"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." Ephesians 4:1-3
Wherever the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity and the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) are rightly administered, the devil is hard at work to destroy the unity created by the Holy Spirit and to break apart what is bound together in peace. This is why the apostle Paul, after explaining to the believers at Ephesus how God graciously granted them salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3ff.; 2:1ff.), urged and beseeched them to walk worthy of their calling and membership in Christ's holy Church.
By God's grace and mercy alone, we have been called out of this world and gathered into Christ's Church (ekklesia) -- the congregation of saints, or those counted holy and righteous through faith in Christ Jesus. God graciously chose us to be His own before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5). He sent His own dear Son to make atonement for the sins of all (Eph. 1:6-7). He called us to faith in Christ Jesus through the preaching of the Gospel (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:4ff.) and made us His own dear children through the waters of Baptism (cf. Gal. 3:26ff.; Eph. 5:25-27). We are now in fellowship with God the Father through faith in the Son (cf. 1 John 1:3ff.). God has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins..." (Col. 1:13-14).
We are one with all other true believers in Christ. "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" (Eph. 4:4-6).
Even though we have different gifts and abilities, we are part of one Church, made up of all true believers in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, we are to endeavor "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." And how do we maintain the unity given us in the body of Christ by the gracious operation of God's Spirit? How do we keep from loosing the bond of peace we have in Christ? We seek to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [we] are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love." (Cf. 1 Cor. 13:4ff.; Col. 3:12ff.) We hold fast to Christ and His teaching and grow up into Him (cf. Eph. 4:8ff.).
The devil would have us find fault with each other, to be proud and to insist on having things our way in the Church. Christ would have us be humble, to suffer long the shortcomings of our fellow believers, to forbear (to hold back and refrain from speaking harsh words or taking retaliatory actions against) one another, in Christian love. Instead of picking each other apart and dividing what God has joined together, God's Word calls upon us to: "Confess [our] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that [we] may be healed" (James 5:16); and to "be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). And God's Word calls upon us to grow up in Christ, not to be swayed by every wind of doctrine and to build each other up in the truth (Eph. 4:14-16).
Satan seeks to divide us with false teaching and pride. Jesus unites us with truth and in humility.
We thank You for Your grace and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus, O God, for calling us out of this world and bringing us into the kingdom of Your beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of all our sins. Grant that we would hold fast to Christ, our Head, and preserve the unity and bond of peace You have given us in our Savior. In His name we pray. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible]
Editorial on 07/20/2016