Three Keys to Church Unity (Ephesians 4:1-3)

on the back of the one dollar bill a one dollar bill there is various artwork but in particular there is a picture of the Great Seal of the United States of America picture that Great Seal and that seal was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1776 it goes back a very long way and in the in the the Great Seal there there's a shield and on the shield there are 13 stripes and those 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies that were bound together and of course became the great nation that you and I are so privileged to live in the motto there on the Great Seal in Latin e pluribus unum out of many one out of many one but we live in a day and age in this country in which that motto is certainly tested isn't it we are a deeply divided nation I think the the probably the way that depicts that most graphically is the whole blue state red state sort of thing right you look at a map of the United States and and you look and you see how these color-coded states sort of line up and you know I don't know I don't know whether by the grace of God we're ever going to be able to overcome the divisions that are currently racking this nation they are deep and they are profound they're there at the at the levels of world views and in a sense they are they are unreconciled Bowl so I don't know where it's this is all going none of us know I mean it's possible we could descend into a into a situation of bickering and balkanization that would make it a very difficult place to live or maybe God in His mercy and grace and through his Providence may somehow bring things together and and he might grant us many more decades we just don't know but regardless of whether our political system can or will ever repair the breaches and and be able to function again the church it's essential for the church that we not adopt the spirit of the age that we do not descend into partisan bickering disunity and divisions local churches cannot afford to be torn apart by the very people whom Christ has redeemed and placed together in a body and John chapter 17 and verses 2223 Jesus there in his high priestly prayer he prays that God the Father would unify everyone who believes in Jesus according to the message of the Apostles so that the world would observe the unity of those early believers and subsequent generations and and by observing their love and unity for one another that they would conclude that indeed Jesus was the savior of the world now that spiritual reality that the fulfillment of Jesus prayer came to pass at Pentecost when the Spirit came and and the church was birthed and by regeneration men and women from every tribe tongue people and nation were immersed together into one body of Christ Jesus prayer was answered we we are one it's a theological it's a spiritual reality and yet inward reality of the unity of all true believers is often obscured at the practical level because of bickering because of divisive nassif disunity that can rack a local body and this is not anything new it is it has plagued the church since its inception one of the dominant themes certainly of the New Testament is the issue of unity in the church you can find it in almost every one of the epistles so here we are at the basically at the beginning of the year 2013 right where we're taking a break from our exposition of Matthew's Gospel we were at a very nice logical breaking point here before the Christmas holidays and before we turn back to Matthew again I want to take some time and address a number of issues that are on my heart and I think are important for us to be reminded of as we begin the year together and these are these are topics and issues that are that are just not going to naturally come up in Matthew's Gospel anytime soon so last week we address the issue of Christian hospitality this morning I want to address the issue of Christian unity now by God's grace we we just commissioned last Sunday a member of this body she flies out around midnight tonight to travel 10,000 miles halfway around the globe to arrive at a remote part of the world that the vast majority of us will never ever see or set foot on and she goes there for the Gospels sake she goes there to translate the scriptures into a language that yet doesn't even exist in any written form she goes there to be part of a church planting team that by the grace of God will see many men and women boys and girls come to faith in Lord Jesus Christ and a local church be established and that more citizens of God's great kingdom be birthed but if she is going to be successful in this hard task she is dependent upon us here at home we are the ones that that hold the Rope we are the bull a team as it were and so our unity is of critical importance to the success of her mission we are very much a part of what the Lord will be doing through her in the years to come if the Great Commission is is to be accomplished at least are in our portion of the vineyard the unity of his local church is essential it's essential the Great Commission will be stalled the Great Commission will be it'll be hindered it'll be it'll it'll be restrained by a local church they can't get along now I praise God that we don't have problems right now so this is not a message broad as a corrective to some problem and if you're new with us this morning don't be sitting there thinking what in the world that I just walk into right this is this church gotta have a division in front of me no no no no