prisoner. An example to the Ephesians.

He's able to call them to live fully for Christ.

The reason Paul is in prison is because of the good news.

He does not refer to himself as a prisoner of Rome, but rather a

prisoner of the Lord. Christ is his Lord, and he will

submit himself in all things to his master.

Yet unlike A prisoner Paul has exercising authority.

He writes to exhort, to urge to implore the Ephesians, not

simply to walk in their calling. But to walk worthy of it and the

Greek, the word translated worthy here is axios and it has

the idea of weight, from which we get the English word axiom.

It's not a word that I'm familiar with, but it means to

be of equal weights. So you can imagine a set of

scales. On the one side is your heavenly

position with this great king. You can call him anytime, any

place. He's actively working in your

life. He's working all things for your

good. And on the other side of the

scale, Paul is calling you to daily live an equal measure.

This is an impossible exhortation.

Yet it gives. Yet God gives us grace and grace

and grace. And so it compounds.

And the weighty worth of his calling grows so that the

immeasurable riches of His grace grows and grows and grows, and

his mercies become new every morning.

And God is glorified in your walk.

Now this is Our Calling. The pool has a specific

application in mind. Let's look at verse 2.

It reads with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another in love.

Humility before God absolutely, because salvation is none of us.

But the focus of this chapter is on the one another, the calling

to work work with the calling to Walkworthy.

As a calling to love the family of God bearing with one another

in love. In light of the fact that God

has been so patient toward me, I must surely be patient toward my

brother. When Jesus was asked what the

great what is the greatest commandment in Matthew 22, he

didn't just stop at loving God, but he went on to add and the

2nd is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Bearing with one another in love is not simply staying calm,

staying calm on the outside, boiling on the inside.

Nor does it mean simply tolerating each other.

It's bearing in love, Paul writes.

Paul writes this because he understands that it's not always

easy to love each other. Scripture records our Paul and

Barnabas argued over John, Mark, and even went separate ways for

a while. The word bearing in the Greek

text and Nico has the emphasis to patiently tolerate someone

who's difficult or foolish. However, consider the ultimatum

from Revelation chapter 2. Where we find another letter to

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

the church and Ephesus. It reads to the one who holds

the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among

the seven gold lamp stands. Say this.

I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance, and that

you cannot tolerate evil men. And you put to test those who

call themselves apostles, and they are not.

And you found them to be false. And you have persevered, and

you've endured for my name's sake, and you have not grown

weary. Sounds really good, doesn't it?

But then it says, But I have this against you, that you have

left your first love. Therefore remember from where

you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you fit.

You did it first, or else I am coming to you and will remove

your lamp stand from its place unless you repent.

This church would cease to be a church if they did not walk and

the love they had at first. The Holy Spirit will not dwell

in a church that has abandoned its first love, And as John so

convictingly tells us in one John Four If anyone says I love

God and hates his brother, he is a liar.

For he who does not love her love his brother, whom he sees,

cannot love God, whom he does not see.

Love is first, and the list as we consider the fruit of the

Spirit. It's the theme that dominates

John's writings. It's the first item for prayer

and Paul's petition to the Philippians.

Now the church was made-up of former Gentiles and Jews, Jews

who knew their Bibles who had memorized entire sections of the

Old Testament, and Gentiles who did not.

There were difference in customs, opinions on clothing,

music. Some felt comfortable eating one

thing and others didn't. There is even a different social

hierarchy. That is why this verse is

qualified with patience, with gentleness, with humility, can

be easy to tolerate a mildly annoying person.

But patience is especially needed when a brother or sister

in Christ is foolish or difficult.

It happens. This unity of the Spirit has

little to do with us being all the same.

This is the inclusive nature of unity.

Everyone is different, yet we're all part of 1 body and in dwelt

by 1 spirit. Now, I'm not going to give you

an out here. You cannot bear with someone by

not coming to church. The one body is made-up of all

believers, and Paul's exhortation is not just to avoid

your calling, but walk worthy of it.

You cannot attain to the fullness of spiritual maturity

by avoiding your calling. How many spiritual fruit can you

bear when you're never around anyone who challenges you?

So if you really want to be spiritual, go hang out with

those people that you find challenging to love.

We are to walk worthy of Our Calling.

We are to do it in love, and verse three tells us the

purpose. Let's have a look.

Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of

peace, the new American standing being diligent to keep the unity

of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

Paul, who also refers to himself later as an ambassador in

chains, the prisoner in the Lord, is exhorting the Church to

make every effort to do your utmost to keep the unity of the

Spirit and the bond of peace the shackle of peace.

This bond is intended to constrain us.

In Romans chapter 14 says something similar.

Romans 14 · chapter mention

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace

and mutual edification, not a superficial piece like the

Prophet. Ezekiel warns us about those

that say peace when there is no peace.

It compares it to merely plastering over a cracked wall

so that when the rain comes, the wall falls down.

Peace isn't letting things slide and loading them up into a

spiritual backpack of resentment, it's taking the hard

Rd. At the same time.

It's about being careful, diligent not to break up the

unity of the Spirit, admitting mistakes, accepting rebuke with

all humility and gentleness with patience and love.

