Love and Unity

SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 3:14-21; 4:1-6 (ESV)

DATE: 1-23-22

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRODUCTION

If you were with us last week — I mentioned this booklet How do I Grow? as a resource to pick up at the What’s Next Wall. And we ran out of copies — but we’ve printed more. So if you want a copy — be sure to stop by the What’s Next Wall at your campus and get one.

I also mentioned that our theme for this year is the idea of “belonging.” Something the last few years have revealed is how desperate we all are to know that we belong somewhere.

Isolation isn’t good for anyone because we’re created to be part of a community — we’re created to belong. So you’ll be hearing a lot about belonging this year.

And this is our second week in a short series that we’ve titled “Prayers for the Church.” This series is based on prayers that I pray regularly for us as a church. These prayers have circulated among some of you who pray these prayers along with me for our congregation. Of course there are many other things that I pray for — for those who are sick — for those who’ve lost a loved one — whatever you may ask of me to pray for — but these prayers are what I return to again and again. So what do I pray for when I pray for us as a church? I pray…

That God’s glory would be what’s most important to us.
That we would live under the authority of God’s Word and by the power of his Spirit.
That we would have unity.
That we’d be concerned about the interests of others.
That we’d be known for our love and faithfulness.
That our identity would be in Christ.
That the next generation of Christians, pastors, missionaries, and church leaders would be raised in our church.
I ask God to help us to be a praying church; dependent upon him for all things.
I pray that his message will echo forth from us. That reports of our faith in him would spread and be an encouragement to others (not for our glory; but for God’s glory).
And I pray that God — from his glorious, unlimited resources — would empower us with the inner strength of his Spirit. That Christ would make his home in our hearts as we trust in him. That our spiritual roots would grow deep down into God’s love and keep us strong. And that we would have the power to understand how wide, long, high, and deep God’s love is for us. I ask God to help us to know, experience, and trust in the love of Christ.

These are the prayers that I — your pastor — pray for you — pray for us — daily. And — in this series — we’re looking at these prayers.

And — today — we’re going to look more closely at three of the prayers I pray for us. Prayers that focus on our relationship with each other and with those outside of our congregation. Like last week — each of these prayers has a passage of Scripture that we’ll look at — but know that — today — our prayers will focus on our relationship with others. So let’s turn to our first passage for today.

If you have your Bible please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 3. We’ll begin by looking at verses 14-21.

INTRODUCTION

And while you’re finding Ephesians chapter 3 — something else I mentioned last week — is that now — more than ever for the majority of us — we must recognize the times in which we’re living. And I used the nation of Israel as an illustration. In the Old Testament — the people of God — as represented by the nation of Israel — lived primarily in two places. The Promised Land — the geographic area that became the nation of Israel — and the other place they lived was in exile — in foreign lands.

And I asked us to consider which location is most similar to what it’s like being a Christian in the United States in our day. To be like the Israelities — living in Israel — would mean we’re living in a land where our Christian faith is interwoven with the values and culture of our nation. Whereas — to be like the Israelites in exile — would mean we’re living in a land where our Chrsitian faith is found to be in opposition and excluded from the values and culture of our nation. Now — to help you draw some conclusions — know that…

In Israel, the people had a king who shared their faith. And even when a king was evil and rebellious there was hope that the next king might use his authority to turn the entire kingdom back to God. This is how much the nation and the Jewish faith were interwoven — the king could turn the entire nation back to the Jewish faith.

But — in exile — the king and those in authority did not share their faith. And when one king was replaced by another there was no reason to expect that the next king — no matter his political or religious affiliation — would lead the kingdom back to God. Why?

Because the nation and the Jewish faith were separate.

When living in Israel, the culture was highly influenced by the Jewish faith and — even when the people strayed and rebelled — they were still doing so with a bent towards the Jewish religion. How the culture functioned was influenced by the Jewish religion. For example — the Sabbath Day — the holy day — mattered to the people in the nation both when they were faithful and even when they were in rebellion.