we are experiencing really an amazing season of the grace of God in our lives but we must not rest on that we must not somehow think we're immune to the temptations to disunity and division that have wracked the local church since the birth of the church these kinds of these kinds of problems are always close at hand the enemy the evil want prowls about seeking to devour and so we need to hear these things because we need to be reminded of the importance you know what a church is in Division it is a stench in the local community that you know that it's not like that that somehow he can be can be constrained inside the four walls of the building you know what we're just gonna you know Duke it out here and nobody else has to know you kidding me the local community is very much aware when there's problems in a church and you know sometimes it can take years for for a church to overcome its reputation with regard to the to the unbelieving community and at large as they look on they can it can hinder he can set things back for years because Christians can't seem to get along churches in a that are experiencing division and and disunity they it saps the the spiritual energy of the of the leadership of the shepherds of the congregation it drains them and it makes them vulnerable to the attacks of Satan himself churches that can't get along hinder evangelistic and and and and church planting and missionary endeavors even cross culturally and around the globe you know the church planters that have gone out from this church the the the missionaries that have gone out from the church they are relying upon us we are the home base where the mother ship as someone said to me and they're out in a section of the battlefield in which the combat is in spiritual combat is particularly intense and they're and they're relying on us back home here to keep the supply lines open to keep the communications open to continue to pray on their behalf and to meet their needs very dependent upon us and so when when a local church becomes divided or experiences disunity then that missionary endeavor gets gets held back but missionaries say to us that that you know what when they're in the field and their home church goes through a split they feel they feel sort of like the children of a divorce they're they're forced into a position where they they feel like they have to they've got these divided loyalties they don't know who's right who's wrong and they're hearing things and they feel very vulnerable and all of that it can hinder the Great Commission in significant ways open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4 if you're not there already visions chapter 4 this letter written by the Apostle Paul it's one of what is known as his prison epistles is written during his confinement in Rome the the confinement that is narrated for us in the last chapters of the book of Acts all wrote several letters or epistles while in that Roman imprisonment and Ephesians is one of them this letter in many think is is that what they would call a circular letter that is that it was designed to go to a number of different local congregations and to and to address with them some very important issues that were on the heart of the Apostle Paul if that is indeed true that is a circular letter and it's my persuasion that it that it is or was what would happen is that is that in each church received it would sort of insert themselves into the greeting so looking at chapter 1 verse 1 Paul if it were to come here would be Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the Saints who are at Upland in who are faithful in Christ Jesus and then he would begin to address with us the things that he wants us to know the things he wants us to remember this is a very this is a very unique sort of letter because this letter is really all about the church this is a letter that addresses that this incredible work of God called the church and it's it divides very nicely very easily and it's six chapters or first three chapters are sort of the theology of the church and how it came to be and what it is and then chapters four five and six talk about how to live as part of that church so it's a it's a letter that is eminently practical and yet it's a letter that is that is profoundly theological and it addresses and deals with with themes that are that absolutely are the deep end of the pool as it were peering and prying into the mysteries of God and into places where there's you know there's no way we're going to exhaust his riches it's just a fantastic letter so I want to look this morning with you and the first three verses of chapter four the first three verses of chapter four and you know it's funny because as I was preparing this message the Lord just really impressed it upon my heart that when I finish with Matthew if I'm still alive this is going to be the next book of the New Testament that I'm gonna preach okay so all you ages some 15 and under okay yeah this is what I'm gonna be preaching when you get to be old like me if I'm still alive there's a fantastic book just a fantastic book so this morning the first three verses chapter four and here in these three verses the Apostle Paul he gives us three keys to unity so I'm gonna lift out of it three keys to unity in the local church so that we may maximize our effectiveness in pursuit of the Great Commission it's not about unity just so we can all be happy you know in our little holy huddle it's purposes really are much more profound than