Our
Text: Ephesians 4:4-6“Our Unity In The Faith” |
Preacher: | Pastor John H. West, III |
| Date: | February 28, 1999 | |
| Notes: | Second in a Series on "Unity" |
Our
Text: Ephesians 4:4-6There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. ( Ephesians 4:4-6)
Before we can share wholeness with our broken world, we must first make sure that we have a measure of wholeness in the body of Christ. We in the church lack unity and sometimes do more fighting in the church than in the neighborhood. We have more divisions, more sides, and more critics in the church than there are in the world. For this reason, some people ask the question, "If they can't get their acts together in the church, why should I join the church?"
We need the fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The Spirit discourages destructive criticism and supports encouragement to even those who fall. Next week, we will discuss "Unity Through the Gifts of The Spirit." This week, we are discussing our unity through the faith.
One of the great misconceptions is that unity is equivalent to or equal to sameness. There is an evil idea that says that if we are one in the church, we will think the same, look the same, act the same, speak the same, vote the same, and do the same. They think that church people never disagree. They don't realize that the Baptist church multiplies by dividing.
Not all Christians act the same. Some are LOUD (you don't know anyone like that, do you?). Others are quiet. It is in their spirit to watch and listen rather than to run their mouths.
Some people are funny. They have the joy of the Lord in their hearts. Some others are serious. These don't smile... they are deep. They always raise their eyebrow as if they were analyzing everything.
Some Christians love sports. Football, baseball, basketball, wrestling. Others don't like sports. Some would rather watch football. Others would rather watch ice skating. Still, they are both Christians.
| Some are black Some are white Some are red Some are yellow Some are rich Some are poor Some are educated Some are self-taught |
These are all Christians |
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
All parts of the body are different. There are differences in function and appearance... yet we are saved by the same Spirit. We are saved by the same Jesus.
Sometimes, we lose our unity in the midst of diversity by trying to force others to be as we are. Some argue over such things as:
- Which instruments to play
- How to baptize
- etc.
However, these things are not important. God doesn't care what color we paint the church. He doesn't care what color clothing you wear. He doesn't care if women wear pants or skirts. It is in your heart. Some people don't like drums in the church. The question is, with or without drums... are you praising the Lord?
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
In this text, Paul gives us seven things that do matter. What we saw before were minors. But these are the majors. These are the seven things that we must agree on. There is (1) one body, (2) one Spirit, (3) one hope, (4) One Lord, (5) one faith, (6) one baptism, (7)one God and Father of all.
We are one body. A body of all true believers. The body of Christ. It is not, "I belong to Siloam Baptist Church" or "I belong to Ebenezer Methodist Church." So what? It is all one body in Christ. Whether you are Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Pentecostal. If you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, you are part of one body of Jesus Christ.
There are many spirits in the world: spirits of greed, spirits of envy, spirits of riotous living, spirits of lust, spirits of laziness, spirits of rioting, spirits of fighting, spirits of battling. However, there is only one Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, you won't conflict with someone else who also has the Holy Spirit.
When I was coming up in church, fooling around with girls after BTU meeting, the guys would say, "The Lord told me you are going to be my girlfriend." You need to wait until the Lord tells you something. Don't use the name of the Holy Spirit without knowing Who the Holy Spirit is.
We are called to one hope... one goal... one purpose. To please God, to worship God, to one day see God.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 )
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
It doesn't matter what color you paint the church. What matters is, do you know Jesus?
We all come to Christ by faith.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
You don't get saved because of your good looks. You don't get saved because of your money. You don't get saved because you got wet in the pool. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ.
This is not referring to water baptism. This refers to spiritual baptism.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5)
We are baptized into the body of Christ. You only get it once. When you backslide, you don't have to get baptized again. You just have to get up.
I don't know what God you serve, but I believe in the One and True God. We live in a time where people want to be open minded. However, if you don't want to hear about the one and true God, don't call my number. Buddha is still in the grave. Mohammed is still in the grave. Hari Krishna is still in the grave.
But Jesus got up early Sunday morning with all power in His hands! He blessed me. He kept me. He walked with me. He guided me on the way.
We ought to be unified in the body of Jesus Christ. Our unity is to come from the Lord.
You hear beautiful music from the orchestra, but before they begin to play, they get warmed up while tuning their instruments. That sounds like a cacophony of noise. No one was playing the same thing, but when the conductor stood and picked up the baton, the orchestra played at the same time and at the same key. Because they were lead by the conductor, they played beautiful music.
We come into church, not doing our own things but following the conductor. Jesus picked up the baton of the cross in His hand and we became a beautiful symphony in His hands.
We need to wait on the Conductor Who put us together. He built the church up in love, holiness, and the knowledge of God. When the Conductor comes, we will make beautiful music.