Ephesians 4:3-6 – Berris Patience – 2025 11 16

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (NASB 1995)

Transcript:

(Disclaimer: AI generated transcript. Accuracy may vary)

Continuing our study of book of Ephesians. We started chapter four last week where we looked at the first two verses Paul urging the believers to walk in a certain manner. And again, it’s a theme that is gonna continue throughout the um, this rest of this chapter, but also into chapter five, the Believers Walk and what that walk looks like. He told us last week that we should walk worthy in a manner of our calling. So there’s a certain calling which we’re called to, we see, saw that in chapter one, two, and three and we’re walk. We should walk in light of that, not as you will say to us later on as the Gentiles walk in the futility of the mind. He also goes on to explain that our walk should look like humility. We walk with gentleness, patience, and we walk with bearing one another. So we come to verse three and we’ll be looking at verses three to six this morning into this afternoon and going on the themes, striving for harmony or striving for unity. Something that is so key and so vital in the body of Jesus Christ. And we’ll see why that is as we make our way through these verses where Paul writes, being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There’s one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all who is overall and through all and in all Lord, may you use these words as I prepared Lord to minister to the hearts of your people. And may we with every fiber for being strive, endeavor to maintain, to guard, to keep, watch over the unity that you have entrusted us with for Christ’s sake. Amen. At a meeting at the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at the Union College and r Scott Bullion, a graduate student at the Columbia University, presented their findings and how members of various sections of the 11 major symphony orchestra perceived each other. So they did a uh, an overview or a interview or a deep dive into each different section. The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard of hearing. Yet fun-loving string players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose loud as primary as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Wood woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem by this study. They were described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit of egotistical egotism on their part, interesting findings to say the least. With such a wide divergent personalities and personnel and perceptions. How could an orchestra, and if we all are aware, I’m sure that we’re all familiar with what an orchestra is. How could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music when this is how they perceive each other? Because this isn’t a study done from outside the orchestra, it’s within the orchestra, but yet they make beautiful music. The answer is simple. How they make this beautiful music regardless of these perception that they have of each other, regardless of how those musicians viewed each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of who The conductor. They were submissive to the conductor regardless of how they felt about the brass guys and the other individuals. Because he was the one guiding and leading them. He was under, they were under his guidance and as a result they harmonized in unity and they played beautiful, beautiful music because of God’s great plan of salvation and because of our new identity in Christ. Paul begins a series of admonitions for his readers in Ephesus. He appeals to them to maintain, and I want you to pay attention to that word, maintain the unity that already exists in the body and that’s why he used the word maintain with not something that we create or we have created. It already exists within the body of Christ. God created this unity the U. This unity is an essential and natural byproduct of the common faith that we confess, but it must be maintained through developing their and our social virtues. And this is associated with selfless love. So Paul begins with an invitation for unity or harmony. In verse three, being diligent, the ESV says, being eager to maintain or to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. God has formed his church into a unified body and in dwells this church by with his spirit. The unity and peace it enjoys is a precious gift from the spirit. And this can be easily wrecked and that is why we need to maintain it. It can and we, we don’t need examples. I don’t need to share with you examples and analogies and illustrations of how easily the church can be divided. The individual members of the church. We as members of this body and the body of the church universal need to work at preserving the unity that God has gifted us with. And Paul often used the word here, making every effort for effort for the effort and work involved. That is making a journey. That is the idea behind this word that Paul is using the same effort that you would use to make a journey a wa a long walk, a long trod and you’re, you are diligent, your purpose in your mind that you’re gonna meet your goal. That we have smart watches that you know forces us to do that 10, 10,000 k per day and you’re determined that I’m gonna make that 10,000 steps no matter what it takes. That’s the idea behind this endeavor in our making. Every effort I’m gonna make unity paramount in the church no matter what it takes. So he uses that word. He tells