Sweet Unity

As we considered in Ephesians 4:3— Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace—true Biblical unity is this: the unanimous agreement concerning the unique revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Where that cannot be agreed upon, there can be no unity. Tragically, even some evangelicals are abandoning this by redefining the Gospel and preaching Relativism.

As we also emphasized, however, once that question is answered, we should not fail to recognize how truly sweet unity is when based on the right doctrine concerning Christ. It is unity that transcends denominations. We can agree to disagree on non-essentials, but we can unify on the one reality of Christ.

This is no better illustrated than in an incident the beloved pastor and expositor Harry Ironside records in his commentary on Ephesians. Taken ill with typhoid during a series of meetings in Minneapolis, he was down for six weeks. After gaining enough strength to return home to California, friends helped him to the train and the conductor made up a special berth for him. As he lay in his berth the first morning out, he took out his Bible and began to read. As he read, a stout-looking German woman came walking by, noticed Ironside, and then stopped and asked, “Vat’s dat? A Bible?” “Yes,” Ironside replied. “Vell, you haf your morning vorship all by yourself?” she asked. “Vait, I go get my Bible and ve haf it together.”

A little later a tall gentleman came and stopped and said, “Reading ze Bible. Vell, I tank I get mine, too.” He was Norwegian. After a few minutes, Ironside was amazed at how many had gathered. Every day a crowd gathered, one day totaling twenty-eight. The conductor walked through all the cars announcing, “The camp meeting is starting in care number so-in-so. Any wanting to take advantage are invited.” They would sing, read, pray, and ask questions.

At the end of the trip in Sacramento, as people came to say goodbye, that dear German woman asked Ironside, “Vat denomination are you?” “Well,” Ironside replied, “I belong to same denomination that David did.” “Vat vas dat?” she asked. “I didn't know David belonged to any.” Ironside replied, “David said, ‘I am a companion to all them that fear Thee and keep Thy precepts’ [Ps. 119:63].” “Yah, yah,” she said, “dat is a gute church belong to.”

Ironside went on to write that no doubt there were many denominations represented in that group, but what mattered was that they were one in Christ. Minor points didn't matter; the main point did, the unique revelation of God through Jesus Christ.

What IS Unity? (2)

Paul tells is in Ephesians 4:3— Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace—that the first reality of our Christian walk is to walk in unity. Having first considered what unity is not, let us secondly examine what Unity IS.

The Greek for unity (henotēs) basically means “unanimity and agreement.” One Greek authority, however, provides a marvelous contrast between how the Greeks, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), and the New Testament used this word: “In Greek and Roman philosophy the unity of God and the world is demanded by educated reason. In the Old Testament [the Septuagint], the unity of God is a confession derived from experience of God’s unique reality. The decisive advance in the New Testament, caused by God Himself, is the basing of the unity and uniqueness of God on the unique revelation through and in the one man Jesus Christ.”

To simplify, we base unity either on reason, experience, or the person and work of Jesus Christ. Most of today’s so-called unity is based either on experience (“We've all experienced the same thing, so we’re in this thing together”) or reason (“To accomplish more, we’ll get rid of our doctrinal differences”). While these sound noble, they are totally unscriptural. True, Biblical unity is this: the unanimous agreement concerning the unique revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Unless we can agree on the person and work of Jesus Christ, there can be no unity. It is as simple as that. That and that alone must be our foundation for unity.

As Paul told the Galatians, “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:9). The words “as we have said before” indicate that Paul had said this many times in his ministry. Doctrine, therefore, must be the ground of unity, as Paul makes clears in verses 4-6.

Who, then, produces this unity? Certainly not man. This is not something we can produce like we would create “school spirit.” Rather, as our text says, it is the Holy Spirit who produces this unity. Rather what we are to do is to keep the Spirit has produced through Christ.

