Virtues Guarding Spiritual Unity (Ephesians 4:1-3)
Virtues Guarding Spiritual Unity
Ephesians 4:1-3
Introduction
Ephesians is like a spider’s web. There are multiple strands of thought which all converge in a glorious center, and each strand supports the whole in its unique way. Or, if you would like to change the analogy, Ephesians is like a metal chain. Each link is connected to and built upon the last, and if you pull on one link it will move the next. Well, we have come to one of the most important links in that chain in this passage. Particularly, in relationship to the word “Therefore.” This hinge turns the whole epistle, and transports the doctrinal into the practical.
It is very easy to think of doctrine and practice—explanation and application—as two separate things. And therefore, we assume all too quickly that once Paul hits the second half of his letter that he changes gears, forgets everything he has said, and proceeds to issue random commands to do vaguely good things. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In reality, doctrine and practice are intertwined. Explanation and application interpenetrate. They go back over the same reality with a different emphasis. To put it this way, application is doctrine enacted. It is theology put to use.
Paul does not change topics when he hits chapter 4 and shifts into application mode. Rather, he recapitulates the same topic—the church in God’s program—with an eye to that topic’s use. Yet again, the imperatives of chapters 4-6 enact the indicatives of chapters 1-3 in church life. Chapters 1-3 are put to use in chapters 4-6. It is vital to see this because this is how this book works. In fact, not only does this book work this way, but all of Christian life works this way. Christianity is an “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5)—actions springing from convictions. In another place, Paul says, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing” (1 Tim 6:3-4). Christian teaching is the “teaching that accords with godliness.” However far Christian teaching extends, so also godliness should extend—however far Christian godliness would like to extend, thus far Christian teaching should reach.
This is all, again, expressed in that one word in 4:1, “Therefore.” So, to introduce this extraordinary and extremely—painfully!—practical portion of Ephesians, we must spend some time gathering up the teachings from chapters 1-3 in order to show how this sets up for the absolute imperative of unity in the church.
God aims at his own glory. Three times in chapter 1 Paul says that God works in redemption “to the praise of his glory.” And in aiming at his own glory, he seeks to glorify his Son. The Father’s love is not a selfish love but is a love which glories in the exaltation of his Son. Every Father is most happy when his Son makes something of himself, and our heavenly Father is that way as well. Thus, in order to glorify his Son, God devised a plan, which is called by many names throughout chapter 1. It is his “choice.” It is his “predestination.” It is his “the purpose of his will.” It expresses his “wisdom and insight.” It is the “mystery of his will,” his “purpose.” It was “the administration of the fullness of the times.” And the focal point—the center of the spider’s web—is in 1:10—“to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” God’s purpose is to glorify himself in his Son by exalting his Son as the head of a new creation.
Thus, he goes to work in history, “working all things according to the counsel of his will,” directing all things according to this great purpose. He accomplishes that plan through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross to redeem us from our sins. And he sends the gospel out into all the world, the “word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,” which we then hear with the ears of faith by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. And we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our future inheritance.
Now, God has accomplished that purpose through Jesus. By the working of his great power, he sent Jesus to become a man like us, and worked his power to raise Jesus from the dead, and then to seat him by virtue of that death in the spiritual realm, far above all spiritual powers and authorities. And now all things are under his feet. While his reign over the heavens and the earth wait to be consummated at his return, he has nonetheless triumphed over all evil spiritual powers. And that Jesus has been given to the church as its head, and the church is the physical presence of Christ on earth, especially when it gathers.
The church on earth is built out of spiritual stones which Christ individually saved. Despite our spiritual death, our habitual chosen lifestyle of sin and misery, God loved us and reached down and saved us by making us alive with Christ, raising us up into heaven with him, and seating us with Christ at the right hand of God. By his grace he has called us to then walk in the spiritual works he has called us to within the context of his body. And, moreover, the salvation of each one of us accumulates to the formation of a unified body. God has reconciled us to himself through the cross in one body. It is not God’s intention, nor is it consistent with God’s plan of redemption in Christ, to be a helter-skelter Christian, sometimes here, sometimes there, but rather to be joined to a body, a local, physical gathering of Christians who physically manifest Christ’s headship on earth, especially when they gather.
