The Unity of Believers

Transcript

GR 149
9/14/1975
The Unity of Believers
Ephesians 4:1-6
Gil Rugh

We come to a division in the book of Ephesians that is characteristic of Paul’s epistles. In the opening chapters he lays the foundation of what we are and what we are to be. We often call our position, positional truth, doctrinal section, establishing the foundation then for what he wants to talk about concerning the practice of our lives as believers. We sometimes make the distinction with doctrinal section and the practical section that may give the idea of the doctrine is not practical, that’s just the opposite what Paul is stressing. It’s the doctrine that makes practice possible.

And if you do not start in Ephesians 1, 2 and 3 then you have no foundation for your practice as a believer and it’s important that the foundation is laid before you try to lay the rock of the believer and what he ought to be doing because you were here for the first three chapters you ought to at least read them through several times and get some grasp of who you are and what you are in Christ because that determines what you do as a believer, how you conduct yourself as a believer is based upon who you are and what you are.

And if there is no teaching on what we call positional truth your position as a believer then it’s futile to talk about your practice and conduct and that’s the difficulty that we face by and large in Christian circles. People like to begin with Chapter 4 and talk about Christian conduct and Christian practice but the Christian does not yet realize who he is and what he is in Christ and thus there is no foundation and basis for his practice.

Therefore, in verse 1 that it’s capitalized in your New American Standard Bible, they are not capitalized for any real reason dramatically. In the Greek the word therefore is just a little three letter word that is important here you ought to underline it. That therefore emphasis, therefore on the basis of all I’ve said in the first three chapters. So to begin talking in Chapter 4, it would be contrary to what Paul says.

Therefore, seeing what you are and who you are in Jesus Christ, what God has done in your life as His child. On that basis then you are to conduct yourself in accord with your position in Jesus Christ. The section breaks down into two basic areas. The first three verses are the exaltation that Paul gives, then verses 4, 5 and 6 are the foundation for exaltation, the whole section revolving around oneness in Jesus Christ and the unity that is ours as believers. What he has established in connection with our position in one body in the first three chapters, the Spirit has placed us all in one body, Jew and gentiles, one building, the habitation of God. Now recognizing the unity that is in existence we ought to practice that unity in our relationship among believers.

All right, the exaltation that Paul gives, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord intrigue you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. Paul put the stress on his position here literally it would read, I therefore beseech you, I the prisoner of the Lord, that’s stressed, I beseech you, I the prisoner of the Lord beseech you. Paul was a Roman prisoner at this point in time when he wrote to the Ephesians and he is not writing for sympathy in light of the fact I am a prisoner and I have lost my freedom and so on, at least you have to be sympathetic and listen.

Paul has a more exalted view of his position. He doesn’t say I a prisoner of the Roman Empire but a prisoner in Christ, a prisoner in the Lord literally. That’s the sphere in which I am a prisoner, so he doesn’t see himself in the human connection and thus he was in exalted position even in prison, why, because I am not prisoner in Rome, I am a prisoner in the Lord, I am his prison and thus his representative I write to you. Note the source of this is one who is the prisoner, one who is the prisoner in the lord and thus is the lord’s spokesman in this occasion. I intrigue you or exert you, beseech you, to walk in a manner worthy of the caller.

He establishes here what is to be the standard of the conduct and practice of the believer. Paul will walk you referring to that consistent day by day, moment by moment progress on our Christian life, our activity as believers, the walk of the believer. We have to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, so he establishes here now the standard for our conduct as believers and the calling ties to all that has been said in first three chapters. Our position in Jesus Christ is our call. This is what we have been called to, what we have been placed in and in light of the position now that we have in Christ walk in a manner worthy of that position or that calling. So you can see the elevated standard. Now a person who does not understand his position in Christ has to walk according to the standard of the preacher, he has to walk according to the standard of the church, or walk according to the standard of other believers but that’s not the standard. We are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received in Christ. This comes out through the first three chapters.

Just turn back to Chapter 1, you see something of the calling and the position that we have as a result of that calling, verse 3 of Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and father of our lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every Spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him, we are in the heavenly in Christ, every Spiritual blessing is art in the heavenly, he has chosen us to be holy and blameless. Verse 5, he has predestined us to adoption as sons, all this for his glory in verse 6. In him in verse 7 we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sin.