Notice the subtlety of the word keep, which translates the Greek tēreō, “to keep by guarding, to guard by exercising watchful care, to guard as with a fortress.” The picture here is a fortress around which we post armed guards, set Claymore mines, erect concertina wire, and do all else that we can to guard this unity.

But this is not enough for Paul, for he adds the word endeavoring. The Greek here (spoudazō) means “to make haste, to be zealous or eager, to give diligence.” It speaks of determined effort and exertion. Paul uses it when writing to Timothy about a pastor’s responsibility, “Study (spoudazō; the Old English word “study” means “absorbed contemplation”) to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).

It is, therefore, the responsibility of every believer to diligently, zealously, absorbingly guard the unity that Christ has provided. We do not produce unity because we can’t produce it. When we try, we end up with uniformity or other false unity. Rather we are to guard the unity that the Spirit produces in Christ. In essence, Paul is saying, “Don’t muck it up. Don’t try to make something you can’t. Just guard what God has already done.”

So we say again, true Biblical unity is this: the unanimous agreement concerning the unique revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Where that cannot be agreed upon, there can be no unity. Tragically, even some evangelicals are abandoning this by redefining the Gospel and preaching Relativism.

Having emphasized that, may we not fail to recognize how truly sweet unity is when based on the right doctrine concerning Christ. It is unity that transcends denominations. We can agree to disagree on non-essentials, but we can unify on the one reality of Christ. 

What IS Unity? (1)

As we discovered last time, Ephesians chapters 4-6 reveal seven ways in which we are to walk, each of which in-turn is based on related doctrine in chapters 1-3.

The first reality of our Christian walk is to walk in unity (4:1-16): Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (4:3). It’s not an accident that Paul speaks of unity first. He dealt with this first, in fact, in another letter, his first letter to the Corinthians. With all the problems in that Church—and there were many!—he dealt first, and at great length, with unity (I Cor. 1:10-3:23). Why? Because without unity, there can be no growth, joy, or effective witness. So important is unity in the Body of Christ that our Lord prayed several times that His people “may be one” in His high priestly prayer (Jn. 17:11, 21-23).

This was also the precedent set in the Early Church. All they did—their worship, witness, and willingness to serve—was in unity: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47-48). Again, the first thing listed is unity—“continuing daily with one accord.”

So the first practical reality that must characterize the believer’s heart is unity with other believers. But what IS unity? Like never before in history we hear much about unity today. Much of what we hear, however, is not based on a proper understanding of what true unity is. Let us, therefore, consider first what unity is not and then what unity is.

First, what unity is NOT. For one thing, unity is not compromise, or another word that is prevalent today, tolerance. Unity does not mean we throw out all doctrine so that everyone can “get along.” This is perhaps the most common misconception of our day. It is argued, “Let’s not have any distinctives or any doctrinal barriers that might divide us; let’s just agree on love and unite on moral issues, such as abortion and gay marriage.”

Neither is some common brotherhood or mutual camaraderie. Unity does not necessarily exist just because we are members of the same company, union, association, or even church denomination.

Neither, unity is not uniformity. As Webster (11^th Edition Collegiate) defines it, “uniformity” means “having always the same form, manner, or degree; not varying . . . of the same form with others . . . unvaried appearance of surface, pattern, or color.” Unity does not exist just because everyone is a cookie cutter cutout who walks, talks, acts, thinks, and even dresses alike, as is common in some Bible colleges. Such uniformity is not Biblical. As we’ll see in the gifts for unity in verses 7-11, this violates the context of the passage. God didn’t makes us alike, and neither does He give us all the same spiritual gifts. God gives us unity, but He also gives us diversity. You can create uniformity from pressure without, but unity comes only from power within.

With that established, next time we’ll see what unity really is biblically.

Doctrine and Duty

As we have mentioned before, how important doctrine is! As the late pastor and expositor Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes: “The most foolish of all Christians are those who dislike and decry the importance of Theology and teaching. Does not that explain why they fail in practice?”