But — in exile — the culture was highly influenced by other faiths and religions and values — in fact — the Jewish faith wasn’t much of an influence at all. And the people of God had to learn to live in a culture that leaned away from their faith and tried to pull them away from their faith. In exile, things like the Sabbath — their holy day of worship — wasn’t honored by the nation. In fact, it took extra effort from the Jews to be faithful to God while in exile.

Daniel’s an example of living in exile.

His story starts with him — and three of his friends — making the choice to not eat certain foods that went against their Jewish faith — even though not eating the food put them in a potentially dangerous situation. Yet God was faithful to them.
Or later — when the king created a statue and made a law that all must bow down and worship the statue — this is exile living — they chose to be thrown down into a fiery furnace rather than betray God by bowing down in worship of a man. And God was faithful to them.
And when the next king came along — and created a law that people could only pray to him or be thrown into a den of lions — well — many of you know the story — Daniel chose to pray to God and be thrown in a den of lions instead of betraying his God. And God was faithful to him.

And — you can go back and listen to my sermon from last week — where I gave other examples of exile living — but my conclusion is that we’ve not been living in “Israel” for decades.

Though we’re not being forced to pray to or worship a king — our nation and what it values is far from God — and we’re living in exile. Thus we need to shift our thinking and our focus so we learn how to live as faithful Christians in a foreign land. Yes, this is still the United States of America. But we’re fooling ourselves if we think we’re not living in spiritual exile.

And this has shaped how I’ve been praying for us as a church. And — this series — is meant to help us see the times in which we’re living while also letting you know how your pastor is praying for you — and inviting you to join with me in praying for us together. And — again — our prayers for today focus on our relationships with each other and with those outside of our congregation.

So let’s look at my next prayer for us as a congregation.

KNOWN FOR OUR LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

We’re in Ephesians chapter 3. Beginning in verse 14.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith — that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV)

The first prayer of mine — that we’re looking at — is my prayer that we would be known for our love and faithfulness. That we’d be known for our love and faithfulness.

Now — for this to be our reality — we’re in desperate need of the Holy Spirit’s help. That’s what Paul’s telling us in verse 16.

We need God the Father to strengthen and empower us through the Holy Spirit — who’s living in us who believe in Jesus. And — with the Spirit’s help — we might — collectively — together — comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth and know the love of Christ.

On our own — in our own strength and thinking capacity — our view of God’s love is puny. It’s pathetic. But — with the help of the Spirit of God — not only will our minds be blown by God’s love for us — but our lives will be so different that people will feel and experience what it means to be loved by God in and through us.

As Jesus told his disciples in John’s gospel, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

People will know that we’re followers of Jesus because of our love for one another. But with what kind of love are we to have for one another? The kind of love — often quoted in weddings — is the love that we’re to have for one another as a congregation. A love that “…is patient and kind. A love that’s not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. A love that does not demand its own way, is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged. A love that does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. We’re to love one another with a love that never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Do you know why I tell you that God loves you and that I love you every time I stand before you? Because no one hears the words “God loves you and I love you” too much. But also because — I know — that if we — I’m included here too — I know that if we all grew just the tiniest bit in our understanding of God’s love for us we’d be living radically different kinds of lives. Our view of God’s love for us — individually and corporately — is just way too pathetically small.

Now — for some — the concern is that if we expand our view of God’s love — or make too much of God’s love — the concern is that we’ll take advantage of it. Two things. First, we all take advantage of God’s love. We’re all equal opportunity advantage takers of God’s radically amazing love. And — second — we simultaneously know that — taking advantage of God’s love says something about our brokenness — and says nothing about God’s love.

So let’s not waterdown God’s love so it’s pathetic and unmoving just because we’re all prone to taking advantage of it. Like Paul — let’s pray that we’d begin to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love so that we know his love more fully and live up to the fullness of life of loving one another that God intends for us to live. We’ll return to these verses next week — and God’s love — as I have another prayer about God’s love that I pray for us.

But — also in this prayer — I pray that we’d be faithful.

