Unity in the Spirit

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Last week was Pentecost Sunday, and the sermon was entitled “Burning But Not Consumed” based on the story of Pentecost in Acts 2 and the text from Exodus 3:2 in which the presence of God or his angel is communicated to Moses through a bush that was on fire but did not burn up. If there is anything that you remember from that sermon, it is my hope it will be that the presence of God is like a fire that is in you, but does not burn you up. That fire that burns in you as the presence of God is a zeal for the Lord, a passion as it were that works in you and through you to accomplish what God wants to accomplish in you. It is Christ in you your hope of glory, promising that He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion.

I will be preaching on the Holy Spirit throughout the summer months. The season of the church are such that we go through the birth, the baptism and temptation, the ministry, the passion, , and resurrection of Jesus, followed by his Ascension and Pentecost all from December 25 to around the first of June (five months). It is during these periods that we preach on the truths of the Christian faith about which most denominations and churches agree. Most Christians and most churches profess at least to believe that in Jesus the divine Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God became man. Most believe that he was baptized by John the Baptist and went into the desert to be tempted by the . Most believe that he did many signs and miracles and that he had a ministry of preaching and teaching and healing. Most believe that Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem, even predicting that he must go there to die, and that on Palm Sunday he entered the great city to be greeted by crowds who threw palms at his feet. And I think it is safe to say that most people who call Christ their Savior and Lord believed that he died on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day. If you don’t believe these things, then most Christians would say there is a large question as to whether you are a Christian.

So one may ask, “Why do we have so many denominations, if there is so much agreement in the Christian church?” And the answer to that comes in the application of what Jesus did for us to our lives. Another way of putting it is that the difference between denominations pertains to how we interpret what it means to be Christ’s disciple. In a host of ways churches do not agree on what it means to apply what Christ has done for us to our lives. Does it mean that we live reputable and moral lives? Does it mean we go to church on Sunday or that we tithe? Does it mean we can tell you the date that we were “born again.” Does it mean that we are baptized by immersion, or that we have made a profession of faith in Jesus? Does it mean we do good works or have compassion on the poor, or that we practice certain ual ethics? Does it mean that we have a certain kind of character or that we share our faith with others? What does it mean to belong to the body of Christ, and what kind of worship and government should that body have? Over these and a host of other issues there are differences among Christians, that do not discount their faith in Christ, but matter considerably in how they put that faith into practice. That is why we need seven months each year to teach and preach on what discipleship means.

As I said last week, it is the work of the third Person of the Trinity to translate what Christ did for us into our lives, our thoughts, our conduct, our relationships, our life together. You may recall that I said the Holy Spirit is the divine multitasker, capable of doing many tasks and being many places all at once. Today on this Sunday when we celebrate Holy Communion, we are asking a question. Very simply, what does it mean to be one in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. We do not have too much trouble understanding what it means to be one in a spirit of merriment. We can go to a casino and see people who drink at the troph of the spirit of greed; we see people who have a spirit of ambition. If we go to a Vikings game we are liable to see people with a spirit of competition; sometimes as guests in peoples’ homes we experience a spirit of hospitality. Although it may be hard to put our finger on what a spirit is, we have some instinct for it. With this in mind, let us bow our heads to ask God’s light to illumine our minds.

Gracious God, we pray today that as we approach your sacred table of Holy Communion, that we might first partake of Your pure, peaceable, Spirit that fills us with love and joy and grace, and that in that spirit we may experience some foretaste of what it means to belong to God through Jesus Christ, in whose Name we ask it, Amen.

The Scripture I am reading is from Eph. 4:1-6. Hear God’s word:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father who is over all and through all and in all.” That concludes our reading, but I think it might be helpful for you to look at the Scripture on the front of your bulletin, which gives us a picture of what unity in the Spirit looked like in the early church, and the Scripture from I Corinthians 12 that says “we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and given one Spirit to drink.” May God bless the Scripture to you understanding and transformation.