As you run down through the section you can read through these verses, verse 14 we have the Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of his glory and going on to talk about his desire that we might realize the power of God is being operative in our life. My position in Christ, in the heavenlies and that is the same place according to verse 20 of Ephesians 1 where Christ is seated at the right hand of the father in the heavenlies and I have ever Spiritual blessing in the heavily and that is where Christ is. Now I am to walk in a manner worth of one who has been chosen to be placed as God’s son in the heavenlies and they are enjoying there with Jesus Christ.

Now in light of that position I am to walk in a manner worthy, worthily of his calling, worthily of my position in Christ, that’s how I am to walk. And you note the elevated standard that that really is. You can get no more exalted standard that is consistently the standard of the word of God, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received.

Just one other passage I’ve got it down. Turn over to First Thessalonians you are an Ephesians Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians, three books over the back of your bible, Ephesians Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians and the second chapter First Thessalonians Chapter 2. Paul, again we find him exerting or intriguing the teaching. Verse 11, just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and employing each one of you as a father would his own children so that you might walk in a manner worthy of the God who called you into his own kingdom and glory, worthy of the God who called you the same standard, worthy of his calling and be worthy, walking worthy of his calling is to walk worthy of the God who called you in a manner pleasing to him.

All right, back to Ephesians Chapter 4 and really the rest of Ephesians is going to talk about this manner, the worthy walk of the believer. How can we walk in a manner worthy of our calling for there will be certain characteristics true of us that we are walking in a manner worthy of our calling, a manner befitting those who have received the call of God. Now you’ll note a crucial distinction here. It’s because of what we are we conduct ourselves in a certain way and with the same type of situation where the child of a king is exhorted to walk in a manner befitting the child of a king, the heir of the king but because someone walks like the child of a king that does not make him the child of a king.

Now we are to walk worthy of the position that we have in Jesus Christ but conducting yourself according to a certain standard or in a certain way does not make you a child of God, it does not establish your place in the heavenlies, the order is crucial. You walk in accordance with what you are. You are an heir of Jesus Christ, you are established with him in the heavenlies but you do not become established with him in the heavenlies by walking in a certain way. You received your position by faith in Christ, now in light of the position you had you conduct yourself in a certain way. So be sure that you have the order correct.

Many people are religious occupying a seat in church this morning and yet have no position in Christ and no matter how they conduct themselves it won’t change the fact they don’t belong to him. You have to have the position to before you can have the practice and the conduct. We are talking to those who already are the children of God, now they are to walk worthy of the position which they have. Now, certain characteristics of walking worthy of the calling. If you are walking worthy of the calling which you’ve received as a believer these things will be true of you. First in verse 2, with all humility and gentleness, interesting where he starts isn’t, humility and gentleness, not where we might have started with holiness and Spirituality and some of these things they would be involved but Paul begins with humility after talking about the exalted position that we have in Christ elevated to the heavenlies he starts off now when you are walking you are not worthy of that calling you walk with humility, not with arrogance, not with pride because of what you are and who you are but with humility because if you really understand your position you realize you have that position because of the grace of God and that’s a humbling factor.

It humbles you to realize what God has done for you in mercy and grace. So if you are walking in light of your position and in a manner worthy of your position humility will be the first thing that characterizes you or modesty is the word that would be synonym to the word used here, humility gives the idea of modestly, that humble, demeanor and character and quality of life, we’re talking about true humility that comes from within the inside, within home. Connected with this is gentleness and that’s the word meekness in the King James, we have some of the negative connotations that is sometimes connected with meekness, words that almost is synonym with for humility.

If you look it up in a dictionary this word will be defined as meekness, humility, sometimes courtesy. That attitude of a believer and that conduct coming from his attitude realizing that in Jesus Christ is everything but apart from Christ he is nothing. So that’s humility and meekness. This is two of the characteristics Christ says are true of himself.

