Work Hard at Unity (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Big Idea: The church is a unified, diverse community embodying God's wisdom, striving to maintain unity as a reflection of Christ to the world and spiritual realms.

Let me begin by asking you a question, and I want you to reflect on it silently: Why did you come this morning? Of all the things you could have done on the first Sunday in November, 1998, why did you come to this place? Take a moment to reflect on this question. We'll revisit your answer shortly.

Can I give you one answer? It's found in the passage of Scripture that was read for us earlier. Ephesians 4:1 says, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." In Ephesians 4, Paul shifts from discussing doctrine to practical application, emphasizing that good application is based on sound doctrine.

For three chapters, Paul has been teaching on the church – the nature and appearance of the church. He has urged the Ephesian believers to act as the living body of Christ on earth, serving as a way for Christ to be glorified in their area. And he says in Ephesians 4:1, "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

I'll tell you how Paul would answer the question, "Why did you come this morning?" Paul would have answered, "You came to be the church." Our calling is to be the church. According to Paul, the church is not somewhere we go; it's something we are. Paul would say that the purpose of gathering at a specific time and place is to represent the universal reality of the body of Christ.

We are called to be the body of Christ, a unified community from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, fulfilling the church's biblical mission. I get so excited when I read passages like Acts 2:42-47. When I read about the sort of community that God has called us to be. And I say, "Yes, that's what it is all about. Richview Baptist Church brings together people of all ages and backgrounds, united under God's authority."

In fact, Paul makes a surprising statement in Ephesians 3:10: "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." He says hat the church ought to be the sort of place that the very angels look to in order to understand the wisdom of God. As one person put it, "The Church becomes a mirror through which the bright ones of heaven see the glory of God."

Let me put it simply. Richview Baptist Church, and other churches on earth, are observed by spiritual powers. It’s incredible that spiritual rulers and authorities observe Richview Baptist Church to understand God’s wisdom. And to the degree that the church is spiritually united, it portrays to the spiritual powers the wisdom of God. God designed the church, especially the local church, to be the body of Christ that displays God's diverse wisdom to spiritual powers.

That's why I came to church this morning. I came to be the church. And Ephesians 4:1 tells us: "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." It's entirely possible to make a loud profession and have nothing to back it up. We need to take our call to be the church seriously. We need to take seriously what God has in mind when he brought the church into being.

Paul says, "Live the sort of life that matches what God has called you to be." Live out who you actually are. Be the body of Christ in this part of Etobicoke at this particular time. What's it going to take to be the church? I'm glad you asked! Paul tells us exactly what it's going to take to be the church in Ephesians 4:2 and 3. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

What's it going to take to be the church – to walk worthy of the calling we've received?

The Church Is a Community

Paul says, in order to be the church, we need to be just a certain sort of community. The church is meant to be a community where our lives reflect something unique, visible even to heavenly rulers and authorities.

We should live in community to reflect God's diverse wisdom on earth. That's the sort of community we're supposed to be. Paul emphasizes the importance of unity in verse 3: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Paul says, "Make every effort." The verb suggests the idea of great difficulty, and the resolute determination it will take to rise above it. It emphasizes the importance of valuing and investing energy in unity to keep it strong. You could almost paraphrase, "Work hard at it. Make it your top priority."

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace," Paul writes. Christ's sacrifice on the cross united us and ended any hostilities between us, as Paul noted in Ephesians. He has created one new body from two, bringing peace and uniting those of us who were different.

That's what Christ has called us to be. Regardless of age or background, everyone shares a common bond in Christ. We are all united. That's Paul's message to the church. That's the sort of community we're to be.

You might ask, why is community so important? If you go back as far as you can go, God created everything we see around us, and said "Good, good, good." And then he created man and said, "It is not good" – specifically, it is not good for man to be alone. When God created man, he created an individual. And when God created woman, he created society.

We all know that the fall had a terrible effect upon individuals and society. Individuals became alienated from God. Society became divided. Now, ask yourself: what is God's answer to a fallen individual? Christ. Any Christian would be able to answer this. Now, a harder question. What is God's answer to a fragmented society? The church.

The church is an alternate society, placed right within society, to show fragmenting society what community is all about. The church should be a unified community that demonstrates true togetherness, unlike the fragmented nature of society. And that's why Paul says, "Make every effort [work hard, strain] to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

That's why I came this morning – to be that sort of church in this part of Etobicoke at this time in the world. Strive for unity in Richview Baptist Church, so that heavenly rulers and authorities see God's wisdom reflected in us.

What It Will Take

According to verse 2, it's going to take four things to live that sort of way. There are, you could say, four steps to community.

Humility

It's going to take humility. It really means that we're to be prepared to show lowliness of mind.

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but the church has a lot of people with strong opinions. And many times these strong opinions could never be confused with lowliness of mind. In Paul's time, low self-esteem was associated with slaves and viewed negatively by ancient Greeks, but Paul presents a different perspective. Instead of clashing with opinions and saying, "This is my opinion, and I don't want it mixed up with the facts," Paul says, "Enough of that! Embrace humility. Say, "I'd like to share my opinion, but I want to hear your thoughts first." That's how we're to be.

Gentleness

Paul says in verse 2 it's also going to take gentleness. Read Ephesians 4:2: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Gentleness is strength that is controlled. The church has many people with strong personalities and opinions. And when you have strong opinions rammed home by strong personalities, you sometimes run into problems. Somebody wins, and somebody loses. And those who lose end up splitting, and those who win end up running the show. It's going to take gentleness to change this.

