Series: Ephesians
Title: One
Text: Ephesians 4: 4-7
Date: March
23, 2014
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
Ephesians 4: 1: I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are
called, 2: With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one
another in love; 3: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace.
Ephesians 4: 4: There is one body, and
one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5: One Lord, one
faith, one baptism, 6: One God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all.
I. FIRST, OUR TEXT SAYS IN VERSE 4: “THERE IS
ONE BODY”
Believers
are members of Christ’s body. The Lord Jesus has a physical body like as we do.
But here it speaks of Christ’s church,
Ephesians 1: 22: And hath put all things under his feet,
and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23: which is his
body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Again,
in chapter 4, we see Christ gives his ministers:
Ephesians 4: 12: For the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:…15: But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ: 16: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and
compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual
working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love.
We saw
a few weeks ago:
1 Corinthians 12: 27: Now ye are the body of Christ, and members
in particular.
Whether,
speaking of the body of Christ as the general assembly and church of the
first-born which are written in heaven or whether speaking of those a gospel
church here below we are still "one body." Whether the child of God be called out from
among the Jews or from Gentiles—we are members of the same body. All the true
children of God are all one in Christ Jesus who is the Head of the body. Therefore,
we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are not to
bite and devour one another. We are one family. We are all brethren—brothers
and sisters in Christ.
II. SECONDLY, IT IS THE THREE PERSONS OF THE
GODHEAD WHO GIVES US OUR UNITY—V4: one Spirit,…V5: one Lord..V6: One God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in you all.
One God the Holy Spirit
Not one
of God’s children was born the first time with this unity. We each were born dead in sins—we did what
the wicked do as soon as they be born; we were estranged from the womb, we went
astray as soon as we were born speaking lies. (Ps 58: 3) God the Holy Spirit
made the difference, not we ourselves.
Ephesians 2: 1 : And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins; 2: Wherein in time past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3: Among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others. 4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, 5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
God the
Holy Spirit is the one, by whom, each member of Christ’s body are born-again
and called into the unity of Christ’s body. When Nicodemus came to the Lord
Jesus, though men had made him a master teacher in Israel, Nicodemus was
obviously dead in trespasses and in sins because when he began speaking of
spiritual things:
John 3: 3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. 4: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can
he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5: Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6: That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7: Marvel
not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Application: So so-much for this talk of the sinner exercising his
free will. We have no will for divine
things until we are made willing in the day that God exercises his divine will
and power within us.
Psalm 110:3: Thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power…
All grace
and every gift which a believer has is given to us freely by this one Holy
Spirit of God. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are taught the gospel which can
only be known by spiritual discernment.
1 Corinthians 2:12: Now we have received, not the spirit
of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God.
We
believed only because God gave us the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest
any man should boast. 10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Faith is one of those good works, God before
ordained that each of his elect shall walk in. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) Repentance is another gift given by the Holy
Spirit.
By this
one Holy Spirit we behold Christ and we truly begin to pray for him to have
mercy on us and save us by his grace.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
By this
one Spirit we have access to God the Father through Christ the Son.
Ephesians 2:18: For through him we both have access by
one Spirit unto the Father.
All who
are born of the Holy Spirit are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit.
Romans 8: 7: Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8:
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9: But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10: And if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. 11: But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12: Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13: For if
ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14: For as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of God.
God
never takes the Holy Spirit from the believer. Our covenant Head has breathed life
into us and he will not take away eternal life once he has given it-.
Ephesians 2: 13: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14: Which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory.
Application: Brethren, the Holy Spirit makes us united, bound together
in the bond of peace and love in Christ, eternally joined together in the body
of Christ. This is why we “endeavour to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” All conduct contrary to this unity “grieves”
the Spirit of God. So we are urged to have one mind, one heart, having the same
affections for one another.
One Lord Jesus Christ
This
union is also Ephesians 4: 5: by one Lord—the GodMan, Christ Jesus, the only
begotten Son of God. He is called our “one Lord” because to
every believer there is but “one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and
we by him." (1 Cor. 8:6.) We
are what we are—by him—our one Lord. And we are under the dominion of our
blessed Lord Jesus. He commands
effectual in our hearts saying,
Matthew 11: 29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me:
for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Application: Now, brethren, because each believer in this one body
have taken his yoke upon us there is unity. We each seek to do his will. So our
will is one: the will of our one Lord. He
made himself one with us and has made us one with him
Hebrews 2:11: For both he that sanctifieth and they who
are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren,
John 17:21 That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22: And
the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as
we are one:
So our
mutual desire is to endeavor to keep this unity in the bond of peace which he
has wrought for us and in our hearts. He bought each of his redeemed with his
own precious blood then he fitly joined us together in his one body. He is
using us to preach his gospel till all his elect are joined to this body, “Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
(Eph 4: 13)
Application: So we have one common charge, one common work while we
remain in this earth—to set forth the beauties and victories of our one Lord. So
our one desire is to hear and declare his successful, effectual redemption of
his people by his precious blood. Christ Jesus and the gospel of Christ is the
unity of every true believer in the body of Christ.
One God and Father
Also,
we have this union because we have Ephesians 4: 6: One God and Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
He is
our one God and our one Father. This makes us members of one family, sons and
daughters. We have the same family name, the same family ties, the same family
interests because we have the same family origin.
