Transcription
Adrian Rogers: Paul says we are to be, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Is that not beautiful, the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? What a beautiful concept. This is the desire of God that we have the unity of the Spirit, that we have the bond of peace. Now, this unity is a wonderful unity. We do not produce it. It is called the unity of the Spirit. But while we do not produce it, we are to preserve it.
Announcer: Profound truth, simply stated. This is Love Worth Finding with Pastor, Teacher, and Author, Adrian Rogers.
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Adrian: Would you take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians 4. I want to talk to you about unity in the church, unity in the church. Now, I want you to look at a particular part of the scripture here this morning; Ephesians 4:3 Paul says we are to be, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Is that not beautiful, the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? What a beautiful concept. This is the desire of God that we have the unity of the Spirit, that we have the bond of peace. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." And the Bible also says that God hates him who sows discord among the brethren. Now, this unity is a wonderful unity. We do not produce it. It is called the unity of the Spirit. But while we do not produce it, we are to preserve it. And that is my prayer for this dear church in the years to come.
Now, this unity is based on three basic concepts, and I want us to learn these concepts today because they're very, very important. The first concept that we're going to learn is what I want to call the ground of our unity, the ground of our unity. Now, the ground of our unity is truth. It is doctrinal and spiritual. If you were to go out in the front of this building there at the portico, you would find seven magnificent pillars. And each of those pillars is named for seven basic truths that are found in the Word of God here in Ephesians 4. They hold up the entire spiritual enterprise of our church. No one can call himself a Bible Christian who does not believe these seven basic truths, which are the foundation of our unity.
Now, look again in Ephesians 4 this time, three through six, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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." Now, again, I want to say that the basis of our unity, the ground of our unity is doctrinal and spiritual.
Now let's think about these seven truths. Number one: There is one body. Do you see that there in Ephesians 4:4? One body. Now, what is that one body? That one body is the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, it doesn't say one congregation. But there is one body. The church is a spiritual body. The church is not a corporation with Jesus as the president; the church is a body with Jesus as the Head. That's all of the difference in the world. Now, again, I want to say not, one denomination. Somebody said, "Are you one of those narrow-minded Baptists who think only Baptists are going to heaven?" Hmm, hmm, I'm more narrow-minded than that; I think a lot of Baptists are not going to make it. But whether you're a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, if you have given your heart to Jesus Christ, if you have been twice-born, you are a part of the mystical body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, there is a local expression of that body. You see, a church is a unified body here with pastor and deacons and servants, and you need to be a part of this church. There is one church. Now, that brings unity. And may I say, precious friend, that if you are a disunified person, if you sow discord in the church, number one, you dishonor the Head, who is Jesus, and number two, you wound and mutilate yourself because we are members of the same body.
Now, not only is there one body; there's also one Spirit. Do you see that in verse four? One Spirit. There he's talking about the Holy Spirit, who is the substance of our life, the secret of our strength, and the source of our unity. The Holy Spirit is is the one who binds us together, who tells us that we belong one to another. I sat down on an airplane. A man sat down beside me. I made up my mind I was going to witness to him. I turned to him and raised the subject of spiritual things. "Oh," he said, "you're a believer, aren't you?" I said, "Yes, I am." He said, "So am I." And he said, "Mister, I want to tell you something strange." He said, "I felt your spirit when I sat down beside you. When I sat beside you, something in me said, 'He's one of us. He is a believer.'" There is one Spirit. Dr. Vance Havner has said this, "We're not to be wired together by organization, frozen together by formalism, rusted together by tradition, but melted together by one Spirit."
Now, there's a third basic truth here, and that is we have one hope. Ephesians 4:4, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling." What is that one hope? It is the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls His coming the blessed hope. All true believers in Christ are waiting for Jesus Christ to come again. You cannot call yourself a Bible Christian if you do not believe in this one hope, the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, we have people who have, have different views of the second coming of Jesus. They have technical terms: a-millennial, pre-millennial, post-millennial. Some say, "I don't understand those terms." Well, let me tell you this, folks. You don't have to know the meaning of every detail to be expecting the Lord Jesus to come again. And the longer I've been on the trail, the more I have gotten humble about this matter of prophecy, and I've moved from the program committee to the welcome committee. And I want to say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." There is one hope, and it is the second coming of our Lord. And I believe we're living in the closing shadows of an age, and our one hope, and the only hope, of this world is the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And then, Bellevue not only has one Spirit, and Bellevue not only has one hope, but Bellevue confesses one Lord. Now, notice what he says. "One Lord," in verse 5, "one Lord." Who is that one Lord? That one Lord is Jesus Christ. When I come to Bellevue, I expect to hear about Jesus. And may it always be. And, by the way, did you know that the early church did not call Him Jesus nearly so much as they called Him the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus. I think we need to get in the habit of saying the Lord Jesus. Jesus must always, must always, must always, always, always, always be the Lord of our dear church.