that it is it is unity that is essential to the Great Commission living and work so this is an important topic so there are three keys here in the text number one first key remember the unity remember remember that unity is created through the gospel that's the first thing something we need to remember we need to remember that unity is created through the gospel verse 1 therefore I the prisoner of the Lord in plural earthy of the calling with which you have been called stop there now we've said it many many times and will continue to do so we see the word therefore and we ask ourselves what is it therefore that's rights ok what is it therefore this conjunction that is given to us here is is designed to cause us to stop to think to ponder to evaluate something that has proceeded because there are going to be conclusions drawn from that which has preceded it now this is not an ordinary therefore this is an important therefore and it's and it's it's the important and the most important therefore in the book because it is the hinge pin of the book here in this verse verse 1 chapter 4 the the whole book turns and hinges moving from profound incredible theology of redemption to the to the practical out working of that theology in the day to day life we move from how we became Christians in chapters 1 2 3 to how we should live as Christians in chapters 4 5 and 6 we move from doctrine chapters one two and three to duty chapters four five and six this is a very very important point we are as Paul says verse one and he implores them he urges them we are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling we are to we're to walk in a worthy manner we're to walk in a worthy manner in fact you know you could you could look at verse one and you could say that this is basically the topic sentence for the rest of the book the rest of the book of Ephesians will be fleshing out what it means to walk worthy how do I walk worthy well I'm glad you asked and then the rest of the book will fill it in for you to walk to walk it's a it's an interesting verb here that he Paul gives to us he uses it a lot it's she was 32 times in the New Testament by Paul himself it's used a number of times here in the in the back half of of this epistle and and a word walk is it's a metaphorical kind of word and it basically means how do you conduct yourself in life your lifestyle to walk it can be used positively it can be used negatively the word itself doesn't supply that the context tells you whether it's to conduct yourself in a positive way conduct yourself in a negative way to live in a positive lifestyle to live in a negative lifestyle the context determines Paul's using it here and without lost in the technicalities of Greek he's using it you know in a way that basically says that they are to change their conduct from the way they have previously been living there's there's a change that needs to occur for them and they are to conduct themselves how in a worthy manner you see it in a worthy manner in a suitable manner the advert here literally it means to to bring up the other beam of the scales kind of interesting thought you know you imagine a a balance scale right you've seen them of this like two pans hanging on a on this balance beam and what he's saying is to walk worthy is to is to bring this thing into balance to bring your lifestyle to bring your con your conduct into balance into balance with what into balance with who you are in Christ to begin to live out the theological reality of of your Redemption is what he is saying live like what you are would be an idiomatic translation as I said chapters four five and six is an amplification of what it means to to bring your life into balance to live out the Christian reality and the first discussion of of what it means to bring your life into balance is going to focus on the topic of unity it begins in verse 2 of chapter four it runs all the way through verse 16 unity to walk worthy is to walk in unity to fail to walk in unity is to walk in an unworthy manner that's Paul's whole argument here walk in a manner worthy verse one worthy what worthy of the calling with which you have been called now use of the word calling hear it and immediately causes us to reflect back on all that has been explained in the first three chapters it is it is a reference to God's amazing sovereign work of redemption in which he reaches out to fallen sinners and brings them to become children of himself cleansing them from their sin through the sacrifice of his own son Jesus Christ chapter 2 verse 1 we Paul says to us we were once dead in our sins verse 3 same chapter we were by nature children of Wrath we were in that place in which we were absolutely hopeless and helpless and under the just condemnation of God but God in His mercy reached out to us through the gospel of Jesus Christ and save their souls he made us new it is God's initiative that saves chapter 2 verses 8 through 10 Paul says it this way for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not as a result of works why so that no one may boast so that no one may boast 35 years ago the grace of God reached out to me and transformed an an arrogant young atheist completely turned my life upside down and I know that if and if you're a child of God here this morning you have your testimony to where the grace of God met you in your sin and your in your and the depth of of your imprisonment to depravity and God opened your eyes to the beauty of Christ your heart longed for him you