God our
Father is sovereign—Ephesians 4: 6: who is above all,
Illustration: Looking
into a starry night sky
Isaiah 40: 12: Who hath measured the waters in the hollow
of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of
the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance? 13: Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his
counsellor hath taught him? 14: With whom took he counsel, and who
instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him
knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? 15: Behold, the nations are
as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16: And Lebanon is
not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17: All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him
less than nothing, and vanity. 18: To whom then will ye liken God? or what
likeness will ye compare unto him? 19: The workman melteth a graven image, and
the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20: He
that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that
will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that
shall not be moved. 21: Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been
told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the
earth? 22: It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens
as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23: That bringeth
the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Our God
and Father is absolutely sovereign over all. Can he not do with is own what he
will?
Isaiah 55: 7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8: For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
He
chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world; he willed to save us and
none can stop him from performing his will.
Application: I feel so sorry for those in places where the preacher
will not preach the absolute sovereignty of God:
the
sovereign electing, predestinating, calling and glorifying grace of God. What comfort could they possibly have? What
unity? It is why they are always biting
and devouring one another, whipping and binding with rules and regulations. Throw away your rules and regulations and
preach the one God and Father before whom Da 4:35: all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or
say unto him, What doest thou? Preach HIM and he will work grace in the heart
so that he does the constraing rather than foolish men and there will be peace.
And God
our Father is Ephesians 4: 6: and through all. It means God our Father is taking
care of all.
Romans 8: 28: And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose. 29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. 30: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom
he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified. 31: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? 32: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
And God
our Father is Ephesians 4: 6:..and in you all.
Ephesians 2:22: In whom ye also are builded together for
an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Application: Brethren, if ever any of you differ in opinion just
remember it is just that, opinion. Only the word of God our Father is true and
stands forever. We are one by the three persons of the Godhead. This union is not a mere agreement of a denomination,
not consent to man-made creed; not even the bond of a visible church, it is the
spiritual union of the triune God. Its nature is like its origin: eternal. When
every earthly tie is broken, this union will remain. Endeavor to keep this
unity but know that nothing shall ever endanger this unity of our God in the
bond of peace.
III. LASTLY, HERE IS ANOTHER THING THAT FITLY
JOINS US TOGETHER—Ephesians 4: 4: ye are called in one hope of your calling;
V5: one faith, one baptism,
One Hope
We are
all called and given one hope by this calling—the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
"The hope of Israel" (Jer. 14:8), “let Israel hope in the Lord” (Psal.
130:7)
Be
sure to get this: If our hope was in our works we would all
have different hopes. If our hope was in our so-called righteousnesses our
hopes would all vary according to what good we thought we had done. If it was for rewards in glory—then all our
hopes would vary by degrees.
Our
hope is the one hope of our calling—one justifying righteousness by one
glorious Redeemer who shall present us all faultless to one Father where we
shall each receive one inheritance—everlasting life with God our Savior
forever.
One Faith
Likewise,
we are bound by one faith--“Like precious faith through
the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:” (2 Pet 1: 1) This one
faith has one “author and finisher” Jesus Christ. This one faith has one end-- "Receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Pet.1:9.)
Someone
might say, “What about all the other “faiths.”’ There is no other faith but
this one faith which is the gift of God and rests in Christ Jesus our Righteousness
who redeemed his particular people from our sins. False religions are of fallen
sinners. Cain is the father of false religion. They all have one thing in
common—salvation by man’s will and works. The faith God gives is the only faith
that has ever existed which trusts solely in the merits of another—God our
Savior. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that
Jesus is the Son of God?"
One Baptism
Likewise,
there is but ONE BAPTISM—the Greek word is “baptismah”—it is not translated. The
one baptism spoken of here is water baptism.
Baptism
does not save us. But baptism is very
important. In the days of the early
church, Gentiles did not care if folks worshipped Christ—they worshipped many
gods. But if you were baptized that
meant you renounced all other religions and gods as utterly false. So it is
when we are baptized in our day.
This
one baptism is administered one way: immersion in water: symbolizing our death,
burial and resurrection with Christ, on one subject: believers in Christ, in one
name: the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost and if administered
this one way, on this one subject, in this one name then it is to be done one
time. There is no such thing as being re-baptized. If you did not believe on
Christ the first time you went through so-called baptisim then you were not
really baptized. It is not that you need
to be re-baptized but that you need to be baptized for the first time and last
time.
Something to Remember
But
this is important to remember, Ephesians 4: 7: But unto every one of us is
given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Believers
differ widely in gifts and have very different measures of grace yet remember
this;
1 Corinthians 12:4: Now there are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. 5: And there are differences of administrations, but the
same Lord. 6: And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all. 7: But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal.
Application:
So the remainder of this epistle is the Holy Spirit’s application to us through
the apostle Paul: I encourage you to go home and read it today before you let
these things slip away. I’ll will read
Ephesians 4: 17—down through Eph 5.
Ephesians
4: 17: This I say therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, 18 Having
the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who
being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; 21 If so
be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in
Jesus: 22 That
ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye
angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let
him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his
hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29 Let no
corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the
use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. 5: 1: Be
ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2
And walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Now, believer, you read the rest of Ephesians and
endeavor to keep this unity by doing these things and do so knowing this unity
can never be broken.
Amen!