I am United

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Series Overview
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Weekly Scripture Passages for S.O.A.P.

8:40am Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

We’re taking this summer to walk through the book of Ephesians. I mentioned last week that the book splits neatly into two halves. Six chapters altogether; chapters 1, 2 and 3 are all about Who we are; chapters 4, 5, and 6 are all about How we should live.  

So in that first half, here’s what we learned: you and I entered this world spiritually dead; separated from God; separated from God’s people; no future and no hope. But God didn’t leave us that way! In fact, before the creation of the world he chose us to be his adopted children; then Jesus came to this world and paid for us at the cross, and then when we heard the gospel message and believed, God sealed us with the Holy Spirit and brought us into his family. The walls that separated us from God and the walls that separated us from God’s people have been knocked down by Christ. So: radical change of identity, and it’s not based on anything good we did, so there’s no basis for boasting or superiority; it’s 100% the grace of God.  

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, this is your identity: you are a redeemed, reconciled son or daughter of the King. You might not feel like it some days, but that is the truth of who you are.  

So that’s the first half of Ephesians. The second half is all about: okay, if that’s our identity, how should that change the way we live? That’s the question that’s answered in Ephesians 4, 5 and 6. And today we begin chapter 4. And I think you might be surprised when you see the first thing Paul talks about. So let’s read the passage—Ephesians 4, verses one through sixteen. This is God’s Word for us today… 

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. 

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: 

“When he ascended on high, 
    he took many captives 
    and gave gifts to his people.” 

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. This is the Word of the Lord. 

Stop for a minute and think about all the ethical commands that Paul could have started out with. He could talk about forgiveness, or generosity, or honesty, or a million other things. But as he starts the practical half of the letter, the first thing he talks about it unity. Verse 3 says make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. This is a call to live in unity with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Which is the opposite of…what? Disunity, division, independence; I’ve got Jesus and my Bible so I don’t really need anyone else. It’s the opposite of that. So why is unity so important, and what would it look like for you? 

Let’s talk first about The Call to Unity. Verse 1: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. The Greek word that’s translated “worthy” was a word that originated in the marketplace. When you were buying something—let’s say you were buying wheat—and you wanted one ephah of wheat, which was just under six gallons. The merchant would put a one-ephah weight on one side of a balance like this. And then he would keep putting wheat on the other side until the thing balanced out, and then you know you’ve got—what? One ephah of wheat. And you would say the wheat was now “worthy” of that one ephah weight. Does that make sense? It was worthy. 

So Paul says, “Look—you have received a calling from God!” We like to use that word for pastors and missionaries, right? “Oh—he has a calling on his life—he’s a pastor!” But Paul’s not writing to just pastors; he’s writing to the whole church. Because every believer has a calling. You have a calling. And that calling is like a heavy weight that goes on one side of the scale. (Boom). And he says, “Now: put something on the other side of the scale that’s worthy of that. Live lives of such weightiness—of such substance—that it’s worthy of your calling.” 

Let me as you a sobering question: when you step back and look at your life, what kinds of things are you putting on the other side of the scale? What kinds of things are you spending your time on and spending your money on and spending your passion on? Are they things that are worthy of your calling? Or are they lightweight, trivial, meaningless things—things that won’t last beyond this world? Are they things that aren’t worthy of someone who’s been called by Jesus Christ? Maybe it’s time to take your life more seriously, because you’ve been called. 

And you’re called, first and foremost, to live in unity with other believers. Verses 4 and 5 give the theological reason for that—look at this: 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. When it says there’s “one body,” that’s talking about the body of Christ, which is the church. Not “the church” as in “The Chapel.” I mean the capital “C” Church—all true believers everywhere. So even though we gather on Sundays in different local churches, we are all one church—one body. 

It’s easy to look at someone in a different church and say, “They’re different from us.” But God is urging us to focus on what we have in common. Look what it says: we have the same Spirit (the Holy Spirit); the same hope (of heaven); the same Lord—which is Jesus; the same faith—meaning we share faith in Christ; the same baptism—so no matter what church we attend, we’ve been baptized into the same Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the same God and Father of us all. So, yes—that church over there might have a different kind of music, or a different style of preaching or a different view of the order of end-time events, but if they are preaching salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, we have way more in common than we have different.  

In other words, the church of Jesus Christ is way bigger than you think. 

A few years ago I was at a conference in Dallas. And I had some free time, so I decided to go running. I was planning to run about five miles. That was about my upper limit at that point in my life. So I went out, and on the way back, somehow I took a wrong turn, and I got lost. And every time I thought I was going in the right direction, I would go for about a mile, and realize that I was more lost than ever. I was starting to get tired. I had no money; no credit card; no cell phone; nothing to drink. Totally irresponsible—unprepared . So after about an hour and a half, I realized I had been running for over ten miles, and I didn’t have much left in me. I also realized that I was in a dangerous neighborhood. And people were giving me these looks, like, “What are you doing here?” 