We’ll go over in Matthew Chapter 11, what we’re going to see as we move through this section it is that it is character of Jesus Christ that is being developed in the believer and as his character is being developed in the believer then I am becoming conformed more and more to who and what he is and humility and meekness are two of those characteristics. In Matthew Chapter 11, very familiar portion, the end of the chapter verse 28, come unto me all you who are labor, vary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle, meek and humble, humility in heart.

So there’s gentleness and humbles in heart, Jesus said that is my character. I am meek, I am gentle, I am humble in heart. Now you notice it’s not just in practice, it’s not well I am going to try to give at least air of humility. I do want people to think I am meek and gentle. Now this come from within, meek and gentle in heart and that’s what the believer is because of the new person that he has made me which is conformed to the character of Christ this is the character and quality of the new man, that new creature and I am to be living under submission to the Spirit, in submission to the Spirit so that a new man’s character and qualities are being produced by the Spirit, humility and meekness will be characteristics.

Now Paul may have mentioned these first because they are not admired of characteristics. We go back Ephesians 4 they were defiantly not admired in the Roman and Greek world. Words here rather infrequently in secular Greek and always with a negative connotation with derision as the attitude. A person who is meek but someone who is inferior and less than a true man, the arrogance, the self-sufficiency of course what was admired in the Greek and Roman world and these qualities were viewed as weakness, as not strength and things haven’t changed. Basically people today admire the self-sufficient, arrogant person who are self-confident, knows what he is doing, knows how to do it and does it regardless.

To know what is meekness, # to someone else and that’s a good get away to get steamrolling. I am going to be humble and meek, fine, I’ll just walk over you to go to the next place and it’s easy for us to feel the infringement of the world. Well, I want to be liked, I want to be admired, I want to be respected and looked up to and to do that you have to have a certain amount of arrogance about you. Therefore I will manifest the certain arrogance, you got to be a self-confident person and therefore I’ll manifest your self-confidence. So we begin to function in the flesh because the world admires the flesh. But if you are walking in a manner worthy of your calling you’ll be walking as Jesus Christ walks and that will be with humility and meekness.

The third characteristic here is Ephesians 4 is one that’s often connected with meekness or gentleness in the Bible that’s patience, patience, long-suffering I believe we have it in the King James Version, the willingness to endure. Look back to Galatians Chapter 5, Galatians is just before Ephesians. Galatians 5:22, through the fruit of the Spirit, so you realize that this is simply the character of God being produced in your life by the Spirit of God. In Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. What are we talking about? We’re talking about when I walk worthy of the calling which I’ve received I am walking in submission to the Spirit so he can produce the character of God in my life. And if I am walking worthy of the calling then my life will be characterized by humility, by meekness, by patience and patience is something that is really difficult to sometimes manifest but we excuse it, we all have weaknesses and so we say I can’t help that I am just an impatient person.

You know what that in effect is saying I can’t help it because I am not being submissive to the Spirit and maybe we’re saying a little more than we mean to say when you say I can’t help it I am just impatient. You really don’t want to say I can’t help it, I am not in submission to the Spirit because that’s what you’re saying and that’s right because when you are not in submission to the Spirit you can’t help it because it’s not a characteristic of the flesh to be patient and so as long as you function in the flesh you’ll be impatient.

So you’re right you can’t help it if you are not walking in submission to the Spirit but that doesn’t excuse you because why aren’t you walking in submission to the Spirit because I don’t want to because I don’t be patient. I mean I am impatient and it would aggravate me more to have to be patient, therefore we have different personalities and I am an impatient person. So you are patient praise Lord for that, praise the Lord, you are patient as a believer if you are allowing the Spirit to control your life he’ll produce the patience. Again this is a character and quality of Jesus Christ you can just jot down the reference we won’t turn to it.

But first Timothy 1:16, howbeit the God saved him in order that the perfect patience of Jesus Christ might be manifested to all. The patience of Jesus Christ might be manifested to all. That’s why he provided salvation for Paul because I am the cheapest among sinners and the reason he saved me was to show his great patience, that he will endure with me to bring me to the point of trusting him. So all we’re saying is that the Spirits of God is producing the character of God in our life. As we mentioned in second Corinthians where as we look into the word we see the glory of Christ manifested and the Spirit of God is transforming us into the glory, into the image of that glory progressively and day by day. So patience will be manifested in your life if you walking worthy of the calling that you receive.