And then Bellevue has one faith. Look, if you will, in verse five. He mentions there one faith. Now, what is that one faith? He's talking about the unified body of truth that we call the Bible. Not a faith, but not faith, but one faith. He's talking about a body of truth. That's what Jude was talking about there in Jude 3, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you, that ye should earnestly contend for the faith," the faith, not a faith, the faith, "which was once and all, once for all delivered unto the saints." There is one faith. It is God's revealed Word. We're to earnestly contend for it. Bellevue, you get a bulldog grip on this Book and never let go. Never let go! There is one faith. We don't need a new and a modern gospel for a new and a modern age. If it's new, it's not true. And if it's not absolute, it's obsolete. It is the one faith of this church. And may this sacred desk always have a man who stands behind it, who will open the Word of God, analyze it, organize it, illustrate it, and apply it. Now, we can have all other kinds of programs, but we must have this one faith. The dear old Apostle Paul, just before he stepped off the scene, said this, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." He was faithful to the fight, faithful to the finish. He was faithful to the faith. Bellevue must never waver.
Next, Bellevue shares one baptism. Look in verse five. One baptism. Now, is he here talking about immersion or sprinkling? No, he's talking about something that goes beyond that. When a person gives his or her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, they are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the bo -- the mystical body of Christ. That is, you are placed, at the moment of your salvation, into the body of Christ. Remember, I said that the church is a body with Christ as the Head? We are the members. When are you baptized? Before you were ever baptized in water, you were baptized with the Holy Spirit of God and into the body of Christ. Put this verse down 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." This is the Holy Spirit of God putting us into the mystical body of Christ. And that's what makes us one.
And then Bellevue worships one God. He is not Allah. He is Yahweh, Jehovah God. Ephesians 4:6, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." His name is Jehovah, and you do not know Him, apart from Jesus Christ. "No one comes to the Father, but by Me," the Lord Jesus has said. Now, look up here. Those are seven basic foundational truths, and our unity is in these truths. That is the ground of our unity.
But now, here's the second thing I want you to notice. Not only the ground of our unity, but the glory of our diversity. Did you know that God made us one and God made us different all at the same time? Look now in verse 7, Ephesians 4:7, "But," do you see the word but? He's changing direction. He's been talking about our sameness, doctrinally, but then he, in contradistinction, uses the word but. "But unto every one of us is given grace." The Greek word for grace is charis. It's a word we get charismatic by, for, "unto every one of us is given charisma, according to the measure of the gift of Christ." No, there's not room for every kind of belief, but there is room for people who have different gifts. God gave us different gifts that He might make us one. And you have a grace gift. "Unto every one of us," the Scripture says here, "is given grace, charisma." And God gave you a gift to serve Him. And I've been saying now for 30 years, and more, my heart just leaps out of my throat when I think what would happen if every member of our church were to discover, develop, and deploy his gift. A spiritual gift is not for your ecstasy. It's not a toy; it's a tool. And you have a spiritual gift and God gave us different gifts. God gave us gifts that are different to make us one. You see, sameness is not unity. As a matter of fact, unity comes from diversity. I'll give you a perfect illustration of that. Joyce is a girl and I'm a boy. We have unity because she's different. It's the differences that draw us together. I'm glad Joyce is not like me. I'd just as soon hug a barrel of pickles as to hug another man. [Audience laughter] She's different. Viva la difference! God makes us different. God gifts you a gift, and you a gift, and you a gift, and these gifts, and we don't have to march in lock step. I preached a sermon. Before I got started, I asked, "How many of you like liver and onions?" About a third lifted their hands. I said, "All right. Now, let me ask you another question. How many of you detest liver and onions, can't stand liver and onions?" About a third lifted their hands. I said, "Now, I want to ask you another question. How many of you like liver and onions, but only ever so often?" About a third lifted their hands. I said, "Now, look, folks, we are hopelessly divided." Here's a congregation divided. What were we divided over? Not Jesus. We were divided over tastes, and those things don't make any difference whatsoever. Now, I hear people say, "Well, this is my style of music. That is my style of music." Friend, forget that stuff! We're here to glorify the Lord Jesus. And we're going to be one body in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, there is the glory of our diversity. We are to celebrate. We are to conserve our diversity. We don't all have to sing in unison.
