Very good morning to every one of you. Before we come to consider God’s Word, let us again pray and ask God for help.

“Our Father in heaven, we thank You once again for the opportunity to look at Your truths as proclaimed to us in this wonderful book of Ephesians. We pray that as we consider the topic of church unity may our hearts be as one. We ask for help from above for both preacher and listener that we understand these wondrous truths. All these we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen”

The sermon title this morning is “Church Unity (Part 2)”. I chose unity part two because we have already done part one a few months back. Now if you still remember now some time back we were also on this same topic of church unity. Now that was only part one, and at that time we were looking at the first six verses of this chapter (chapter 4). And during that sermon of part one of church unity, we looked at Paul’s instruction to the church to maintain, to endeavour, to maintain, or to keep the unity of the church, keep the unity of the spirit. It is not easy to keep the unity of this spirit because of our sins that remain within us.

Very often we would step on each other’s toes. We would sin against one another. And therefore here is Paul’s instruction to us to endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit. Let me remind you that as Christians we are united by a common experience of redemptive grace, that is the basis of church unity. It’s very sad that this day and age we see churches showing resemblance of church unity by something other than the redemptive grace of God. Some are united by an idolatrous attachment to a leader. They are united because they love that preacher so much. That preacher is so good in preaching. Some are united by idolatrous cause. Oh, I love to help people. I love to give to charity. Oh, there’s a group of people who likes to do the same thing. And so they are united by a cause.

Some are united by idolatrous fondness of a certain group of people. Oh, I come to church, I see Oliver is such a friendly person and always like to tell jokes. And oh, I love this person and I love the church here. And we are all united because of the fondness of certain people. Now that’s not true church unity. True church unity is attained only by redemption. Fundamentally, we are united by a common experience of the redemptive grace of God. When the Holy Spirit works in you and causes you to be born again, then you are part of that family of God. By virtue of having the spirit in you, you are in union with every other person who has the spirit in them.

That is why Paul calls it here in verse 3 of chapter 4 the unity of the spirit. We are united by a common experience of the redemptive grace of God. The spirit is in all of us. That is the fundamental basis of why we are united. Now, this morning we continue our study on the topic of church unity, which is found in this same chapter. And this morning, we will look at verse 7 to verse 16 which has just been read for us just now. Now I understand that or at least in my study that this passage of Scripture can be preached in several sermons in an attempt to cover the meaning of everything that has been said in those ten verses.

But since I’ve decided to do all these verses in one go, I have outlined three main points which I believe will help us see the flow and what Paul is intending to say to us. And these points are number one, unity, not uniformity. Number two, we are to come to a unity of the faith. And number three, we are to grow in maturity. Firstly, unity does not mean uniformity. Now just before verse 7 if you remember Paul has been laying out the common grounds that we all have as a united church. In verse 4, he says: “There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were 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.”.

And so you see Paul here is driving home the point that there is a oneness. There is a oneness among us, among the church. But the fact that we are all one does not mean that we are the same. Now although he did say that we are one, he did not say that we should be uniform. Now some Christians, they like to think that because we’re all one, there’s a oneness, then therefore we should be all the same. In our daily lives they think that the clothes we wear should be the same, how we walk should be the same, how we talk, what we eat should be the same, the hairstyle should be the same.

But that’s not true. In church they think that we should all wear a uniform. Everyone should pray the same way, think the same way of course. And some even say that we should serve the same way. Now that is not what church unity is about. It will be terrible to enforce such things upon the members of the church. Church unity does not require us to sacrifice our individuality. Although we are one body, the eye is not the same as the nose. The nose is not the same as the hands. The hands are not same as the feet. We are all different. We have different tastes, we wear different clothes, we have different appearances. We have different strengths and weaknesses, and we have different gifts.

And Paul does not want us to think that church unity equals to uniformity. He knows that everyone is different, especially when it comes to the gifts that we have. See here in verse 7. Paul says but after declaring the oneness, the common grounds that we have as one body, he says: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”. Each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gifts.

Are we all the same? The answer here is no. Do we all serve in the same way? No. How so? Are we not the same? To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Now what this verse is saying here is that every one of us has received gifts from Christ. And although every one of us receives it, the gifts are not the same. The portion is not the same. And these gifts are given to us for us to serve the church and not ourselves. Now let me borrow Romans 12 to try and enhance this point. Romans 12. Romans 12:3. Now I’ll read verse 3 to verse 8.