the believers at Thessalonica that he has tried hard to return to them and this is the idea behind the word. He’s trying hard to visit them before his departure. First Thessalonians two 17, on two different occasion he asked Timothy and Titus to do their best to come to him again. The same idea make every effort to come to me. So with a similar level of intent, effort, and diligence here Paul is asking his readers to work hard at maintaining the unity of the spirit. And Peter uses the word in a similar way when he appeals to his readers to make every effort to make their calling and election. Sure in second Peter one verse 10. So that they can be found spotless and blameless before God. First, second Peter three 14. Paul makes his appeal by using the word eager or diligent as we see in our text before us, the word carries the idea of doing something with urgency. So it’s not something that we need, we we should delay upon. It’s something that we need to do urgently. It’s something that we need to do our best at doing one best at maintaining our, keeping our upholding our guarding, the unity and as I said earlier, making every effort using every fiber for being to maintain the unity. What is interesting with this verb, it’s in the present active participant. What that means is this is an ongoing action. It’s not something that we do today and the unity that we’re supposed to maintain is gonna be maintained automatically for the rest of our lives on earth. No, it’s something that we have to diligently every single day of our lives, work hard in order to maintain. That’s the idea behind the verb. It’s the same verb that we see Paul use in Ephesians where he said and be filled with the Holy Spirit, present active participant, be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. The same idea is seen in Romans chapter 12 verses one and two, continually daily, present yourselves as living sacrifices. And we see that very same idea even in the commission. The great commission go and make disciples and the it’s a present active participant. Again, while you’re going, as you’re going make disciples, it’s a daily thing. It’s not something that happens once and then it stays like that. We have to strive on a daily basis to maintain the unity because like so many things in our lives and in the life of the church, it does not happen naturally unfortunately for it doesn’t happen naturally. We have to work hard at it. It’s not a once for all thing like salvation. It is for us. Things happen in the body that drives a wedge between believers. Therefore it must be a daily endeavor to maintain this unity that God has gifted us with and entrusted us with. The word also suggests a readiness and willingness to make the effort. And if you are not ready and willing to make this effort to maintain the unity in the body, something you need to check yourself, you need to check yourself. There has to be a willingness in the heart to do this. We do everything we do our very best to maintain, to keep to guard, to keep watch over this oneness of mind that God has gifted us with strife and schism should not and ought not to be named in the body, but it is. But at the same time, strife and schism should and ought to be a concern for every single one of us in the body of Christ. It should be a concern if, if we’re not concerned about this, whether it’s happening or not, it should concern us. It should concern us. If it’s not happening, it should concern us in the sense that we don’t want to see it happen. So I’m gonna maintain and try my very best to make sure that it’s not named bong b Bowmanville Baptist Church. It should be a concern to us for few, two reason, this is not the norm or the intent for God and his church division isn’t. Secondly, you do not want to see it being a part of God’s church or even being named among the assembly. So be on guard for those who are outside, those who are without. Those who will want to come inside the church and disguise themselves as Angela’s light or woves in sheep clothing who try to worm their way into the body and cause strife but also be on guard for professing believers who they’re already here, they’re already among us. And who will try to disrupt the unity under some guise of good intentions. ’cause that’s how it normally is presented. They’ll say it’s good intent. Keep watch also not just for those that are on the outside and not for only those that are within the body. Keep watch of yourselves. Keep watch over yourself to ensure that you are not the cause of infractions. That you are not the one who is causing strife and schism within the body of Jesus Christ. It’s very easy for us to look at the other person and it’s often, we often overlook ourselves or don’t want to look at ourselves because we don’t want to see ourselves as the problem. We like to see the other person as a problem. And that’s why Jesus said, listen, if you have a plank, can I like how the NIV puts, if you have a plank in your eye, don’t go to your brother and tell him, oh there’s a speck of dust in yours. Take the plank outta yours first. That way you can see the specs better and take and and address that with your brother. We don’t like to see ourselves as the ones that, but we need to take self inventory. And this again is a daily thing. It’s not just a once for all thing, it’s a daily thing. We have to watch these three areas, people from without those from within and our own hearts. We maintain and keep the unity by watching over the body, looking out for imposters, looking