ran to him by faith you cling to him now he is your Savior amen the calling of God but outlines this calling for us and in these first three chapters in man we could we could get lost here okay and we're not going to but but just to recount some of his expressions of the incredible calling of God in the lives of these Ephesians and and beloved in in our last two so for example in in chapter 1 verses 3 to 14 Paul speaks about the the blessings of our personal salvation that came to us through the sacrifice of Christ having been predestined to adoption through Christ as very sons of God Paul speaks about how God has called us into a spiritual union the last half of chapter one a spiritual union with the resurrected and exalted Jesus Christ chapter two verse six we are in the heavenlies with this exalted one and that we might share his riches and then we might share his rule someday over the angelic realm God has called us we're told chapter two verses 11 to 16 in chapter 3 verse 6 he has called us into one new spiritual body a body that is comprised of Jew and Gentile having reconciled us both to himself and to each other through Jesus Christ God has called us chapter 2 verses 18 to 22 into his household constituting us a new temple in which the Spirit dwells and through who that spirit we have access to God the Father God has called us chapter 3 verses 3 to 6 into the church this amazing entity previously unknown the Apostle Paul says to the to the Saints of old but now having been revealed is the depository of the manifold wisdom of God a wisdom on display Paul says to the angelic realm what is this wisdom it is simply this that God took his enemies and he made them his children and he reconciled them to himself and he reconciled them to each other and he has placed them together into this new spiritual entity called the church and the angelic realm is looking on and they're going I can't believe what we're seeing it can only be to the praise the glory of His grace God has graciously called us into union with Christ and through him and it was very presence he has lavished his blessings on us but along with blessings comes Wyatt responsibilities responsibilities that's how God works did you know that with great blessing comes great responsibilities we have as the redeemed of God we have a solemn responsibility to live together as a redeemed people in community before a watching world that is what it means to walk worthy that is what it means to to bring up the balance beam to put things in proper perspective beloved it is the gospel that creates our unity it is the gospel that creates our unity but it is spirit empowered living that enables us to manifest that unity to a watching world spirit empowered living it is not easy is it there are many foes arrayed against us there is the world the flesh and the devil and it is all arrayed against us and it is all seeking to crush and crack and fracture and break and separate that which God has made as one a church we just you can mark this down take it to the bank a church that is experiencing disunity a church that is experiencing division a church that is that is going through some sort of split is a church that has lost sight of the gospel it is a church that has failed to remember who they are in Christ and what he has done for them yet a church that is in unity operating together is a church that can only operate that way by being focused on the gospel that's why Paul starts like this remember the gospel remember the gospel because that is the source of your unity it is what it creates your unity this is not some sociological phenomena this is not just let's get a bunch of people together who look alike and talk alike and and vote alike and eat the same kinds of food and and go to the same kinds of movies and and dress the same way and then we've got unity nonsense there is no glory to God in that the glory to God comes and lets get people that are as different as possible with all kinds of natural reasons for them to hate each other and then let's put them together in a family and watch them love one another authentically and the world will look on and they'll go man that is crazy what is it with you people Jesus says you'll know the world will know you are my disciples by your what by your love one for another love one for another unity is created through the gospel 2nd key second key we need to recognize so we had to remember something now we need to recognize something we need to recognize that unity is cultivated through loving tolerance we need to recognize that unity is cultivated through loving tolerance now weird if we are to walk in a worthy manner that is if we are to live like who we really are it is necessary that there are certain graces that be operative in our life it is a spiritual endeavor it is not a natural thing everything in the natural man goes against unity so in order to walk in unity the Spirit of God must be operative and certain graces must be in place and these are graces that are that are the product of a light yielded to the Spirit of God how do you walk in unity with one another it is by yielding yourself to the Spirit of God the spirit of unity and because it is not natural to the to the to the unredeemed man it is not natural to even to the to the sinner saved by grace it is something that requires a constant cultivation see let me let me try to illustrate it this way I am naturally good at growing weeds in my front garden I'll have to work at it I don't get up in