The Text – What Unity in the Spirit Is Not

The phrase “unity in the Spirit” means something quite distinct from “one in spirit,” which means that two or more people share a spirit of camaraderie or purpose, whatever it may be. To be one in the Spirit (capitalized) means specifically that two or more people share a unity that comes from their renewal or regeneration by or in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. This same Holy Spirit which was poured upon the apostles on the first Pentecost is also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When we say that we are “one in Christ” we mean something akin to being “one in the Spirit.” Another way of putting it would be if Christ dwells in us as our hope of glory, then that same Christ or His Spirit should have something in common with other believers or disciples in whom Christ dwells. For that same Holy Spirit has applied the work of Christ to us. That same Spirit has brought us to our knees in repentance and pointed us to Christ as our Savior, the one in whom we have forgiveness of sin. That same Spirit has convinced us of the truth of Holy Scripture and regenerated us as new creatures in Christ. And that same Spirit has baptized us into one body, that is, the body of Christ, so that whether we are Jews or Greeks, blacks or whites, Europeans or Asians, we are one body, whose Head is Christ.

Perhaps we may begin to describe this unity by excluding what it is not. It is not a unity that is superficial or outward. Clearly we may be of different races or different classes or different genders and still be “one in the Spirit.” It doesn’t mean that we all wear a uniform, or that we have a dress code. I remember in the Service looking out over the camp where I was stationed, and seeing only green. Green uniforms, green tents, green trucks – everything in my world had turned green. But our God is not limited to green – He is a God who loves variety. Look at the flowers that God creates – both wild flowers and ivated flowers – hues of yellow and red and blue and purple and snow white and orange and pink and maroon – azaleas and bigonias, impatiens and pansies, marigolds and petunias and blue bells and jack-in-the-pulpits. Jack-in-the-pulpits is one of my favorites. So in the church of God we have young and old, tall and short, stocky and thin, blonds, s, and (most recently) a . And us gray-haired and balding. One in spirit has very little to do with appearance.

Secondly, being one in the Spirit doesn’t necessarily mean that we talk alike or think alike in every respect. I’ve been around Christians who seem to ivate an “in vocabulary” with phrases like “born again” and “washed in the ” and “evangelistic crusade” and “anointed of God” and “the Word” meaning the Bible. There is nothing wrong with Christians sharing a vocabulary, but vocabulary does not make us believers. And if we are believers, we can find other words to say the same thing. People I know who are profoundly faithful Christians may disagree over minor issues of Christian doctrine or on what is the best way to accomplish some goal, or – who they will vote for in an election. Sharing phrases of speech or thinking the same way about everything is not the ground of spiritual unity for the believing church. Unity does not mean uniformity. While being one in the Spirit does effect our behavior, it does not mean that we will always have the same style of relating or worship in the same way. Being one in Christ is not acting as an automaton; rather, the Spirit sets us free.

Thirdly, unity in the Spirit not only does not consist of superficial unity, but it does not consist in unity based on a substitute for faith in Christ. There are many reasons for which people may appear to be in unity – it may be that they share a kindred interest in music and/or art, that they have a like affection for an institution or a building, and devote themselves to its upkeep. It may be that they share an ethnic heritage, and their unity consists of “keeping up the traditions” like my cousin’s ex-husband, the Jewish physician, who prayed not because he believed in God but was a Jew. Yet we must remember that Jesus himself stood against those Jewish leaders who had substituted their traditions for the Word of God, making them of no effect. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth. It will not compromise with falsehood, or tell people what they want to hear. It always points people to Christ. It does not speak of its own, but only brings to our mind what Christ has declared. Finally, it may be added that people can find unity in spiritual apathy – or in a form of etiquette which cares so little about spiritual things that it will do anything to avoid conflict about them. The Spirit of Christ does not form unity around the preservation of an institution nor does it pander to the will of a rebellious and unbelieving people.

The Text – What Unity in the Spirit Is

So now that we have excluded what unity in the Spirit isn’t, we may ask what does it mean to be “one in the Spirit.” This text actually gives us some clues. It tells us to be humble and gentle and patient and bear with one another in love (Eph. 4:2). Now we know that the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Jesus, and we know that Jesus was humble and gentle. In the invitation Jesus issues in Matthew 11:28-29, when Jesus says “Come unto me, you who are weary and burdened,” he goes on to say, “for I am gentle and humble in heart, and here you shall find rest for your souls.” The opposite of gentle is to be rough or rude or insensitive to the point of needlessly hurting others’ feelings. Jesus shows great tenderness to those people who come to him for help. However, when his enemies come, he could be blunt and rough on purpose.