Being faithful in response to the faithful and enduring eternal love God has for us.
Being faithful in loving others as we’ve first been loved by God.
Serving others as we’ve first been served by God.
Being generous with our resources as God’s first been generous with his resources towards us.
Being kind to one another because we’re recipients of God’s kindness.
Being merciful because we’ve received mercy.
Being patient because God is patient with us.
And on and on I could go with what it means for us to be known for our love and faithfulness.

I mean, don’t you want to be part of a group of people who are known on the street as the people who really love one another and display it in their faithfulness? If so, how are you helping this prayer be answered? How are you loving others with a love that is patient and kind? A love that isn’t rude and doesn’t demand its own way?

If you’re daring — ask those close to you how you need to grow in loving others like this — because none of us do so perfectly. And how might you grow in understanding God’s love for you — and those around you — so that you’re faithful in responding to his love?

UNITED

Now — if we turn to the next chapter in Ephesians — chapter 4 — we find the text that’s the basis for my next prayer for us — that we would have unity. We’re in Ephesians chapter 4 — beginning in verse 1.

“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.” (Ephesians 4:1-6 ESV)

Now — there’s something you need to know about Paul’s situation while writing these words — he’s in prison. And — yet — while in prison — he’s still hyper-focused on making disciples. Even though he’s in prison — Paul wants to help other Christians faithfully follow Jesus — together — in unity. And — in these verses — he lays out — in pretty straightforward terms — what it means to faithfully follow Jesus together in unity. Here — Paul calls it — “walking in the manner worthy of our calling.” Our calling is to be followers of Christ. So how are we to walk — or live — as faithful followers of Jesus in unity with each other?

We do so by walking in humility and gentleness. We walk patiently with and in support of one another in love. We’re to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit of God among us. And — here — unity is specifically spelled out by Paul. So what’s to unite us?

The truth that there is one body. One Spirit. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. And one God and Father of all. Let’s break these down.

We’ll begin with the unity we’re to have in our belief about God. Paul says there’s one God — and yet — he highlights all three persons of the Trinity in these verses. One Lord — that’s Jesus. One Spirit — the Holy Spirit. And one Father. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — yet there’s only one God. We must be unified in our belief in the Trinity. One God — three persons.

We must also be unified in our faith. Faith — here — not meaning faith like “do you have faith in Jesus” — but faith meaning “sound doctrine — correct beliefs.” No matter what denomination or Christian tradition you’re part of — there are essential doctrines — essential beliefs — that all Chrsitians of all times have believed. It’s why they’re called essential doctrines. These essentials are what all members of Gateway Church agree to when they stand before the congregation and take their membership vows. Belief in the Trinity is just one of these essentials.

So what are the essentials that we’re to be unified on — what do we mean by the word “faith”? This is how we define the “faith” here at Gateway.

We believe that…All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks.

We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever!

Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day, he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, he now is our High Priest and Mediator.

The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, he gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.

Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifying them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.

The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.

Jesus Christ will come again to the earth — personally, visibly, and bodily — to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

And here’s what I hope and pray for as your pastor. That our being united on these doctrines will keep us united together when we disagree on non-essential matters. Now — for sure — non-essential doesn’t mean non-important. But if we’re united on the most important doctrines — on the essentials — why would we allow other non-essential doctrines — and even things that aren’t doctrines — divide us?

For the past two years we’ve had an opportunity — as the people of God — to show a divided world unity. The opportunity to show them that non-essential doctrines — in past decades it was things like worship music style, how old is creation, what’s your view of the rapture — in recent times it’s been things like masks or no masks — my prayer for us has been that we’d be so united by God’s Spirit living in us that these non-essential things would not be reason for us to divide over. Because — when we divide over non-essentials — we demonstrate that the essentials aren’t actually the essentials — whatever we’ve divided over was obviously more important than what “our faith” is defined by — otherwise — why divide and go our separate ways?

And — this unity is important — because — as Paul says — we’re one body. We’re the body of Christ. Yes — there’s the capital “C” — global Church — but Paul’s writing this to a local church in Ephesus. And all that Paul writes here — about unity — is written to a local church just like us. We’re one local expression of the body of Christ and — when we divide — when we allow our unity to be fractured — we’re not living up to the full — Spirit-empowered — Christ-redeemed — potential that we’ve been given.