When Paul speaks of keeping the unity of the Spirit, it is a

call to preserve something that already exists.

Paul is not suggesting that we erase all denominational

boundaries to create one big mega church.

There is only one Spirit and he unites all of us in Christ.

We are all called to preserve the that unity that is the

intention of our worthy walk. Now God is a God of

reconciliation, if we recall Ephesians chapter 214, it says.

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has

broken down the flesh and the dividing wall of hostility.

And we as the body of Christ have a duty of cosmic

reconciliation to bring all peoples before the Lord.

If we are to be effective in this and proclaiming the gospel

and missions and Christian living, then we need to conform

to the Church as she is divinely purposed.

When Christ's body is seen to be the community of reconciliation,

then we can convincingly proclaim the gospel of

reconciliation to others. We cannot expect to be a divided

church and be the salt of the earth.

We cannot expect the world to understand the love of Christ if

we have no love for one another. As Philippians chapter 2 says,

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

if you really, if you are really a participant in the Spirit,

than you are to be of 1 accord and of 1 mind.

The inclusive nature of unity is that it transcends differences,

that that transcends the different ways that God has made

us, our past, our parents, our language, all these things.

But we are to be 1 ensemble. When you listen to an orchestra,

not every person plays the same instrument, not every instrument

plays the same note. But at the director direction of

the conductor there is harmony and there is beauty and the

coming together of every different instrument to one aim,

to one purpose, to one song. God's masterpiece of

reconciliation. And this brings us to the second

consideration of unity. The 2nd aspect of the nature of

unity that reveals the try and God that will cause the world to

look to him is the exclusive nature of unity.

It's the exclusive nature of unity.

From verses four to six there is one body and one spirit, just as

you were called to 1 Hope, 1 Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God, and Father of all whose overall and through all and in

all. Having considered the importance

of unity, let us now consider what that unity means.

The verses before us make up 7 doctrinal notches.

They use the word 1 to point to a fundamental Christian value or

or face on. If you're familiar with the

scripture the scriptures use of the number 7, then may I suggest

that the seven here, the fact that there are seven of them is

no accident. Paul's putting us to us the

complete the perfect unity. Not unity at any price, but a

unity grounded in the three persons of the Trinity.

First, we see the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit,

and His work in bringing unity. There's four.

There is one body and one spirit.

As we mentioned earlier, the body is not a man made

institution. The Holy Spirit creates

coordinates, orchestrates the body of Christ, believers across

every ethnic group, culture and social boundary.

The same Spirit who empowered Jewish believers at Pentecost,

fell on gentle Gentile believers in the House of Cornelius and

then dwell. Who can we believers today?

We feel a connection when we meet someone else who shares a

passion with us, such as rugby or motorsport or Lego or

dancing, whatever it might be. But when we meet another

believer who could be completely different, then there's a skip

in our own a being. There's a delight, there's a

warmth, there's an invisible bond.

Not only has God reconciled us to himself through Christ, but

He's reconciled us to one another Birth for equates this

one body and one spirit with one with having one hope, Our

Calling. Having already considered Our

Calling, let us turn our eyes to this one hope.

This hope is the expectation of eternal life, salvation through

Christ, a shared longing for Christ's return.

But we have a pledge, a guarantee, a glory to come.

We've received the first installment of our inheritance,

the Holy Spirit of promise. In our hearts, the fruit that we

bear in Christ is a foretaste of the future, the love that comes

without condition, the peace that surpasses understanding,

the joy that cannot be taken, the strength when we are weary.

These things are the appetizers, the tidbits of the bliss that is

to come, for we shall share the glory of Christ.

The next threefold acclamation points to the second person of

the Trinity, Jesus Christ our Lord.

In verse five it reads 1 Lord, one faith, one baptism.

The term Lord, which was the title for Yahweh in the Old

Testament, is no surprise to us here.

Paul uses it often and again he implies the Lordship of Christ.

We don't have another master, and our master is not divided.

And writing to the Corinthians, Paul rebukes them on this

matter. First Corinthians, chapter 10

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

reads. Now I exhort you, brethren, by

the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all be an

agreement, and there be no division among you, but that you

be made complete and of the same mind and of the same judgment.

For I've been informed concerning you, my brethren, by

Chloe's people, that there is quarrelling among you.

Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, I am of Paul, and

I'm of Apollos, and I am of Cephas, and I am of Christ.

Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or

were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Was what Paul taught important? It is but our striving is not to

conform to Charles Spurgeon or Billy Graham or Elizabeth

Elliott. We strive to increasingly,

increasingly conform to Christ's likeness.

God's eternal purpose has been accomplished in Jesus Christ our

Lord, and He fills the universe with His sovereign reign.

The head of the body is Christ, and our one faith is in him, one

name in whom we genuinely trust, but also one body of truth, one

faith which was once and for all delivered to the Saints.

Believers share in a common faith in Christ's redemptive

work. To to deny the essential

doctrines of Christianity is to abandon the Christian faith.

To embrace them leads to spiritual maturity.

Let's consider one John chapter 4, two to three.

