A sermon by Jeremy Isaac on Ephesians 4:1-6
Hot Springs Reformed Church · Hot Springs, SD
Introduction: Unity Is Harder Than It Sounds
You can open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4.
Last week we began our study of Christian unity. We all know that unity among believers is a good thing. In fact, we’ll sing Psalm 133 at the end of the sermon today: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” It’s easy to sing a song, or to say we should be unified. It’s much harder to know what that looks like, and harder still to actually do it. Being unified in the face of normal, everyday interpersonal messiness is hard at times. Maintaining unity when we are sinned against is certainly difficult. And being unified in spite of theological differences can certainly be complicated. But that is the unity we are called to.
As we study this, I have no doubt God will give us opportunities to practice it in the coming weeks. It’s been interesting, just the things that have arisen in the last couple weeks personally, opportunities to actually put what we’re studying into practice. I say that to encourage you: as we go through this, take it to heart and consider it, and then, when God gives you opportunities to practice it, be ready. Because He may.
I said last week that our goal for this series was to understand what unity actually is (to get past the lazy platitudes and understand what God is calling us to) and also to know practically how we should conduct ourselves in pursuit of that unity. We still haven’t nailed down a tight definition for our purposes; we may get to that next week. But today we’ll talk about more of the practical side: how we should conduct ourselves as we pursue unity. And I think that will also help us start to see the vision of what that unity actually looks like.
So let’s begin by reading our passage, just the first six verses of Ephesians 4.
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1–6
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Review: The Requirements for Unity
Our focus today is verse 2. But before we dive in, let me very briefly recap last week, when we looked at the requirements for Christian unity.
Unity requires a calling, a mission of sorts. Verse 1 reads, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” We need a common mission in order to have unity. This is why we spent time a few months ago on the dominion mandate and the Great Commission: it is only when the church understands this divine mandate that practical unity becomes possible, because we are actually working together toward something. In Philippians 1:27, Paul says “with one mind” (that is, unity) “striving together for the faith of the gospel.” And we noted that our view of last things, our eschatology, makes this even more important. If we believe the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, and that this will happen through His church, not in spite of His church, then obviously we need unity, and obviously He intends for there to be unity in order for that to come to pass.
Unity requires diligence. In verse 3 he says, “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit.” It’s hard work. After all, you don’t really need diligence for things that are easy.
Unity requires preservation. We are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. This was our third point last week. We already have unity in an objective sense. God is already building us into one temple; He is already building us into one body. That’s the objective reality, and that’s why we are told to preserve it. Unfortunately, we don’t always act like it, and that is what we are called to do. And there is still an element of striving toward greater unity and toward actually demonstrating that unity. We see that in verse 13, where Paul says, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith.” So in one sense we are still striving, seeking to attain a greater unity of the faith. But at the core, we are seeking to preserve a unity that is already there.
Unity requires truth. Verse 13 again: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” Unity must be based on actual truth. Many people wrongly assume we achieve unity by subtraction, that we just take away the things we disagree about so we can have unity. But it is only by focusing on the truth that we can have unity. Doctrinal minimalism, as we called it, does the opposite: it takes away opportunities for unity. You can’t unite around nothing.
The absence of conflict is not unity
And I’d like to note something here that I don’t think I said very clearly last week: the absence of conflict is not the same thing as unity. It’s a good place to start. If you are unified, there shouldn’t be conflict. But simply to equate the two would be simplistic. You may not have conflict because you’re simply apathetic, or because self-interest has motivated you to avoid it. The lack of conflict does not mean unity. At times we may need simply to avoid conflict in order to preserve the opportunity for unity. But the absence of conflict is not the actual goal. The goal is unity.
So today we move to verse 2, and we’ll look at what I’ve called the tools of unity. (I think I mentioned this last week.) Next week we’ll get to the doctrines of unity. If you’re keeping notes, there are four points.
1. Humility
Point number one is humility. If you have the King James, it may read lowliness. Humility is, to use that word, a lowliness of mind that values others above oneself. It is a sense of our own moral littleness.
The word all precedes humility as well: “with all humility.” I think this is expressed well in the NIV. I don’t quote the NIV often, but here it renders it “be completely humble,” which I think is a good explanation of what’s being said.
