Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called,
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
As we move forward into this new upcoming season of 2020, we must always remember that we are stronger as one body of believers. One of the greatest tactics of the enemy is to divide and conquer. This is a tactic that has been used by the enemy for thousands of years, and there are many people that have fallen for it hook, line and sinker, even in the Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul said 2 Cor 2:11, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
It is so important that we as a body understand the devices of the devil. His devices against the Body of Christ are division, discord, disagreement and disunity. We would be ignorant to believe that God will bless the work of our hands in division, because the scripture clearly states the importance of being unified in the Body of Christ. Lets take a look at what the LORD Jesus and the Apostle Paul said in scripture. In John chapter 17: 20-23, Jesus prayed a very important prayer for the believers. He prayed that we would be one, just as he and the Father are one. If Christ said it, then it must be very important! The Apostle Paul confirms this in Eph 4:1-7:
In Eph 4 verse 1, Paul said that we should walk worthy of the vocation or calling that we have received, or in which we have been called. This is important because God called us for such a time as this to do the will of the Father in heaven. Each and every one of us, whether we are fivefold ministry or members of the church should be walking worthy of our calling. This means that we have been given an awesome responsibility, and God wants us to represent or walk worthy, because it is a high calling, and a great responsibility.
Remember in Matt 25:14-15, the parable of the talents, the LORD gave five talents to one, two talents to one and one talent to another. The Bible says that he gave them talents according to their own ability. This means that God holds you accountable for that which he has entrusted to you. There is no need to emulate or copy another individual. Everything you have is in you, because God gave it to you. Whether it be five, two or one talents.
Paul then says in verse 2, that we should walk worthy in lowliness, meekness, patience and love. These are the virtues of unity as it relates to the Body of Christ. It is also maturity. Anything else stems from a spirit of pride, self righteousness and individuality. Verse 3 says, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It is so important that we endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
Why? Because we don’t want to give the enemy a foothold. In the world today we see political groups divided, groups of people divided, and the same spirit has invaded the church today. We see people bashing one another, distancing themselves, and dividing themselves against one another all in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ. This is deception. Paul said we should endeavor, or make an effort, to be diligent or to labor in it, as it relates to unity. The problem we have today is that no one endeavors to do it.
David said in Psalm 133:1, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity.” The Bible even says that where there is unity, God commands the blessing, even life forevermore.” (Psalm 133:3) Now understand that according to Eph 4: 4, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.”
The universal Church is one body. It is not many bodies. There are many ministries and diversities of ministries but there is one church, one body and one ecclesia. (1 Cor 12:4-6) In other words, although the Church is universal, we have many communities of Christ, led by different ministers who are walking worthy of their calling and invocation in the LORD. The Bible also says there is one Lord, one faith and one baptism. (verse 5) This means that God has one church and there is one people. If this is true, why do we practice individuality?
Eph 4:6 says, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. So there is one LORD, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above us all, through us all and in us all. This is profound, because if the Godhead is one, who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then the church should be as one. And if the body is one, why is there so much division? Again this is deception. We must examine ourselves in the faith, and get back to the Word of God and one accord, If we want to see the power and glory of God manifested in the Church in these last days.
Last but not least, Eph 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” The Apostle Paul said that each one of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. This means that each and every one of us has been given a gift, talent, ability and spiritual gift. There is no reason to be jealous or envious of one another. What you have, and what you accomplish is because of God’s grace. Not your title, education, intellect or ability. It is through God that we are able to accomplish anything, and He alone must get all the honor, glory and praise in Jesus Name. So as we prepare to crossover into 2020 soon, let us have the 20/20 vision of Christ and endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace! God bless, Pastor Quinn
For additional information on oneness and unity, please read Pastor Quinn’s book entitled “How Good and How Pleasant it is: The importance and power of unity”