DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Spend some time reading as discussing the creed of oneness in verses 4-6. What does this creed teach us about what should be important in the church?
Why do you think Paul quotes Psalm 68 here when talking about spiritual gifts?
How is unity different than uniformity? Why is diversity within unity a good thing?
TEXT:
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 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 grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore it says,
"When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men."
9 (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
SERMON MANUSCRIPT:
For Christmas, my in-laws bought my children an unassembled swing set (which, in my humble opinion, is an expression of love to the child who gets to play on the swing set and an expression of hate to the parent who has to assemble the swing set, but I digress).
Over the years of building various things, I've learned that I'm not too fond of instructions; I would much rather skip the reading portion of the assembly and dive right into the building process. In doing so, I'm never able to assemble things correctly.
To build something properly, one must first consult the instructions. Well, the same is true with the Christian faith. As instructions are essential to assembly, gospel doctrine is essential to gospel living. Gospel doctrine shapes gospel culture.
We find the book of Ephesians teaching us this much. In the first three chapters of Ephesians, we find Paul teaching the church doctrine. He's been teaching the church theological truths surrounding who God is, what God has done for the church in Christ, and who the church is in Christ. But, here, in chapter 4, we find a transition taking place. In chapter 4, we find Paul shifting from the heart and mind to the hands and feet, from the vertical to the horizontal, from doctrine to application, orthodoxy to orthopraxy.
In the remaining portion of Ephesians, we will begin to learn that what we believe about God should shape how we live among men; correct thinking should lead to right living. If you want to build a sturdy play set for your kids, you need the instruction manual. In the same way, if we want to be a healthy church, we need sound doctrine. Gospel doctrine shapes gospel culture.
So, as we journey through the rest of this book, we will be building on top of the doctrinal foundation laid for us in chapters 1-3. In Ephesians 2, for example, Paul laid down the foundation of church doctrine. In chapter 2, he painted the picture of the church being a united people who cling to Jesus as their only hope for salvation. The church is a body, the body of Christ. It's a beautiful kingdom, a royal family, a holy temple. In Christ, we are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Well, in Ephesians 4, we find Paul stacking on top of that doctrinal foundation bricks of practical application regarding how the church should interact with one another on a day-to-day basis. Today, we will learn that although the church is one in Christ, we are not all the same in Christ. There is a diversity of giftings within the church that ought to be noticed and celebrated. You are one with the person next to you, but you are not the same as the person next to you. Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. The church is a united yet diverse group of people who seek to lovingly serve one another for the glory of God and the good of one another.
Let's dive in.
"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 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 grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore it says,
"When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men."
9 (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
A UNITED BODY
Before we dive into verse 7, let's look at verses 4-6 for a brief moment.
The declaration here in these few verses was likely a creed that the early church would corporately repeat together. Here in this creed is a theme of unity and oneness.
The word "one" is used seven times in these three verses. Simply put, "one" is the opposite of many. It's a word of singularity. It's a term of unity. There are not many bodies of Christ; there is one body to which we all belong. There are not multiple spirits; there is one Spirit who indwells all believers. There are not varying objects to which we can place our hope and faith; there is one place our hope and faith can reside: Jesus. We don't submit to multiple lords; we submit to Christ and Christ alone. There are not numerous places to which our sins can be washed away; there is one baptism to which we can partake and become white as snow. We don't have multiple fathers whom we trust; there is one Father who has lovingly adopted us into his family. We are one, united together as the body of Christ.
This is a foundational doctrine of the church, the oneness of the church. The imagery Paul uses here is the church is a body. The church is not a building, nor is it an organization; it is a living and breathing organism that is joined together as the body of Christ.
This is strategic imagery Paul uses to communicate our oneness. We must understand that the Christian faith is not a solo faith; it's a corporate endeavor that we enjoy with other believers. You are a member of the body of Christ in the same way an arm is a member of a human body. In the same way an arm best functions while joined to a body, you function best when you are joined to the church. A hand doesn't get to wander off from the body. You don't wake up in the morning and say, "Daggumit, my feet ran off again." You need the church, and the church needs you.
For a body to function properly, it needs all of its members. And for a body to function properly, it needs all of its members to follow the control and guidance of its boss, the brain. Similarly, for the church (the body of Christ) to function correctly, its members (you and me) must follow the control and guidance of our boss, Jesus. Jesus is the head, and we are the members of the church.
So, our unity as the church centers around Jesus. It revolves around his life, teachings, death, and resurrection. Together as the church, we proclaim that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We are united in this proclamation. As the church, we aren't an all-inclusive club where anyone can bring whatever truth they want to the table. No, we are a people who have abandoned the many false truths that the world will offer for the one true hope of Christ crucified. What binds us together is a conviction to certain Biblical truths, which are of primary importance. Together, we are one body that rallies around one Lord, proclaiming one hope throughout the world.
