Symphony of the Saints (Ephesians 4:1-6)

A symphony is a tremendous metaphor for the body of Christ. Though we are all unique members (instruments) of the orchestra, we all have one song we are playing.

As Christians, we are called to live in unity with one another—a symphony of the saints. As we dive back into Ephesians 4, Nathan uses this study as a review of Ephesians 4:1–6 to set the context for our future studies. As he reminds us, we are not called to uniformity but to true Jesus-focused unity as the Church.

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:1–6

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
– Ephesians 4:1–6

The Context (Review)

• Ephesians 1–3 (IN Christ) » 4–6 (now live from that position)
• Ephesians 4:1–3 – Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
  • The outflow of being IN Christ
  • Calling … lived in a manner worthy of the calling (Jesus)
  • Paul gives several aspects to what it means to live within this calling:
    • Humility: the heart of dependency, a lowness of posture/mind
    • Meekness/Gentleness: a willingness to suffer
    • Patience: suffering long (tensile strength)
    • Bear with one another: (2 ideas) hold something up, put up with (endure)
    • Keep unity: strive to guard the unity of the spirit

Preserve the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of peace

• Ephesians 4:4–6 – There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
  • All centered and focused on Jesus
  • Paul is reminding the church that they are unified in Christ
  • Not uniformity but unity (symphony)
• John 17:21–23 – “…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
• Charles Spurgeon – “Whenever it can be said of an assembly, ‘The Lord is there,’ unity will be created and fostered. Show me a church that quarrels, a church that is split up into cliques, a church that is divided with personal ambitions, contrary doctrines, and opposing schemes, and I am sure that the Lord is not there.”⁽¹⁾

Our unity is in the Gospel

• Paul declares a “Gospel Creed” (a confession / hymn) and declares that it is the Gospel which brings forth the unity in the Body (Church) … and outlines how we all have unity in the Spirit: with Jesus as the centerpiece.
• Tony Merida – It is important to note that Ephesians 4 is not teaching unity at any cost. It is a unity in Christ.
  • One body. We share a common existence in Christ’s church. We are diverse in background and gifting, but we are united as one.
  • One Spirit. We share a common origin in the Holy Spirit’s work. The Spirit is the One who creates unity and empowers us to maintain it.
  • One hope. We share a common hope in Christ. Formerly, we were “without hope” (2:12) until we were called to Christ. Now we have hope, and we must live in a manner worthy of our calling.
  • One Lord. Believers confess and proclaim, “Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor 4:5). When the early Christians said, “Jesus is Lord,” they were saying, “Caesar is not lord.” When Jewish Christians said this, they were boldly identifying Jesus with the God of the Hebrew Scriptures (cf. Deut 6:4). So this was not merely an empty creedal affirmation for early believers. This confession could cause you to lose your head.
  • One faith. The creed reminds us that we embrace the essential truths together, for “faith” here seems to refer to the body of truth we believe.
  • One baptism. We share a common experience of being spiritually baptized into Christ. We are united with Him. The act of baptism into water pictures this reality. This ordinance may be in view here.
  • One God and Father. As His adopted children, we share the same Father (cf. Eph 1:5). He is the God over all and the Father of all His children—regardless of their ethnicities. We are one big, adopted family.⁽²⁾

Our unity is founded on love

• Love is the basis for unity
• John 13:34–35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
• The list in 4:1-3 is what we need to keep the unity and bond of peace
  • Ephesians 4:1–3 – Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Dividing over the right things

• Unity is not the “end goal” … we desire unity but our goal and focus is Jesus Christ
  • Colossians 1:18– … so that He Himself will come to [be preeminent] have first place in everything.
• We will separate over things that Jesus separates from … sin, heresy, etc. … our problem is that we tend to divide over the wrong things
  • Divisions tend to happen when I have to be right (pride)
  • 2 Timothy 3:1–5 – But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these. 
  • 1 Corinthians 5:9–13– I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people; I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Are you not to judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God will judge. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

What do we do if we have disagreement within the body of Christ?

• Communicate with humility and honor, exhort, reprove, appeal to Scripture, walk in forgiveness and reconciliation 
  • See for example: Matthew 5:21–24; 18:15–35; 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 2:15; James 3:13–18 
  • Matthew 18:15–17– “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector.”
    • Context: shepherd going after a lost sheep
  • James 3:14–18 – But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not coming down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Building up the Body

• Unity WILL happen in the Body if I focus and pursue Jesus and the Gospel  
• Again, not uniformity, but unity (symphony)
  • There is a lot of variety of salt (Dead Sea, sea salt, Himillanian, Celtic, color varieties , etc ) but the importance is that the salt is salty. 
  • we all tend to have our emphasis in the Christian faith but is our focus Jesus?
• Philippians 2:5–8 – Have this way of thinking [phroneō] in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
• Applied within the body:
  • Philippians 2:1–5– Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, fulfill my joy, that you think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose, doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves, not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus …

What if we sought to out-serve and out-love each other?

• Romans 12:9–10– Let love be without hypocrisy—by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good, being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor [outdo one another in showing honor] …

Don’t be pulled away from the simplicity of Christ

• 2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Quick Questions

• How do I think about the body of Christ? Do I have a genuine love and care for the body or am I filled with anger, frustration, discontentment, etc?
• Paul says in Romans 1:7 that the Church is God’s beloved. Just as we would want to help guard the focus of someone’s beloved … so too with the Church. Am I encouraging and exhorting others to keep their focus on Christ, or am I causing others to be distracted from their Beloved (Jesus)?
• In Leviticus 19:18, “love your neighbor as yourself” is in the context of gossiping and controlling the tongue. Gossip is using someone’s sin, problems, or weaknesses as my own entertainment. If we don’t control our tongues then we can’t walk in unity. The mouth (tongue) of the righteous is a well of life (Proverbs 10:11). Remember, gossip has two parties—the one talking and the one listening. Am I truly loving my neighbor like Christ loves me? 
• Am I keeping Jesus central and preeminent in my life, marriage, family, and relationships?
• Am I living worthy of my calling IN Christ (Ephesians 4:1)?

FOOTNOTES

(1) Charles Spurgeon, “Jehovah-Shammah: A Glorious Name for the New Year,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 37 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1891), 8.

(2) Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 96–97.

Photo Credit: Zach Doty

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:7
  • We are going to dive into the concept of Jesus giving us the gift of grace and what purpose His grace serves in our lives.
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.