out for intruders, the wolves as we like to, to describe them or the false prophets, the false teachers. Look for those that are within and watch yourself as well. And I hope by now you’ve already noticed that this unity already exists. First and foremost, hence why we’re told to maintain it, not create it, we’re told to maintain it. It already exist but it is also the unity of the spirit pauses or the unity that is from the Holy Spirit. He is the source of this unity. Therefore it stands to reason that if he permanently indwells us, the unity permanently exists. And therefore if it’s to be cons, it is to be constantly maintained, consistently maintained. The church has been blessed with this gift from God through the Holy Spirit and this gift was a result of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And Jesus Paul tells us in first Corinthians 12, verse 13, that he forms two group into one. He tells us that also earlier in this book, two groups incorporating us, incorporating them, Jews and Gentiles in the same body. Believers experience the reality of this new community where there are no racial divisions, no kind of schism of any kind. So it is incumbent on us as believers to preserve this unity that has been attained at a great cost. Folks, it it, it came at a high cost. It was expensive. The piece that Christ has given us is like a rope that ties believers from diverse backgrounds together into one unified whole. And that is the church. That is the church. There’s only one spirit who comforts the saint who helps us in our access to Christ. That’s what to God. That’s what Paul talks about. There’s only one body, one spirit, just as you recall with one calling the Holy Spirit helps us in our access to Christ. There’s only one spirit who makes known the things of Christ to us. That is his spirit, the spirit that adopts us and seals us and is the earnest of our heavenly glory that we are awaiting. There isn’t two spirits, there isn’t multiple spirits, there isn’t one spirit that was given in Acts chapter two and then it fa, he phased out and then we have a different spirit today. It’s the same Holy Spirit of God, just like it’s the same body. It’s just one body. There isn’t two bodies. Jesus Christ didn’t die for two bodies and this folk should be an encouragement to us. This should be an encouragement to us because the Holy Spirit enables us to live the life that we’re called to live. Paul uses the word in verse three bond and it relates to a term at the beginning of the passage that describes his imprisonment. Paul often and he says it even in verse one of chapter four that he’s a prisoner. And the idea is this, just as Paul is bound to his guards by those change that tie them together, Paul wants the believers at Asia Minor and by default us to be bound together in peace and in love. Those are the change that hold us together so that we maintain the unity that Christ has died for and that Christ rose from the dead for maintain that unity. That’s our incentive. That is what we go on. That is our motivation, that we maintain the unity, keep the unity and the bond of peace. So that’s what we need to do folks maintain the unity, the incentive for unity and for harmony. We see in verses four to six, we have already gone through chapter one to three And that should properly incentivize us to maintain the unity in the body. When we look back at all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus, that should be enough for us to remain united in the body. When you see that he’s chosen us before the foundations of the world and all those spiritual blessings that he lavished upon us in chapters one to chapter three, that should be incentive enough for the believer, for the believers to maintain the unity. This appeal that Paul makes is based on our common ground, the common unity that we share in the body. This is stress by using the word one and that word one occurs seven times in these few verses seven times. So what are the common grounds that the believers share and the basis or the incentive on which we ought to always strive, also, always endeavor, always maintain to keep or to keep and maintain the unity in the body. Paul answers this and he says, one incentive is that we are all a part of the same body of Christ. That one body in for two 16 Paul affirms that Christ will and has reconciled both Jews and Gentiles in one body through the cross. And what Paul is trying to emphasize here is that there is only one body as I mentioned earlier, and that is the church of Jesus Christ. He’s sacrificed himself for the church, the body, the bodies. There may be different denominations and there are, there are many, there may be different worship styles and there are Different local assemblies made up of different personalities, different uniqueness, different ethnicities, and you name it, the list goes on and on. But Jesus Christ died for one body that’s his church for even as the body is one yet has many members. Paul tells us in first Corinthians 12 verse 12 and all the members of that body, though there are many, there are one, there’s only one body. So also is Christ Jesus we’re one body folks. Christ died for his church. Christ didn’t die for the Baptist denomination. Christ didn’t die for the Presbyterian denomination. Christ didn’t die for the the any other denomination. He died for his church. He died for his church. And that should be incentive enough for us to continue to maintain that which he has entrusted us with the unity of the