PAUL’S PLEA FOR UNITY

Ephesians 4:1-6

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    The Bible has a lot to say about the unity of believers (John 17:20-22; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:1-4; Phil. 1:27, 2:2, 3:16).

 

B.      It is called oneness, sameness, and likemindedness in addition to unity.

 

C.     The religious world does not understand unity.

1.      Some of the divisive concepts of denominationalism:

a.      It promotes the concept of "unity-in-diversity."

b.      It advocates that we "go along" in order to "get along."

c.       It overlooks all differences except faith in Jesus Christ.

d.      It does not believe that we can ever unite upon doctrine.

e.       It justifies division based on “different interpretations” of the Word of God.

2.      According to Jesus, they are supporting a system that is bound to fail (Matt. 12:25).

 

…Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.

 

D.    In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul makes an appeal for unity.

 

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

I.                   THE PERSON MAKING THE PLEA (Eph. 4:1a).

 

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord...

 

A.    This was the apostle Paul addressing the Ephesians (See 1:1).

 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ…

 

B.      At the time of writing, he was in prison for the cause of Christ.

1.      This was during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome.

2.      He had appealed to Ceasar after accusations made against him by the Jews (Acts 25:11).

3.      Paul was held for two years in Rome.  He had his own private house (Acts 28:30), but a Roman guard was with him at all times (Acts 28:16).

4.      It was during this period of time that Paul wrote what are known as “the prison epistles,” of which Ephesians was one of them.

 

C.     Paul had established the church in Ephesus.  Knowing their founder was now in prison and writing to them would cause them to pay close attention to his words.

II.                THE PLEA ITSELF (Eph. 4:1b)

 

...beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

 

A.    The begging: "beseech you"

1.      The word “beseech” literally means “to call near.”

2.      Paul called them near, wanting them to hear exactly what he wanted them to do.

3.      A grown man like Paul could not force these individuals to do anything.  However, he could seek to influence their hearts by begging them and imploring them in the actions he desired.

 

B.      The behavior: "walk worthy"

1.      The word walk involves the entirety of one’s Christian life.

2.      Paul wanted them to live in a worthy manner.

a.      The word can be defined as “appropriately” or “suitably.”

b.      Elsewhere in the New Testament, it is translated, “as becometh,” and “after a godly sort.”

3.      LESSONS: 

a.      There is a right way to live the Christian life.  According to Philippians 1:27, the right way to live is according to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

b.      If there is a right way to live the Christian life, there are also wrong ways to live it.  NOTE:  Man is not free to live anyway he so desires.

 

C.     The bidding: "the vocation wherewith ye are called"

1.      A vocation is a calling, a labor, a work.

2.      As Christians, we are to attend to the business of the Father (Luke 2:49).

a.      It should be the most important business of our lives.

b.      Paul exhorts Christians to involve yourselves in this business appropriately, suitably, and after a godly sort.

 

III.             THE PERSONAL TRAITS FOR UNITY (Eph. 4:2-3)

 

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

A.    Self:  lowliness

1.      Definition:

a.      A humiliation of mind

b.      A humble opinion of one’s self

c.       A deep sense of one’s littleness

d.      A modesty about one’s self

2.      Pride and self-exaltation will bring strife and division within the church.

 

B.      Strength:  meekness

1.      Strength comes in many forms:  personality, abilities, positions, wealth, etc.

2.      When individuals begin to exert their strength, problems often arise in the body of Christ.

3.      Meekness is defined as “strength under control.”  (Ex., a horse that has been tamed).

4.      Meekness is also defined as “a willingness to submit to authority.” 

C.     Suffering:  longsuffering

1.      God knows that when two or more people are together, there will be differences between them.

a.      Sometimes these differences put a strain on their relationship.

b.      We often feel that when we are with this person, we are “suffering.”

2.      For unity to prevail, we must be willing to suffer long with others.

3.      NOTE:  They may have to be willing to suffer long with me.

 

D.    Support:  forbearing one another in love

1.      The word “forebear” means “to hold up,” or “to support.”

2.      Our brothers and sisters go through all types of problems, struggles, difficulties, and challenges in life.

3.      We are supposed to be there to support them through their trials.

4.      The reason we do this is because we love them.

a.      We do not want to see them hurting.

b.      We do not want to see them doubting their faith.

c.       We do not want to see them depart from the faith.

5.      This is a difficult concept to put in practice for at last three main reasons.

a.      Most members of the church are not very involved with one another.  Some will only see their brethren once a week for an hour.

b.      Some members are very private in nature.  They will not share their struggles with others. 

c.       There is a fear in some that if they share their struggles with others that confidence will be violated and their challenges will be made known far and wide.

 

E.      Speed:  “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”

1.      The word “endeavoring” means “to use speed” or “to make haste.”

2.      It involves our willingness to use great diligence to make sure unity and peace prevail in the congregation.

3.      It should never be the desire of a person to disrupt and cause trouble in the church.

a.      We do not “pop off.”

b.      We do not “fly off the handle.”

c.       We do not “stir the pot.”

d.      We do not “seek to antagonize.”

e.       We do not “fabricate fallacies.”

f.        We do not “speak evil.”

g.      We do not “gossip” and “talebear.”

 

IV.             THE PLATFORMS OF UNITY (Eph. 4:4-6)

 

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

A.    These are often called the seven ones.

1.      One body: the unity of organization (1 Cor. 12:12)

 

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is Christ.

2.      One Spirit: the unity of revelation (2 Pet. 1:21)

 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

3.      One hope: the unity of expectation (Rom. 8:24-25)

 

For we are saved by hope:  but hope that is seen is not hope:  for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?  But if we hope that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 

4.      One Lord: the unity of authority (Luke 6:46)

 

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?

 

5.      One faith: the unity of belief (Jude 3)

 

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

 

6.      One baptism: the unity of practice (Matt. 28:19)

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

 

7.      One God: the unity of worship (John 4:24)

 

God is a Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

 

B.      Every one of these platforms has controversy associated with it.

1.      Satan knows what is needed for unity among God’s people.

2.      If we do not come to unity on these seven platforms of unity, division exists.

3.      Division is contrary to the Lord’s will (Ps. 133:1).

 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Unity is a "real" thing. When it exists, it can be seen.

 

B.      Just calling something "unity," does not make it unity.

 

C.     Unity is something that requires work, hard work. ("endeavoring")

1.      It requires the proper personal behaviors of God's people.

2.      It requires the Bible's teachings on the "seven ones."

 

D.    Unity is not impossible. In fact, Jesus prayed for it (John 17:20-23).