When the church gathers, it then becomes the beachhead, the foretaste, the miniature model of what the future unified world under Christ’s headship will look like. We are built together into a holy dwelling place for God—we are unified as the new humanity under Jesus Christ. All of this demonstrates to the angels, and the evil angels in particular, that God is wise.
And Paul says, “Therefore. Because all of that is true, there is a way of enacting those realities in church life. There is a way of demonstrating these spiritual realities in tangible, physical actions.” The reality of what the church is demands that the church act a certain way. If we don’t act that way, we cut against the very purposes of redemption. We do what we do because we are what we are. Our activity flows from our nature—and Paul has been explaining our nature since 1:1. Now, having laid out the place of the Church in God’s plan of redemption, he proceeds to explain what the church must do to act out what it is.
As we approach the second half of this book, there are a number of elements that we need to set up in order for the future studies to make sense. Remember: there is a logic to Paul’s thought. Biblical thought is not a bunch of nice, spiritual thoughts strung together. It is, instead, many different integrated pieces of one whole picture. And we need to get the whole picture. So we need to take some time to understand this picture before we get into the virtues which preserve unity in 4:1-3.
First, we must notice something very important about chapters 4-6: they are structured around the word “walk.” Just as God has prepared beforehand certain good works that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10), Paul now defines what that walk looks like:
· 4:1 – “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”
· 4:17 – “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk was the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”
· 5:2 – “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
· 5:8 – “Walk as children of the light.”
· 5:15 – “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.”
The walk of the church enacts the nature of the church. We fulfill our place in God’s plan by being and doing what a church should be and do. Which implies that if you want to be part of God’s plan, you need to be part of church life. You need to be unified, under sound teaching, speaking the truth in love, growing in maturity. You need to be putting of the old man and putting on the new. You need to walk in love for one another, forsaking any relationship with darkness. You need to walk with wisdom in the church by singing together and giving thanks and submitting to one another. You need to make sure your household is in order. That is how we act out of place in God’s plan.
Second, we need to talk a bit about unity, because the first of those “walks” is the walk of unity. If we are to enact our place in God’s plan of redemption, we must be unified as a church. Chapter 4:1-16 is a section all about the unity of the church.
Unity is a very important thing, and something which seems to me to be gravely misunderstood by modern Christians. In order to understand what Paul is talking about when he says “unity,” let us remind ourselves of what spiritual unity is not. Spiritual unity, first, is not the same thing as a spirit of brotherliness or camaraderie. That might be a certain kind of unity, but it is not the unity that Paul speaks of here. It is not the feeling of “we’re in this together, we’re on the same side.” Spiritual unity, second, is not having a common goal or aim to be for something or against something. For example, Protestant Evangelicals and Catholics may both be against abortion, but that does not mean they can be unified. Spiritual unity, third, is not the same thing as organizational unity. Simply because people are part of the same organization, the same church, the same denomination, or can sign the same statement of unity does not mean that they have spiritual unity. Spiritual unity, fourth, is not the same thing as spiritual uniformity or spiritual sameness. We do not have spiritual unity simply because we all have the same approach to schooling or politics or budgeting or what to wear on Sunday morning. It is very common in legalistic churches to make these things into the criteria for unity, all while they neglect the “weightier things of the law.”
What then is spiritual unity? Paul helps us here. First, spiritual unity is built on sound doctrine. That is the importance of the “therefore.” We walk in unity because we can affirm the truths of Ephesians 1-3. Unity, as we will see, is the byproduct of sound doctrine, which is precisely why teaching has prize of place in the church. Shepherds and teachers are to equip the saints for the work of ministry. That is why Paul reminds Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). I remember someone posing a question to a college class, “If you had to choose between unity and purity, which would you choose?” And my response was, “That’s a false dichotomy.” The unity of the church is built upon the purity of its doctrine. And it is precisely when we begin to compromise on the teaching of Scripture that the church begins to divide.
