Ephesians 4:1–6 (ESV)

1) Remember Your

Reveal Answer

! (v.1)

• The calling we have received from Jesus is the call to “Follow Him”.
• It is the calling to Belong to Him
  
  • John 17:6
• It is the calling to be made new in Him.
  
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17
• When the priority of our lives is to be who Christ made us to be and died for us to be, we will grow in our unity with Him and with one another.
  
  • This kind of unity cannot be achieved when we are neglecting our calling to be His. Nor can we grow in unity if we are not taking His calling seriously.
  • 2 Corinthians 6:14–16
• Our calling is to live all of life, all for Jesus!
• The power of Christ draws us into unity with Him and with one another as we daily focus and remember that we are His.

2) Refine Your

Reveal Answer

! (v.2-3)

• As we draw near to Christ, we are conformed our lives to who He is. This produces a new character within us.
  
  • Humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, eagerness to maintain unity.
• All of these things are very distinct from the world around us.
• These things part of the fruit that Spirit of God that dwells in us, produces in our lives.
  
  • Galatians 5:22–23
• As we allow the Spirit of God to work in our lives we grow in the eagerness to maintain unity.
  
  • We generally seek or have an urge for disunity when we are the opposite of these characteristics: proud, impatient, not willing to bear with one another, not eager to maintain unity, not eager for peace in the Spirit.
• I can almost guarantee there has never been a church split when the people of God are allowing their character to be refined by the Spirit of God and are practicing humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, and an eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• The Spirit of God, alive in us, will keep us in unity when our focus is on letting Him shape our character.

3) Realign Yourself with

Reveal Answer

! (v.4-6)

• As the Spirit of God helps us to focus on our calling and refines our character, we begin to focus less on ourselves and become more aligned with Christ!
  
  • Part of having a focus on unity is not being unified for unity sake, but being unified in Christ!
• Being a reflection of Christ and His Righteousness must be our highest ambition!
  
  • Matthew 6:33
  • 2 Corinthians 5:21
• When we align ourselves with Christ we become one body, united by the Holy Spirit as we embrace the only Hope in following Jesus.
• When we yield ourselves to Christ we declare there is ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism (of the Holy Spirit), ONE God who is over all and through all and in all.
  
  • “Over all”: Speaks to His Sovereignty
  • “Through All”: Speaks to His Providence
  • “In All”: Speaks to His Presence
• Only God can unite His people. Only God can keep His Church unified. Only God is over all and through all and in all.
• This is why we must have a unified focus upon Him!

Closing

• We will be The Unified Church when we have a united focus of remembering our calling, refining our character, and realigning our lives with Christ!
• May we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. As we do so, we will be a shining light in a dark and lost world that declares there is one body and one Spirit—just as we were called to the one hope that belongs to our call; for there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”