And all of a sudden, this woman called me over to her house—little broken down house—and she asked if I could come and help her carry something into her truck. Random request. So I said, “I’ll help you carry it if you tell me how to get back to”—I told her where I was going. And she said, “You’re a long way from there!” And then she said, “Hey, I’m going that way right now—why don’t you hop in my truck, and I’ll take you.” Norma Jean later said to me, “You got into a beat-up truck with an unknown woman in a scary neighborhood? What were you thinking?” And I said, “I was desperate.” I also had a sense that God was in this.  

So I got into the truck. And we started to talk—she had a thick Spanish accent. And I said, “I’m here in town for a pastors’ conference.” As soon as she heard that, she put her hands in the air, and she said, “Thank you, Jesus!! You sent me a pastor! Oh, Lord, you’re so good to me!” And I’m thinking, “Please, keep your hands on the steering wheel!” She was so excited! And we talked about her husband, and how she was praying for him, and the financial troubles she was having. And every once a while she would just throw up her hands, and say, “Thank you Lord! You’re so good to me!” What a great conversation. She drove me all the way to the place my conference was, which was about five miles away—I mean, I had gotten lost bad—and before I got out I prayed for her, and thanked her, and she thanked me.  

And as I reflected on that event, I realized: I had so little in common with this woman. Different cultures, different backgrounds, different kinds of neighborhoods. I doubt I’ll ever see her again in this life. But I firmly believe I will see her in heaven, because she’s my sister in Christ. And the things that are most important, we have in common. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. 

And part of living worthy of our calling is breaking out of this little, narrow view of what God is doing—like “It’s just my church, and that’s it!” And opening our eyes, and seeing that God has His people all over the place, and we’re part of this amazing body of Christ. 

This past April I went to the Gospel Coalition conference in Indianapolis, and I stood with 7,000 brothers and sisters from all over the world and sang In Christ alone my hope is found; he is my light, strength, my song. It was awesome, and I was reminded that the body of Christ is big. About two weeks ago, a bunch of people from the Chapel went out to Hershey Park to see Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham in concert. Hershey Park stadium holds 30,000 people; 31,000 people showed up. It was the biggest concert in that stadium all summer, and it was all worship, and it was people from hundreds of different churches…but they were all one church.  

So let’s be really careful how we talk about other churches. Let’s talk about them with respect and honor, rather than criticism…because we are family. One body, one Spirit, and one Lord. 

So that’s the big picture of unity. Now, let’s zoom in and get a little more personal. Verse 2 says 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.  Since you’re part of this one great family that God has, make every effort—work hard—to keep unity with the family members right around you. And the way you do that is by being humble, and gentle, and patient, and bearing with each other. In the first century Roman world, those were not considered virtues. Humility was considered weak. People will walk on you. But then Jesus came long, and he proved that humility and gentleness are actually the deepest kind of power. So as followers of Christ, we are empowered by his Spirit to treat the difficult people in our lives the same way Jesus treated the difficult people in his life—with humility and gentleness and patience.  

Can I say something obvious? Getting along with people is not always easy. Can I get an “Amen”? It is not easy. I mean, it’s easy to get along with me; everybody else is the problem. That’s why you have to make every effort. I mean, if it were easy, he wouldn’t need to say it! He says, “Work hard at this!”  

Jesus said, don’t focus on the little splinter in your brother’s eye; look at the log in your own eye!  

Jesus said, “If you’re headed to church, and you realize there’s something between you and your brother, go out of your way to make peace with your brother.”  

In Romans 12, Paul says “As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.” You can’t control other people, but you can do your part to seek peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. 

When we have conflict with someone at church, it’s so easy to bail out: “I’m going to go find another church. I don’t want to see that person again.” And Paul says, “No, no, no—make every effort to keep the unity.” It’s worth the effort; it’s worth the awkwardness; and it honors God. 

So how do you live worthy of your calling? The first thing is, you live with a strong sense that you are part of the Body of Christ, so you honor believers wherever they are—all around the world—and you strive for unity with the believers in your own church family. Unity is a big deal. This is why, in one of Jesus’ final prayers, in John 17, he says, “Father, I pray that all who believe in me will be brought to complete unity, so the world will know that you sent me.” Because listen: when we live in unity, in a world that’s so divided, we are demonstrating that Jesus is real.  

So that’s the call to unity. Now, let’s talk about The Strategy for Unity. Keep reading in verse7: 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: 

“When he ascended on high, 
    he took many captives 
    and gave gifts to his people.” 

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) Here’s what he’s saying: Jesus descended—he came down to earth as a human. And after he died on the cross and rose again, he ascended back to heaven. And Paul quotes here from Psalm 68: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to people.” It’s interesting, because when you go back and read Psalm 68, it actually says he received gifts from people. But everybody knew that when a conquering king would receive gifts from the people he conquered, he would then turn around and give those gifts to his own people. So Paul is emphasizing that part: that after Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross, he ascended into heaven (Acts chapter one), and he sent his Holy Spirit (Acts chapter two) to enter every believer and give each one of us a spiritual gift. Which means: part of what it means to live in unity is knowing and using your spiritual gift. Do you know yours? 

