Unity
Scripture:
Ephesians 4:1-7 (ESV)
4 I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There
is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs
to your call— 5 one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one
God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to
each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Devotion:
This scripture is one of the most ambitious
calls for unity in the writings of Paul. Apparently, the Ephesian church was under
threat of division and schism. Paul loved the church dearly and was determined
not to let such division occur under his watchful care. While the reason for the
trouble in the Ephesian church is never explicitly spelled out, perhaps that is
for our benefit. Today, the church in America faces the prospect of splitting
like never before. The supposed issues that are leading to the desire to divide
are as many as there are Christians in the pews.
So, what does Paul recommend as an
antidote to this partisan and divisive attitude? The first attitude that comes
under attack is our sinful human pride. All humans are infected with a measure
of a sinful attitude of pride. It is our inheritance from the fall of the first
couple in the Garden of Eden. If we say we are without pride, we are also guilty of lying and deceit. God calls us to love one another in humility,
patience, and gentleness. Our divisions bear no positive effects on the church.
The world stands back and says, “What a bunch of hypocrites; they cannot even
live together in the supposed love they have for Jesus.” I say this to our great
shame.
The good news is that even when we
try to divide over whatever self-righteous cause we claim makes us superior to
those “other” guys and gals, Jesus draws us into His circle of love. Notice
Paul’s writing here, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Even if we attend the
modern church of the live streamed service, God knows and loves us and pulls us back into face-to-face fellowship that is His ideal for the church.
The bond of peace we have in Christ is stronger than the bonds of division sown
by Satan and his angels.
So, let the man-made division come.
The Lord is not greatly troubled, nor should we be disturbed. In the old hymn's
words, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all
unity may one day be restored, O they’ll know we are Christians’ by our love by
our love.” We Christians have a love and unity that no power of man can put asunder.
No matter what denominational (or nondenominational) group we may join. We are
all children of the same mighty God and servants of His one Son, Jesus, by the
power of the one Holy Spirit that draws us together.
Prayer:
Lord, we come to you reminded of the
prayer you prayed in John 17 for the unity of those who would call upon your
name. We realized that we have attempted not to live in that unity but to
divide into our own sects and tribes. We ask your help in our unbelief in your
ability to transcend all man-made division and seek the peace, unity, and
purity you have called us to as your church on earth. May we, of course,
stand up for your truth as we see it, yet standing with humility, knowing we
may be in error ourselves. Amen.
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