4:1-6 The Unified Body of Christ Part I - Vital Christianity

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4To be gentle is to possess that humble spirit which, in climbing higher, refuses to trampleon others.The gentle person is one who does not fight (II Tim. 2:24,25). Instead he is one who gentlyrestores another in humility (Gal. 6:1,2). Such a virtue will always unify. Is it any wonder thatour Lord who was “gentle and lowly of heart” (Mt. 11:29) pronounced His blessing upon thosewho are of like mind and spirit (Mt.5:5)!PATIENCEPatience has been defined as positively putting up with others when severely tried. Itmeans the ability to suffer discomfort for a long time without losing hope.The primary meaning is patience with people although it includes patience in difficultcircumstances. It means “forbearance” or “longsuffering” (I Cor. 13:4). It is the willingness to“suffer long” for the benefit of others.The Greek word paus is commonly used in the New Testament to describe the attitude ofGod and Jesus towards people (Rom 2:4; I Pet. 3:20). Continually in the Bible we see the pictureof God the Father and Jesus suffering long, bearing with people in all their sinning and rebellion,all their apathy and unconcern. He does not draw back when people spurn His love.Patience is manifest when we do not get angry and antagonistic and refuse to retaliate forwrong done to us. Christ has left us a great example in this respect (I Pet. 2:20-25). When we arepatient we show forth the Spirit of Christ. It is developed best under trial (Rom. 5:3) when wepainfully learn to rely totally on God.LOVELove was defined by Thomas Aquinas as wanting the best for others and willing to helpto bring it about.Paul in speaking of the fruit of the Spirit begins with love which really captures the restof the fruit. Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-controlare different manifestations of love. This is clearly seen in Paul’s description of love in ICorinthians 13 (as illustrated on page 23). John Wesley said,“Love is the root of all the rest.”“God is love” (I Jn. 4:8,16) and, therefore, the greatest of all virtues is love (I Cor.13:13). The word love (agape) that Paul uses here is descriptive of that love for God and mandescribed by The Great Commandment (Lev. 19:18; Gal. 5:14; Mt. 7:12; Mk. 12:31). The entirelaw (the Law and the Prophets) is summed up by love for God and neighbor.
5John tells us how we can experience this fruit of love: abiding and obeying (Jn. 15:9-10,12). At the basis of love is self-sacrifice. The ultimate expression of that love is laying downone’s life for someone else (Jn. 15:13; Rom. 5:6-8).Peter pointed out that love covers a “multitude of sins” (I Pet. 4:8). It functions as shockabsorbersin human relations. Just as we feel every bump on the road when we ride in a car withdefective shock-absorbers, so we see every weakness of others when love is missing. Loveenables us to emphasize each others strengths and minimize each others weaknesses.UNITY IS MAINTAINED THROUGH HARD WORK (4:3)unity.As God is one, so is the church. If the church is to serve Christ she must maintain its“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”(Eph. 4:3)Paul commands the believers in the region of Ephesus to work hard at maintaining keepthe unity of the Spirit. He says “Make every effort.” It is not just something that happens. Theremust be concerted effort otherwise our human nature will show its ugly head. Divide andconquer is Satan’s great strategy .“The bond of peace” provides harmony to relationships. Peace has been defined as thecessation of strife and well-being (harmony). The word peace (shalom) is used 88 times in theNew Testament. Next to joy it is the most popular Christian greeting in the New Testament. Paulrefers to the peace of God as “surpassing all understanding” (Phil. 4:7)--peace that goes beyondour reasoning powers.As Jesus spoke of the Comforter to come He assured His disciple, “Peace I leave withyou; My peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives” (Jn 14:27). The peace that theworld gives is based on circumstances (happenstances).God’s peace is grounded in His character, His promises and faithfulness. Therefore peaceis being secure in His love (Rom. 8:38,39). It comes from experiencing God’s forgiveness. It isthe presence of God in our lives and not just an absence of strife and inner conflicts. The sense ofsuch a presence contributes to the peaceful atmosphere in any situation or relationship.THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY (4:4-6)Paul finishes this section by showing the nature of Christian unity:“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when youwere called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, whois over all and through all and in all” (vv. 4-6).The one body refers to the body of Christ, the church, in which each believer is amember, placed there at the time of conversion by the Spirit of God (I Cor. 12:12-31).
Page 2 and 3: 2The goal of our existence is to li
Page 6 and 7: 6splits.The one Spirit in our lives

4:1-6 The Unified Body of Christ Part I - Vital Christianity

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