the morning and think about okay how am I gonna get some weeds to grow I don't have to do really anything other than when I walk out to my car just make sure I don't look that way and they come right they just come but if I want good-looking flowers in my front garden I've got to be constantly cultivating constantly cultivating it's the only way they'll grow and with unity in the church it has to be constantly cultivated too or it will not grow the weeds will grow we don't have to worry about the weeds they always grow but unity requires a constant cultivation and it's a spiritual cultivation now Paul lists three Grace's for share verse two it was three Grace's for us here and the first two are connected together with the preposition with and then there is that there is the third grace given here called patience he calls it and that receives a further explanation in the final clause of the verse so just grammatically that's how it's structured three graces verse two can did with the preposition third grace with further elaboration at the end of the verse so the first grace that that Paul talks about here is humility with all humility he says with all humility and gentleness with patience showing tolerance for one another in love but humility is the first grace that the Apostle Paul focuses on that is necessary for unity necessary for unity unity will not grow in an atmosphere of pride it will not grow in an atmosphere of pride unity will only flourish in an atmosphere of humility in an atmosphere of humility now humility is one of those really really interesting words it mean literally lowliness of mind lowliness of mind to to think less of yourself and in the secular Greek world of Paul's day humility was thought of in a very derogatory way because for the Greek mind they were focused on their their democracy right every man's a citizen and as we live in this Democratic City States and I've got my rights and you know and if we don't like the way the government is we just vote them out and and all of that sort of stuff and so that's the that's the world of pride and it's the opposite of the world of humility humility for the for the Greek it can connotated the idea of of servanthood and nobody wants to be a servant everybody wants to be the boss right let's uh let's play house I'm dad rise now how it begins you know and I'm mom and then your little kid you little siblings you make them know the kids right so you can boss them around nobody says let's play house I'm the baby right so over the Greeks no humility absolutely not that's a nassima but it's interesting because for the Christian that which was despised by the unbelieving secular world of the Greek becomes a primary virtue that amazing humility is elevated all through the New Testament because it is it is a characteristic of Christ himself it is to to assume the towel of a slave I mean Jesus says it himself in mark chapter 10 in verse 45 right for even the Son of man did not come to be served but to what to serve and to give his life a ransom for many you want to emulate the Son of Man then you you don't jockey for position you know if Jesus says that and in the context of of two disciples who want to sit at their left and right hand remember they get their mother to come and you know he'll try to get in good with him and the rest of the disciples are really angry when they hear about it and they're not angry because they're all humble they're angry because these two guys got to the front of the line and got mom to you know ask a favor for them they're all wanting to sit at the right and left hand they're all about power and authority and being served and Jesus says man it's completely different that is that is a absolutely long wrong way to look at it it's about serving humility is produced by a right view of God and a right view of yourself when you see God for who he really is and what he is really done and then you see yourself for who you really are and what you have really done and what you deserve in hell and yet when you have been given through Christ then humility is the only the only logical response so humility is is one of those graces that is necessary for our unity gentleness Paul says that's another one this word gentleness is it's a kind of a similar meaning to humility has the ideal of idea of mildness as opposed to roughness contrast their gentleness is a result according to Galatians chapter 5 it's a result of living a spirit yielded life and is a fruit of the Spirit of God in a person's life and and and gentleness should not be fused with weakness should not be confused with weakness in fact Jesus himself is he is called to one who is who is gentle and humble right Matthew chapter 11 verse 29 but Jesus was anything but weak anything but weak now gentleness implies the exercise of self-control it applies the exhibiting of a conscious choice not to use our power to retaliate that's what it means to be gentle it is consciously refraining from retaliation in the face of provocation when wronged the gentle person does not seek revenge but without complaining bears up under the irritations or the faults or even the injuries of other people that's what a gentle person does again Jesus says our great illustration and role model was silent as a sheep before it's Shearer's right and Peter picks up on that and says you need to be like Jesus when you are treated unjustly you need to be like Jesus you need to patiently and quietly endure it in trusting yourself to God but how hard