Romans 12:3- “For I say, though grace was given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us”. You see here Paul is talking about the same thing.

Differing gifts, “let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”. Again are we all the same? The answer is no. Do we all serve the same way? No. Everyone has been given different gifts to serve. To some Christ has given the gift of teaching. Some people are good in teaching, explaining their points. And God has granted them the gift to understand biblical truths. And so they use their gifts to preach and share the gospel and to teach.

To some the gift of generosity. To some God has given us ability to share. And so we give freely, either finances to the church or gifts to our fellow brothers and sisters. We share cheerfully. To some the gift of mercy. We are able to care for others. We are able to be hospitable, always inviting our brothers and sisters to our home to have fellowship with them and to care for them. You see, everyone is different. We must remember we all serve differently. All these gifts are from Christ, and He gives us according to the measure of His grace and we should not be jealous of one another, neither should we look down upon one another. All these gifts are from Christ, and we use these gifts. Though they may be different, we use it for the church.

Now if we were all given gifts, then let us take heed not to be lazy. We were all given gifts by Christ. Let us take heed that we should make good use of these gifts. If we have gifts, then it cannot be that we do nothing. It cannot be that we are lazy. If we have a gift, we ought to use it to serve the church. What are you going to say to Christ when He returns one day? What have you done for Me with the gifts that I’ve given to you? We’re all given different gifts, and we all have a role to play. Now we have seen that it is Christ who gives us these gifts.

Back to our text in Ephesians 4. Why is Christ in a position to give us these gifts? Why is Christ in the position to grant us the gifts that we have? Well, it is because of His triumphant ascension. These gifts are a result of His triumphant ascension. We usually talk about His death and also His resurrection. But how often do we consider His triumphant ascension? Now let me read again from verse 8 onwards: “Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)”.

Now here is some ancient war imagery here used by Paul because as a footnote this text here which Paul quoted: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” It’s also he was referencing to Psalm 68:18. And there is an imagery of war here that he has used. So when a general and his army had conquered another land or city, when they have wiped out their enemies, what do you think they would do? Well obviously, they would take home with them the spoils of war. And what are the spoils of war? Well, it could be gold and silver found within that land. It could be food or equipment, weapons. Those are the spoils of war of which they would take home with them.

And also, they would bring home remaining enemy soldiers who are still alive to be used as their slaves. And so those are the things they would bring home. And as the general marches home back to his home city, now there the citizens will be cheering after hearing of his victory in that war. And they’ll be cheering him on as he marches in. And as he leads the captive, the soldiers which were captured, and then he would distribute the gifts to the people, the spoils of war. He would then distribute to the people. And that is the imagery which Paul is using here, this imagery which Paul used is also used to picture Christ.

Christ who has descended down on earth, and by His death He too has defeated the enemies. Satan, the power of darkness, sin, and death. He rose again on the third day, and now Christ ascends triumphantly towards heaven to be exalted at the right hand of God. And as a result of His glorious ascension, He has now grant gifts to men. The gifts that we receive are a result of His triumphant ascension. Now just as we read before that this gifts, these many gifts were a result of His triumphant ascension. Among these gifts, Christ has chosen in particular to ordain certain officers in the church. Among these many gifts, one of it is that He ordained officers in the church.

Verse 10 (sorry verse 11): “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers”. Who is the one who introduced these officers? It is Christ, not men. And these officers which are gifts from Christ are given to us for what? Verse 12: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”. And so among the many gifts which Christ have given, some have received the gift of shepherding the church, of leading the church, the flock so that we may be prepared for the work of the ministry, so that we may be edified for the building up of the church. And what is the ultimate aim of all of this?

Now that’s where we have come to the second point of the message in verse 13: “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”. What is the purpose of all these, Christ giving us different gifts and among these gifts, He has given us pastors and teachers to lead and shepherd the church so that we may be equipped and edified. And what is the ultimate purpose of all of this? That we may come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Now, what is this unity of faith which Paul is talking about over here? Well, there’s a few clues to help us understand what this unity of faith is. Verse 13, as I’ve just read: “and of the knowledge- knowledge of the Son of God”.