John 4 · chapter mention

By this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the

flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not

confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the

Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world

already. It doesn't matter what the

Spirit says. The fundamental truth of the

faith, what the Bible teaches, is immutable.

It's part of the exclusive nature of the true unity.

God's word does not change and God does not change.

Furthermore, there's only one baptism, a death to self and a

living to Christ. Now, Paul isn't making a

distinction between water baptism and the baptism of the

Spirit. These hair splitting

distinctions were all part of the same transition of the old

life to the new life in New Testament times.

To have one without the other was an anomaly, but if it's any

comfort we use this type of language all the time.

A marriage ring doesn't really bind two people together nor

does a flag united nation. We also say things like light

this candle candle in honor of their memory or I am saved by

the cross. The point is that Jewish and

Gentile believers alike acknowledge 1 Lord, share one

faith in him, and have have undergone 1 shared baptism in

his name. And we see this very thing in

Galatians chapter 3 from 2326 to 29.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

For you all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all

of you were baptized into Christ.

For all you who were baptized into Christ have clothed

yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,

there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male

nor female. For you are all one in Christ,

and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's

descendants. Ears according to promise, as

Paul States and Colossians, God's purpose through Christ is

to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace

through the blood of Christ, through him reconciling things

upon earth and things in heaven. And thirdly, in our text back in

Ephesians chapter four, we see the first Person of the Trinity,

God the Father and His work in bringing unity.

Verse six There is one God and one Father of all who is overall

and through all and in all the Holy Spirit.

The focus of verse four and the Lord Jesus from verse five are

not viewed as separate entities. There is one God.

This flows out of what He's already said earlier and in

earlier chapters. There's not an Old Testament God

and a New Testament God. God is the Father who belongs.

God is the father of all those who belong to the family of

faith, both Jews and Gentiles, without distinction.

If you belong, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's

descendants and ears according to the promise, this exclusive

unity and that all things are only brought together in Christ.

This carried further in Ephesians we see back in chapter

one, verse 10. It tells us God's purpose is the

summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven, and

things on earth. In other words, to bring all

creation to the point where it finds its true head in Christ.

Ephesians 4, verse six. In Ephesians 4, verse six, we're

encouraged we encounter the exclusive nature of unity in the

sovereignty of God. He is the Father of all

creation, orchestrating all things, ordering, ordering

things to His divine plan. As our Father, He holds

authority over everything, serving as the author and

sustainer of life. His control is absolute and

nothing is beyond his reach. Furthermore, God is through all,

actively working every circumstance and event through

Christ who mediates our relationship with Him.

God acts as our Father. He is also in all dwelling

within all believers. Through the Holy Spirit, the

intimate presence that shapes our lives, God's universal rule

is carried out to achieve the ultimate purpose, uniting all

things in Christ. The unity within the Trinity

lays the foundation for the church.

Through the church, God's wisdom is showcased to the entire

universe. The church serves as a glimpse

of God's ultimate plan, with believers demonstrating unity

that reflects God's final goal. In closing, let us look back on

the exclusive and inclusive nature of unity that revealed

the Triune God and will cause the world to look to Him.

Firstly, diversity. Far from destroying unity, will,

if characterized, character characterized with humility,

gentleness, and patience toward fellow Christians, will promote

it. The inclusive nature of unity is

that true, lasting God. Grounded unity is more than

being thankful for the blessings that we have in Christ, but it's

also living in a manner worthy of them.

And Christ has found our identity, contentment and unity.

Loving God means loving brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers

in the faith. A love for all the Saints, even

the foolish and difficult ones, for the purpose of building up

the Church to be a beacon of light in a dark and desperate

and divided world. A love that bears with one

another and preserves the unity of the Spirit and the bond of

peace. Secondly, we looked at the

exclusive nature of unity. There is only one gospel, There

is only one law. There's one faith, one baptism,

one God and Father of all. There is no other name by which

men may be saved. There is no other religion.

They can offer peace with God. Now God is not divided, but he's

overall three through all and indwelling every believer.

This is the intention of our worthy walk, to conform the

church to to conform to the church as she is divinely,

divinely displayed so that the world can understand the love of

Christ, the pilot project of God's purposes.

Paul was willing to suffer imprisonment and had many times.

He didn't have any second thoughts in exchanging his life

for the one that he was called to.

For those who have tasted the first fruits, who share in the

same promises and have the same hope in in your calling,

remember that even the morsels of promise that we have here on

earth outweigh prison, the pleasures of the world, the

earthly ties, the conflicts with other believers.

We look forward to the day when Christ returns.

We look together. We say come Lord Jesus, come,

bring everything into perfect subjection, perfect unity.

In closing, I just want to pray the Paul's prayer from Ephesians

chapter 314. For this reason I bow my knee

before the Father from whom every family in heaven.

And on earth is named that according to the riches of his

glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through

His Spirit in your inner being. So that Christ may dwell in your

hearts through faith. That you, being rooted and

grounded in love, may have strength.

To comprehend with all the Saints what is the breadth and

length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that

surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness

of God. Now to him who is able to do far

more abundantly than all we ask will think according to the

power at work within us. To him be glory in the Church

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and

ever. Amen.