All right now little bit of elaboration on patience really what you develop when he says forbearing, showing forbearance to one and other in love. When you’re being patient you will show forbearance to others in love. Now forbear means to bear with, to sustain, to endure. Not endure like we sometimes talk about. I am enduring a situation even though I am impatient, now not that negative endurance but the bearing with we’re sustaining. So when I am being patient I am enduring with, I am bearing with sustaining someone, not that I have time, not that I can’t give any more attention to it but I am willing to bear with them and that is difficult and with the supernatural power of the Spirit of God gives in our lives as believers.

Now there is a connection here I think is important. Paul is not talking primarily about our relationships in the world, although you cannot be one thing in the church and another thing in the world, there will a consistency but where the stress is placed by Paul in this passage is among believers because you note what he says, showing forbearance to one another, showing forbearance to one another as he writes to believers. Being patient enduring with one another is what he is talking about because this is where the basic oneness is to the believers. We realize the work that God is doing in our lives and individually as his children, so we need to be patient with one and another. You know it’s easy to be impatient and to give up and become frustrated and lose patience.

Now Paul says we’re to be forbearing, be bearing with one another in love. This is the Spirit which we operate and love is a long suffering, it’s patience, it’s willing to endure and this ties back to what Jesus said to the disciples in the Gospel of John where by this shall all men know you are my disciples if you have love toward one another. There is a breakdown of patience here, there is a breakdown of love and as we see the very testimony that the bodies they have for Jesus Christ is fractured because now you will know you are my disciples by your love and in love we bear with one another and so you can see when I am impatient in effect I am saying there is a lack of love here as well. So I find them really at the heart of the problem I am functioning as a frustrated person, forbearing one another in love.

Note now up to this point when I say that’s all pretty passive, well there is an active part of it too. Being diligent it’s not enough that I don’t do anything, I didn’t do anything so I was patient, I didn’t move my temper, I didn’t drop the handle, I didn’t do anything that’s not good enough because you must be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and the word be diligent means to be zealous or eager, to take pain, to make every effort so we’re to be making every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace so you see there is a responsibility placed upon me to be maintaining the unity among the body. Not just not doing anything but actively involved in preserving the unity that the Spirit has produced among believers so none of us can be just passive spectator.

Oh, I am glad I am not involved in that, I am glad I stayed out, I am not in. I have to be actively involved in encouraging and promoting the unity. Now you note here, very important, that we’re being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. Did you not say be diligent to produce the unity of the Spirit that is already there. If you were with us through the first three chapters that ought to be clear, it’s the Spirit of God who made us one body in Christ, one building for the habitation of God. The unity is already there. You cannot make the unity. All you can do is keep the unity that’s already there and you can see again functioning in light of our position what we are.

We are one in Jesus Christ. But I am walking contrary to my position if I am in a state of division with other believers. That’s the problem with the ecumenical movement it’s a false, there is no real unity having being produced by the Spirit like the folk or people involved are not yet believers in Jesus Christ, there is no unity and you don’t make unity and that’s the problem we begin to say well how could we have unity let’s do this. You don’t do anything to have unity. You believe what God has done that produces the unity. Now the unity that is there among believers we ought to be diligent to keep it and to see that is preserved, to see that is part of our practice otherwise I am living contrary to my position. I am not walking in a manner worthy of the calling that I have received.

So the unity is there, all we have to do is keep it, use the verse and give the idea to keep, keeping the unity of the Spirit, the unity that the Spirit has produced because it was the Spirit you remember that placed us into the body. It was Spirit that is at work in making us the habitation of God. So the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, peace is the bond that is used so there ought be peace among believers, that is the bond of the unity, peace and if there not peace then there is no unity.

Turn back to Galatians 5 again if you would. Verse 16, Galatians 5 verse 16 but I say walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh for the flesh if its desire against the sprit, the Spirit against the flesh for these are in opposition to one and another so you may not do the things if you plead. And note there is a battle going on. The flesh refers to what I am apart from the work of God, the Spirit, the work that God is doing in my life through the Spirit. Now there is a conflict there.

