Sermon Notes July 21, 2019 “An Appeal To Christian Unity” Ephesians 4:3-4

Introduction
Having just begun Paul’s practical instruction in this letter, we find that it divides into two main sections. First is an appeal to Christian unity in chapter 4. Second is an exhortation to moral purity. These are the two characteristics of God’s people, the twin effects of the salvation Jesus purchased with his blood: that we should be one and that we should be holy.

SPIRITUAL UNITY
Paul writes in verse 3 that we must ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ Notice that Paul does not tell us to create this unity. Instead, we are to ‘maintain’ it. The church’s true unity is a spiritual one and therefore is a unity based on the revealed truth of God’s Word. The union Paul is talking about is one created by the unifying presence of God’s Holy Spirit. It cannot be legislated or brought about by human organization.

INTERPRETING EPHESIANS 4:4-6
Some preliminary observations: Paul notes seven ‘ones’: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. The purpose of these verses is to proclaim the complete unity that characterizes God and his work and which thus demands unity among God’s people. Also noteworthy is that Paul organizes these seven ‘ones’ around the three persons of the Trinity, in keeping with his Trinitarian emphasis all through Ephesians.

ONE BODY: A CALL TO UNITY
Verse 4 works out the spiritual unity that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit. This presents the organic union of the church. Because each of us is indwelt by the same spirit, we have an essential unity. This means we have unity, but not uniformity. For this reason, it is a great mistake for churches to insist on or to pressure everyone to dress the same, listen to the same music, make the same educational choices etc. Unity with diversity brings beauty and glorifies God.

ONE SPIRIT: THE SOURCE OF UNITY
Paul says, ‘There is one body,’ and also ‘one Spirit.’ The reason and the way we are joined together in a body is our union with the Holy Spirit.

ONE HOPE: A CAUSE FOR UNITY
If we have believed in Jesus Christ, then he has not only paid the debt of our sins but has secured for us a place in eternal glory. Paul says, “Through Him we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). Whatever our present trials, whatever our present differences, we believers are united by a certain future that we will share in glory, a hope that is ours together in Christ. The presence of the Spirit now is the guarantee and foretaste of all that will be ours (Eph. 1:13-14).

CONCLUSION / THE BOND OF PEACE That is why it is so important that we believers exert ourselves; the idea of having a great sense of passion and urgency in verse 3 to ‘keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.’ The bond of peace is love. Paul said in Col. 3:14. ‘And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.’