Humility is the opposite of proud, an attitude of selfish aggrandizement, an attitude that expects others to treat one with deference. In contrast, we see Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and laying down his life for our salvation. Though he was God incarnate, he did not cling to equality with God, but took on the role of the servant. Humility means willing to serve unselfishly and to sacrifice when necessary – it is the necessary by-product of love. The text says we are to bear with one another in love. Remember in I Corinthians 13 Paul claims that love bears all things. Jesus persevered in love until his work was finished. If we have his Spirit, we too shall persevere until the end. Or rather Christ shall complete the work He has begun in us.

The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 gives us several adjectives to describe the character or outworking of the Holy Spirit. He or she who is possessed of the Holy Spirit will show various spiritual fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, humility, faith, self-control. Faith here is included, because anything contrary to faith, that is, to loyalty to Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures that testify of Him. All of these attitudes are the work of the Holy Spirit, that is, they are the Spirit’s fruit. The flesh may seek to emulate or copy them, but what the flesh produces is a poor counterfeit.

Internal Framework

Being of one Spirit results in an internal framework that all Christians share – for as the text declares, we follow the same Lord, Jesus Christ, and we share one faith. We may not agree in all our opinions, but at base we all believe that human nature is fallen – the image of God in us marred, and that we all need a common Savior. If we don’t share that, it is difficult to call us Christians. We all worship the same Trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we have share one baptism – that is, whether by sprinkling or pouring or immersion, we have all been baptized into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Most Christians would agree that we all share certain commands of our Lord as our purpose – “To preach the gospel to every creature, to make disciples of all nations.” This Great Commission, no matter how we may differ in going about it, should give Christians a common general purpose.

Nonetheless, Paul urges the church at Ephesus “to make every effort to keep the unity in the Spirit.” If all believers have Christ dwelling in them, this should be a piece of cake, but we see clearly it is not. Why? First, because we live in a hostile world, and there are always representatives of that world that persecute the church from the outside; and then there are those who enter the church, make false professions, and from the inside do as much damage to that unity as they can. Love covers a multitude of sins, according to Scripture, but sometimes one must stand against the weeds has planted in with the field of wheat.

Secondly, Paul reminds us that we carry with us the , earthy, fallen human nature. That is, we must necessarily contend with attitudes of the flesh first, in brand-new members. These attitudes according to Galaitans 5:19-21 include groups of two or three 1) ual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; and idolatry (which is the spiritual form of ual unfaithfulness or debauchery) and craft, (which is seeking supernatural power independent of God); dissensions, factions, and envy; which appeals to the flesh making some people better than others – an in group and an out group; drunkedness, s, and the like (the spirit of lawlessness, rebellion, and irresponsibility).

All of these sinful attitudes that we recognize come from our fallen nature have one thing in common – the self as center. The ual sins are self-seeking of pleasure. Idolatry and craft make the self the center by choosing to devote ourselves to something less than God or by seeking supernatural power. Dissensions, factions, and envy are the self in groups exalting our group above others. All of the sins come from self-words. Self-promotion, self-pity, self-justification, self-satisfaction, self-righteousness, self-striving, self-worship, self-love, to name only a few. Whenever we turn inward, and/or juxtapose our individual interest against others, or more particularly, against Christ’s body, even if we do it through our indifference to the things of God, we lay on others the burden of striving to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

As we gather around the table of Holy Communion, let us examine ourselves to see if we are A) filled with the Holy Spirit, that is, filled with the fire that burns away the dross and thereby purifies our soul, but does not burn us up; and B) are we one in the Spirit. That is, is the unity that we experience based on our holy commitment to Christ and of seeking first his Kingdom and his righteousness above even our own self-interest or comfort. God is of course the God of grace and forgiveness, but we ought to be growing up in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Lord, let Christ have His way with us, that we may draw closer to You, and You will therefore draw closer to us. Unite us in our love for You and our love for one another. Expose and remove the obstacles in us, the anxieties and the wounds and the fears, that keep us from wholehearted worship of You. Forgive us our sins, and immerse us in Your marvelous Spirit of truth and grace and freedom, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This Sermon was published on 06/10/2009 and filed in