In Philippians 2:3–5, Paul explains to the Philippians what humility looks like:
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
And of course, we know this was the attitude of Jesus, who expressed humility many times, perhaps most notably in John 13, when He washed the disciples’ feet, though there are many other examples we could cite.
Abram and Lot
But in an effort to give us a picture of what this looks like, I thought it would be good to go back to Genesis. You can turn there if you’d like: Genesis 13. We have a good example of humility here, I believe. I think it’s helpful at times to find narrative examples of what we’re trying to understand, because they tend to be easier for us to grasp than a bunch of words and definitions. So we’ll try to do that for each of the points today.
Here we have the account of Abram and Lot. I’ll read a few verses, Genesis 13:5 and following:
Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me: if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:5–9)
This is an excellent example of humility on the part of Abram. As their households grew, conflict arose between them, between their herdsmen. And Abram, as the elder and as the recipient of the promise, had every right to choose his territory first. Instead, he gave Lot the choice. Lot was his nephew. And by deferring to his nephew, Abram avoided the family war that could have followed, and preserved the unity of his clan.
By the way, to tie this back to last week: notice that they were already united as a family. There was already unity there, objectively speaking; it was a matter of preserving the unity that was already there. And notice that unity didn’t necessarily mean joining together, either. In this case, unity actually involved each party having its own space, of sorts. Abram didn’t say, “Let’s just take all the sheep, mix them together, and work it out.” He gave Lot his space, let Lot choose, and then took what was left.
When humility comes into play
I’m saying this in contrast to our next point, which is gentleness: humility tends to come into play when we’re wronged, or when we’re in the wrong. When we’re on the receiving end of some conflict, when we’re being corrected because we were wrong, or when someone sins against us, those are opportunities to demonstrate humility. Hold that in mind, because we’ll come back to it in a minute.
2. Gentleness
The second point is gentleness. Gentleness is strength under control. It is what the KJV calls meekness – not to be confused with weakness, but on the contrary – It’s strength or power that has been yielded to God and restrained toward others. Matthew 5:5:
“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Jesus is saying, “Keep your power under control. You’re already going to inherit the earth.”
This word for gentleness is used of an animal that is completely disciplined or controlled. Imagine it used of a draft animal, an ox there to plow the field, and you start to get the picture: there is tremendous strength in the animal, but it is, hopefully, under control. And this picture illuminates another verse, Matthew 11:28–30:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
The yoke is what goes over a team of two oxen. Jesus, in describing Himself as sharing the yoke with us, describes Himself as gentle: having strength and power, but using it in a way that is restrained and ultimately for our good.
When gentleness comes into play
This is where I want to go back and contrast gentleness with humility. Unlike humility, gentleness tends to come in when we are in the position of correcting, or in the position of initiating a conflict, perhaps even a necessary one. Let me show you what I mean. In 2 Timothy 2:25, Paul says:
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
This is exemplified in many other places as well. In Genesis 33, when Jacob and Esau meet, I think you see a contrast between the two. If you recall the story, they had been estranged for probably 20 years at this point. And when they meet, Jacob demonstrates a tremendous amount of humility in how he interacts with Esau, sending gifts and seeking to reconcile what needed to be reconciled from years before. Esau, on the other hand, demonstrates gentleness in how he responds to Jacob. He doesn’t respond in anger or violence, as he could have, and he likely would have prevailed.
So, if you’ll remember this: humility is primarily the attitude we demonstrate when we are wronged or when we are in the wrong. Gentleness is for when we are correcting another, or when we are in the position of initiating some action that may result in conflict but is nevertheless necessary.
Jesus restores Peter
John 21 provides an example of this, I believe. I’ll read just a couple of verses, starting in verse 15. This is after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after Peter had denied Him three times, and here Jesus is seeking to restore Peter:
So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.” (John 21:15–17)
We aren’t going to dive deep into this passage, but I believe it’s an example of Jesus, while addressing a painful topic, nevertheless gently seeking to restore Peter and prepare him for the ministry to come.
3. Patience
Our third point, from Ephesians 4: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience.”
Patience means being long-tempered. It means slow to anger, slow to retaliate. It is the endurance of others’ faults and failures without giving up on them, reflecting, obviously, God’s own patience toward us. Second Timothy 2:24 says:
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
Patient when wronged. Jesus demonstrated this patience throughout the Gospels. Every account of the disciples was another opportunity for patience on Jesus’ part. Mark 4:33–34 says:
With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
He was patiently taking the time to teach them and explain things they often should have understood already.