Why are many Christians weak and shallow? Why do many fall to any new trend that comes along? Why do many fail to discern false teaching? Why do many fail to be consistent and faithful? Why do many fall to temptation? Why do many collapse when someone challenges their faith? Because they do not know doctrine—they are not being taught doctrine by their pastors; they are not being taught that God’s Word alone is Truth. People are being taught that truth is relative and can be found in many other places. And that is why they fail.

That is why the first half of Ephesians (as most of Paul’s Epistles) deals with doctrine and the second half deals with practice, because without right doctrine we will not have right practice. No matter what the issue, the question, or the problem, there is a doctrinal principle in God’s Word to answer it. This fact is at the very heart of the doctrine of the Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture. To deny it is to deny it is to deny Scripture Itself.

So, with the great doctrines of Chapters 1-3 as our foundation, we turn now to the practical portion of the Epistle. As we noted in the “Introduction” way back when this series started, this can be expressed in several ways: (1) Chapters 1‑3 present our Riches in Christ; 4‑6 show us our Responsibilities in Christ; (2) Chapters 1‑3 present our Wealth in Christ; 4‑6 show us Walk in Christ; (3) Chapters 1‑3 contain the truth Stated; 4‑6 contain the truth Applied; (4) Chapters 1‑3 present our Heritage in Christ; 4‑6 present our Life in Christ; and (5) Chapters 1‑3 present the Exposition of what we have in Christ; 4‑6 give us the Exhortation of what we are to do in Christ.

To express this in still another way, based on the Doctrine of Chapters 1-3, we come now to the Duty that it demands. This does not imply that the first half of Ephesians in not at all practical. We have, of course, seen many practical principles. Rather, what we see in Chapter 4-6 are specific applications of the doctrines in Chapter 1-3.

The key word in Chapters 4-6 is walk, and we find it five times (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). The Greek in all five occurrences is peripateō (peri, “about” or “around,” and pateō, “to walk”), and so literally means “to walk about, to walk around, to walk concerning.” In Classical Greek this word was used only in the literal sense and meant strolling and stopping, as someone would walk about in the market place. It was never used in a figurative sense as it is in the New Testament. Used in the figurative sense, it speaks of “conduct of life,” that is, how we “how we walk about,” how we conduct ourselves as we walk through life. How, then, are we to conduct ourselves? Chapters 4-6 reveal seven ways in which we are to walk, each of which in-turn is based on related doctrine in Chapters 1-3, as the following table illustrates.

Doctrine and Duty in Ephesians

THE DUTY	THE DOCTRINE
Walk in unity (4:1‑16)	1:22-23; 2:16,21-22; 3:6
Walk in purity (4:17‑32)	1:4
Walk in love (5:1‑7)	3:17-19
Walk in light (5:8‑14)	1:18
Walk in wisdom (5:15‑17)	1:8,17; 3:10
Walk in submission (5:18‑6:9)	3:8
Walk in victory (6:10‑20)	1:19-21

So Paul does not simply write about unrelated thoughts, a little “potpourri of principles” as it were, rather he writes about objective truth on which he then bases proper conduct of life.

“Amen”

How often do any of us think about the word “Amen?” It’s the word that we say at the end of a prayer, but do we ever think of its meaning, much less its significance? This word, which is often overlooked, or even ignored, is actually extremely significant.

Amen is merely a transliteration of the Hebrew āmēn. One purpose of the word is to confirm a statement and could be translated in various ways: “so, be it,” “so it is,” “there you have it,” and so forth. But another use of the word was originally one of response by the listeners or readers who were present when truth was given. One Greek authority tells us that a certain custom, which passed from the synagogue to the Christian assemblies, was that when someone closed a solemn prayer, others present responded with Amen and thus made all that was said their own.

How thrilling this is! Can you say Amen to the marvelous truths of prayer, the attitudes, the approach, and the appeal?  Can you say Amen to that wondrous ascription of praise as God makes His power work in us?