body, uh, universally but also corporately ’cause it applies, obviously applies to us corporately as well. Incentive number two is that we have the same spirit. I started on this, mentioned on this a little bit where the Holy Spirit, God’s spirit Who quickens us, who makes us alive, who activates us and who places us apart of this one body, this Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that came in power and might in Acts chapter two who convicts us and convinces us of sin, the Holy Spirit who enlightens us, who illuminates our mind when we read the word of God and it convinces us and convicts us and it open our minds and make us come to a greater understanding of who God is and what he has done for us. The same Holy Spirit that regenerates, he makes us alive and he incorporates us in this one body is only one Holy Spirit. There is only one Holy Spirit. And this should encourage us and to engage us into unity because the contrary conduct is grieving the Holy Spirit. If we’re living a divisive life or if we are not striving to maintain the unity in the body, we are grieving the Holy Spirit of God because he’s not about confusion and disorder, he’s about order not chaos. And we see that right from the beginning that a God, the God that we serve is a God of order, not a God of chaos. That’s why he meticulously created this world in orderly fashion and that’s how we operates and is not going to change. So if we are not striving for unity among the body and if we are ones who are causing division and strife, if we are truly saved, we’re grieving the Holy Spirit of God that indwells us because this is contrary to who he is completely opposite of who he is And we’re not bearing the fruits of the spirit and by one spirit we should be of one heart, one soul, one mind having the same affections towards one another. That’s what we see And what we picture, and this is precisely why I chose to go through the book of Acts because this is the mindset that we see in the Book of Acts. And as I pointed out this oneness of mind occurred even before the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter one, the latter part of Acts chapter one, he said they were of one mind because the Holy Spirit didn’t come to chapter two. That is what God expects of his church. And again, what we do here is a reflection of glory because there’s gonna be no schism and strife and contention in heaven. And it should be a picture of what heaven would look like. What would the life we’re living on earth should be a picture of what heaven is gonna be like. So why would we live a life that is divisive schism and strife and contention for the world to see heaven is gonna be glorious. So let’s let heaven look like now before it comes in eternity. The Holy Spirit makes believers God’s prized possession and they are, he is our guarantee that glory, that glorified body that we’re promised that John said when he appears we shall see him because we shall be like him. That is who the Holy Spirit is or one of his work in us, in our life and in the life of the church. Thus Paul speaks of this one hope and this is the hope that we eagerly anticipate. And to this end we are sovereignly and we were sovereignly called Paul reports in this first part of this letter that he has been praying that the Ephesians will come to a deeper understanding of the hope of God’s calling in their lives. This hope involves a present assurance rooted in God’s provision in salvation, but even more importantly a certain expectation that they will inherit the kingdom of God. And we see, we’ll see this in chapter five verse five, and that God will ultimately bring all parts of the rebellious creation under his, under the headship of his son one, nine and 10. We see this and that. So their believing response to God’s call has resulted in the spirit’s ceiling in one 13 to 14 and they’re in cooperation into this one body. So whereas once there were without hope, as Paul reminds them in two 12, we are now people that are full of hope. We are gone from hopelessness to hopefulness. And because the Gentile readers once saw themselves as subjected to a people that were without hope, this would be convicting to them when they read this and say, look, we have the same hope. We have one hope. The hope that resided in the children of Israel is now your hope. There isn’t two separate hopes. Everything is one oneness, unity. And Paul talks about one Lord. There’s one hope, one holy spirit, one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Lord is the common confession of Paul and the Jews who are dispersed who are hearing these very words that Paul was speaking and what would come to mind when they heard this or when they read this is what was written is it’s called oshima in Deuteronomy six four Hero Israel, the Lord your God is one. That’s the word. Those are the words that they’d be hearing when Paul makes this declaration and say this is the declaration we all make. There’s one Lord, there’s only but one God and he is Jesus Christ Jesus through whom all things came to be. First Corinthians eight verse six. For the Gentiles hearing this confession and making this confession would immediately brings to their attention our team is and that he or she is not Lord. Because this God was very revered among this culture and they would get the idea, you can’t serve our TEUs and serve Jesus Christ. There is only one Lord and his name is Jesus Christ. This folks is the name that is given this name. Lord is the name that is given to Jesus