A Church in tune - Ephesians 4

In an orchestra there's not a lot of room for playing freestyle is there? To let any member 'busk it' or do their own thing will have interesting consequences - if you don't believe me, check the video…

For an orchestra to be successful, and to fulfil the purpose they were brought together for, they need to be united in the way they play. In Ephesians so far we've seen that Paul thought that unity was really important for Churches too, and we see it again here in chapter 4.

So what kind of behaviour does unity inspire in a Church? Paul tells us in verses 1-3:

Firstly, to maintain unity we need humility, recognising that none of us can do anything to earn or deserve the skills, abilities or resources God has given us. We  are part of the church through the invitation and work of God alone, and realising that means we will be determined to live a life that  is similarly humble, loving and sacrificial to  others. There's no place for pride or superiority as far as unity is concerned.

Secondly, we need to be gentle. The word Paul uses here means being morally strong without being overbearing. Helping others, encouraging them, guiding them, helping the less mature believers, lovingly correcting those who are in error. If you want to see someone who did this 'gently', look at Jesus - he was morally strong and swift to correct his followers and others, but he also cared, showing great patience and love. Are we better at the morally strong bit than the caring? If so we need to work harder at grasping the essence of gentleness.

Thirdly, we're to be patient and bear with one another. Patience is about taking a long term view of our brothers and sisters, bearing with them, because we love them and because Christ loves them. It’s recognising that we are all a work in progress. No believer this side of Christ’s return is perfect. We will all say things that can end up hurting each other. We will get things wrong. We all have our blind spots. From time to time we hurt each other and we need to stop holding on to those hurts. Again, Jesus sets the example - are we as good at bearing with one another as Christ is in bearing with us?

God desires for us to be a united people. It’s what he saved us for. It’s his overarching purpose for us. But it takes effort to maintain the unity Christ died to create. If that wasn’t the case then we wouldn’t need Eph 4:1-6. It’s why Paul encourages in v3 to make every effort.

Unity is not an optional extra in church life. It should be at the core of what a church is. It should be part of our DNA. It’s what the world should see as they look at us. It’s the goal of our salvation. 

It is what Jesus died to achieve.

And when we're not unified, we're like the bad orchestra – we’re making the awful noise, we’re not doing what we were brought together to do, and we're dishonouring to God.  

So consider the behaviours of a united Church, the basis for our unity, and think about how great we can sound if we play our part and work together for God.