What’s more, can you say Amen to the many, MANY marvelous truths of Ephesians? Can you say Amen to the fact that the true Christian Believer is “a saint” (1:1), to God’s greatest blessings of “grace” and “peace” (1:2), to our “election” and “adoption” (1:4-6), “to our redemption” and “forgiveness” (1:7-12), to our “knowledge,” “wisdom,” “insight,” and inheritance” (1:13-14), to the reality of absolute “Truth” (1:13), to the privilege of prayer (1:16-23), to the blessings of true “enlightenment” (1:18) and powerful living (1:19), to the deliverance from total sinfulness through God’s mercy, love, and grace (2:1-5), to the fact that God is constantly working in us and through us (2:10), and to much MUCH more?

As this first half of Ephesians closes, and as we say Amen to it, we are not only confirming it, but we are responding to it by realizing that it is our very own possession. In short, by saying “Amen,” we are saying, “All this is mine.”

All the doctrinal truth of Ephesians 1‑3 sets the stage for the practical truth of Ephesians 4‑6. It is in chapters 4‑6 that we will see the great responsibilities we have as Christians, and if we can’t say Amen now in chapters 1‑3, we will certainly not be able to say it in chapters 4‑6. If we can’t say Amen to our riches in Christ, we certainly won’t be able to say it to our responsibilities in Christ. Oh, may we say with the Apostle Paul, AMEN!

The Ascription of Praise (2)

As we discovered last time, in light of the glorious truths of the Attitudes of prayer (vs. 12‑13), the Approach to Prayer (vs. 14‑15), and the Appeal of prayer (vs. 16-19), there is nothing left to do but praise God in the way Paul does in Ephesians 3:20-21: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. First, we saw the measure of power to us (v. 20), where we discovered that God’s power is working in us. One reason for this truth is that God is to making each of us all we can be for our own benefit and blessing. But there is a greater reason.

Second, the measure of praise to God (v. 21). Some view the theme of Ephesians as being the Church. While we agree that it is a secondary theme, it is not the primary theme, which is, God’s eternal purpose and the place of Christ and His people in that purpose. An example of this is here in our text. Yes, the church is in view, but before that is God’s glory. So, since God’s ultimate purpose is to bring glory to Himself, Paul closes the doctrinal portion of this letter by presenting two intimately related ways through which God will be praised.

(1) In the Church. What is the purpose of the Church? Is its purpose to be “seeker-sensitive,” to appeal to people’s “felt needs,” to reach the “unchurched,” to entertain, and so forth? Regardless of the redefining of the Church today, its true purpose is the glorify God. God is actually using the Church to glorify Himself. As Psalm 148 declares, everything gives praise to God: angels, the sun, moon, and stars, all the animals, fire, hail, snow, vapours, stormy wind, mountains, hills, trees, kings, princes, judges, and all people, “both young men, and maidens, old men, and children.” Everything praises God, whether or not people intend to do so.

The Church, however, is something special, a grand miracle. We have studied how Jews and Gentiles were alienated and how man in general was alienated from God. Only God could bring about reconciliation, the changing back to the time of no variance, no enmity.

Therefore, what marvelous glory this brings to Him! But, to go deeper, the Church is the living entity that God is using to bring about His purposes on earth. Neither the Church, that is, the universal Body of Christ, nor churches, that is, local assemblies, are to ever bring glory to themselves. Tragically, there are many today who brag about how large their church, what their church has accomplished, how many programs and “ministries” they have, but this an abomination. But how many of these are bringing glory to God alone? We must be careful that all we do brings glory to Him.

