Might, Math and Measure

WALKING IN A MANNER THAT IS WORTHY: PART 4
Might, Math and Measure


Introduction:

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Ps 133:1).

It occurred to me last week while I was preaching that someone might think I’m preaching on this topic because there is some conflict in the church. Before I get into today’s text, let me respond to that:

First of all, it is the worst possible time to preach on church unity when there is division in the church. It’s kind of like telling someone to quit smoking after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Also, I think that our church is probably in the greatest position of unity since I’ve come here. That doesn’t mean we’re perfect or that there aren’t the possibility of issues. But I think that we currently have spirit of unity and love that I want us to work hard to preserve. So the best time to preach about maintaining unity in the church, is when there is unity.

Preface:
Conflict is natural and it can be a good thing; if conflict is handled properly by godly leadership, it can reinforce sound doctrine, encourage integrity in leadership, and promote humility. Sometimes it is necessary to take a stand against error and abusive people. So conflict in this church does not need to mean division, but the preservation of unity- that’s healthy conflict. Unhealthy conflict that results in division is usually the result of poor leadership, pride, impatient unloving attitudes and a faulty concept of God.

Read Ephesians 4:3-7:
I’m going to break up these five verse into three sections: the first section is about the might of unity, that is, using our strength to strive for unity; second I will talk about the math of unity (how does 3 times 7 equal 1?); and then I will talk about the measurement of unity.

A. The Might of Unity
Look at v. 3: “endeavoring (making every effort, being diligent) to preserve (or keep) the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Jesus said, “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Mat 11:12). There are three components of Paul command to preserve the unity of the spirit that I want to unpack before we move on.

1. The word “endeavoring” or “striving” implies labour. Paul uses the same word in 2 Timothy 2:15: “be diligent (endeavor, strive) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly diving the word of truth.” Paul’s instruction to Timothy, basically means study the Word of God with diligence! Have you ever had to study for an important exam? One day we will all be examined by Jesus. Be diligent! 2 Peter 1:10 says, “be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.” And 3:14 adds, “be diligent to be found by Jesus in peace, without spot or blameless.” This is not passive Christianity- it’s not cheap grace that has been given us by Christ crucified.

What all these commands all have in common is,: whether we are talking about unity in the church, understanding the Word of God, making our call and election sure, or being found by Christ in peace, without spot and blameless, we are talking about things for which we must labour. But they are also things which are unattainable apart from the Holy Spirit no matter how intense our effort may be. Understanding the Word of God is achieved through the enlightening work of the Spirit (who leads us into all truth); making our call and election sure (in other words persevering faith) is done by the preserving work of the Spirit (with whom we are sealed); and being found by Jesus in peace, without spot and blameless is done by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, unity can only be achieved by the unifying work of the Spirit.

So this isn’t works, but it is work.! Strive to be diligent.

2. The next part of the command has to do with preserving the unity. The Greek word for unity only appears twice in the New Testament. The other time is in verse 13, “…till we all come to the unity of the faith….” It carries the idea of unanimity. In other words, when we strive diligently to preserve the unity, we are endeavoring to preserve unanimity. Where is this most applicable to us as a church?

What about in church business meetings when we are required to vote on something. I’m not saying that people should feel coerced to vote against their conviction in order to agree with the majority (sometimes the majority of people are wrong). I am saying that when an issue that is to be voted upon has the potential to divide the church, we should not be too hasty to take that vote. A lack of unanimity in the church may be God’s way of saying “NO”! The issue should be tabled and the church should seek the mind of Christ in prayer, fasting and meditation upon the Word of God. But if the church is voting on an issue and it is of little concern to you, whether it is approved or not, be careful that you do not frivolously divide the unity of the spirit.

Maintaining, or keeping the unity, means watching over it the way that a guard watches over a prisoner. In fact, “Maintain” is the same word used in Acts 16 to describe the way that Philippian Jailer was to watch over Paul and Silas- he was told to “keep them securely.” You know what happened when the Jailer failed to keep this command and he fell asleep, Paul and Silas were released from the chains. For the Philippian Jailer, that was a good thing. But when we fail to securely keep the unity of the spirit, dissention and bitterness are unleashed. And we all suffer.