that is right everything you know screams out I got my rights I will not be treated this way who do you think you are do you know who I am yeah you're a sinner that's all you are it's a sinner don't ever by the way don't ever ask God to give you what you deserve just a little kind of that's free of charge don't ever ask him to give you what you deserve you always want mercy okay you want you want mercy you don't want you deserve those knows Paul says here in back verse two with all humility and and you could read it this way and all gentleness the adjective all it modifies both hearing and it just it speaks up to the highest degree and the fullness the greatest extent with the greatest humility and gentleness possible through the Spirit of God patience patience there it is yeah we see it patience verse two patience lord give me patience and give it to me now Oh pastor I never pray for patience coz if you do that you know God's gonna send troubles on you maybe if we really believe it is the fruit of the Spirit it is the gift of God then it is it is an essential characteristic for a child of God then we should be praying for patience we should be praying for it macaroon Mia is that is the Greek word and I only say that because I'm gonna refer back to that in a second here but but patience what is it what is patience there's an interesting illustration in it we find it in Exodus chapter 34 in verse 6 it's kind of an interesting place to go and you're thinking about patience there's an essential virtue that Paul saying here and it appears where God is revealing his name to Moses now you remember this this situation here where Moses says Lord show me your glory right and he says okay you know basically no one can see my glory and live but this is what I'm gonna do on put you in a cleft of a rock you know cover you with my hand I'm gonna pass by you and I'm gonna just speak my name in your presence and that's what you get because that's all you could handle and so God does that and in chapter 34 of Exodus here six and seven then the Lord passed by in front of him that is Moses and he proclaimed the Lord this is the name of the Lord the Lord the Lord God compassionate and gracious slow to anger notice it it's underlined we'll come back to it and abounding and loving-kindness and truth who keeps loving-kindness for thousands who forgives iniquity transgression and sin yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished visiting the iniquity of father's on the children and even on the grandchildren third and fourth generations but what I want you to see is that little highlighted with a little underlying section slow to anger in the Greek translation of the Old Testament it is the same Greek word patience patience what is the what is the essential characteristic of patience it is to be slow to anger slow to anger it is a fruit of the Spirit and it is seen when we make allowance for other people's shortcomings and we endure their wrongs rather than flying into a rage and seek to punish them or or extract vengeance from them because of the provocation when we hold back when we are slow to anger we are patient we're being patient like God is patient now the practical expression of this is the end clause here in verse two the practical expression of the patience is showing tolerance for one another in love showing tolerance bearing up enduring with respect to people and things same Greek word used over in Colossians chapter 3 verse 13 to bear with those in the assembly the verb is always used and what's called the middle voice in the Greek in it and it basically means that that we are part of the action of the verb and so and so what it means is to hold yourself back from one another that's what it means to tolerate to hold yourself back from one another simply put were to tolerate one another's differences we're to patiently endure one another's foibles and provocations or not to lash out in anger or not to seek revenge now how do we do it you just sort of grit your teeth and just you know kind of one of these things like castor oil you know when you're a kid it's good for you so take it swallow it is that well is that how it's done is is that what it means to have tolerance for one another is just so well put my fist through the wall and wow that was patient no mm-hmm tolerance for one another looking it into the verse how in love in love translated by love or with love love it's the it's what God has poured out into our hearts and enables us to to be patient with one another to be gentle to be humble with one another and to hold back the tolerate one another it is love for Christ and it is consequently love for one another no trying to illustrate all this a little story for you here kind of a mission story Charles Spurgeon great Baptist preacher of 19th century he tells this in his book entitled lectures to my students he tells the story of a young man who desire to go to India as a missionary with the London Missionary Society mr. Wilks was appointed to consider the young man's fitness for such a post so he wrote to the young man and told him to call on him at 6 o'clock the next morning although the applicant lived many miles off he was at mr. Wilks house punctually at 6 a.m. and was ushered into the drawing-room be cool to have a house of the drawing-room don't you think well the young man waited and he waited and he waited wonderingly but patiently and finally at mid morning and mr. Wilks entered into the room without apology mr. Wilks began