Now note verse 19, but the deeds of the flesh are evident which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. So you note what we’re talking about in Ephesians 4 a believer walking under the submission to the Spirit because if there is not peace and unity then the flesh is manifesting itself, there are factions and divisions and dissensions and dispute. If there is no patience there is outburst of anger. So simply it’s the flesh manifesting itself or it’s the Spirit manifesting himself through our lives as his children. Many things move in to divide us.

Now keep in mind we’re talking about the body of Christ. We are just as much one with the believers at other fundamental bible believing churches and likes as we are with other believers in this church. The division is not between Indian Hills and Berrien or Indian Hills and the Allies or Indian Hills and Grace Community or any other body of believers. There is a oneness there among the body of Christ where ever they meet in fellowship that’s why you go to visit a strange place and you go in where there are other believes and there is a certain bond in oneness that’s there. So that’s where there is oneness on that level. Not among the denominational lines or a local church line, it’s oneness among the body of believers. And then within the body there is that oneness we need to be careful. We are different persons and God works differently in our lives and the flesh always it is at work and the devil is there to encourage the flesh to bring about division.

We sense this at Indian Hills with a different group, we have different groups that function within the body, we have different campus group within the body. There are different groups with me and it’s easy if we’re not careful for the centers to arise along these groups. If we’re not careful we see our self in tension with one another rather than just parts of body functioning as God directs it complementing one another not battling one another.

There is no battle that we’re going see and we need to be at work instead of looking for areas where there might be some disagreements that we can elaborate on at work to preserve the unity. If you believe God’s directed you to be involved in university, it’s fine, if he directs someone else to be involved a navigator, it’s fine praise the Lord for the way that he uses the group. I believe that we as a body are strengthened by the functioning of the individual parts, the individual groups and so along within the body and you need to be careful just because we are functioning in one place everyone else has be around of course. Obviously and I know that you are aware of this and sometimes it happens in churches.

I received a number of years ago an invitation to consider candidating at a church they sent me a letter explaining the situation I would have to agree that I have nothing to do with one particular campus group if I would come and speak because they have some problem and you see how the fractions divide. We’ve already decided now this campus group and their part of our group here we don’t have problem, doctrinally I don’t have any problem, because certain individuals got in a problem then the church had to take a stand and battle against that fraction.

Of course anybody part of our group they are against them, if you want to come be part of our group you are in the battle. I had the letter out before I even got their letter that I wasn’t interested, I’m going to safeguard, I am going to join the battle of other believers, we need to be careful about our own local group this local body of believers. It is not disunity that arises because then it mars the testimony that ought to be there as God’s children.

All right and that’s the exaltation he gives. Now the foundation for this exaltation is the oneness that we have. You can find no basis at all for division, there is no way to divide the body. So if there is a division in the body it’s in the flesh because there is no place to divide the body as God has set it down. The emphasis is on the oneness. All right, note how he starts in verse 4, there is one body and one Spirit and the body refers to the church, the body of believers. That will come out later on in Chapter 4 in our future study.

First Corinthians 12:13 for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, the body of Christ. Romans Chapter 12 verse 5 makes the same identification of the body as being the body of Christ, the local church, the true church rather, the local church being part of the body of Christ assembled in this place. So there is only one body. No where do you get the divisions if there is only one body. Where does the turmoil come? How do you divide your body. How many of you get out of the bed this morning and your left hand tore off your right ear. Do you ever just get up and grab your nose and pull it off, no I didn’t say did you ever feel like that I said did you ever do it that’s different.

Did you ever just call off and give yourself a good hard right to the chin to shatter your jaws, no, of course it’s ridiculous that is pretty ridiculous. But it’s more ridiculous that we have divisions among the body of Christ. You have here one part of the body tearing off the ear another part getting hold of the nose to give it a good tug, how ridiculous, there is only one body. Now how do you have the body within itself pulling and tearing itself apart? Obviously something is wrong. There is only body where is the battle, there is not two bodies to fight together so you have one body tearing it itself. I wonder there is no testimony, I wonder there is no growth, I wonder there is no life after a period of time.

