Unity of the Spirit

Text: Ephesians 4:1-3

I. Introduction

A. Bobbie the WonderDog[1]

B. Reunited with God

1.    Bobbie’s story pales in comparison to what God has done to reunite us with Him.

2.    Our passage this morning is designed to explain how we should respond to the lengths that God has gone to in order to redeem us.

3. Paul challenges us to walk in manner worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called. One thing that includes is the unity of the Spirit.

II. Unity of the Spirit

A. What is the unity of the Spirit?

1.    Paul reminded them that the
Spirit had given them what was necessary to be united to God.

a.    The Spirit is the Christians are given (1:13)

b.    The Spirit affords us to the Father (2:18)

c.    Assists in building us (the church) up into a dwelling place for God (2:22)

d.    Delivered the to the mystery of the gospel (3:5)

e.    Provides for the Christian (3:16)

f.     of the Spirit (6:17)

2.    In essence, unity of the Spirit is Paul’s way of saying that unity is found in walking (4:1) in the things of God.

3.    Just like we need ligaments to connect our muscle tissue to our bone for the purpose of stabilizing and proper movement so we need the Spirit to keep us connected to God and one another.

4.    The unity of the Spirit is what God has offered to the faithful.

5.    It is our connection to God to know we are His and belong to one another.

B. Achieving Unity of the Spirit

1.   

a.    Humility is about the attitude we have toward self.

b.    Humility was considered a negative trait in the 1^st century.

c.    Humility is not about allowing others to mistreat us.

d.    True humility is simply looking at ourselves in light of God’s great and and seeking to that to others.[2]

2.    The next traits are about our attitudes towards others.[3]

3.    /Meekness

a.    Gentleness is my rights by bringing my desires under control so that others may experience what is for them.

b.    Illustration: You may have experienced this when someone runs a traffic light. You have the right of way; it’s your turn, but if you proceed, both of your lives will be impacted negatively.

c.    Meekness is not weakness; it is a strength that allows everyone to benefit. (Matthew 5:5)

4.    Patience

a.    The Greek word makrothumia means that you are not easily provoked even by your opposition.

b.    It is so easy to react rather than respond when we do not agree or are wronged by someone, even in the church.

c.    Patience encourages us to rather than and risk harming someone’s walk in Christ.

i.     Galatians 5:22

ii.     Colossians 3:12

5.    Bearing with One Another in Love/

a.    As if to emphasize the first two traits, Paul reminds us to be tolerant with others’ .

b.    This is not about being tolerant of continuous sinful habits but reminding ourselves that we all have flaws that we are trying to work on. We are all works in progress. We are all a little broken.

c.    We all come from different walks of life. Our experiences, education, and environments are diverse. That diversity can be a strength if we come to understand each other; it can divide us if we don’t. (Colossians 3:13)

6.    Eager to Keep the Bond

a.    We are to seek to care for one another despite our diversity

b.    This eagerness will act in conjunction with a bond (fastener) of peace.

c.    The word for bond is like ligaments connecting bone and muscle.[4]
We hear quite a lot about athletes tearing their ACL or MCL. Both of those are
ligaments around the knee that help with the stability of the leg. If they are
damaged, movement is more challenging.

7.    Why must it be accomplished in the bond of peace?

a.    Peace and unity are two things granted to Christians; therefore, we should be agents of and .[5] (Ephesians 2:14-16)

b.    Jesus calls us to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).

c.    Unity is not something that is just to be preserved in Christians, but also observed by the world in the Christian’s actions.[6]

d.    Christians are to show the world the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

C. Challenges

1.    Unity is challenging because of our diversity, but our diversity is actually meant to be a part of our strength.

2.    The way we find unity is not through our own wisdom, compromise, or forcing uniformity. True unity is found in Christ!

III. Conclusion

A. Bobbie’s Story Continued

B. Invitation

1.    God desires for us to be united to Him. I can’t wait for that Day when we “begin” eternity with God.

2.    God desires for us to be united to one another because we need help along the way.

3.    This morning, do you need help?