An unbelieving world has no choice but to display division — division is a common trap our Enemy often uses. But — we — the people of God — the body of Christ — have been set free from the Enemy’s divisive trap and have been given God’s Spirit to unite us.

Will we live in the freedom we’ve been given and in the unity the Spirit in us desires or will we live as if we’re still trapped in our Enemy’s snare of divisiveness? How are you helping us be united as a church or how are you causing division?

CONCERNED ABOUT OTHERS

Which leads us to my prayer about our relationship with all people — both within and outside of our congregation — I pray that we would be concerned about the interests of others. Our text is Philippians chapter 2. Beginning in verse 1.

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11 ESV)

Back in Ephesians, Paul tells us to walk in humility and gentleness. To walk with patience and bear with one another in love. These qualities will create a soil ripe for unity among us. And — as to what this practically looks like — Paul gives us the example that only our sinless Savior — Jesus Christ — can give. Jesus is our Savior — but he’s also our example. For — to follow him — means we’re to follow his example — his lead. We’re to — by the power of the Spirit and in the freedom we’ve been given — imitate Christ.

He did nothing out of selfish ambition.
He did nothing from conceit.
In humility Jesus counted us more significant than his own life — how mind-blowing is that? He considered you and me more significant than himself — that should floor you.
He looked out for your interests — not his own — as he stared down the cross.
Though he deserved to be served — he came to serve.
Though he was God — he came born as a man.
Though sinless — he died the death of a sinner cursed by God.
And he did so because he loved his Father and he loved you and me.

And because we love him — we follow him in loving others. Being concerned for them. Putting their interests before our own. We fight our selfish desires — both outside these walls but even the selfish desires about what should be happening within the walls of our church — and we consider others and their needs more significant than our own.
We find ways to encourage the discouraged. To serve those in our community and around the world — no matter if their needs are spiritual, emotional, physical, or relational.
Because we love Christ we strive to outdo one another in showing honor.
We invite into our homes those we may have nothing in common with except the most essential thing — our faith in Christ. For it — our faith — unites us in love with each other. And no power of Hell and no scheme of man is strong enough to divide what God’s love has united together.
And we show those — who don’t share our faith — we show them how joyful a thing it is to follow Jesus. And we show them that we’re followers of Jesus by our love for one another.

CONCLUSION

And this is what I pray for on your behalf — on our behalf. That we wouldn’t just have a reputation of being a pretty church. Or the wealthy church in town. Or the church who puts on great weekend worship services. Or that big VBS program each summer. Or a Christma tea for the community. But first and foremost we would be known for our love for one another. Our faithfulness. Our unity over what’s most important. And that we look out for the interests of others. Why?

Because we’re a people who are loved by God. And we love each other because we’ve first been loved by him. And we’re united because God’s Spirit in us is greater than any divisive spirit that may try to divide us. And we look out for the interests of others because we’re following our Savior who looked out for our interests when it cost him his life.

This is my prayer for us. And I hope you’ll join me in praying these prayers for us. So that we might see God answer our prayers as he makes us into the church he’s called us to be. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, what love you have for us! We admit that far too often we’re not amazed by your love like we should be. But — right now — we praise you and thank you for your immeasurable love for us.

Spirit of God, help us to love one another as we’ve first been loved. Help us to be men and women who are faithful — who are united around the essentials of our faith and fight against our Enemy’s tactics meant to divide us. Help us to be concerned about the interests of others and not only our own interests.

And — Jesus — we thank you. For as we’ve been reminded today — we love because you first loved us. When we’re faithless — you are faithful for you cannot deny who you are — and you are the faithful One. And you desire for us to be united together — so much so — that you counted us more important than yourself even when it cost you your life. Thank you for your example — thank you for your love — thank you for being our Savior. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go knowing that you are loved by God. And — in response to his love for you — may you love one another. Live faithfully. Live in unity. And look out for the interests of others. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.