Now, here's the third and final thing. I want you to see, friend, the ground of our unity, the glory of our diversity, but also the goal of our maturity. Now, why do we have this, unity and this diversity? Well, verse 13 tells us. What's the goal? "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man," the word perfect means mature, "unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Peace comes with unity, diversity, and maturity. Little children squabble and fuss; mature adults learn how to get along with one another. Bickering comes from immaturity, and may God preserve this church ever from bickering. We're to be mature. We're to be mature in stature. Look in verse 13, "unto the stature of the fullness of Christ." You want to know whether you're growing up or not? Don't measure yourself by some other member of this church. Measure yourself by Jesus Christ. I've frequently told you, the measure of my ministry is this: not the size of these buildings or our budget or our Bible study attendance; are you becoming more like Jesus Christ? We're to be mature in stature. We're to be mature in stability. Look in verse 14, "that we be henceforth no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Get your feet on the Rock. Paul told the Ephesian church, he said, "I know that after my departure there will come grievous wolves, not sparing the flock." Let me tell you about the false cults. The false cults do not produce converts nearly so much as they try to siphon off Bible believers who don't understand. And so, because they're not rooted and grounded in the faith, they're drawn away into these things. They're like little sailboats blown this way and blown that way, "blown about by every wind of doctrine." Look up here, church. You get a bulldog grip on the truth. You college students, you get a grip on the truth, these seven basic principles. Now, you can be different in a lot of things, but when you grow up, when you mature, you're going to be mature in stature, you're going to be mature in stability. You're going to be mature in speech. Look in verse 15, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up." Speaking the truth in love. We're not to speak truthless love or loveless truth. We're to speak the truth, never stutter, never stammer, never apologize. Speak the truth, but in love. Truth without love is brutality. Love without truth is hypocrisy. Now, the Bible is a wonderful sword; it's a poor club. Don't you be a Bible bully, argumentative over the difference between tweedledum and tweedledee, yes, we're never jettison the truth, but we speak the truth in love. We're mature in stature, mature in stability, mature in speech. And, listen, mature in service. Look in verse 16, he says, "For whom, for whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Now, if you're like I am, you say, "That, I, that's hard for me to understand. What is that talking about?" Well, let me give it to you paraphrased. Each part, in his own special way, helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing, full of love. He speaks here of the joints. What makes my arm operate like this? There's a joint there. How come my fingers go like this? Because there's a joint. You see, look, the Greek word for joint is the word harmos. It's the word we get our word harmony from. Now, he's saying here that the body is to be flexible, and the body is to work together. The body is to be coordinated. I was watching football and I saw a man go down the field and leap 10,000 miles high, [Audience laughter] and with soft fingertips catch a ball. Now, ladies, you may not think that's beautiful, but to me that was a work of art, [Audience laughter] an absolute work of art! And I saw that man, his entire body cooperating to catch a bagful of air that really doesn't make much difference, and to get that bagful of air down a pasture, so what? But I'm tell you something, folks, we're in business for Jesus, and don't you forget it. And if my ministry makes difficulty for your ministry, there's something wrong with what you're doing or what I'm doing or we're both doing. My desire, my prayer, my goal for this church is that we will be one in the bond of love. And God's people said, Amen. There's the ground, the ground of our unity, the glory of our diversity, and the goal of our maturity.
Now, bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, would you pray, "O God, bless this dear church. May it always be unified. May we be one in the bond of love." And if you've not yet received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, there is a blessing, a glory, a fellowship you know nothing of until you know Jesus. To be saved means that every sin is forgiven. To be saved means that God, through the Holy Spirit, lives in you and He has baptized you into the body of Christ. And to be saved means when that blessed hope comes, or when we die, we'll be caught up to meet our Lord in heaven. You can be saved by trusting Christ. Christ purchased your salvation with His shed blood on the cross. It is your duty and your privilege by repentance and faith to receive Christ. Repentance means I turn from the old way; faith means I put my trust in Jesus. If you'd like to be saved, would you pray a prayer like this, "Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me and save me, and begin to make me the person You want me to be. In Your name I pray." ♪