well young man so you want to be a missionary yes sir I do do you love the Lord Jesus Christ yes sir I certainly do and do you have any education yes there little well now we'll try you can you spell cat the young man looked confused he hardly knew how to answer so preposterous a question his mind evidently halting between indignation and submission but but in a moment he replied steadily see a tea can be good said mr. Willis now can you spell dog young man was stunned but he replied D Oh G dog well that's right I see that that that you will do well in your spelling now for your arithmetic how much is two times two the patient youth gave the right reply and then was dismissed interview over later mr. Wilks gave his report to the committee meeting he said I have cordially recommended that young I cordially recommend that young man his testimony in character I have duly examined I tried his self-denial and he was up early in the morning I tried his patience by keeping him waiting I tried his humility and temper by insulting his intelligence he'll do fine he'll do fine and the missions filled now Spurgeon goes on to to add in in lectures to my students he's not necessarily recommending this as an interview process but it does get at something doesn't it how we would bristle if someone were to treat us like that who they think they are don't they know who I am I am God's chosen elect servant they're gonna do great things for God I need to be treated with respect your lowly worm saved by grace and thing that good accomplished through your ministry is all to the glory of God none of it's yours none of it remember that unity is created through the gospel second recognize that unity is cultivated through loving tolerance third third key third key embrace that has embraced the reality that unity is kept through hard work embrace the reality that unity is kept through hard work verse 3 Paul says being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace diligence I'm sure my children were sick and tired of hearing their mother and father talked about being diligent diligence it means to work hard it means to be busy it means to be eager it means to make haste it means to spare no effort how countercultural is that huh being diligent what to preserve do you see that not to create unity to preserve unity what unity the unity that God created through the gospel to keep it to maintain it to preserve it something that is already in existence it is a unity that is produced by the Spirit of God but we have a role to play beloved and it's in maintaining its its physical visibility but the world can see the reality that is true spiritually or to live and the conductor's ways in our lives in such a way that we do not contradict what the gospel says is true to do so is to insult the Spirit of God and is a very serious offence you know that's why the Apostle Paul speaks so sharply to the Corinthian assembly in first Corinthians this is because that local body is completely shredded by disunity and divisions they were they were divided over everything well you love that teaching in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 right we read it often when we come together to take the Lord's table together right that is given that teaching and instruction is given in the context of a church that is it is in disarray and Paul is a very very strict warning there about not partaking of the elements if you do not discern the body rightly what does that mean it means to understand that this body was put together by the Spirit of God because of the blood of Christ and so when you take of the bread and the cup you are proclaiming what Christ has done and so if you put that in your mouth when your life by its actions and attitudes contradicts what is true the Apostle Paul says you are in danger speaks to the Corinthian assembly he says listen some are dead so we're sick because they have they have committed such a horrible offence against the Spirit of God now there's no loss of salvation there we're not talking about that but but this is something that God takes very very seriously he warns in 1st Corinthians 3 about those who would divide the body and there is a very severe judgment work hard he says verse 3 work hard to preserve to maintain to protect the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace probably better translated the bond which is peace the bond which is peace peace is the glue that's holding it all together it enables us to give that visible representation of the spiritual reality that we are one in Christ reconciled to God through Christ and reconciled to each other through Christ all right in a few minutes we have left how do we do this what's that what are some practical ways just some practical ways to to work hard at preserving unity here they are just got a few of them for you number one commit yourself personally to regular and ongoing prayer for the unity of the local church make it are a frequent prayer topic on your prayer list pray for the unity of this body pray that the the hurts and offenses the slights and the oversights could be covered over in love love covers a multitude of sins Peter says pray that you would cover over other people's slights and insults commit yourself to prayer second discipline your mind to remember the gospel and the ugliness of sin from which God has saved you and be truly thankful discipline yourself to think about the gospel and its implications for you you know he who has been forgiven much forgives