August 29, 2026 - Unity Through the Spirit
- brooks16055
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Ephesians 4:1- 6 NIV
[1] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
[6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Paul who has suffered and is in prison while writing to the Ephesians, states that he is a prisoner for the Lord. He had never backed down from the calling the God had given him and he went through much suffering and persecution because of it. It was not to prove that he was right but it was to be faithful to the Lord. As Christians we have received a calling and are to live a life worthy of it. As it says later in this chapter some have been called to preach, teach and/or equip the body, but all have been called to be salt and light to the world. To go and tell all nations about Jesus and make disciples. We are all called to love God and love people.
I think we see Paul telling us exactly how we are to do that. Jesus was all these things and that is what we are to be also. Humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love. We should go out of our way to act peacefully even when there is disagreement. Even when we are convicted of a truth and a right that we need to stand up for against a wrong that is being done it needs to be done with humility, patience and love.
I just had a conversation with a friend who is a youth director in a church where the pastor does not teach any kind of message of needing to give your life to Christ. She basically says that he believes that water baptism is what saves and that's all that a person needs. I don't know how she can operate under someone like this and I immediately asked how she can keep from challenging him on this. She said did when she started and got nowhere and God had clearly told her that she needed to stay there. She teaches the bible and does speaks truth to her young people, but it is a struggle to sit under a leader that she has so much disagreement with. I was saying how I would want to push and ask for scriptural support and present my own scriptural support. I thought it was to stand up for what is write in God's word but now I think it would have been to prove my point, and I would do it wrong. Even in this kind of situation, we need to speak truth but from a humble heart, with gentleness, and patience. We know that there is one baptism and it is the baptism of the Spirit of God. If any person who professes to be a Christian but has never experienced a change in their life where they started being led by the Spirit of God, then they are not saved. This pastor is not the only one that might be in this situation. We don't know for sure anyone's faith. Only God knows the heart. But we do know our own heart and if we are led by the Spirit of God then we will be able to function in the fruit of the Spriit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience and self-control. We cannot expect someone who has never been baptized with the Spirit to be able to function in the Spirit. But we can pray and live out a Spirit led life and trust the God can use our humble, gentle and patient actions as we bear one another's burdens to maintain unity in the body, to reach the lost and make disciples. Only through surrender to the Spirit of God will be able to have unity
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