Now, I want to speak on the local church for a moment. When I hear different pastors teach the idea of the church being the body of Christ, they unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) make it out that their church is the body of Christ. But I want us to understand that that's not what the Bible teaches here.
Harbor Community Church is not the body of Christ; it is a part of the body of Christ. Harbor is a [b]ody of Christ that is a part of the [B]ody of Christ. And in God's providential goodness, we are not the only [b]ody of Christ here in Mobile. Therefore, we are not in competition with other churches. In the same way that it would be crazy for an arm to despise a leg, it should be foolish for a church to despise another church. We are on the same team, members of the same body.
To be clear, not all buildings with the word "church" on them are a part of the body of Christ. Wolves are certainly in sheep's clothing here in Mobile. Organizations are pretending to be organisms. False teachers are proclaiming false messages. There are "churches" wrapping Satan's gospel with the words of the true gospel. Some folks have replaced the gospel of freedom with the gospel of slavery.
But, friends, let me also be clear. We have a lot of brothers and sisters throughout Mobile who worship in different buildings on Sunday. So, as a pastor, I believe I am responsible for encouraging and praying for other pastors in Mobile. As a pastor, I think I have a responsibility to, at times, encourage folks to join and stay at other churches in Mobile. We are not in the business of building our church with the ruins of another church.
If we want to be a faithful [b]ody of Christ, we must be eager to maintain unity amongst the [B]ody of Christ. We may have differing opinions on how the church should be governed. We may have differing views on baptism. We may have different opinions on the end times. But, we do not have differing views on the Lordship of Christ; no, together, we all bow in submission to Christ as our Lord. We put our arms around our brothers and sisters and say, "It is in Christ, and Christ alone, that our hope resides. We may not see you on Sundays, but we will see you in heaven."
UNITY IS NOT THE SAME AS UNIFROMITY
Now, notice what Paul does after addressing this creed of oneness. He says, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
The term "but" is a literary record scratch. It's a term used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned. So, what Paul is about to say contrasts with what was just said— "We are one body… but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
The English word "grace" is the Greek word "charis." It implies an undeserved gift given to someone by another. It's a word often used in reference to salvation— we are saved by grace through faith (Rom. 6:1,14-17; 11:5-6; Eph. 2:8). But, it's used differently here. Here, it's used in reference to spiritual gifts. As Tony Merida describes it, "This is not 'saving grace' but 'ministry grace.' It is grace to serve and build up the body."
So, what this is saying is that although we are all one in Christ, we are also uniquely different in Christ. As the church, we cling to the singular hope of God's grace in Christ Jesus. Yet, we've also been graced differently by Jesus.
Unity is not the same as uniformity. Our ears are different than our noses, and our nose is different than our eyes. Each member of our body is different than the other, yet each member is a part of the same body.
To support this, Paul quotes Psalm 68 by saying, "Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? [10] He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
Psalm 68 is what some would call a victory hymn. God had gone in triumph before his people after the exodus out of Egypt. The mountains shook, the waters moved, and the kings were scattered. This Psalm was a reminder to God's people of God's victorious power and a call for God to act powerfully on behalf of his people in the future.
Now, what's interesting is that, over time, many Jews had begun to associate Psalm 68 with Pentecost, which was a Jewish feast that celebrated the giving of the law. It evolved into a covenant renewal celebration, a time for remembering God's covenant with his people on Mount Sinai. So, Moses ascended up Mount Sinai to receive the gift of the law and descended down with the gift of the law. Well, in Acts 2, we see that during the feast of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit came down on his people and filled them with power.
So, it could be that Paul is saying that Jesus is the greater Moses. Like Moses, Jesus ascended on high and returned to the Father after his death and resurrection. And he then gave the gift of himself (the Holy Spirit) to his people so that he might fill all things. So, the gift Christ gives to his people is the Holy Spirit. Each member of the church has been given a unique grace/gift of the Holy Spirit that they are to use to serve and build up the body of Christ.
Next week, we will begin to unpack some of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. But, I want us to understand today that God has given everyone in the church different gifts that they are to use to serve the church. Although we are one, we are different. This teaches us the fundamental truth that everyone is essential in the church. You are important to the church. God has uniquely gifted you for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.
You may be an ear, and I may be the nose. She may be a hand, and he may be a foot. We are all vastly different in how God has gifted us. But, our differences are essential. As John Stott puts it, "Christian unity is enriched by the diversity of our gifts."
But, just to remind us, the words "gift" and "grace" are the opposite of "wage" and "strength." If you are prideful about how God gifted you, you are fundamentally missing the point. God has uniquely gifted you for the work of ministry. And this ought to breed humility, thankfulness, and selflessness. As you serve and use your gifts, you do so with a humble heart.