Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Eph. 4: 1-6 Feb. 4, 2024

Message: “God’s Seven-fold Unity”

by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. Today’s passage is the only place in the Word of God that explains the seven unique features of the Christian Faith.

2. We could call it God’s creed in a simplified form. I would like to share it with you today. Vs. 1-3 serve as an introduction.

a. In vs. 1, Paul asks all of us who love the Lord to “live worthy of the calling we have received.”  In Paul’s case, it meant standing firm in his faith even as a Roman prisoner.

b. God asks different things from each of us, but all of us are expected to “live worthy of our calling.”

3. In vs. 2, Paul explains how each of us is expected to live. He writes: “Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

a. We all have different personalities. Some people probably turn us off. But as Christians, God wants us to be kind and patient with each other.

b. Then he adds in vs. 3: “Make every effort to main-tain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”   Satan loves to divide Christians by stressing our differences. Jesus wants us to seek peace and harmony by stressing what we have in common.

c. It is amazing how much Christians can do together when we are humble, gentle, patient and kind to each other.  

4. This brings us to the sevenfold unity that we have in Christ. It is Paul’s way of sharing what all of us who are Christians have in common.

A. The first thing we all should understand, found in vs. 4,  is that we are “one body.” Paul calls us “the body of Christ.” 

1. In Rom. 12, Paul compares the human body to the body of Christ. The human body has many different parts that all work together in order for us to work effectively. 

a. Our eyes are different from our ears, our hands are different than our feet, our stomachs are different than our hearts.  But every part of the body is equally important.

b. So is the church of Christ, called the body of Christ.

There are many different churches, and each church is made up of many different people. But God looks down on us and knows “those who are His.” 

2. In God’s eyes, all of us who truly love the Lord are asked to work together as if we were one body.

B. Secondly, vs. 4 says, true Christians all have “one Spirit,” the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in our hearts.

1. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the trinity. He helps us understand God’s Word. He helps us to pray to the Father. He is a gift from Jesus, so that Jesus can live in us, even though Jesus is now in heaven.

2. While we cannot see Him, God knows exactly who has the Holy Spirit in his heart. He is the One who creates the unity in the body of Christ! 

3. We can only see with our human eyes. God sees and knows our hearts. We see all of our differences. God sees and knows who truly has His Holy Spirit.

C. Thirdly, in vs. 4, it says: “just as you were called to one hope when you were called.”

1. In Rom. 8:13, Paul speaks of the “redemption of our bodies.” And then adds: “for in this hope we were saved.”

2. In Titus 2:13, Paul writes: “We wait for our blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us…” 

a. The Bible teaches us that when Jesus comes again, that is when He will raise up our earthly bodies and transform them into glorified bodies, uniting them to our spirits that go to be with the Lord when we die.

b. It is the climax of our faith. It is the actual moment when everything will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

3. In Rom. 8:14, Paul writes: “Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not have, then we wait for it patiently.” May God give us the faith and grace to wait for it patiently. 

D. Fourthly, in Eph. 4: 5, the Bible simply says there is “One Lord.”

1. Of course, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. In Phil. 2: 9-11, it says: “God has exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

2. When a person becomes a Christian, we are commanded to accept Him as our Lord and Savior.  No earthly ruler has ever lived who is greater than our Lord Jesus Christ.

a. When Jesus went to heaven, Rome insisted that Christians bow to the Roman emperor. In our day, in India, China, North Korea, just to name a few- they all demand allegiance to their leaders and gods. Many Christians have had to pay a high price for their allegiance to Jesus.

b. But the Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus is Lord of all. It is one of the foundation stones of our faith.

E. Fifthly, in Eph. 4:5, it speaks of “one faith.”

1. Christians believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are asked to put their faith in Christ. But “faith” can also be a noun, meaning “the faith.”  

2. The gospels spell out different aspects of our faith, how Jesus came as the Messiah, was born of a virgin, did thousands of miracles, yet gave His life on the cross to save us from our sins.

3. Everything we believe is in the Bible. Jesus is the key to the Scriptures. Our faith includes all that the Bible teaches us about Jesus.

F. Sixthly, in Eph. 4:5, it speaks of “one baptism.”

1.  In I Cor. 12:13, it says: “For we were all baptized with one Spirit into one body… and made to drink of the one Spirit.” 

2. This fulfilled Jesus promise that He would come and baptize us with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:5).

3. Water baptism, at best, is simply an outward way of expressing our faith that Jesus has come to live in our hearts through His Holy Spirit.

G. Finally, in Eph. 4:6, it speaks of “one God and Father, who is over all, and through all, and in all.”

1. Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father, who is in heaven.”  He repeatedly called Himself “the Son of God, who came to glorify His Father.” 

2. So many scholars have been quick to point out that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all part of this sevenfold unity, reaffirming the truth of the trinity.

In Conclusion: This passage is an excellent summary of our faith, and a good passage to be familiar with. I pray it will be a blessing to you.