(2). By Christ Jesus. Not only is God glorified in (or through) the Church, but this is accomplished by Christ Jesus. The Greek behind both in and by is the same word (en), “a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality,” and is translated in several ways: in, by, with, among, at, on, and through. In light of the context, then, the idea here is that God is glorified through the Church by the instrumentality of Christ. While modern ministry tries to glorify God through the instrumentality of human reason and worldly methods, God wants it done by the instrumentality of Christ. As our Lord Himself declared, “I will build my Church” (Matt. 16:18).

Finally, Paul adds throughout all ages, world without end. Here is another one of his “self-invented phrases.” Literally, he says, “unto all generations of the age of ages,” or “unto all the generations of the eternity of eternities, or the eternity of ages.” The language is obviously designed to picture eternity. Christ is eternal, the Church will last forever, and both shall forever give glory to God. One poet puts it well: “To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, / The God whom heaven’s triumph’s host, / and saints on earth adore, / Be glory as in ages past, / As now it is, and so shall last, / When time shall be no more.”

The Ascription of Praise (1)

We’ve been looking at Paul’s second prayer in Ephesians (3:12-21). Having looked at the Attitudes of prayer (vs. 12‑13), the Approach to Prayer (vs. 14‑15), and the Appeal of prayer (vs. 16-19), we come finally to The Ascription of Praise (20-21): Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

In light of all that glorious truth, there is nothing left to do but praise God in the way Paul does here in verse 20-21. Paul went a little higher until he reached the climax with the words, “We might be dominated with all the dominance of God.” There is nothing more he could do then except praise God for all He has done. In closing the doctrinal half of Ephesians, we note two principles: The measure of power to us and the measure of praise to God.

First, we see the measure of power to us (v. 20). One of the most incomprehensible truths of God’s Word is Paul’s description of God’s power. Verse 20 is one of the most vivid examples of the in­adequacy of human language. Paul cannot find adequate words to describe God’s power, so he heaps superlative upon superlative. He first says that God is able. Scripture several times declares what God is able to do. With the threat of being cast into the furnace for not bowing to worship the Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego humbly responded, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (Dan. 3:15-17). “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul,” our Lord declared, “but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Additionally, “God is able to make all grace abound” (II Cor. 9:8), “is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:10), “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by [Christ]” (Heb. 7:25), “is able to keep that which [we] have committed unto him” (II Tim. 1:12), and “is able to keep [us] from falling” (Jude 24). The root of Paul’s thinking is that God is able.

Therefore, because He is able, God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. The expression exceeding abundantly is incredible. It is a very rare double compound, huperekperissou. The prefix hyper means “over, beyond, or above,” the primary preposition ek means “out of or from,” and the root perissos means “over and above, more than enough.” It wasn't enough for Paul to say that God can do more than enough, but that He can do above and beyond more than enough. What a paradox! How can one do more than more than enough?

But even that is not all, for Paul adds above again—exceeding abundantly above all things. Above is again huper. The full thought then is: not only can God do more than enough, and above and beyond more than enough, but even more than above and beyond more than enough. In short, God can do infinitely more than what any of us can ask or even think about asking.

Now consider that this unfathomable power of God is the same power that is [working] in us. This power first saved us. It turned a cowardly fisherman named Peter into courageous servant of Christ. It turned a persecutor of the Church named Saul into the greatest preacher of the Gospel. It turned our Lord’s own unbelieving brother James into an uncompromising pillar of the Church. Most Christians can name at least one person they know who was dramatically saved by this power. One man I know was once the distributor of pornography on board a naval vessel, but God gloriously converted him and called him to preach.

This power now continues to [work] in us, “For we are His workmanship” (Eph. 2:10). Oh, that we would realize that God is continually working in us: He uses every message we hear preached; He uses every trial and sorrow we encounter; He uses every joy and triumph we experience; He uses every opportunity to witness we face; in short, He uses everything to work in us. The sooner we realize that truth, the more we are going to mature, the deeper we will grow spiritually.

Why is God working in us in this way? One reason, of course, is to make us all we can be for our own benefit and blessing. But there is a greater reason, and it is this that we will examine next time.