Second, spiritual unity is the product of the Spirit of God living in us. That is why Paul calls it the “unity of the Spirit” (4:3). Unity is not a man-made thing. It doesn’t come from humanly-created organizational structures. It cannot be imposed from above. It cannot be manufactured by association or denomination. Rather, it is forged through the common possession of the Spirit of God who works in each of our hearts to renew us in Christ’s image. We are unified primarily because we each possess the Spirit. And as the Spirit works in us, he creates the graces, virtues, and habits necessary to both express and preserve that unity. Thus, this unity cannot be experienced or practiced apart from the presence of the Spirit.
Which means that, third, spiritual unity is part and parcel of what it means to be part of the Spirit’s work. The “unity of the Spirit” exists within the “bonds of peace.” A bond is a fastener or a relational bond, and peace is the perfect state of wholeness and harmony. Peace is the state of the new heavens and earth. And Paul says that the unity of the Spirit exists in the relational bond we all share because we have all tasted that future world. As we have said so many times before, we are the new humanity, and therefore God has made “peace” among us. Thus the unity of that new humanity rests in the chair of the common bond of peace we have through the indwelling spirit. It’s part of the new humanity.
Paul begins by urging us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.” This is that call: the call to be part of the future world. The only time that the word “call” is used in Ephesians is 1:18 – “Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.” He has called us to a hope. And that hope is our future inheritance—the new perfect world under Christ’s headship. We have been called to that world, and so we are drawn to that world, and there is a manner of life now which is “worthy” of the world, fitting for that world. And that world is characterized by unity in Christ—the harmony and working together of all the pieces of that world for the great end of glorifying Jesus. And there is a way of walking in the church that telegraphs that future unity.
That walk is the walk of unity. We are called to unity as a church. If we are called to unity as a church, we are therefore called to the spiritual virtues that express that unity. Now, this is important, and we will enlarge on it in a second, but we need to say that these actions preserve our unity, or guard our unity. They do not create our unity. We are one in Christ. Paul discussed this at length in 2:11-22. He has 2:15, created “in himself one new man in the place of two, so making peace,” and has reconciled us “both to God in one body through the cross.” The two are now one, and that unity consists in our common union to Jesus. So, if we truly believe, we are one. We don’t have to become one, we are one. So our task is not to forge a unity which does not exist, but focus on habituating virtues which serve to express and preserve that unity.
It’s much like marriage. If the husband and wife are disunified, it doesn’t make them unmarried, but it does cut against the grain of their marriage union. And so the way they experience the blessings of unity in marriage is by expressing their marriage covenant through virtues that promote unity. They are one. Now they need to preserve their oneness.
Notice further, that unity is not uniformity. Unity is not the same thing as being the same as everyone else. We do not want to create sameness in the church. We want to create unity in the church. Sometimes the way that we can produce unity is by ensuring through one means or another that everyone says and does and believes and prefers exactly the same things. That is a false unity which only creates a legalistic attitude or discourages the hearts of the saints. But that is not the case. Unity is not sameness of opinion. It is not identical preferences. It is not exact match on beliefs and interpretation. Unity is rather a spiritual virtue that has to do with the disposition of the heart. Thus, it is possible to disagree and be unified! So we are not seeking that everyone walks lock step with the leaders. We rather are seeking the kind of spiritual virtue in our hearts which would lead us to be humble in our disagreements, gentle with each other, patient, bearing with one another, and eager to do anything biblically permissible to maintain that unity in peace.
But we cannot walk in unity if we do not first understand where our unity comes from and the mechanisms God has given us for preserving it. And that is what Paul teaches us. Church unity must be preserved by spiritual virtues that promote unity in the church. Church unity can only be preserved if we walk in spiritual virtue. As Paul points out, our worthy walk can only be realized through humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, and eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We cannot be unified if we do not actively practice these virtues.