Christ according to Paul and Philippians where every single knee will bow and every tongue will confess. It’s Jesus Christ who is Lord. And we don’t serve multiple lords. It’s only the one Lord that should be incentive enough for us to maintain the unity. The fifth in the series of confessional statement that Paul uses is the one faith. And Paul U normally uses this term faith in the sense of active belief and he does this earlier in the book, but here he uses it to refer to a set of convictions that are commonly confessed among the Christians, whether they’re in Israel, Syria, Greece, Rome or any other part of the world or in the first century medi world. Paul uses a term in this way later on in chapter four verse 13 and it refers to the content of our beliefs. And just think about that momentarily. If we’re confessing the same thing, if we’re proclaiming and serving the one Lord and our confessions of faith is the exact same, how can there be division among uh people who are of the same voice, the same mindset? That’s the idea here. It shouldn’t be any division in the church of God. It shouldn’t be any division. Paul’s statement imply that there are more elements to this common faith than we than than what he has enumerated in the context earlier, these seven statements, you’re saying that Jesus’s cri Jesus’s death on the cross, this is what we confess. He died for our sins, he died for our sins. He rose from the dead, he forgives sins and a variety of other convictions. He is God, he is Lord, he’s master. He’s the sovereign one. He’s the one who creates all things. This is what we confess and if we’re all confessing this, that’s the ground for unity in the body. This statement is clear testimony to the fact that there is just one common faith in the body of Christ. That is our core conviction. That’s why we have statements of faith in our churches and in this church the one that you’ll find discrepancy on the confession is the one baptism. And most commentators believe that this baptism has to do with the water baptism which is identifying or showing that you’ve identified with a death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It they, they do make compelling arguments on this point, but I disagree that it’s talking about water baptism. I strongly believe that this has to do with spirit baptism where we’re placed into the body. And I’m gonna argue from the text itself ’cause Paul starts to talk about one body which is the universal church and the one spirit by default who places us in that body would be the Holy Spirit. So from deductive argument, I strongly believe that Paul is saying here is one baptism, one spirit baptism. There’s one way of us being placed into the same bo one body that he just spoke about. And that is through the active work of the Holy Spirit, right upon salvation, we have been placed into the family of God. We’ve been placed into the kingdom of God through the power, through the working of the Holy Spirit. So I don’t believe that it is water baptism We’re placed into the body. Paul now ends his series of declaration of belief that there’s one God and he describes him as the Father in a unique way, stressing again the sovereignty of God. God is in total and complete control. It describes him as being all powerful. He’s an all powerful God and his presence is in his creation. His confession of the one God reflects again what we saw in the Shema. In Deuteronomy six, four, hero Israel, the Lord your God, he is one. And this was confessed through by the Jews in the second temple period. It is best to interpret the use of, or the repeated use of the alls in this passage to reflect the sovereignty of God, his power and his omnipotence. And of course this fits the overall context of Ephesian where Paul has used this very words to stress God’s power, God’s sovereignty, God’s authority over every single thing For through him Romans 1136, Saint Paul writing for in, for him and through him are all things to him be glory forever. Um, and so it’s stressing the sovereignty of God. The unity of the church was something that was near and dear to the heart for Lord and our savior Jesus Christ. So much so that he prayed for this in his high priestly prayer. Jesus prayed repeatedly that the father would make them make us one. He use that word this unity is possible and essential because it represents an extension of Jesus’s own unity with God the Father And Christ prays protect them by the power of your name so that they may be one even as we are one John 1711, our unity folk reflects the unity that Jesus shares with God the Father. Does that compute to what kind of picture are we presenting to the world that God and his son shares? When we live a life of schism, we’re portraying a wrong image of our Lord and our savior, Jesus Christ. That’s what we’re doing. ’cause that’s not Jesus and God, they’re united. That’s what he says here in the, in the prayer, make them one even as we are one in verse 20 and 21, he continues. