Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 20, 1991
Ephesians 4:1-6
UNITY IN THE CHURCH
I. The practical outcome of our faith.
A. Ephesians 4 begins with practical considerations.
1) If you "are" a Christian in belief, "be" one in actions.
a) "Be worthy of your calling." 4:1
2) Paul is a prisoner in Rome, but the world doesn't determine
the way he is going to live.
B. Certain standards are expected of Christians.
1) Certain results should follow in the church.
II. Three qualities that should describe a Christian.
A. Humble or lowly.
1) The Romans and Greeks despised humility.
a) They saw in it the servile, crouching submissiveness of
a slave.
b) Not until Jesus Christ was a true humility recognized.
1> Jesus humbled himself and thought as a servant.
2) Literally, "humility of mind." 4:2
a) It is the humble recognition of the worth and value of
other people.
b) Humility brings people together, pride pulls them apart.
1> People we instinctively like and get along with are
those who give us the respect we think we deserve.
2> Those we immediately, instinctively dislike are those
who treat us like dirt.
c) Therefore, personal vanity is a key factor in all
our relationships.
1> Maneuvering for the respect of others is what pride
is all about.
2> Giving people our respect by recognizing their
God-given worth is what humility is all about.
3> Humility results in harmony, which pleases Jesus.
B. Gentle or meek.
1) Similar to humble but not identical.
a) Aristotle said gentleness is a quality of moderation,
between being too angry and never being angry at all.
b) Meekness is not another word for "weakness."
1> On the contrary, it is the gentleness of the strong,
whose strength is under control.
2> Jesus described himself as being meek in Matt 11:29f:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart..."
2) Meekness is seeking the common good and not being deflected
by personal slights.
a) You doesn't care if you is given credit.
b) Opposite of touchy, retaliatory.
c) Moses is an example of meekness.
(He says so himself in Numbers 12:3!)
C. Patient or longsuffering.
1) Long-tempered instead of short-tempered.
a) Often used to describe God in NT.
1> He is patient toward unrepentant sinners. Rom 2:4
2> His patience leads us to salvation, (Noah). 2 Pet 3:15
b) Patience means deal quietly and courteously with people
who are awkward, difficult and offensive.
2) Bear with others in love.
a) Reinforces patience, often occurring in same verse (above).
1> Sometimes focus is how we deal with persecutors.
1 Cor 4:12
2> Here it is bearing with fellow Christians.
A> Paul didn't have a rosy-eyed view of the church.
B> He knew Christians have irritating, annoying
faults.
b) To keep the peace, bear with them with patience and love.
1> We have faults of our own, too.
III. Result of these characteristics is unity. 4:3
A. Christians are not very united.
1) Young people and outsiders are confused by multitude of
denominations.
2) Baptists themselves are divided into southern and northern,
white and black.
a) Hundreds of Baptist churches have split due to fights.
1> Some communities have intersections with a Baptist
church on each corner, none of them talking to
each other.
2> Church growth experts have concluded this is a
reason for our numerical growth!
b) At the other extreme, one Baptist denomination has only
2 churches. (Two-in-the-Seed Predestinarian Baptist)
B. Nevertheless, unity should be the goal of all Christians.
1) We should be "one" because God is "one."
a) In eternity there is only one church, the body of Christ.
b) According to Jesus, united Christians can show the
world his love. John 17:21-23
2) Unity takes effort.
a) Beyond "endeavoring" (KJV) to "make every effort."
b) "Keep" implies unity exists in church but is threatened.
3) Peace is the glue.
a) Lack of peace with always cause dissensions and splits,
even among formerly satisfied members.
1> Every church has experienced this at one time,
including ours.
b) Without unity, the Church's witness and impact on the
world is compromised.
1> Pauline Rice, on first Sunday in First Baptist Church,
West Lafayette, Ohio:
The pastor read a list of those he was expelling from
the church.
They were present, and stood up to shout him down.
Two men ended up in a fist fight on the church lawn.
She thought, "What kind of church am I getting into?"
IV. What kind of unity does Paul have in mind?
A. Combined structures, as in World Council of Churches?
1) Presbyterians have combined, and Lutherans.
2) But unity is often accomplished by compromising on
what they believe.
a) Criteria for National Council of Churches:
believe Jesus is Lord (somehow).
b) Even gay denominations could join.
B. Unity in doctrine?
1) But 4:13 says this kind of unity is not achieved until
Christians are made perfect.
C. Unity in goal - perfection in Christ.
1) Probably Paul's thought here.
2) Billy Graham crusade showed unity of evangelism across
denominational lines.
V. The basis of our unity, contained in seven points.
A. One body.
1) The Church is his body, we are the hands and feet.
2) There is only one universal (meaning of "Catholic") Church.
B. One Spirit.
1) Only one Holy Spirit energizes all believers.
C. One hope.
1) Heaven is wide-open, without walls or barriers.
2) "Whosoever" responds to Jesus is welcome.
D. One Lord.
1) Basic creed of Christians: "Jesus is Lord."
Rom 10:9, 1 Cor 12:3
2) "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
E. One faith.
1) Either our willingness to open our lives to God;
2) Or the basic content of Christian belief.
F. One baptism.
1) There is only one true baptism.
a) Not uncommon to have multiple baptism, but due to
differences in interpretation.
b) I myself was baptized twice.
c) ("Anabaptist" - ancient label means baptize again.)
2) Spirit-baptism of salvation, not water-baptism in view here.
G. One God.
1) Some believe in multiple gods - Hindus, Mormons, etc.
