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Summary

TITLE: Household of God: The Power of One, Pt2 – Ephesians 4:1-8 AIM: Consider the basis of our unity in Christ. INTRO: Children in kindergarten/elementary school are taught the concept of likenesses/differences by being shown several pictures on a page & asked “which of these are the same/different?” Then they are asked to circle the pictures accordingly. Sesame Street had (has?) a segment on each show teaching the same concept. Some things are both the same & different, depending on what the criteria is. Apples & oranges are both fruit, but different kinds of fruit. Male & female are both human, but different kinds of humans (& thank God for the difference!). Asians, Caucasians, Africans, Hispanics, Indians are all the same, but different in skin color & culture, etc. Same is certainly true in the Church – lots of different styles of worship & doctrinal tenets, but it’s what binds us together that’s most imp in the Church worldwide & the local church. Theme: Household of God – understanding that we are & what it means to be HofG. Few weeks ago stated that members of God’s household are one in Christ & listed the basis of that oneness, the spiritual realities which unite us from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He wrote that we are one body, are indwelt by one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father of all. If we look just a little further into vs7-8, we find another element of unity: gifts. Let’s look more closely at this text today & consider the basis of our unity in Christ. Ephesians 4:1-8 [READ]. Just to reiterate what touched on 3 wks ago, Paul spent the 1st ½ of his epistle to the Ephesians teaching/reminding them what God had done for them (us) in Christ & celebrating the mystery revealed that Jews & Gentiles alike are brought together in Christ, into the Household of God, His dwelling place “by the Spirit.” In the remainder of his epistle Paul turns our attention to how we ought to live in response to God’s wondrous love/ salvation/reconciliation of us to Himself & to each other. He begins by saying “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” As said few wks ago, if you are a member of God’s household, it’s because you have been called by God into relationship w/Him thru faith in Christ. Now, we’re to walk – conduct our lives – in a manner worthy of that calling. How we who are Christians live matters because it reflects upon God & His Church. We’re not left to ourselves, God the Holy Spirit is w/in us & will help us as we yield, but how we live is supposed to agree w/our claim to faith. Does your life reflect what you say you believe? And, as said before, walking worthy of our calling involves rightly relating to others who are also called by God into relationship thru faith in Christ. Paul urged humility, gentleness, patience, love & unity. Concerning this unity, Paul wrote that we should be eager – that is we are to hasten, exert ourselves, be diligent, work hard – to maintain – attend to carefully, take care of, guard – the unity – oneness, agreement – of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) in the bond of peace – that which binds us – Jew & Gentile, slave & free, together in the peace of Christ. Note that it is the unity of the Spirit, meaning that the Holy Spirit is the One who produces this unity, who makes us one – we can’t do that, but we can/must maintain it. How? By counting this unity as more important than our individual wants or rights or needs; by laying down our lives for the sake of Christ & the unity of the Spirit. Not unity for the sake of unity alone, but the unity of the Spirit. There are things that should cause division between us who believe & follow Christ & those who don’t. And, the things which unite us in Christ will divide us from others who are not in Christ! Nor is it unity based on other criteria. Not all Christians are men nor women. Not all Christians are Republican nor Democrat. Not all Christians are financially rich nor poor. Just take this church family, this local household of God. Some of you are male, some female, some young, some old, some have reached a level of education others have not. We have engineers & farmers & nurses & teachers & truck drivers & admin assists, security personnel, executives, laborers, etc. We come from different parts of the country & even from other nations. Some of us are Advent Christian in our doctrinal understandings & some are not – we even have Baptists among us! Some of us are reformed in our thinking & some are not. We even have Yankee fans among the majority of us who are rightfully Red Sox fans. How different is that? It’s good that our unity is not dependent on such criteria. We might not even connect w/or know each other if the Lord Himself had not brought us together & united us in Himself. But Paul gives us the criteria, the basis of our unity in Christ. Think about it. I think I am correct in saying that these are the only criteria for the unity of the Spirit that are given by God. If any of these is missing, we aren’t united in Christ. These 8 elements make up the oneness/unity of the Church. They are all there together or not there at all. If you have come to faith in Christ, these things are true of you individually, but you are not alone – you can’t be. We’re part of a greater whole. Let’s consider that which unites us in Christ. We are one body – the body of Christ. Paul had already written (1:22) that the Church is the body of Christ. He is our head. We are the family/household of God. Just as the physical head is essential to a physical body, if it is to live, so the spiritual, organic life of the Church flows from connection w/Christ (individually & collectively). Apart from Him we can do nothing. Thru Him, we can do all things He would have us do. You cannot be Christian if Christ is not your head. There is no Church if Christ is not the Head. There are many so-called churches that are not part of the body of Christ – that’s not by my assertion, but according to the Word of God. There are groups that gather which are not His Church/body. There are many religions, but only one body of Christ. All who believe/receive Christ make up His body, & Paul, later in this chapter wrote of the imp of every part of the body functioning as intended by God. We are inhabited by one Spirit – the Holy Spirit. According to Peter in Acts 2:38 everyone who comes to faith in Christ has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said (John 14:17), of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth who was to come, “You know Him, for He dwells w/you & will be in you.” Every one of God’s children are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. If not, you aren’t God’s child. Paul wrote in