First Love: Unity Over Individuality (Episode 5)
Devotional Thoughts from Ephesians 4
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. (Ephesians 4:15, NIV)
This is Episode 5 of my devotional series on Ephesians from my book “First Love: A Deeper Understanding of Church from the Book of Ephesians.” This episode features devotional thoughts on Ephesians 4.[1]
You can start today’s devotional by reading my Ephesians 4 paraphrase.[2]
Ephesians 4
Even from my prison cell, I want to beg you to treasure the unity of the body of Christ. Realize that God has laid out a path for you to follow—pursue his will wholeheartedly.
Your first step should be to value others – be completely humble, patient, and figure out how to love one another. I’m also calling you to make every effort to build a unified church. There’s no room for fighting with one another because God gives us each of us his Spirit of peace.
Everything about God proclaims unity: God is one Father, one Spirit, and one Son—all completely unified as they reign together over every creature and fill the entire church! There is one Lord, one faith, one entry-way into Christ through baptism, and one Spirit that fills every one of us as we form his one Body.
God’s plan has always been to give each of us the gifts required to build up the body of Christ. As the Psalmist said, “God climbed to the highest place and defeated our enemy so that he could give his people the gifts they need to serve him.” Jesus descended to earth to defeat our enemy and be glorified as the King in heaven.
With his authority, Jesus distributed spiritual gifts so that the church could be built up in unity by every person’s contribution. He appointed some to specialized leadership roles: apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher—to train us to use our gifts so that every member will build up the church. When all of us work together in unity, we mature each other to become more like Christ.
Let’s face it, scheming men will try to manipulate the church to their own benefit. These crafty men stir up a spirit of disunity to divide the church.
God continues to unify and mature us so that we can speak the truth out of love, rebuke false teachers, and help the entire church to grow more Christ-like. The body will only grow when every part joins together in unity to contribute their gifts and do the work God called them to do.
If we are to glorify God in this way, we must recognize the futility and destructiveness of worldly living. Apathy and worldliness will numb our minds to God’s power, harden our hearts, and warp our thinking. The more tolerant we are of compromise, the more sensual we become. Worse yet, impurity ignites a fire in us that rages with an ever-increasing lust.
You must remember Jesus’ impact on your life. He confronted you with truth that revealed just how perverted you had become by chasing your instincts. Jesus called you to put to death your old corrupt and deceitful self. He washed your mind with a new attitude that helped you pursue a righteous relationship with God, who made you holy.
It’s time to stop lying. Be authentic with your brothers and sisters because we are all part of one body.
When you get angry, restrain yourself. Don’t let loose and sin. Reconcile with one another today—don’t wait until tomorrow. Otherwise, you will give the devil room to work on both of your hearts.
Stop stealing and realize that you are called to work so that you will have something to contribute to those in need.
Consider carefully your words. Careless words cause more damage than you realize. Talk to one another in such a way that your words speak life, benefiting people in a way that helps them be more like Christ.
Don’t you realize that the Holy Spirit grieves over these sins? God empowered you with his Spirit to redeem you and rescue you from a destructive life of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. Armed with the Spirit, love each other with kindness, compassion, and the same forgiveness God gave you through Christ.
In Ephesians 4, Paul transitions from his introduction that lays the foundation of our faith into the instructions how to live under his reign. Remembering that faith can be translated “allegiance” helps us understand what unity means. Like teammates training, synchronizing, and striving for victory, the church is to “make every effort” as each of us plays the role God intended for us. Chapter 4 addresses the threat of internal disunity. Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6 instructs individual groups with “household codes” to build unity in our closest relationships. The second part of Chapter 6 addresses the threat from spiritual forces of evil.