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, the message of the apostles that all of them may be what? One, just as you and I, you are in me and I am in you. Verses 23, 22, 23. I have given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one I in them and you in me. May they be brought, bought, or brought rather to complete unity. To let the world know here it is, to let the world know that you sent me and have loved me or loved them even as you have loved me. That is what we are showing to the world when we unite that God sent his son For us, that God’s love is being demonstrated through us. Reflecting on this priority and the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul urges the believers in Ephesus and among the churches in Western Asia Minor to give an abundant attention to pursue unity. And three factors are essential for us as a church to pursue unity for them and for us, developing virtues that enhance unity. And we looked at these last week, it is essential to work on developing Christ-like virtues to enhance unity. And this passage pause speaks of the importance of cultivating humility, cultivating gentleness, patience, tolerance, love and peace. And developing these virtues is an important aspect of what it means to make every effort to maintain the unity in the body of Christ. So conversely what that means then, and Paul is gonna get into this, put off, put on idea later in the in the in the book. Conversely, what this means is we need to rid ourselves of any characteristic and character trait that will hurt and harm and cause vision among the body of Jesus Christ. And again, that’s where self inventory comes in. So, so vital ’cause we have to in look at ourselves, first and foremost Make every effort to get rid of anything that will cause strife, contention, and division within the church. So practically we should examine ourselves in light of these things. If we are too quick to get angry, we need to work on patience. We need to work on patience. If we have the tendency to be proud, arrogant, egocentric and boastful. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t struggle with these bad traits? And if that’s the case, and since that’s the case, we need to work on humility. We need to work on humility. If we are insensitive, bullish at times, rough, bossy, or quick to impose on others, we need to work on gentleness. If we struggle with being intolerant with shortcomings of other people, we need to work on bearing with one another in love. If unity among fellow believers in our own local assemblies is not a priority to us, we need to make it a priority. We absolutely must make this a priority. And if the hardened pursuit of this unity between the bo churches and within the body is not a priority, again we need to make this a priority. We share a common faith, we share a commitment to a common faith. Unity begins by sharing a commitment to a common faith as an integral and central part of his appeal. Paul places a confession of faith. And these credo statements are some of the core truths on which all the believers in Asia Minor agreed there were truths about God and that informed them how they ought to worship this God. How they should worship, how they should approach this God, how they they taught the new believers is gonna be important as well. And how we celebrate when we meet as a body of believers, a body of believer unity begins by sharing a commitment to a common faith and a common calling. Unity is also based on the relationship with the one true God where united with him through Christ who has called us into a bond with himself four different times. In this passage, Paul uses the word call as a part of the basis for his appeal for unity. And this calling of God’s invitation to is God’s invitation for all of us to respond to him in faith And based on him choosing us. This calling is our opportunity to experience God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s love who has redeemed us, who has forgiven us, who has united us in Christ, who is exalted at his right hand. For it is a privilege. It is our privilege to experience God’s peace because of Jesus Christ. Because Christ came and he made peace. He reconciled us to God, he united us to God. He made us a part of the family of God. And it should be a privilege for us to be at peace with God, to experience his peace, to experience his love, to be intimately close with him by our identification with his son Jesus Christ. That is an awesome privilege that we share. So our calling is our new identity. This is who we are in Jesus Christ, not who we once were. Paul gonna talk about that. Don’t walk like the Gentiles, walk in the futility of their mind and he explains what that looks like. We are different. We’re set apart. And as I said last week, the world has to look at the church, whether it’s locally here in Bowmanville Baptist Church or the church universal. The world has to look at us and see something different. They can’t see what they’re already seeing, what they’re already living, what they’re already experiencing, experiencing. How is that gonna attract them to us? How is that gonna attract them to Jesus Christ? How is that letting our light shine so they may see our good works and give God glory? They won’t if the church is constantly divided. And it doesn’t matter if the thing is insignificant, the division or the schism or the strife or it’s monumental. Nothing in God’s church demands division. Nothing in the body of Jesus Christ should spur us or should push us to cause strife and contention. Nothing. There is no Bible verse that justifies division in the body of Jesus Christ. You won’t find it. I guarantee it. He’s not there. This is a privilege that has been granted and given to us because we share this profound experience of redemption through Christ salvation in Christ. And we see that we’re united with Christ. We’re one with him, one with our Lord and our Savior and our God. And this is where our hope springs from, this powerful bond of unity that has been given to