Ephesians 4:3-5: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
At times the church seems so fragmented and divided. Not only do various churches have difficulty getting along with each other, but often, members of the same church are acrimonious. This acrimony can be exhibited by backstabbing and gossip, and by church members not speaking to each other. Obviously, this behavior displeases God.
I have often said that I am glad that I met Jesus before I met too many Christians. As Christians we should reflect the light of God's love, but too often, we reflect the darkness of our own souls.
Christians rail against entertainers such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Eminem, as though they are the source of all evil in our culture. The greatest problem in our culture is that the church often walks in strife and animosity, rather than in love and unity.
In John 13:35 Jesus said, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 17 contains the prayer of Jesus for the church. He prays for his own disciples, but he also prays for those who will believe through their message. Look at what Jesus prayed in verses 22-23: I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus prayed for believers to be brought to complete unity. For what purpose? First of all, so that the world will know that God has sent Jesus. Secondly, so that world will know that God loves them even as he has loved his own son.
Why are so many churches weak and impotent? They are not allowing the work of the Holy Spirit to fulfull the prayer of Jesus to bring them to complete unity. So the world sees the church reflecting the darkness of their own souls, rather than reflecting the light of the love of God.
In Ephesians 4:3-5 Paul exhorts the church at Ephesus to make "every effort" to keep the unity of the Spirit. Now what does "every effort" mean? I believe that God expects us to make a total commitment to unity. I believe he expects us to never sow strife. I believe he expects us to never gossip. I believe that he expects us to repent and to ask for forgiveness, when we wrong someone else. I believe he expects us to be wise to the schemes of the evil one.
Notice that Paul talks about the unity of the Spirit and not about doctrinal unity. We have doctrinal differences, but that should not preclude us from walking in the unity of the Spirit.
Here is a scheme that Satan uses against me. When I listen to someone preach, I may agree with 99% of what the preacher is saying. But I have noticed that I tend to focus on the 1% that I don't agree with. That is a device of the evil one at work in my life. The evil one wants to separate me from that brother or sister, just because of the 1% of doctrine that we see differently. How foolish that is!! But it is a device that is at work every day in the church. And it is a device that Satan uses quite sucessfully.
We will never come into complete doctrinal unity until we reach heaven. But we can make every effort to walk in the unity of the Spirit, which means that in every situation we seek to relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ in the love of God.
Next time I will discuss the "bond of peace."
In closing I want to encourage you to do your part. The church functions properly when every member does his or her part to keep the unity of the Spirit. We cannot function for someone else. But we can do our part day, by day, by day.
My daughter teaches a Bible study. This group consists of several members, who are part of a drug rehab program. One member is a nineteen year old young man named Bo.
Bo was well on his way to death. He was totally committed to the use of drugs. But one day Bo was arrested, and he faced the decision of joining a rehab program or going to jail. Bo wisely chose the rehab program.
Bo dropped out of high school. Bo is not well versed in the Word of God. But Bo is growing and Bo has learned to live in peace, and in unity with those around him. In many ways he is one of the most mature young men I have ever met.
A couple of weeks ago Bo expressed his philosophy of life. He said that life is simple. He said that every day you have the opportunity to make decisions. You can make a decision based on fear, or you can make a decision based on love. Bo has found peace by learning to make decisions based on love.
Imagine the unity that would permeate the church, if each member made daily decisions based on the love of God, rather than fear.
Let's determine that each day we will do our part to promote unity in the church by making decisions based on love and unity, rather than making decisions based on fear. Let's choose to reflect the light of God's love, rather than the darkness of our own souls. Then the world will know that the Father sent Jesus, and they will be drawn to his love through the unity and love at work in us.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org