1. Value Others: The Path to Unity (v.1-6)
Paul described the path God has laid out for us. Just as Jesus taught that “the world will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another” Paul applied this principle to church unity. Unity starts when we value others. Many cultures value the community over the individual (typically eastern cultures). However, as in the individualistic culture of the United States, the Ephesians struggled with valuing others. Paul’s instructions couldn’t be more practical. To value others, be:
Completely humble and gentle
Patient, bearing with one another in love
Figure out how to love one another
Paul wanted them to spend time thinking about how we fit into God’s plan for unity. Note: the focus is on the unity of the body, not on the individual. You is plural. These commands are meant to be lived out with one another. Spend some time considering how you fit into this plan.
2. Use God’s Gifts: Our Role in Bringing Unity (v.7-13)
Paul described God’s plan for unity: he gave each of us the gifts required to build up the body of Christ. If we choose to work together, we have everything we need. Individually, we can’t accomplish God’s ultimate goal—to bring the nations together under his reign. Jesus accomplished his part in the mission—breaking into our world, he defeated our enemy to distribute the Holy Spirit and the gifts the body needs to spread the gospel of the kingdom of God. Everyone has a part. The role of the church leaders is to train us to use our gifts to
Promote unity in the church
Mature each other
To become more like Christ
Our unity with the rest of the body not only leads to our maturity,
but also helps us achieve what God intends in our lives.
(First Love)
3. The Battle for Unity (v.14-24)
Although it all sounds so simple, reality tells a different story. Paul addresses two ways the battle for unity rages even inside the church:
Self-serving Teachers. Paul called them “schemers” who stir up a spirit of disunity.
Compromise. Worldly living warps our minds and hardens our hearts.
Compromise is an invitation for Satan to gain control over a part of our life. (First Love)
Paul’s solution? “Speak the truth in love.” This applies to both situations. Speaking the truth in love to those in the church to bring them back under the reign of God. Perhaps even more importantly, speak the truth to yourself – the bad and the good.
Speak to the bad: Unity requires us to change to be the kind of person who works well with others!
Time to stop lying
Time to work through your anger
Time to be a giver
Time to speak life
Time to forgive
Speak the good: “remember Jesus’ impact on your life. He confronted you with truth that revealed just how perverted you had become by chasing your instincts.” Truth purifies our minds and hearts to be able to see the beauty of God in other “image bearers,” as well as in us—all to bring about unity under his reign.
He washed your mind with a new attitude that helped you pursue a righteous relationship with God who made you holy.
(First Love)
Closing thoughts: Tobymac released the song Speak Life[3] to call Christians to see the power of their words to change our lives. Unity starts with our decision to align our allegiance fully to God’s plan and purpose. But unity is more than a decision. We know we will fail—so we must have ways to help each other. Unity takes humility, work, and cooperation. Take some time to consider what may be hindering unity in your life and how you can connect with other Christians to build that unity.
For further (word) study
Each week I’ll provide some words that represent deeper themes in Ephesians along with links to the Strong’s Concordance (provides the Greek original word).
Unity (Strong’s 1775: ἑνότης or henotes) “the God-produced unity (oneness) between believers – i.e., the harmony from sharing likeness of nature with the Lord.” In Ephesians: The author of unity (1:10,4:6) is one God (4:6), one Spirit (4:4), and one Lord (4:5). His goal is to bring all things in heaven and on earth in unity under Christ (1:10). He destroyed the barriers between divisive factions (2:14-16), creating one family (5:31) or body (4:13,25) out of two. He commands us to make every effort to be unified (4:3).
[1] To get the most out of this series, I encourage you to get a copy of the book on Amazon (only $6) and take a month to dig into a chapter each day! I’ll publish a new devotional each week to help us reflect on what we are learning.
[2] Note: This is my own paraphrase of the book of Ephesians that appears in my book First Love. I developed it to help me better digest the depth of teaching found in the scripture. In no way am I claiming that this is more accurate than a translation, but for those of us who have read the same translation more than a dozen times, it can be helpful to revisit the text from a different angle. I pray this version will help you find new insights into the scriptures.