I. Humility
First, all humility. The word literally means “lowly-minded.” It is well explained in Romans 12:3, “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” To be proud is to be high-minded, and therefore to refuse to associate with people who you believe to be lower than you are. Thus Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” It is impossible to live in harmony and to be haughty at the same time. If we are humble, we will associate with the lowly. We will give ourselves to do menial tasks.
So also the same idea happens in Colossians 3:12-13: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Humility is attended by compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and holiness. Humility feels the hurts of others, expresses kindness toward them rather than harshness, forgives them when they ask, and walks in holiness.
Or again, and explicitly in the context of unity, Philippians 2:3-4: if we are to have the same mind, we must “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It is when we begin to count ourselves more significant than other believers that compromise the unity of the church. So, Paul says that the walk of unity must be “with all humility.” With lowly-mindedness in every respect.
High-minded comparison must have no place in our ranks. Remember how Paul emphasized in Ephesians 2:3 how we all used to live in sin: “among whom we all once lived,” how we were “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” We all came from the same spot, and the only thing that made the difference was the grace of God. And furthermore, we have all be united in one body through the cross which saved us from that living death. We all came in the same way. And we are all equally members of the same body, citizens of the same spiritual nation, members of God’s family all the same. There is no place for high-mindedness in the church.
II. Gentleness
Second, gentleness. That word means to not be overly impressed with your self-importance. And that is always expressed in harshness in your dealings with others. In other words, the reason why humility and gentleness are paired together is because humility is the inward disposition of the heart—lowly-mindedness—and gentleness is the outward expression of the words and actions. When we are overly impressed with ourselves, we tend to speak harshly towards others or carry about a kind of jagged disposition. Some people walk around and relate to people as though they were made of razor blades. Come close to them and they’ll cut you if you even try to touch them. Harshness is a soul made of sandpaper. It is rough and abrasive and uncomfortable.
In another connection, gentleness is “that attitude of spirit [wherein] we accept God’s dealings with us as good and do not dispute or resist.” Gentleness is born of contentment in God’s providence. When we are happy to receive from God whatever he gives us, it creates a smoothness, a peace in the soul, which expresses itself with a serene happiness and a gentleness in our dealings with others. Thus James 1:21 says that we must “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness [gentleness] the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” We receive from God what we need, and this creates gentleness in us when we are content with it.
Just as humility is necessary to guard the unity of the church, so also is gentleness. Harsh words split churches I have often found it to be the case that few churches divide, few members leave, because of substantive theological differences. Most church division happens because of an overstated personal preference—a personal opinion that was asserted too harshly or too often. And harsh words tend to stir up other harsh words. Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Soft answers could save churches. Gentleness of the tongue is the healing balm for church division. We cannot guard our unity unless we practice gentleness.
III. Patience
Third, patience. Now, admittedly, I don’t like that translation of this word. Perhaps your Bible has a word like “longsuffering” or “forbearance.” Indominable patience in the face of wrongdoing. The ability to stay anger when slighted. The idea is not just being willing to wait for something. It means being able to bear up under provocation. It is emotional calm in the face of misfortune without complaint. And that last part is the key. It is not enduring trials or slanders or the sins of others with a dour, sullen, crestfallen fatalism. It is rather to gladly bear up under these things without complaining or becoming irritable because God has ordained these things in my life. Yet how often and how quickly we forget these things. Something bad happens and the world’s smallest violin plays “My Heart Bleeds.” Forbearance refuses to play the victim card. Rather it says, “Lord, I trust you. I will patiently entrust these things to you, even as I suffer them.”
It is to follow the example of Isaac—just dig another well. Just move on. It isn’t worth the strife. Or perhaps, the kind of longsuffering Jesus bore with sinners. For 30-some years, Jesus exercised patience, longsuffering. He was provoked by the sin of the people, the intransigence of his disciples, the dullness of their learning process, the false accusations of the leaders, his ignoble death. But he bore up under it and did not lash out in sin and anger. How much more unified would the church be if we did the same?