One Spirit I take it, we’re talking about the Holy Spirit, he is one who has produced the unity. He is the one who has produced the body by identifying us with Jesus Christ. He is building the body by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. You saw in Chapter 2 where it is the Spirit by joining Jew and Gentile together in one body, it’s the work of the Spirit to build the body of believers for the habitation of God. So there is only one Spirit, only one body. So it wasn’t one part of the body but it was a different person who did the work in my life. So anyone who is part of the body has the work done in his heart by the Spirit of God so there can be no dissension there.

What are you divided along, there is only one body there is only one Spirit. All right, move along just as you recalled in one hope of your calling. Now it moves along as I referred, there is only one hope of our calling. I was called to one ultimate goal and that is to manifest the character of God if he conformed to the image of His Son. There is no two hopes. The ultimate hope of the believer is tied to his glorification when Jesus shall come looking for the blessed hope and in appearing in glory of the great God who is our savior Jesus Christ. That’s the hope, so what are dividing along, there is only one hope that is that being in His presence glorified placed as Hon as was put Ephesians Chapter 1 so what are you dividing along, there are not two hopes there is only one. Okay, move along.

One Lord and Lord here would Jesus Christ he is the only Lord, so where is the division. There is no two lords it’s not Gil Rugh and the lord, two lords so there can be a division, no there is only one lord and obviously he is not divided against himself so if there is only one lord and he is functioning as lord, there is no room for division unless you are serving another mass here and you are doing one other mass here he is the God of this world and he is not the lord of believers.

All right one faith that I take it here he is about the faith of the gospel it could be the faith of believer’s place in Christ there is only one faith that says faith in Christ but it’s even probably more probability he is talking here about the faith of the gospel, the revelation of truth that God has given writing to Philippians Paul talks about in Chapter 1 verse 27, striving together for the faith of the gospel. He puts that in the context of being of one mind, in one Spirit describing together for the faith of the gospel so they are in the unity emphasizing the unity among believers he says the faith refers to the gospel. There is only one body of reveal truth so what are you dividing along. Well, in Acts Chapter 20 Paul told the elders at Ephesians that some would come in Paul’s shepherds and Paul’s teachers leading astray some after themselves but they leave them astray from the one body of real truth.

Why do we have so many groups today that moved away from the faith? Now if they are grounded in the faith there is no unity of course, but there is only one body to reveal the truth that’s the scripture not Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, not the Book of Mormon, one body reveals truth and that’s where the unity comes from. One baptism, one baptism that’s probably more question on that statement than any other whether it’s water baptism or Spirit baptism it really doesn’t make a lot of difference because water baptism is to be the symbol of Spirit baptism and so it wouldn’t make a great deal of difference, we’ve nothing to do with baptism or regeneration as it’s called.

I think probably we’re talking about Spirit baptism here for a couple of reasons one the context what is being talking about our spiritual realities related to the position that we occupy in Christ and so it would be logical that the one baptism would refer to the baptism of the Spirit that places us into the body of Christ. There is a parallel to this over in first Corinthians Chapter 12. First Corinthians Chapter 12 for the same type of context talking about the oneness that we have Paul identifies this baptism as Spirit baptism. First Corinthians 12 page 267, verse 11 but one in the same Spirit, one Spirit the same Spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually as he will talking about the distribution of the gifts of the Spirit.

Even as the body is one, one body as many members all the members of the body though they are many are one so also is Christ and one Spirit in verse 13, so you note, one Spirit, one body, one Christ, same type of context with Ephesians 4, then in verse 13 he says we were all baptized into one body by the Spirit. So, in this context we talked about one body, one Spirit and one Christ, he also talks about the one baptism being the baptism of the Spirit, which he has indicated probably in Ephesians 4 the baptism referred to as the baptism of Spirit as well.

It’s that baptism, that work of the Spirit in identifying us with Jesus Christ in his death burial and resurrection that makes us part of the body of Christ. That’s the initial work of Spirit, that’s how you become part of the body. You are identified or baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. So there is only baptism where does the division come we have division with churches now about those who believe different modes of water baptism you are sprinkled, you are poured, you are immersed, you are baptized at all, that’s not the issue there is only one true baptism the baptism of the Spirit and that is symbolized in one baptism but basically there is one baptism. So nobody got into the body any differently than anybody else. Anyone who is in the body got here by the baptism of the Spirit, so what are you fighting about.