Patience

It's also going to take a lot of patience. The word Paul uses for patience in verse 2 literally means, "slow to anger." It has the idea of suffering long, or longsuffering. It has the idea of not blowing your top when you don't get your way. I've seen people lose their temper in church. In order to avoid this, Paul says, we need lots of patience.

Forbearance

And according to verse two, it's also going to take forbearance. (Ephesians 4:2) Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. We should tolerate the habits and flaws of others, as we have our own as well. It emphasizes considering others' interests alongside our own. That we're not totally wrapped up with our own position and our own desires. That we're prepared to listen to and respond to a legitimate point of view from another person. That we make allowance for one another because of our love.

So why did I come to church this morning? I came to join with you to be the church. I am committed to working hard and contributing to a community that demonstrates God's wisdom to the rulers and authorities in heavenly realms. I came to be the church, didn't you?

What This Means for Us Today

One of the things that attracted me to Richview is our diversity. I love how our diverse ages and interests unite us to worship Christ together. I look forward to even greater diversity as we expand and enjoy greater difference and become more multicultural. God loves diversity, and so do I.

If we had more time, I would study with you the next few verses in Ephesians 4, which talk of our unity in the faith reflected in the diversity of gifts offered to the church. Diversity expressed in unity is what the church is all about. But diversity presents its challenges, doesn't it? If everyone were the same, there would be no debates over worship styles or practices. But yet diversity is part of God's plan for the church.

One of the toughest areas to apply this is worship. Paul says, work hard at maintaining a spirit of unity in the bond of peace. Have you noticed how hard this is when it comes to worship? People are now selecting churches based on music style rather than preaching or doctrine. Music, in many ways, has become the battleground of the church.

There's a lack of humility and mutual respect regarding the music played in the church. A famous preacher was asked, "What is your church's philosophy of worship?" And he replied, "Simple. Our church's philosophy of worship is to make sure in every service that there's something to offend everybody."

Some people seem to have the idea that God stopped being creative when Charles Wesley died. And many others think that God only started being creative when Keith Green was born. I doubt God is pleased with either attitude, as both suggest He has stopped being creative.

Imagine Richview Baptist Church becoming a strong example of true Christian community in a time of division over minor preferences. Picture us embodying the 'spirit of unity in the bond of peace' by consistently cultivating humility, gentleness, patience, and loving forbearance with one another. Can our gatherings, especially worship services, showcase unity that celebrates our diversity instead of uniformity?

My heart breaks every time somebody gets up and leaves because they don't like the music that's being played. It's unacceptable in a younger person, and it's unacceptable in an older person. Because what it shows is the very opposite of community. What do rulers and authorities in heavenly realms see when society is fragmented?

A lady in her 70s sat down to write her pastor one Sunday after a worship service. She felt the music was dreadful; the songs loud and discordant; the words inane. So she began to write a letter of complaint to her pastor. A little voice within her head asked her, "What are you doing?" She said, "I'm writing a letter of complaint to my pastor. The music was dreadful; the songs were loud and discordant; the words were inane."

The little voice asked her, "Why did you go to church?" and she responded, "Corporate worship." And right away she knew, "No, I was there for personal worship, because I was elevating my likes and dislikes. I was really there for personal worship and not for corporate worship."

During her next visit to church, she wasn't fond of the music. However, when she looked around, she was surprised to see others engaging in worship and enjoying the music. And so she phoned her pastor. She told him that she found the music dreadful, loud, and discordant; the words inane. But she said, "I'm not complaining. In the future, when there's something I don't like, I'll remind myself I'm not there for personal worship. I'm there for corporate worship. And when I hear something I don't like, I'll just look around and rejoice in what's happening in the hearts and minds of my brothers and sisters."

Be careful before you make a preference or a prejudice into a principle. Before you make your likes and dislikes a cause to break the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Did you ever notice how some people use their bodies in worship? I used to sit there criticizing people because they appeared to be getting emotional in their worship. Some clapped during a song; others raised their hand. And I had a bad attitude against anyone who dared to express themselves physically in worship.

Until I learned that the charismatics never invented this; the Bible did. The Bible mentions God's people raising their hands in worship in Psalm 28:2, Psalm 134:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:8, Nehemiah 8:6, and other passages. And I've learned that raising the hands and clapping in worship are not Pentecostal things; they're Christian things. And I've stopped criticizing, and I've begun doing these things myself.

I wonder if part of keeping the spirit of unity in the bond of peace means that we give permission to others to be expressive in worship, even if we're not. To praise God that when somebody lifts their hands in worship, even if we don't, that we praise God that they're worshiping. And when I raise my hands, I give praise for my brother and my sister who stands there with their hands at their side, because they're worshiping God as well. I wonder if we can allow others to worship God biblically.

So let me ask you again, why did you come to church this morning? Did you come to be the church? Did you come to work hard at keeping the spirit of unity in the bond of peace, showing fragmenting society what it's like to be community? Showing the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms the wisdom of God in its various forms?

What's it going to take? To be that kind of church, we need humility, gentle strength, patience, and a shared mindset. It's going to take love – a concern for the well-being of others, rather than an exclusive concern for self.

You put it all together:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Is that why you came to church? Now, let’s try something different as we close. I'd like you to hum one note with me (hum). Hum this one note, hum loud – that’s unity. It’s also boring. Let’s try something different. I’d like you to hum the notes that Peter plays for us, broken into four groups. That’s disunity – it sounds awful. Now let’s try one last thing. Let’s hum some different notes that Peter plays. That’s what you call harmony – unity showing itself in diversity. Which is better? Unison, discord, or harmony?

Adapted from a message by Stuart Briscoe