And let’s be honest: we all need a lot of patience! How often do we say something dumb, or fall into the same sins which hurt others, or make the same mistakes again and again. If we didn’t have patience, we would blow ourselves apart! It is vital to the guardianship of spiritual unity to habitually suffer the sins and mistakes of one another. Learn to overlook offenses. Someone says something insensitive; learn to say in your heart, “I probably just misunderstood them.” Someone doesn’t see your suffering; learn to say, “The Lord is sufficient for me.”
IV. Loving Forbearance
Fourth, bearing with one another in love. “Bearing with” means tolerating. Enduring. Putting up with. Now, it doesn’t sound like a very nice thing to say “I tolerate you.” But I think there is a very important element in what Paul is saying. There is a kind of holy tolerance of the sins of others. Holy tolerance holds oneself upright in adversity and in the sins of others. And in that sense, it is very similar to longsuffering. It is to put up with something.
There are a lot of things that we must put up with. There are things we simply acknowledge about one another that are personality differences, and we put up with it. Some people rub each other the wrong way—we tolerate. There are things that we notice about others where there might be a sin they are prone to. While we are not to simply sit back and do nothing, we are to put up with it as long as it is there. If you are going to sit under my preaching for the next 20 years, there are going to be things that you just have to decide to tolerate about me! I’m not a perfect preacher or pastor. I’m learning every day. The Lord is sovereign over this church. There will have to be moments where you’ll have to say, “I don’t really like that, but I will choose to put up with it.”
Now, for the most important element: the attitude of tolerance. We are to bear with one another in love. And that is absolutely key. It is possible to bear with one another in annoyance, or in the hope that soon the torture will end. It is possible to bear with one another for other motives. But we must bear with one another in love. It is because we are committed to love one another, even as Christ has loved us, that we must tolerate the flaws, mistakes, sins, and foibles of one another. If we do not bear with in love, then our tolerance will simply devolve into angry annoyance or apathetic disillusionment.
V. Zeal
Fifth, zeal. The final virtue is zeal. It literally can mean to hasten or hurry. In relationship to virtues, it means to be “conscientious in discharging our obligations.” We know what we have to do, and we take pains in order to do it. That is eagerness. Zeal. Zeal is not just the emotion of feeling excited about something. It is that, but it is also matched by the kind of self-awareness and self-discipline which follows through. So, zeal for unity is not simply a strong desire that we would be unified, but a corresponding self-discipline to recognize and follow through on preserving that unity.
For example, a person filled with zeal for unity will feel a strong desire to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But they will not leave it there. Say there is a situation where they know of a division between two people in the church. There is a disagreement about some preference they have or some personality trait. The zealous person will encourage those two to get along. They will be conscientious to guard the church’s unity by brokering peace. Therefore, Philippians 4:2-3, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women.”
Or again, if you find that there is a rift between you and another member of our church, a relational break so that it is awkward when you’re in the same room, what do you do? Do you silently slip out, hoping that nobody noticed and that you didn’t make waves, all the while desperately wishing that you didn’t have to feel that way? Or, do you seek to make it right by zealously and conscientiously guarding the church’s unity through reconciliation? Thus, Matthew 5:23-24, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” That is zeal.
Conclusion
These five spiritual virtues preserve the unity wrought by the Spirit. Lowly-mindedness. Gentleness. Longsuffering. Loving forbearance. Zeal. What a church that is! That’s the kind of church I want to be a part of….
The church that practices these things will be unified. Acts 2:42-47 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with gladness and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” You know what comes from a unified church? Fruitful witness! One of the main ways we’ll see people saved is if we model this kind of unity in our midst
But we have to recognize that these are spiritual virtues, and virtues must be practiced regularly if they are to take their effect. We must resolve as a church to practice these things faithfully.