Building The Body Study 12 - Unity in the Body

Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV 

[1] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.1-6.NIV)

For fans of rock and pop bands, there is no worse moment than when a group splits up. The British pop group Take That were so incredibly popular that when they split, some schoolgirls required psychological counselling to cope. 

Now, those of us who are not so hopelessly and utterly obsessed with a bunch of guys who sung songs may mock and find this hard to take, but the phenomenon still happens now.

Fans of K-pop groups in South Korea have been known to be a little more than fanatical. Some have sent digital protest trucks, or even funeral wreaths, to group members they believe have stepped out of line. 

For people like this, the group is their whole life. They have nothing else. So threats to its cohesiveness and unity are taken very personally. 

They care. One might say that they care too much, but they definitely care. There is no doubt about that. 

Now, for these people, these groups are critically important. But – and I say this at the risk of inciting a few funeral wreaths myself – in the grand scheme of things, they are not  The world has much bigger, much more important things to deal with than pop bands breaking up. 

Yet the question we have to ask ourselves is this: 

Do we care this deeply about Christian unity? 

Because we should. 

Look at the commands Jesus gave us: 

John 13:34-35 NIV 

[34]  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.13.34-35.NIV)

Matthew 22:35-40 NIV 

[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” [37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.22.35-40.NIV)

That being the case, just how much damage is done to the cause of the Gospel and the glory of God when Christians fall out? 

How much more if it becomes a legal case or fodder for the cynical secular press? 

Paul understood this. The way he handled the spectacular divisions in Corinth tell us this:

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 NIV 

[10] I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. [11] My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. [12] What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.1.10-13.NIV)

And it got even more pointed, when he confronted them about the cases they had opened between themselves in the secular courts:

1 Corinthians 6:7 NIV 

[7] The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.6.7.NIV)

In other words, Paul would rather they climb down from their high horse, stop arguing and be wrong in an argument than drag the reputation and the glory of God through the courts. 

That is quite a thing to say. 

What we see in the beginning of Paul’s plea for this church to understand the critical need for unity. In that sense, it’s similar to Philippians 2:1-11. 

But how Paul makes that appeal and the basis on which he appeals to them are very interesting.  

Let’s look at his first basis of appeal: A Worthy Life. 

A Worthy Life 

Ephesians 4:1 NIV 

[1] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.1.NIV)

Have you ever met someone who let you down because they were not who you thought they would be? 

My sister once met a star of an Australian soap opera she was obsessed by. My uncle had arranged for the meeting as a birthday treat. But she came home in a terrible temper because he had been wearing odd socks. 

I once met a heroic pastor from when Romania was under communist rule. I was so excited to hear this guy preach. Yet his sermon seemed theologically unremarkable and at times a little too political to my taste. When I got the chance to say ‘Hello’, he seemed a little cold and standoffish, as if I was a nuisance to him. 

There’s a saying: ‘Don’t ever meet your heroes- they’ll only ever let you down’. In some cases, that had proven to be true. In others, not so much. 

Paul placed a huge challenge before the Ephesian church. It’s just one short sentence, but the implications are enormous. He was reminding them that they have been called to follow Jesus, as has he. He was reminding them that he was in prison for following Jesus.  

And then he dropped the bombshell, similar to this one: 

1 John 2:6 NIV 

[6] Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.2.6.NIV)

What this means is that those who say they are following Jesus must seek to be like Him in every situation.  

They must seek to live a life worthy of the Name. 

And that is a high calling indeed. 

In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul made his appeal for unity on the basis of what Christ had done for the Philippians – indeed, for all of us. Here, he makes the same appeal, but on the basis of Christ Himself. 

That brings us to a logical conclusion that ought to simply devastate any of us who have been involved in selfish, divisive behaviour: who have turned the Body of Christ into a vehicle for their own vanity; who have built their kingdoms instead of the Lord's; who are simply incapable of losing any argument or of ever being wrong. That conclusion is: 

When we are engaging in divisive behaviour, we are not living a life worthy of our calling as Christians, no matter how ‘right' we think we are. 