Rom.8:9, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” Sadly, we may not be under the influence of the Spirit because we are not yielded to His control. We may grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, even as believers, but He’s in you if you are in Christ. The key to the Christian life is to be filled w/the Spirit, led by Him, empowered by Him. Think about it: the Holy Spirit indwelling each member of God’s family. Don’t you think that if we are each yielded to His control that would make a colossal difference when we come together? Don’t you think the Spirit in you will connect w/the Spirit in me & move us to walk & worship & work together? Why then is there any division in the Church? Why is there so much individualism? Because we are not diligent to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are called to one hope. Our hope is in the Lord – there is life/hope only in Christ. To paraphrase the bumper sticker: “Know Christ, know hope. No Christ, no hope.” Hope in this life is founded in Christ alone. If you want God’s involvement, help, provision, etc., don’t bother looking for it apart from Christ. He alone has provided for relationship w/God. He alone is the fount of every blessing. Hope for eternity is likewise found in Christ alone. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it has to be done. Neither you nor your loved one who has lived a wonderful life will have a place in God’s eternal kingdom if you/they do not have faith in Christ alone as Savior/Lord. Whether you believe that those who die in Christ are ushered directly into heaven or sleep in their graves until Jesus comes & raises them up, you won’t have a room in the Father’s house unless you come to Him thru Christ! Buddha won’t get you there, nor Mohammed, nor any other. There are not many roads to God, but only one way – Jesus. He alone is our Hope! We are servants of one Lord, Jesus Christ. This is more of the same. That word “lord” is the Grk “kyrios,” meaning “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding: master, lord, owner – one who has control of” (Strong’s). Jesus is the one who bought us/redeemed us w/His own life blood. He has risen from the dead, conqueror of sin & death for us. We belong to Him. If you truly believe that Jesus is your Savior & that He is Lord over all, then He must be your Lord & you must follow/serve Him. We can’t earn our salvation by following Jesus, obeying Him, but if we are not following/obeying, how can we say we truly believe? Too many of us, at least here in America seem to have that confused. We’re to spend our lives for Him & His kingdom, not for our ease or enjoyment, tho those are not forbidden us. The problem is we are out of balance. Every one of us should start each day giving ourselves away to Christ, that we might do His will, be about His business even as we go about ours. His business must be our business! Oswald Chambers: “Probably that is our biggest difficulty – that our Lord is not really Master. We use the phrase ‘Master,’ but we use it in a more or less pious way, we do not intend to make Him Master practically; we are much more familiar w/the idea that Jesus is our Savior, our Sanctifier, anything that puts Him in the relationship of a supernatural Comrade.” Is He your Lord practically or in title only? We have one faith – in Jesus. Again, our faith is not in other religions, the government, ourselves, the goodness of mankind, etc., but in Christ alone. Yes, that is narrow, but Jesus Himself said that no one could come to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). He said (Mt.7:14), “the gate is narrow & the way is hard that leads to life; & those who find it are few.” And yet, “whosoever will may come!” Our faith is that Jesus died for us to pay for our sin & lived a perfectly righteous life that His righteousness might count for us. Our faith is that only in Christ can we be born again into God’s family, become God’s children, be forgiven, given new & eternal life. We have one faith. We have one baptism – this we spent considerable time on 3 wks ago, so we’ll not today; but each one who believes is immersed in/baptized by the Holy Spirit, baptized/brought into the Church, & have one public confession: that Jesus is our Savior/Lord, in whom we believe & to whom we have committed our lives. Most of us have stood (& all of us should stand) publicly in the waters of baptism to make that confession. Then we should live out that confession every day. We belong to one God and Father – Everyone who ever lived has been created by God in His image, somehow knit in our mothers’ wombs. But not everyone is a child of God – only those who believe & are born again thru faith in Christ. Only those in Christ can rightfully call God Father. There are many so-called gods acknowledged & worshipped in this world, but only one true God – Jehovah, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, speaking in Athens concerning what was to the Greeks the “unknown God,” said “In Him we live & move & have our being.” Here in Eph. he wrote that this one true God is “over all & thru all & in all.” Francis Foulkes wrote that “Christians believe that they ‘live in a God-created, God-controlled, God-sustained, God-filled world’ (Barclay), & even more, that God indwells them & is working out His purpose through them.” Do you believe that? As said earlier, there is one more element to this unity of the Spirit, & that is that We are gifted by God – vs 7-8. We’ll spend more time on this in wks to come, but suffice it to say, as Foulkes wrote, “As Conqueror [our risen, ascended Lord Jesus Christ] has received gifts that He can bestow.” “He has conquered His enemies, and returned to His Father’s throne in triumph, now to bestow blessings on His people.” The gifts/blessings are many, but part of them are spiritual gifts given to His followers thru His Holy Spirit & therefore given to the Church. No one, whether leader or any family member, has all the spiritual gifts needed in a church family. Part of what unites us is that each of us is gifted & at the same time we are dependent on each other. I need your gifts & you need mine. God has gifted us & put us together to work for the good of the whole. Again, we look more closely at this later. All of these elements are the basis of the unity of the Spirit: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father of all, and gifts given to each one for the good of the body/family/church. If you are in Christ, then these 8 elements are what unite you to every other believer thruout the world & likewise right here in Vernon Advent Christian Church. We are united by God the Holy Spirit & w/humility & gentleness & patience & love we are to maintain this unity in the bond of peace. Are you doing your part? We are the Household of God!