Morling Tuesday Chapel Ephesians: What is Unity?

10 May, 2016

Topic: What is Unity?

Speaker: Graham Hill

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

We’ve all seen conflicts/infighting in church life, which can sometimes get quite dramatic. For many, church life is not that of unity and harmony.

Paul challenges us to Christian unity.

Christian debate in Sydney: One side claiming the power of the Holy Spirit. The other side claiming they have the Gospel and are rooted in the word.

Is unity at all costs our goal? What does true unity look like? Where is it found?

V3:

Differences exist. Making every effort to maintain bond of peace. Earnestly endeavour. We don’t let go of our differences readily. Beneath those differences is a basic unity, core unity that holds us together. Paul didn’t say produce unity, but to maintain unity. It’s not our job to produce unity. The work of the church is to maintain unity in the bonds of peace, the work of the Spirit.

There are two kinds of unity that emerge in the life of the church. One is internal unity that is expressed through disagreements and differences. Analogy of Graham and his brothers: at the dinner table they argue with each other, but at their school, if any of the siblings get picked on, they stand up for each other. The other type of unity is externally imposed: No room for disagreement, everyone has to conform, and those that conform are rewarded, those that don’t are punished/excluded.

V4-6:

Seven ways of unity, one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all: this is where unity is found. With these seven ways, there is room for discussion, Paul didn’t give the specifics of each. It’s not a theological creed, but a unity we experience together.

Maintain bond of peace: not arguing, bickering, etc. It’s easy to pick apart people’s weaknesses. When you’re in Christian leadership, your weaknesses are in constant display. So it’s important to see the best in each other. Embrace your new identity, let go of resentment and hostilities. Rwanda was the model Christian society, 85-95% claim to be Christians before the genocide. Then Tutsis murdered Hutus because they got too focused on the external differences. Internal unity transcends external differences.

Paul frames the gifts in grace. Unity in response to grace. Analogy: In the human body there are many cells, hair cells, muscle cells, etc. and these cells don’t get together to ask how they are going to function. They simply function.

V11-16:

Our unity is not only forged through graces, bonds of peace, but also forged through service and mission. This is the age of participation. (Previous era was the age of representation). This is the age of priesthood of all believers! The church is being renewed globally as a consequence. Ministries are everywhere. We need the apostles (pioneers, plants, launch movements, guards the truth), prophets (disrupt and disturb the status quo, confronts the usual questions and asks the provocative questions, calls the church back into faithfulness), evangelists (communicate the gospel in attractive ways), pastors, teachers. These gifts are distributed throughout the body of Christ, not just the clergy. If Morling produces a person who becomes the best preacher of Australia, that’s a failure. Because the gifts are supposed to build up and multiply themselves. Our job is to multiply the gifts, to release the whole body to the work of ministry, not just to do ministry myself. If the gifts are well developed, it’s not only inwardly focused, but outward focused. All of the gifts in maturity produces unity not only internally within the church but as external witnesses/mission in the world.

President Carter decided to build a memorial to honour those who served and died in the Vietnamese War and opened up the competition for public entries.

Maya Lin won: a Chinese-American student in Yale University. In the wall, we see our face reflected. Maya Lin believes in the touch of a human hand, and being part of a story that is bigger than yourself.

Some veterans thought this is elitist/degrading which soon resulted in bitter disputes. Politicians reopened the competition, and the winner was “the Three Servicemen”. When the memorial opened, Maya Lin wasn’t invited. Today, hardly anyone thinks about the Three Servicemen, but Maya Lin’s wall becomes the “Wailing Wall” of the Americans, to become part of a drama that’s bigger than themselves.

We can be like the three servicemen: cold, externally imposed unity but internally torn about, rigid, something of the past.

Or we can be like the memorial wall: Rage and heal, connect, become part of a community that is real and organic, live and vibrant, that draws them into a new humanity.

The choice is ours, together, to cooperate with the Spirit as He draws us together.