us, that have been gifted to us through the work of Christ, through the Holy Spirit that indwells us. And it should lead us to worship this glorious and great God that we serve recognition of our calling by God diminishes our sense of self. Or it should, it should diminish our sense of self-importance and should is the operative word there. And it should enable us to cultivate humility that is so foundational to guarding and striving for guarding the unity in the body of Christ. Foundational humility. God did not choose us. God did not call us. I know he didn’t me I, you might defer, but he didn’t choose me because I was awesome, because I was spectacular or because I was great. He chose me for his great glory and his great grace. Something that I still ponder about, especially when we analyze verse chapters one to three, that I am that important to God. But the unity that God has called us to is equally as important. Our calling represents God’s initiative and his unmerited, mercy and grace upon us. As Peter O’Brien says, we are a society of profound or pardoned rebels, sorry, a society of pardoned rebels on whom God has showered his favored upon. And that’s who we are. Remember I end with this quote or this illustration. Remember putting your face and we all have done it. We see that farms and other places putting your face to a headless frame painted to represent sometimes a muscle man, sometimes a clown or some other figure. And we’re putting our heads, we’re taking pictures and we laugh, we smile, we show other people. Many of us have heads, have had our pictures taken in this way. Photos are humorous because the head doesn’t fit the body, the head doesn’t fit the body. So picture this, if we could picture Christ as a head of this local assembly and of his church universally, which he, he is with the world seeing this picture laugh of to scorn because it’s a grotesque misfit because the head doesn’t fit the body with they laugh because this is hilarious. ’cause the head like those figures that we take at the farm and other places, it doesn’t fit the body. Or would they stand in awe? And I pray that this is where we are and I pray that this is what we’re striving for. Or would this standing awe of a human body that is so closely related to the divine, what would the world see If Christ’s head, which it is, is pictured with his body? We defame Christ in so many ways in our lives, but corporately, this is the biggest way we make the cross of Christ a non effect to the world when we cause strife and the vision. And Paul right off the outset, right after the theological truth that he painted in chapters one to three goes right to the the meat of the matter. If anything, all of these other spirituality, the spiritual battles that you’re going to face, especially when we come to chapter six, if you can’t defeat this one, you’re already defeated if you can’t be united because these are hinged on unity among the body. And I pray that we will continue on a daily basis to strive to maintain the unity of the body of Jesus Christ. It is very key. It’s very vital for us and with something that we shouldn’t take lightly. It is something that we should endeavor on a daily basis to do like we should be keep um, being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. It is too important and Christ died for his body. And if he died for it, he dictates how the body should operate. And as I said, if what he did for us isn’t incentive enough, these oneness that we looked at should in has to incentivize us to live united, there’s nothing better. That’s why the Psalm is Psalm 1 33. Nothing better than seeing brothers just dwell in unity. There’s something phenomenal about it, and I know you know this. You’ve seen it. There’s just something phenomenal about seeing a group of people come together, different walks of life, different personalities, different in differences so to speak, and different character flaws. But unlike that orchestra who everybody has a negative descriptive to them, but when the conductor wheels that wand plays beautiful music, may that be us here at Bowmanville Baptist Church. May we continually strive to maintain the unity and the bond of peace through love. God has enabled us. He has given us his spirit, given us the gift of unity. But he has given us a responsibility to maintain it at all costs. Let’s do that. Father, we’re so grateful, so thankful for these hard truth. Lord, as a proverbial thing goes hard, pill to swallow. But God, to this end, you have called us as we’ve seen in the text. And God, as we live from day to day, as we strive for personal sanctification in our own lives individually, I pray corporately that we will strive to maintain, to keep watch over and uphold the unity that you have entrusted and gifted us with. Enable us through your spirit, Lord, to be able to deal with differences and they will come, but deal with them in a manner that will not cause strife, schisms, and the vision in the body. We thank you for your spirit who gives us the enablement and the power to do so and to live the life that you’ve called us to live, to walk worthy in the manner of our calling. And may this be our on the top of our lips and the top of our hearts. Every moment we breathe, every time we wake up, every time we go to bed. Lord, this is your church that you purchased the high cost and you have called us to live a life that is vastly different than the life that is out there in the world. And I pray you enable us to do so for Christ’s sake. Amen.