3. “Bond of Peace.” Now that’s an interesting phrase. In v. 16 Paul uses human anatomy as an analogy for our unity. You can imagine an anatomy textbook with picture of the human muscular system when he writes, “[Christ is the head] from whom the whole body is knit together by what every joint supplies….” That’s what’s meant by the bond of peace- being bonded together like the muscles, ligaments and joints of the human body which work together in unison. Imagine a body whose joints and muscles no longer work together; its called Cerebral Palsy. Have you ever seen a church with Cerebral Palsy? It’s very discomforting.

God is the God of Peace (Rom 15:33). He is our peace and made us to be one (Eph 2:14). The gospel is the gospel of peace that gives us peace with the God of peace. Jesus promised to leave his peace with us (Jn 14:27). The peace that we experience with God and with each other is a divinely wrought peace accomplished by the Cross. It is an otherworldly peace that cannot be experienced in any other human enterprise or organization but the church.

B. 3 x 7 = One God!
We are running short of time so I’ll quickly go over my next two points; the first is the math of unity- 3 x 7 = 1. Paul says in verses 4-6: “There is one body (the church) one Spirit (who unifies it) one Lord Jesus (who is our head) and one God and father of all (who calls us into the Body and preserves us as His children).

This is what separates Christianity from Islam and Judaism; that is the idea that Jesus was not just a man, but a member of the triune Godhead. That’s why the God of Islam is such a distant and lonely God whereas the God of scripture is able to be both transcendent and imminent without being divided. The triune God is perfect in self delight and love because the Father delights in the Son and the Son loves the Father and they covenant with one another to redeem the lost by uniting us to them through the Holy Spirit. But God does not need us- He already has perfect fellowship within Himself.

These 3 verses form a kind of poetic triad delineated by the three persons of the Trinity. This triad of divine persons is nothing unique to this text, it is found throughout the New Testament, we see it in the baptism formula of the Great Commission. We also see it at his own baptism: the Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form and the voice of the Father proclaimed His pleasure for his Son.

Another interesting feature of this creedal statement is that Paul repeats “One” 7 times - seven is the number of God. Paul is emphasizing the diversity and unity of God.

All of this begs the question, why would Paul insert this creedal statement in the middle of a command to walk in a manner that is worthy of the Call? Because Paul’s whole point is unity in diversity. Within the Godhead, there are the three persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are diverse in personality but united in substance.

This is Paul’s strongest argument for unity in the church. If God is one, then His Body must also be one and so we cannot use the diversity of persons within the godhead to justify division within the church. To attempt to divide God’s church is enacting the belief that God is also divisible. Neither should we use the unity of God to deny diversity within the church. Paul is about to make that point, even though there is one Body, there is a diversity of gifts.

C. The Measure of Unity
That’s the measure of unity. I am only going to introduce this third point, and then I will pick it up again here next time. (Read verse 7).

The diversity of gifts are the measure of Christ’s grace, “He gave some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some pastors and teachers… for the equipping of the saints” so that they can walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling, striving to preserve the unity of spirit by doing “the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. Till we come… to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Isn’t that worth walking in humility and gentleness and love, while striving to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace? …coming to the measure of the stature of Christ? In other words, becoming like him? Doesn’t that make all the petty squabbles that divide churches and Christians and cause them to be children, tossed to and fro (hopping from church to church) and being carried about by every wind of doctrine seem profane in their effect of dividing the church and preventing us from coming to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”?

Application:
So lets apply this: Walking in a manner that is worthy means striving to preserve the unity of the church; it’s something that we must work hard to do. We do it because of our conviction that God has revealed himself to be One God. But that does not mean that we need to lose our identity or become drones in the Body of Christ, in fact, our unique identity will be enhanced by the grace given to us thorough the Holy Spirit will gifts us to serve one another. And serving according to the measure of the grace we have been given requires that we relate to one another with humility, patience and love.