Why? 

Because we are not behaving like Christ. 

Sure, He overturned the tables of money changers. Sure, He took both the disciples and the Jewish leaders to task when they strayed. Sure, He taught this: 

Matthew 10:34-36 NIV 

[34]  “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— [36]  a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.10.34-36.NIV)

But we cannot use any of them as an excuse for divisive behaviour because that is not what they are for. The church is the Body of Christ: 

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 NIV 

[12] Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. [14] Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 

[27] Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.12.12-27.NIV)

How can it possibly be the will of Jesus Christ for us to dismember His Body? 

That is clearly absurd! 

If we want to live a life worthy of the name of ‘Christian’, we cannot pursue a divisive agenda. 

Apart from a worthy life, we also see the second basis on which Paul makes his appeal, that of A Humble Attitude. 

A Humble Attitude 

Ephesians 4:2 NIV 

[2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.2.NIV)

I recently heard of a CEO who became famous, or should they be infamous, for firing hundreds of his staff on a single video conference call. When this got out, it tanked his company's reputation and devalued their shares. The company's investors and board were none too pleased, so a few months later, they forced him out too. 

Their ex-CEO is now a bitter man, constantly trying to use whatever means he can to get his old job back, but the board of directors do not agree. They have completely blocked his intentions. 

Squabbles like this are always fun for the press and media, but when they happen in our families and our churches they spell disaster. These verses are not in here at random. Paul did not directives like a spiritual blunderbuss. Instead, he gave us here three attitudes that solve those situations when we rub up against each other and our relationships creak. 

Firstly, he said we should be humble.  

Paul also taught this principle to the Philippians: 

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV 

[3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.3-4.NIV)

We have completely the wrong idea on humility in our culture. We consider that someone who is humble is poor, weak and has no agency: they are at the mercy of cruel and capricious leaders. 

That is not humility. 

A humble person is a realistic person. They do not see themselves as being better than other people. They do not see their interests as being more important than other people's. They do not value their own opinions over other people's. They are keen listeners and willing to learn. 

That is why we see these teachings elsewhere in the New Testament: 

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV 

[12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.12-14.NIV)

1 Peter 3:8 NIV 

[8] Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.3.8.NIV)

1 Peter 5:5 NIV 

[5] In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.5.5.NIV)

A truly humble person is not poor, weak and lacking in agency. No: they are rich, but don’t abuse their riches for their own ends; they are strong, but don’t use their strength to bully the weak; they could choose to further their own end, but do not do so. 

They are right. They could press home their advantage, win the argument and break the relationship, but they choose not to do so. 

They are the embodiment of Jesus: 

Philippians 2:5-8 NIV 

[5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; [7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.5-8.NIV)

Humble people foster unity; they don’t destroy it. 

If we have any desire at all to be Christlike, we must be humble. 

Isaiah 42:1-4 NIV 

[1] “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. [2] He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. [3] A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; [4] he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.42.1-4.NIV)

We also see that we should be gentle. 

In other words, we should not be harsh: 

Proverbs 15:1 NIV 

[1] A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

(Read the full passage at:https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.15.1.NIV)

The question we have to ask ourselves is: When the flames of anger are rising up, will our answer douse them or put petrol on them? Are we quick to answer with an angry retort because we are right and they are wrong, or do we care about the relationship so much that we want to extinguish the rage and the fight? 

I have a live example of this. Earlier on this week, I raised some issues with work that had been carried out by one of my company's contractors. I faced him on a call. Instead of accepting the issue answer seeking to resolve it, he was aggressive, confrontational and adversarial. 

I don’t mind telling you that I was far from happy and barely restrained myself on the call. 

Afterwards, I had to take a walk, I was so angry. 

But while on the walk, I came up with the response. 

I worked for several hours on a single email that provided clear, unemotive, non-accusatory, non-confrontational evidence of where the issues lay. I read it and re-read it until I was happy that none of my anger and frustration was in that email. Then I sent it. 