In verse 14: “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine”. Verse 15: “but, speaking the truth in love”. You can see here there is a common theme- knowledge, doctrine, truth. And back to verse 13. The word ‘faith’ itself brings to mind conviction and belief. And how can you have conviction and belief if you do not have truth? In other words, Paul here in verse 13 is telling us that the pastors and teachers which Christ have gifted to us, have ordained are for the equipping and edifying of the church so that ultimately we will all come to the unity of the faith, that is the unity based on the truth of God’s Word. That is the unity of the faith.

One of the foundational elements that defines and displays church unity is common convictions concerning the revealed truth of God. Unity of the faith. Now we live in a generation where unfortunately people are saying doctrine divides. And therefore, we should not talk about doctrine. Doctrine has caused many kinds of divisions. And so they say now some people believe that Jesus is not God. And so because of that, there are others who do. Because of that, we are divided over this issue. Some people hold to the prosperity gospel, others do not. Again we are divided over this issue. Some believe that justification is by faith alone, some believe that justification is by faith and works. Again another cause of division.

And so they say what better way than to be silent on these doctrines and be united over something other than truth? That is the world that we live in. Better to be ignorant of truth and be united on something else. Well if those examples were the basis of division, then I would say division is better than agreement with evil. What business do we have with those who reject the deity of Christ? What business do we have with those who preach the prosperity gospel? What gospel are we teaching and preaching if we teach that justification is by faith and works? How can we be united with these groups of people as if we can hold hands together and sing hymns together and pray together for ignoring these important doctrines?

If these are the reasons for doctrine to divide, then I would say yes, division is better than agreement with evil. But on the other hand, if we are to be united on something rather than truths, then what becomes of us? Are we still a church or are we something else? John Calvin said that those who wish to build the church by rejecting doctrine of the Word built a pigsty, not the church. Take doctrine away, take knowledge of the Son of God away, and everyone starts believing their own thing. Everybody starts coming up with their own fantasy church not based on doctrine, based on what they feel like having.

I believe that if we truly take God’s Word seriously, we will come to a conviction that the foundation of true church unity is of course based on the common experience of the redemptive grace of God but also a common conviction of the revealed truths of God. And that’s why we have the pastors and the elders to lead us in church, to equip us, to edify the body of Christ until we all come to the unity of faith. The truth based on God’s Word and of the knowledge of the Son of God. It is not truth that divides, it is truth of God that unites true Christians. It is lies and untruth that brings division. In fact, it is lies that brought the first division found in the Bible.

Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? They had a blessed communion with God. They were together with Him in the Garden of Eden. And then, God gave them a test. The truth of the doctrine was if you eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. The lie is if you eat from that fruit from that tree, you will not die. Of course, we know where the lie came from. And so the devil came with a lie. Adam and Eve fell for that lie. They took the fruit, they ate it, and they were banished from the Garden of Eden. It is not truth that brings division, it is lies that cause that first division between man and God.

It is not doctrine that brought the first disunity. It is false doctrine that brought the first disunity between man and God. Now without common convictions of the faith, the church will be divided. If we unite something other which is not the truth, then are we still called the church? Now Paul here is telling us that Christ has given us the pastors and elders to equip us, to edify us so that we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Finally, we look at the last point. We are to grow in maturity. Reading from verse 13 again: “till we come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.

Now maturity is tied to unity. You cannot have one without the other. You take away the unity of faith and you will not reach maturity. Take away maturity, and you destroy unity. As we come to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, we are also coming to a perfect man. Now what is this perfect man which Paul is mentioning here? Well, the perfect man is obviously not the child. He is fully grown. A man is fully grown. He is mature in character and mind. He is not simply persuaded by false doctrines and worldly temptations. See here in verse 14: “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting”.

How does Paul describe someone who is immature? He describes them as children tossed to and fro. Now you consider the characteristics of children. Firstly, they are easily persuaded. You ask a child if or whether he will help with the house chores, now the child say no, I don’t want. I want to play. And then you try to persuade him. You open up the fridge, there is an ice cream. And then you tell the child now if you help me do the chores, I’ll reward you with an ice cream. And immediately the child is persuaded. Ah okay, I want the ice cream, and so I will help to do the chores. See, these are characteristics of children. They are easily persuaded. Secondly, children are childish. They lack self-control.