David spares Saul
Turn to 1 Samuel 24, a passage we saw a few months ago as well. In 1 Samuel 24, David demonstrates this patience for us. He had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he chose instead to wait on the Lord’s timing rather than taking matters into his own hands. And this was profound patience for someone under threat of death.
Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.” David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. (1 Samuel 24:1–7)
We have a very similar instance two chapters later, in 1 Samuel 26. In both cases we see David patiently waiting on the Lord. He knew he was to be king. He also knew, obviously, that Saul had to die for him to become king. But nevertheless, he did not take matters into his own hands. As our definition of patience said, he was always slow to anger and very slow to retaliate against Saul, even though we’d probably say it would have been justified in many respects.
4. Tolerance
So we are to be humble, to be gentle, to be patient. And then we are, in the words of Ephesians, to have tolerance: “showing tolerance for one another in love.” Another way of reading this would be “bearing with one another”; if you have the ESV, that’s probably what yours says.
It is the act of putting up with another’s flaws, or differences, or even sins against us, out of love. The implication of this word is that the other person probably truly is in the wrong. There’s probably something you actually have to put up with. It’s not saying you’re imagining things or that you weren’t sinned against. You actually were sinned against. Or maybe you weren’t sinned against directly; maybe they’re just difficult to deal with.
Colossians 3:12–13 gives us some insight here. It’s a close cross-reference to our whole passage, but it sheds particular light on this word:
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
You’ll recognize some words there: humility, gentleness, and patience. And “forgiving each other” is tied to “bearing with one another,” again indicating that you actually were sinned against.
Galatians 6:1–2 uses the same language of bearing one another’s burdens:
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Remember our point on gentleness: restore. Gentleness is expressed in confronting sin and seeking restoration. And then “bear one another’s burdens,” where the context is the sins of others.
By the way, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are very close cross-references, very similar ideas, in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Galatians. It’s as if this was something Paul was teaching all these different churches. Every time he wrote a letter, there was something in it that mirrored what we’re going through today: the need for unity and how to get along with each other.
And our passage says we are to do this in love. First Peter 4:8:
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Why do we need to cover those sins? Because, among other things, it allows for unity.
Paul bears with the Corinthians
First Corinthians 13 is the example we have for this bearing with one another. Turn with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians 13, a passage you’re undoubtedly familiar with. In verse 7, describing love (or charity), Paul says that love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7)
It bears all things. And Paul isn’t just saying this; he actually does it. We know this because of the last verses of 1 Corinthians:
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. (1 Corinthians 16:23–24)
Paul is expressing his love here, and I think we can go back a few chapters and define his love the way he did in 1 Corinthians 13. That may not sound like much until we consider what Paul was tolerating, what he was putting up with, what he was bearing with in the Corinthians.
So let me remind you who the Corinthians were. If we go through 1 Corinthians (not even 2 Corinthians, just 1 Corinthians), Paul addresses the issues going on in that church. There was factionalism in chapter 3. There was gross immorality. They were suing each other. There was abuse of the spiritual gifts. They were toying with idolatry, profaning the Lord’s Supper, and some were even flirting with a denial of the resurrection. These were the people Paul was bearing with.
Now, might I suggest that you don’t take any hints from them? I don’t think Ian and I have the apostle Paul’s level of sanctification. We may not handle it as well if you try all those things, so please don’t, for your own good as well.
But Paul, in spite of all this, did not abandon them and did not cut them off. He bore all things and endured all things. He was humble when he could have taken offense. He was gentle when correcting them. He was patient in dealing with them. And he bore all these things because of his love for them. Love bears all things.
So those are the tools of unity: humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance in love. Next week we’ll go on to verses 4–6 and see the doctrines of unity.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the time we have to study it here this morning and to meditate on it. Thank You for giving us these tools to help preserve unity in Your church. Lord, I pray that You would help us to learn from this, to take these tools and apply them in our lives, that we might help preserve the unity of Your body and of the temple You are building. Lord, as we take up the offering in a moment, we thank You for the opportunity to give back to You a portion of what You’ve given to us. And Lord, I pray that You would take our tithes and offerings and use them to expand the work of Your kingdom. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright notice
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
(Editor’s note: This transcript may have been lightly edited for clarity and/or condensed for internet attention spans.)