VIII.  Perfection.  Ephesians 4:1-16    Message Sixteen

  A.  The Choices to be made.  4:1-3

Ephesians 4:1-3  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

    1. The choice Paul made in his life.

    2. The choice of an obedient attitude.  Ephesians 4:1b

    3. The choice of observable actions.

Once we are saved, we should be –

1.  Exchanging our pride and self confidence with lowliness and meekness
2. Exchanging our rejecting others in anger with longsuffering.
3. Exchanging our impatience with others for forbearance, loving them by giving them time to grow in grace.
4. Exchanging our inclination to destroy with the desire to unite – endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

All of which brings our attitudes and our actions into submission to the plan of God which is to grow unto perfection, revealing to the world through our lives the purpose of God – His glory.

On Wednesday night, we learned of 4 facts necessary for right understanding –

Fact 1. Not every person who is saved is a member of a church.

Fact 2.  Every person who is saved should be a member of a church.

Fact 3.  Baptism is the entry to church membership.

Fact 4.  The Lord set forth His command with the expectation that every person who called upon the Lord for salvation would follow salvation with being baptized.

The Apostle Paul took great care to instruct the people in growing to Perfection by insuring they understood what to believe and beginning in verse seven by setting forth their responsibilities on how His purpose would be accomplished through them.

Beginning in Ephesians 4:4 we have –

  B.  The Church unity demanded     Ephesians 4:4-6

Ephesians 4:4 -6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

These are nonnegotiable characteristics of a church that are necessary for growing to perfection.

They preached a consistent message to all of the churches –

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Philippians 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

1 Peter 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

And so we should follow the advice given –

Philippians 2:5-11  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In other words, Be Single Minded!

We cannot be united, “…the unity of the Spirit…”, in One Lord when we have many Lords.  We cannot be united in One Faith when we have many faiths……..

Ephesians 4:4 -6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

    1.  One Body

Colossians 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

    2.  One Spirit

John 16:7-15  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

There are spirits of error, teaching that which is not of God.  We must know God to know the Spirit!

1 John 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We must know God’s Word to be able to know the difference between truth and error!

    3.  One Hope of your calling

Colossians 1:5  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

    4.  One Lord

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Colossians 2:9-10  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

    5.  One Faith

Colossians 2:6-7  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Romans 3:22-26  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

    6.  One Baptism –  speaking to the church

Romans 6:1-6  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

1 Corinthians 1:13-15  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

Colossians 2:12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

    7.  One God and Father of all

Exodus 20:1-3  And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Why?  Because there is no other!   –

Isaiah 44:6,8  Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God……..Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.