Unity Is Found in God’s Call and Confession :: Ephesians 4:1-6

The Apostle Paul writes: Therefore, I encourage you — I, the prisoner in the Lord — to walk worthy of the calling in which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in Godly love, being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body and one spirit, just as you were also called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, the one over all and through all and in all.

[Prayer]

Heavenly Father, You have called us to be one in the Spirit, united in the victory of your Son. Grant us the humility and gentleness, patience and love of your calling, that we may share the forgiveness you have given to us, enabling us to maintain the unity of the Spirit, in Jesus’ name.

[Introduction]

I don’t feel I fit in any more. ... I feel like this place has changed.

I don’t feel welcome any more. ... I feel we are too divided.

There’s no doubt about it: It sure feels comfortable to be surrounded by family and friends. It sure feels good when we all sing nothing but our favorite songs together. It sure feels great when we feel we have a common purpose and never hear theological debate.

But is this what unites you to Trinity Lutheran Church?

Is the unity of the church based on family ... on friends? ... on common experience? ... on similar opinions? ... on feelings? Or is our unity at Trinity rooted in something else ... in something that is easy to forget? 

What brings us together? 

What makes us feel at home? 

What makes us one? 

The Apostle Paul gives us the answer in our epistle reading. He tells the church in Ephesus that true unity is not found in family and friends ... it is not found in feelings or traditions.

OUR UNITY IS FOUND IN GOD’S CALL AND HIS CONFESSION

I. Unity never begins with man. 

Men base unity on feelings. And feelings are fleeting. Remember, the first schism took place in the garden when the woman blamed the serpent for her sin, and the man blamed the woman and even God himself. Our families were further divided when Cain killed his brother, and Absalom attacked his father, David. Solomon had his many allegiances divided by uniting himself with more than one woman. Then we saw the brothers of Israel divide into two kingdoms. As Jesus pointed out in our Gospel reading, the humble and the haughty are divided.

We never have to look far to see congregations split this way. When feelings of unity are based on the place of worship, then disagreements over simple carpet colors can destroy unity. When unity is based on feelings of acceptance, then the words we speak can make someone think they don’t belong. 

And what happens when someone who doesn’t have family connections tries to join you? What if they don’t have common interests with you and me? How long will they feel they belong? And what if a person has difficulty making friends? What if they’re an introvert? How will they find unity? 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the church’s unity neither exists ... nor is based ... on family and friendships, or on personal interests and generational preferences. 

II. Instead, it is God’s call that unites us, first, with him, and then, with one another.

Even though we all have different backgrounds, vocations, last names, and ages, we are all called to ONE hope of our calling, ONE Lord, ONE faith, and ONE Baptism, ONE God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. 

That is to say, Christ and his doctrine is not chopped up and divided amongst us at Trinity. We don’t have multiple saviors. We have one. We don’t have conflicting doctrines of the Christian faith! We have one. We’ve all been taught to confess the same thing about the Law and the Gospel. We all believe baptism saves. We all believe the Lord’s Supper is given for the forgiveness of sins. And we all believe that these are the means that bring us into unity with the one True God.

Although you and I have very different baptism dates that we observe individually, we all nevertheless share in the SAME baptism ... there is ONE baptism ... that of our Lord Jesus. In his baptism, we died together with him on the cross. We were buried together with him in his tomb. And we are being raised together into the newness of life, just as Christ was raised from the dead (Rm 6:3-4). We are one in him and therefore with each other. And because we are united in the story of Christianity, we are also one with Christians on every single continent of every single generation. 

This is why Paul encourages us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling in which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in Godly love, being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are all prisoners in the Lord. 

Now with this in mind ... take a moment and look around at each other. 

Do you have a broken relationship here? 

For the love of God, forgive each other, just as Christ forgave you! 

Are you holding resentment? For the love of God, lay it to rest, just as Christ did for you. 

As members of Trinity Lutheran Church, we are united in Christ as common sinners with a common Savior and a common Christian confession!

III The Holy Spirit produces this unity and gives you one unified confession. 

As we all confess, the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, and sanctifies and keeps us in the ONE true faith ... uniting us with every single blood-bought Christian in this sanctuary. And his unity is SO MUCH more profound and eternal than mere family and friendships. 

As Paul said right before our reading, he was able to do far more abundantly than all that we could ever ask for or even think of (Eph 3:20). 

Most notably, Jesus has stood in your place ... in unity with you ... albeit without sin. He was born without sin, and he lived without sin. And then after being falsely accused of your sin, he shed his blood for your sin and died for it. Then he did something even more unthinkable for you: He overcame death for you. ... He is now risen! ... And because of that, it is no longer we who live ... but Christ Jesus ... our ONE God and Savior ... who lives in us (Gal 2:20). 

He has UNITED himself with us so that we will be ONE. Now we can unite with one another at his feast ... the ONE and only feast that never ends ... the ONE and only feast that calls all the saints and all the angels and all the company of heaven together with us. Through this ONE and only feast, HE GIVES the church the ability to weather the storms of personal struggles and personal conflicts.

[Conclusion]

And so ... dear baptized children of God ... regardless of what you may feel ... or think ... or imagine ... you have THE BOND of peace, which is the forgiveness of sins. Share it. You have the bond of ONE body, which is the church. Share it. You are led by ONE Spirit, and you are given ONE confession that forgiveness is ours on account of the blood of Christ, and eternal life is ours on account of his resurrection. Share it. 

When the stressors of life pull you down, remember this. It matters not whether you are young or old ... male or female ... shy or outgoing ... quiet or loud ... smart or simple ... you are a ONE in the kingdom of God through one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father. 

You all belong here. 

You all are accepted here.

And you all are home here at Trinity Lutheran Church, where we are all united under the one and same confession of Christ ... in Jesus’ name.