In Him, with Him and through Him – Perfect Unity

So we are now halfway through Ephesians with a few familiar passages on the horizon. First, Paul wants to talk to the Ephesian church about unity. Not unity for unity’s sake, but unity with a clear purpose. Being a excellent communicator, he chooses three key points to help the good folk digest his meaning.

Unity in the Spirit

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.          Ephesians 4:1-6

Unity does not exist in some random way. Unity exists in the Spirit of God. If we seek his Spirit, we will experience the key spiritual attributes that lead to unity – humility, gentleness, patience, love and finally the bond of peace. Our unity comes from uniting around the Spirit which causes us to live lives which are focused on Christ and full of the spiritual gifts. Paul’s prose is dense but the meaning is clear – focus on him and the rest will follow.

As a young Christian, I always remembered the idea of relationships in the church being like a triangle. God is at the top and we are at the lower corners. If we move close to God, we move closer to each other. Powerful imagery that has a very practical reality if we want to build God’s kingdom on earth.

Unity in Service

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says:
‘When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.’
⁹ (What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:7-14

Again, the dense prose might make you miss the core message. Christ gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teacher so that they may serve the church by equipping us (the people of God) for service, so that we may be united in faith and knowledge of Christ. If the message that comes from these chosen people does not lead to unity and deeper knowledge of God, then those servants of God are falling short of His message.

If you preach hatred and disunity, are you really a servant of Christ? Does your service lift Christ up or does it put yourself first? For those to whom much is given, much will be expected.

Unity in the body, with Christ as our head

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

And if those teachers and preachers help us to move on in faith, we will no longer be like children. We will learn to speak truth in love and become the mature body of Christ. Every element will be doing its part and we will united as a single body.

Lord, forgive us for how the church established in your name falls short of this standard. May we find unity through Christ, in Christ and with Christ. May we establish relationships and communities built in your image.