2) Even monotheists have different views on who the one God is.
a) Jesus taught that God is one, and he is the God of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, as well as our Father, Abba.
b) He is in control of all things at all times.
VI. Application to our lives.
A. Work in reverse - are you a unifier?
1) Because of your influence are people brought back together,
or driven apart?
a) Think about your family.
b) Think about your friendships.
c) Think about this church.
2) Does your life exhibit qualities that lead to unity?
a) Humility, meekness and patience are scarce these days.
b) But they are also qualities that can be learned.
c) It is a matter of following the example of Jesus.
B. Unity in Ledgewood Baptist Church.
1) Pastoral Relations Committee - our church seems peaceful
right now.
a) People seem to be more united in purpose.
b) Less bickering and sniping.
2) We are fortunate that we have no one in this church who is
pig-headed, selfish or hard to get along with.
... at least YOU are not that way.
3) Would we be able to deal lovingly and patiently with such
a person, should they join?
********************** original sermon ************************
Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
Original sermon - Sept 26, 1982
UNITY IN THE CHURCH Ephesians 4
I. Unity in the Church.
A. Ephesians 4 begins with practical considerations.
1) If you "are" a Christian in belief, "be" a Christian in actions.
B. Prisoner of the Lord.
1) Figurative or *literal.
2) Exhortation: Walk (live) worthy of Christian calling.
a) Don't walk like world. (2:2)
b) Calling is not specific task, but being a Christian.
II. The qualities our lives should have.
A. Humble or lowly.
1) Christianity sharpened the meaning of "humility."
2) Involves three things:
a) Comes from self-knowledge.
1> Most of us dramatize ourselves.
2> We place ourselves at the center of attention.
b) Comes from setting our life beside the life of Jesus.
1> Compare selves with perfection, not neighbors.
c) Comes from the constant sense of being a creature.
1> We are entirely dependent on God.
B. Gentle or meek.
1) Similar to humble but not identical.
2) Meekness is seeking common good and not being deflected
by personal slights.
a) One doesn't care if he is given credit.
b) Opposite of touchy, retaliatory.
c) Not to be confused with weakness.
3) Moses was meek. Numbers 12:3
C. Patient or longsuffering.
1) Long-tempered instead of short-tempered.
2) Often used to describe God in NT.
a) He is patient toward unrepentant sinners. Rom 2:4
b) Patient to lead us to salvation, as with Noah. 2 Pet 3:15
3) Patience means deal quietly and courteously with people
who are awkward, difficult and offensive.
4) Bear with others in love.
a) Reinforces patience, often occurring in same verse (above).
b) Sometimes focus is how we deal with persecutors. 1 Cor 4:12
c) Here it is bearing with fellow Christians.
1> Paul didn't have a rosy-eyed view of the church.
2> He knew Christians have irritating, annoying faults.
3> To keep the peace, bear with them with patience and
love.
A> We have faults of our own, too.
III. Motive for these characteristics is unity.
A. Unity takes effort.
1) Beyond "endeavoring" (KJV) to "spare no effort."
2) "Keep" implies unity exists in the church but is threatened.
3) "Of the Spirit" means the unity the Spirit gives us.
B. Peace is the glue.
1) Peace is not the goal of unity, but the means.
2) Lack of peace with always cause dissensions and splits,
even among formerly satisfied members.
3) Without unity, the Church's witness and impact on the world
is compromised.
IV. Unity in Christianity.
A. Local or international?
1) Multiplicity of denominations.
a) Umpteen flavors of Baptist. (give history of splits?)
2) Local unity is easier, but Paul is looking at world-wide
unity of the Church, the body of Christ.
B. Kind of unity in Paul's mind here.
1) Combined structures, as in World Council of Churches.
a) Presbyterians and combined, and Lutherans.
b) Most other unions have stalled in last 50 years.
2) Unity in doctrine.
a) But 4:13 says this kind of unity is not achieved until
Christians are made perfect.
3) United goal - perfection in Christ.
a) Billy Graham crusade showed unity of evangelism across
denominational lines.
V. The basis of our unity, contained in seven points.
A. One body.
1) The Church is his body, we are the hands and feet.
2) There is only one universal (meaning of "Catholic") Church.
B. One Spirit.
1) Only one Holy Spirit energizes all believers.
C. One hope.
1) Heaven is wide-open, without walls or barriers.
2) "Whosoever" responds to Jesus is welcome.
D. One Lord.
1) Basic creed of Christians: "Jesus is Lord."
Rom 10:9, 1 Cor 12:3
2) "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12
E. One faith.
1) Either our willingness to open our lives to God;
2) Or the basic content of Christian belief.
F. One baptism.
1) There is only one true baptism.
a) Not uncommon to have multiple baptism, but due to
differences in interpretation.
b) I myself was baptized twice.
2) Spirit baptism of salvation, not water baptism in view.
G. One God.
1) Some believe in multiple gods - Hindus, Mormons, etc.
2) Even monotheists have different views on who the one God is.
a) Jesus taught that God is one, and he is the God of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, as well as our Father, Abba.
b) He is in control of all things at all times.
VI. Application to Baptists.
A. Unity among Baptists.
1) Anomaly of "independent Baptists".
a) Baptists have always associated with one another.
b) We uphold our distinctive beliefs, supported by the
Bible, but we recognize what we hold in common.
2) Early Baptists travelled hundreds of miles to associate.
a) "Two are better than one..." Eccl 4:12
B. Application to Ledgewood Baptist Church.
1) We are fortunate that we have no one in this church who is
pig-headed, selfish or hard to get along with.
2) ... at least YOU are not that way.
3) Would we be able to deal lovingly and patiently with such
a person, should they join?
