Ephesians 4:1-16

Ephesians 4:1-16

The transition between chapters 3 and 4 is marked by the word “therefore” and shifts the emphasis of a letter from doctrine to behavior, from orthodoxy to orthopraxy. This passage is a beautiful description of the functional unity of the body of Christ. It works toward the conclusion of the church and its individual parts, the people, maturing into a body that fits the head and lives in perpetual support and love for each other. Working backwards from there, we see that this mature body is a result of the functionality of the works the church does, which is based on unique gifts. This in turn is a result of the unity of the foundation of the church. Verses 4-6 are a powerful statement of the oneness of the church.

Sadly, unity is not what we see in the church today. Some have said that Satan’s greatest victory in his long war against God has been the divisions he has created within the church. It has hampered our effectiveness; it has compromised our maturity; and worst of all, it has broken the heart of God. My own tradition, or fellowship, began primarily as a unity movement. Ironically, it has become divided into three major parties with numerous subsets. Thankfully, God‘s grace is greater than even our disunity, and that ought to call us to pursue unity.

There’s little we can do, especially as individuals, about the great divisions between Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestant Christianity, nor even the schisms that occur within our own fellowships or denominations. However, the practical call for unity Paul gives us is not at the macro level but at the micro level. In verse three we see we are called to persevere, guard, or keep intently the unity of the Spirit. Unity is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility, not ours. Our goal is to protect it. How do we do that? Working back to verse two, we see how. Opportunities in the sphere, are guided by love, and we see four behaviors or character traits of which we are capable and for which we have a responsibility: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. Space does not allow us to study each of these words in great detail, but we are capable of practicing these. We can’t change or affect the head of denominations, the pope, or even our local preacher. But we can all impact those near us by these practices.

“Lord, may my life and work always be toward godly unity.  AMEN”