Again if you hand a box of chocolates to a child, and if you do not give him instructions, he lacks self-control. And before you know it, he finishes up the whole box of chocolates. Or if you hand a child a box of chocolates, you must give him instructions. Only one per day, no more than that because the child lacks self-control. But the thirdly, a child is easily tricked or they tend to believe things easily. Before a child sleeps at night; if you tell him that there is a ghost underneath your bed, well the child will not be able to sleep. He will believe what you say and he’ll have nightmares at night. Children are easily persuaded and they lack self-control. And they tend to believe things easily. That’s why it’s so dangerous to let them watch horror movies because they will believe everything they watch.

All these are examples of childish behaviours and immaturity. Now as we are born into this world, we are born as babies, and we are expected to grow not just physically but also mentally. We are expected to grow into a man, into maturity. And likewise, as Christians, when we first became Christians, when we are born again, we are like newborn babes. We start off as a child, doesn’t matter if you were born again when you were a young boy and you were a teenager, still studying in university. Or perhaps you are a man, a director of a company. When we are born again, we start off as a child, as children. The problem with some Christians is that we remain as children. We never grow. We never mature.

Now how is the church going to stand if the church is filled with Christians who are not matured? Paul says immature people are like children being tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine. False teachings do not sound like false teachings to the immature mind. If the church is not grounded in truth, she will be like children tossed to and fro by every kind of doctrine. Somebody comes in here and promotes the LGBT movement, and then the church follows along.

Another person comes in and he talks about critical risk theory, again the church believes it and starts teaching it in church. Another person comes in with a teaching of feminism, again if the church is not mature, it will not spot the dangers of feminism. And on and on and on all kinds of evil doctrines start seeping into the church if the church is not mature, if the church is not grounded upon the truths of God. This ought not to be the case for our church. As time passes, we should not remain as children. We must desire to grow to be that perfect man convicted, united in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, growing in maturity and in conformity to the likeness of Christ and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

And this is what Paul is saying here. We ought to grow in maturity. And as Christ gave us again the gifts of this, as He ordains these officers- the elders and the teachers, they are there to equip us to teach us, to help us to mature in truth. Now in conclusion in verses 15 and 16, Paul has actually already said all he wanted to say. He repeats here in verses 15 and 16, trying to wrap up everything once again. He says: “but, speaking the truth in love”.

The truth (that is the “unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”), “speaking the truth in love, may grow up (again growing up to be that perfect man)- grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (that is to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ) — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by” what? “Every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, and causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Now Paul is back again to his favourite analogy that is the body. And he’s saying here that everyone or rather this church is one like a body that is one. And although we are one, although the body is one, the body consists of many parts. They are the eyes, the nose, the feet, the hands, the fingers, the toes. And every part has its own function. The legs have a certain function, the hands have a certain function, the eyes will see, the mouth tastes. And if all this function does its job, if all these body parts work well, and of course, the body grows well.

And likewise, the church. Likewise, the church. If all of us have received gifts from God and all of us are using our gifts for the church, for the glory of God. And if we all under the leadership of the elders and the pastors be equipped for the ministry of the work be edified, and we all come to the unity of the faith of the truth in God’s Word and we all grow in maturity to that perfect man, then how beautiful that picture is of that church when everyone plays his or her part?

This is what Paul is concluding here. This is what Paul wants us to see. The whole body joined and knitted together by what? “Every joins supplies according to the effective working by which every part does it share. Every part that causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”. And so may we take seriously the unity of the church and we take seriously our part- our part to play in this body of Christ. And may be our desire to see this church grow in the unity of the faith in maturity, to be that perfect man. Let’s close in prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, we thank You O Lord for again another time where we can look in Your Word and study what You want to tell us about church unity. We pray that as we grow as a church we would take seriously the doctrines and the truth found in Your Word. We pray, O Lord, that we will all be united in the faith, be united in doctrine. As we are grounded in truth, may we also grow in maturity to be that perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. O Lord, may we be more Christ-like Christ-centred. Help us, O Lord, to desire the growth of the church. And we pray O Lord that we’ll all take our roles seriously and may we all contribute to play our part for the growth of the church, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.