Lectures: Ephesians 4:1–3 and Christian Unity

These lectures form a series on the basis of Christian unity based on Ephesians 4:1–3 delivered at the annual **Faithbuilders of the Northwest** conference held in Tacoma, Washington, at the **Lakeview church of Christ** as a collective work of many congregations of the Pacific Northwest. The theme of the conference: “That They May All Be One” (John 17:21).

I believe that Paul’s instruction beginning in Ephesians 4 lays the responsibility of maintaining the unity Jesus died for, the Holy Spirit secures, and the Father purposed on the redeemed, on us Christians. It takes people redeemed and led by the Spirit of God in order to accomplish a unity that cannot be achieved in no other way. I pray these talks will provide you with the same hope they have given me when I was preparing them.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
Ephesians 4:1–3 (English Standard Version)

1 – Unity Requires a Worthy Lifestyle (Ephesians 4:1)

Description: Paul places a high priority on a Christian’s lifestyle and how it must be anchored to what God is doing in Christ as a community. Christians are not to think in terms of individuality, but about what God is doing by uniting the body of Christ. We must live worthy of this work in Christ.

2 – Unity Requires Three Attitudes (Ephesians 4:2)

Description: We must develop the attitudes of humility, gentleness, and patience if we are going to contribute to the greater fullness of the unity found in Christ. We must (1) realize that in Christ, our egos have gone to die, (2) learn to embrace our shared need for acceptance, and (3) learn to take the long view of God’s grace applied to all members of the body of Christ.

3 – Unity Requires Two Behaviors (Ephesians 4:3)

Description: Actions manifest our attitudes. We speak with actions. Unity is spoken clearly felt and communicated when Christians learn to endure the challenges of life in the body. We are all prickly in our own way, we must demonstrate love for each other with our endurance. This feeds into another behavior which is to trust God’s Spirit to bind us rather than our perfection. God’s organic work of unity is our goal to bring all nations together into the family of God.