much he who has been forgiven little forgives little have you are if you're having trouble forgiving a brother or a sister or their offense against you you need to take a good hard look because I would suggest to you that it's likely that you are under estimating what God has forgiven you in Christ we hear from Spurgeon again another quote I have this on the the desktop of my computer I have it under a little title it says when facing accusations it says his brother if any man thinks ill of you do not be angry with him for you are worse than he thinks you to be if he charges you falsely on some point yet be satisfied for if he knew you better he might change the accusation and you would be no gainer by the correction if you have your moral portrait painted and it is ugly be satisfied for it only needs a few blacker touches and it would be still nearer the truth only Spurgeon can say things like that right man but it has been helpful to me through the years it has been helpful just to realign my thinking with regard to the gospel and who I really am do you know who I am yeah man you are a wicked sinner saved by grace nothing more nothing more third there do not be quick to assert your rights do not be quick to assert your rights but but seek to serve rather than be served fourth make any make every effort to to reconcile damaged relationships before they damage the health and unity of the body this just that we talked about this when we were on the Sermon on the Mount right this is just an application in Matthew 5 listen if you know your brother has something against you your to leave Jesus says your sacrifice right there at the altar and your to go and to be reconciled to your brother and then come there's an active responsibility that we have so make every effort Paul says over in Romans 12 verse 18 you know as far as it lies with you be at peace with all men sometimes it's not possible to be a peace with someone but we need to make every effort every effort to be a peace this don't take communion do not take communion if you know that you're out of fellowship with someone in this body do not take the lord's table that way don't think so lightly of the blood of the Son of God that you would take of those elements that that are designed to celebrate and proclaim our unity when you know you got a problem with someone you need to go and get it right need to go and get it right all there's much more we could say to be sure you know that's what a preacher says when they need run out of notes you know that I can see much more on this topic but I won't this is critical for us this is critical God is doing some amazing things here at Foothill just amazing things okay but it's fragile we often talk at the I'm on the staff that the you know the unity of a local church is like a veneer it's only about that thick it can get broken so easily hey if you're here this morning and you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ not in a personal way I mean you might know about him I know of him you might know a lot of lot of information but but you don't know him you are not known by him you were not in a saving relationship or the very son of God then you know you can be that today you will humble your heart before Christ right where you see it we'll pray here in a minute and while I'm praying you just you call out to Christ you say Jesus I know it there's no denying it I know that I am a sinner right I know that I have broken the law of God in thought word indeed I know I deserve condemnation but I also know that you came to die on a cross to save sinners just like me and then it the Bible says that if I will call out to you in faith if I will turn from my sin and and flee to the cross of Christ by faith confessing my sin in my desire to now be saved and to live for your glory Jesus may you'll save me you'll save me you'll transform me you will you will plunge me into the body of Christ my entire world will be flipped upside down beloved it happened to me 35 years ago you can't imagine the change yeah you probably could because you know the change in your life right if you do not know Jesus this morning I urge you come to him in faith let's pray father thank you thank you for our time together this morning like every week it just seems to go so fast we've gathered here together and we have sung of your praise and glory or have recounted the great work in Christ read the scriptures prayed preached sung given we've done it all our Father not out of obligation or duty because but because of our hearts they're just filled overflowing with love for Jesus Christ he is indeed our Savior and our friend our Father I pray this morning for that one who was here who has yet to become the friend of Christ and Lord I pray that your spirit would move even now in their hearts strip away the blinders unblock those deaf ears enable them to to believe see the beauty of Christ save their souls we pray in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Foothill Bible Church

Views: 15,128

Rating: 4.5294118 out of 5

Keywords: church unity, the great commission, walk in a manner, worthy of the calling, dead in our trespasses, hard work, the bond of peace, ephesians 4:1-3, john 17:20-23, 1 corinthians 11:18, john 13:35, hebrews 13:17, ephesians 4:1, ephesians 2:8-10, galatians 5:23, matthew 11:29, exodus 34:6, colossians 3:13, Jesus Christ, Foothill Bible Church

Id: w168ip9W71Y

Length: 60min 58sec (3658 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 24 2013