Paul noted from the Old Testament: 

Romans 12:17-21 NIV 

[17] Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. [18] If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. [19] Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. [20] On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.12.17-21.NIV)

There is nothing that puts out the fire of wrath quicker than gentleness, which is why it’s commended in multiple letters in the New Testament (Galatians 5:23; Colossians 3:12; Titus 3:2). 

Paul also stated that we should be patient. 

We might think here that patience here refers to when we have to wait for a delayed bus or train, but it’s more than that. The Greek word for ‘patience’ also means ‘long-suffering': the ability to tolerate difficult and challenging situations without taking revenge. Paul goes on to talk about the Ephesians ‘bearing with' each other: putting up with each others’ foibles and follies. 

As Paul taught the Corinthians: 

1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV 

[4] Love is patient. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.13.4.NIV)

And in case we need an example, we have God Himself: 

2 Peter 3:9 NIV 

[9] The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/2pe.3.9.NIV)

The Lord is willing to play the long game: to wait for breakthroughs or results. 

Years ago, I heard someone from the Philippines commenting on how Chinese businessmen in his area were so good at making money. He commented that the locals always wanted a quick profit and pulled their investment if the business couldn’t produce it. But the Chinese businessmen were smarter: they would leave their investment in for longer, and in doing so would reap much larger benefits. 

Perhaps we should be as smart as them when looking for eternal rewards, and when investing in people. 

Of course, there will always be people who sorely try our patience. However, he challenge remains to remind ourselves how patient the Lord is with us. 

I don’t know about you, but I find that very humbling. 

Last spring, we were taking photos on a beach in Cyprus when a quite frustrating thing happened: our camera tripod legs jammed and wouldn’t fold. We had to get a bus back to Paphos, where our hotel was, and it would have been quite tricky to carry a fully-extended telescopic tripod, not to mention impossible to pack in our suitcase for the return flight to Scotland. My wife isn’t the biggest fan of our tripod. She would have been happy to dump the thing. 

But I came up with an idea. It seemed likely to me that sand had got caught in the mechanism. We needed a lubricant. Some kind of oil. So I asked her what she had with her. She told me all she had was some baby oil, which she likes to use for her hair. I asked if I could use a little. I dropped it into the mechanism, worked it a little, a few grains of sand popped out and the mechanism worked as good as new. 

Maybe we might wonder why it is that Paul has this incredibly challenging teaching here – teaching that bruises our pride and wounds our ego.  

The reason is very simple. When our relationships stick and grate and irritate, these are the lubricants. They are the grease in the mechanism. They reduce the friction and get things moving again. 

But the real issue is how we apply them . It’s all to easy to look at them and yell, ‘Well, they need to show some humility and admit that I'm right!’ 

Do you see the problem with that? 

I am going to make a confession here. I find these verses very challenging. I am from a long line of people who could argue their way round the world and back again.  

The reality is that people who are loud and angry and cannot be wrong are actually chronically insecure in their position. They are unable to lose an argument because it impacts on their sense of pride, dignity and self-worth. It takes far more strength to be wrong, and even more to admit it. 

Those who could be provoked into an argument and are strong enough within themselves to walk away are not cowards. Instead, they are examples for us all. 

More than anyone else, I need to meditate on these realities. 

Do you need to do this too? 

We have already seen two very challenging aspects of what it takes for Christians to live in unity. We have seen the call to live a worthy life, and the call to have a humble attitude.

Lastly, we see why – and this is equally as challenging: A Unified Body. 

A Unified Body 

Ephesians 4:3-6 NIV 

[3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.3-6.NIV)

How many of us woke up this morning and had to make sure our limbs, or our head, were still attached to our body? 

I'm guessing not many. 

What Paul was asking the Ephesians here to do was to take care of their relationships within the church to make sure the unity of the Body of Christ was not affected. 

Why? 

It’s not at all hard to see. 