One other unity here, one God and father of all. So there is one lord, Jesus Christ, there is one Spirit, we’ve already seen that in verse 4, now there is one God and father. You see the trinity involved here very clearly of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God and father of all. There is the father of all believers in the context here and you note this one God, father of all, he’s the one who is over all, through all and in all. So, he is the sovereign God above all, all of us and believers look to God. When we pray, we pray to God our father through Jesus Christ. He is through all, he is operating and working through his children but it’s the same one God who is at work and he is the same God who is in all referring to his children. # he is talking to believers, all believers.

He is in every believer. Spirit of God dwells in every believer and Jesus promises his disciples that he and his father will come and take up residence in them. The father, son and Holy Spirit indwell the believer. Now there is only one God operating over all, through all and in all believers. Now where does the divisions comes from, this one God at art with himself, obviously not. It comes when we as believers are no longer submissive to God in our life then the flesh is obviously at art with the Spirit because the flesh and the Spirit are at war, we saw in Galatians Chapter 5.

So there is disunity among believers is an indication that the Spirit of God is not in control of that of believers. Now it is easy to explain ourselves or excuse ourselves but you remember we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. It’s not well I wouldn’t be doing this if he hadn’t done that. If she hadn’t done that of course we would had unity. And if you didn’t respond the way you did we’d have unity too, wouldn’t we. So it’s a matter simply of recognizing what we are in Christ and then demanding of our body and our mind that we submit to the Spirit and function as he intended for so we might walk in a manner worthy of the call, which we have received walking in a manner worthy of the calling.

Now the divisions occur you can read first Corinthians 1 Paul said you Corinthians, some of you are Paul, some of you are Cephas, some of you are Apollo, what’s that got to do with anything. Paul didn’t die for you, you are not baptize in the name of Paul or Peter. So what’s the division, I’m the church, mine is the only one, I’m I am navigator and I am the university and to say I’m the dean, I am of mud, what’s the difference. There is only one Christ there is only lord, we are one in him. We may not agree on all the little details so what praise God for what he is doing in your life and how he is working praise God for what he is doing in my life and how he is working.

You got to praise him for the unity that he has produced the oneness that we have and you got to go further those who cause disunity and factions are not be tolerated in the body because they are workers of dissension and motives of the flesh and the devil to fracture the testimony of the church the Jesus Christ. We have to manifesting the character of God to the work and that’s not happening and you are not allowing the Spirit to produce this character in our life.

Now if you are here and not a believer what we’ve been saying doesn’t pertain to you doesn’t do you any good to go out and say well I am going to be humble, I am going to be gentle and I am going to be patient, though God I am not the first one down who makes me impatient. Try humane and remember the order. I don’t know if God # remember the order. The order is God does a work in your life, in your heart and you as a person, then he makes you a new creature a new creation then the Spirit of God beings to produce the character of God in your life, humility, gentleness, patience but until God has done a work in your life it’s futile for you to try to conform yourself to the character of God, the standard is too high.

And God will do that work in your life if you free yourself from sin. Jesus Christ as a savior who died for you on the basis of those facts you’ll place your faith in him alone as your savior. The moment you place your faith in him you will be baptized by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God will identify you with Jesus Christ in his death burial and resurrection. Your sins will be forgiven, God himself will take up residence in your life and he begins from that moment on to produce his character through you.

Let’s pray to God. Father we thank you for the work that you’ve done in our lives as you children, father, for the glory of salvation that we have, for the glorious position that is art in the heavenlies in Christ or for the exalted expectation that was even considered this morning for the privilege of walking in a manner worthy of the caller which has been called or in realizing that only a God of total power could make such an impossibility possible. To degenerate sinner to walk in a manner worthy of such an exalted call.

We’d pray that we might be willing to have all the credit and all the glory and true to you. We might be willing to have the Spirit produce your character in our lives in order that we might be all that you intend for us to be so that we might be the testimony to the word that you intend for us to do so that others might have the joy of knowing you personally. I thank you for in Jesus name, Amen.