Keep going in verse 11: 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12a to equip his people for works of service… We could spend a lot of time talking about these five gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. But here’s the point: these are the main leadership gifts in the church. I believe the first two—apostles and prophets—look a little different today than they did in the first century, because the New Testament wasn’t complete yet back then. But that’s a topic for another day. The point is, when Jesus ascended into heaven he gave gifts through his Spirit, and these are the five main leadership gifts given to the church. So far so good, right? 

But here’s the problem: A lot of people look at themselves, and they say, “Well, I don’t have any of those gifts. I’m not a prophet or evangelist or a teacher. So I guess I’ll just sit in church and watch the pros.” And when you think of church that way, you are wildly misunderstanding what God intended it to be.  

Look at verse 12. The reason God has given those handful of leadership gifts in the church—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers—is not to do all the ministry! It’s…what? To equip his people for works of service. In other words, the role of church leaders is to get you guys equipped, and aware of your own gifts, and to help you find opportunities to use your gifts…so you can go out and do the ministry! Totally different way of looking at things!  

This past week at Chapel Kids Camp I had zero responsibilities. I did nothing. But I walked around a lot. You know what I saw? I saw God’s people doing incredible works of service. I saw people with the gift of administration organizing the movement of over 400 kids. I saw people with the gift of service making snacks. I saw people with artistic gifts and musical gifts and technical gifts all using their gifts, and when you put it all together, it was magical…it was supernatural…it was beautiful. That doesn’t happen with a bunch of spectators! It happens when God’s people show up with their gifts and say, “Use me.” 

I could go on and on about this, because this is one of the big reasons The Chapel has been so effective over the years: there’s a deep awareness that everyone is gifted, and for the body to work the way it’s supposed to, it takes all of us. In other words, God’s strategy for the unity of his church is to use an incredible diversity of people and gifts, all moving in the same direction. And when we do that well, something amazing happens. 

Let’s talk about The Goal of Unity. Keep reading, starting midway through verse 12: …so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Let me say this really directly: the goal of all of this—for us as individuals and for us as a church—is to become more and more like Christ. Does that sound too obvious? But we need to say it! In fact, look what it says in verse 15: …we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Have you ever noticed how large a baby’s head is, compared to its body? It’s way out of proportion. Little body; big head. But over time, the body grows and it catches up with the head. So who’s the head of the church? Jesus Christ. And when we as Christians are young and immature, we have a lot of growing up to do—our body is small and weak. But as we walk in unity, and as we use our gifts, we are becoming a mature body that matches up with—that fits—the head. That’s the goal—to be more and more like Jesus. 

Verse 14 says 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. A church that’s maturing and becoming more and more like Jesus is a church that speaks the truth in love. And that is so needed right now, because we’re living in a culture that’s being tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching—what a great description of our culture, right? And the world is aching for something solid to stand on. The world needs truth. And we need to speak it. But we have to speak it in love. There are churches that speak the truth, but there’s not much love. And there are churches that speak with lots of love, but they’ve abandoned the truth. But a church that’s growing up into the head and becoming like Christ is a church that speaks the truth in love. Just…like…Jesus did.  

This fall, for the first time ever, I’m going to be preaching through the doctrinal statement of The Chapel—the foundational truths of our faith. Some of you are thinking, “That sounds really boring.” It is so not boring. Because when you hold out the truth, and you show how Jesus personified that truth, and you show how we often miss the truth, and how it looks to live out that truth, man, doctrinal truth is the most exciting thing in the world. And we’re going to speak that truth with love, but we’re going to speak it clearly. 

Walk in unity, use your gifts, and never forget the goal is to be like Jesus. 

I think one of the most powerful movie scenes in the past 25 years is the closing scene from Saving Private Ryan. Jack Ryan, who’s played by Matt Damon, was rescued from the battlefields of France in World War 2 by Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks, and his men. Now the war’s been over for 50 years; Jack Ryan is in his upper 70s, and he’s visiting the American cemetery in Normandy with his family. They come up to the tomb of John Miller, who, after saving Private Ryan, had died in the war. And Jack Ryan realizes he’s only alive and free today because of the sacrifices made by man whose name is on that tomb. So he stares at the tomb, and then he turns to his wife, and he says, “Tell me I’m a good man. Tell me I’ve lived a good life.” 

He is so overwhelmed by what’s been done for him. And he realizes he doesn’t have much more time left on earth. And he wants to be sure that he’s lived a life worthy of the gift he’s received.  

As a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you’ve received. You have received a great calling. Put something worthy on the other side of the scale: walk in unity; use your gifts; and show the world what Jesus is like.