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 is a very famous passage that talks about how we could easily dismiss someone from the Body of Christ because they are not exactly like us, or how they could feel like they are not a part of the Body of Christ because they are not like other people. 

I can definitely identify with that. 

It also outlines how those who have an outward-facing role should ensure they should have concern for those with an inward-facing role; how the strong and the pretty should take care of the weak and the... less pretty. 

Why? 

Because we are a single Body. 

Because we are the Body of Christ. 

Because harming others who are part of the Body of Christ indirectly harms ourselves. 

That’s why disunity just makes no sense at all. When we seek to divide the Body of Christ, we are dismembering the Body on which we rely. 

And there’s still more.  

When the Corinthians were exhibiting serious divisions around cults of personality (even though the personalities had nothing to do with it), Paul asked them this incredibly loaded question: 

1 Corinthians 1:13 NIV 

[13] Is Christ divided?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.1.13.NIV)

And that’s just it. Division in the Body communicates that there are multiple bodies: there are multiple Jesus’s. There are multiple ways to be saved. There are multiple Words of God.  

There are multiple Gods. 

And none of that is true. Look again at Paul's clear doctrinal statement: 

Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV 

[4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.4-6.NIV)

There is only one God. That God is not our creation, we are His. He is not the product of our imagination, we are of His.  

Do you see it? 

There is only one Sovereign God. From that God comes His Holy Spirit, our faith, our hope, our baptism. 

He is the One who determines who is a part of His Body, not us.

We must submit to this God as our Head (Colossians 1:18). Since He is the Head and we are not the Head, we must be humble and prepared to admit when we are wrong and He is right.  

Likewise, we cannot seek to dismember His Body or give even the slightest impression that somehow He is divided. To do so would be blasphemy. 

To be a Christian, we must seek unity with other believers. There simply is no other way. 

Conclusion 

Ephesians 4:3 NIV 

[3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.3.NIV)

I am not a fan of gardening. If anyone told me I had ‘green fingers', I would immediately seek medical attention. But if there’s one thing I know it’s that most plants seem to require some care and attention at some point. There are some that need to be pruned, others that need dead growth pulled up, others that need to be trained with wires and poles to grow in a certain direction and others that need to be constantly replanted. In fact, if a plant grows in its own without any input or encouragement required, it’s probably a weed. 

Plants that require effort are the ones that are truly worth it – unless the effort you have to put in is to remove them! 

Unity is the same. It doesn’t blossom by itself. It has to be something we want and something we work towards. 

We have to decide that we want to be united. It is an act of the will. It won’t happen if we don’t decide that we want it. 

Paul is also clear that we have to work at it. We have to put effort in. 

We have to remember that unity is at its most striking when the people who are united should not be united: when the people who are united should really be divided.  

But that means we will find ourselves in situations where our humility and gentleness will be presumed upon, when our patience will be tested, when our love will be stretched. There will always be other people in church who are our brothers and sisters in Christ but who are not like us. 

That is where these principles of a worthy life and a humble attitude leading to a united body are so critical.  

Without them, unity is impossible. 

Allow me to give you one more reason to aim for unity. 

Imagine you are a high wire walker. You are tens of metres above the ground. You are struggling to keep your balance as life strikes you on all sides.  

You dare to look down. There is a huge safety net beneath you, but holding the safety net to catch you all around are members of your church. 

This confuses you. You thought God would be the one to catch you when you fall. But then you realise: He is the One who called and sent these people into your life so they would catch you when you fall, and you would catch them when they fall. 

That is what it truly means to be the Body of Christ. 

It really makes no sense at all to fall out with them now, does it? 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, it’s humbling to know that You have placed me in the Body of Christ so I can support others and so they can support me. Help me to always have the right antidote so that I strengthen those bonds and don’t weaken them. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation  

• Why is unity in the Body of Christ so important? 

• These words were not fired out like bullets from a scattergun. What was Paul saying to the Ephesian church? What can we learn from them? 

• What do you need to do to help strengthen the bonds in the Body of Christ?