"I Believe - Unity in Trinity"

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. The Nicene Creed

The creed, our statement of faith, begins with words of unity and power – One God, One Father, Almighty and the Source of all that there is. There are numerous faith expressions throughout the world, and even though many of them, but not all, express a faith in some type of god, Christians believe that there is only one. Of course, a god is, in the most basic of understandings, one who is followed and obeyed. With that definition, a god might be our job, our commitment to some worldly means, a human concept, or any of the other many false god’s of earth.

But the Christian faith believes and proclaims that none of these others have any authority, any power, any hold on us, any wisdom, any purpose or any other greatness, except for what we grant them. But our Almighty God is described as “omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent” – three interesting words that describe our God as 1) all powerful and invincible, 2) all knowing and all wise, and 3) present throughout time and in all places simultaneously. Other god’s are bound by the ways of earth, but our God is unbounded by anything we can imagine or contrive.

But one other important aspect of the God we worship is that all who call Him Lord are to be united together in their faithful allegiance to Him, just as He is united within Himself.

Read Ephesians 4:1-6

Christians are being called – not just encouraged, mind you, but called – to live a life that is worthy of the name “Christian’. It’s interesting to note that the term “call” is far more than just an invitation to the Christian way of life. It means that we now carry the name Christian, simply because of our faith in Jesus Christ, and that in accepting that name, we have the obligation to live our life as Jesus lived His. We don’t accept the way, we accept the Lord, and in that, we take on the obligation to follow Him. Now it’s true that none of us is able to live the Lord’s life perfectly, but we still must be committed to do our very best, and to strive to do better each and every day.

This life is laid out in verse 2 of our text where we read that it includes being “humble”, “gentle”, “patient”, “bearing” each other, or being fruitful with each other, and loving. And we aren’t to live these attributes in the way the people of earth do, but in the way that Jesus did. And that must be, first and foremost, demonstrated through our unity as the Church.

Paul tells us that this unity must be “of the Spirit through the bond of peace”. In Galatians 5:22-26 we read of the Fruit of the Spirit, and included as #3 in that list is “peace”. It means that even in our differences and disagreements, we are to maintain a sense of unity and harmony with others.

And Paul is very specific in his treatment of unity – he writes that unity must be all pervasive in our lives, and he offers quite a list to lend emphasis to his point.
One Lord – one redeemer, one savior, and we confess that there is no other.
One faith – not allegiance to the gods of earth, but the God who we know through Jesus Christ.
One baptism – dedication and commitment, and only to Christ.
One God and Father of all – one - not many, not our choice – the one and only God.
Over all, through all, in all – united in the only one who is.

Read Ephesians 4:7-10

So what is the purpose of Christ’s grace? It means that we receive as Jesus knows our needs and abilities to experience His grace. It isn’t by our desire, it isn’t by our deserving, it isn’t by our earning – it is by God’s will. We don’t receive more than we can handle or more than we can use – it is granted by God’s wisdom and love. Remember Jesus’ parable of the Talents? In Matthew 25:14-30, one servant received 5 talents to care for, one received 2, and the third 1 – not because the Lord was encouraging discrimination or favoritism, but because He knew what each was capable of handling. And the servant who received one talent refused to use it to grow more for his master, and he lost everything because of his rejection of “the call” and responsibility he had received. The Lord knows us that well, and expects that much from each of us.

The quotation regarding the Lord’s ascension and leading is from Psalm 68:18, and may be a reference to his leading captive Israel out of Egypt and into a higher and grander life. I think that Paul’s purpose for including this reference may be that, for us, he came down from heaven to be our salvation, just as He was the Rescuer for Israel. Again, all offered, all encompassing, in unity.

But how does this relate to the divine unity that is offered to each of us? Back in Genesis 1:26-30, we read that we were created in God’s own image – we are His children by creation. And any loving Father will always be looking out for the good of His offspring. We are one with Him, just as every human father is always related to his children, regardless of what either one may do to hurt, or even denounce, the other. God never breaks the covenantal relationship that has been set in place for us, and He never will – that is the power of heavenly love that came down for all.

Read Ephesians 4:11-13

Romans 12:4-8, and 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 both speak about spiritual gifts, but this Ephesians passage speaks about who receives those gifts and how they are to be used. This is the calling placed on all who receive God’s great gifts from above, and it speaks to the gifts that are referenced in verse 7. The point is that when we come to Christ in faith, we all receive Godly gifts, and each is to be used to further the kingdom, and not to further ourselves. This is to be our service to the Lord, which in and of itself, is our acknowledgement and contribution toward God’s unity. Regardless of whether we are Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, (Galatians 3:25-29), all who come to Christ by faith become one in Him, and receive divine gifts for service in His name.

Paul tells us that we grow with these gifts, and that is how we mature in faith. Faith can never be complacent, it can never be contented, it can never be completed, and we can never be satisfied that our faith and service is sufficient. He writes that God’s gifts are intended to prepare us for service in the name of Jesus, that it might bring about growth in the Body of Christ, that we might become more knowledgeable of Christ and His ways, that we, and the Body, might move toward true maturity as the Church.

Read Ephesians 4:14-16

We are being warned against living a less than mature faith. Paul wants us to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the Rock that our faith is built upon, and that other teachings will never have that stability. False teachers lead us away from Christ’s truth, and Paul’s offer of earthly storms as an image of the world’s lies is right on. They can be misleading and distracting, just as the storm was for Peter when he attempted to walk to Jesus through his storm (Matthew 14:22-33).

The world’s call may seem to be Christ-like, but it is anything but. It’s the world’s neon that attracts us – it’s bright and colorful and even looks like God’s truth, but it is nothing more than a destructive and hateful way of life, and we lose a step in faith every time we listen to worldly lies.

Paul says that instead of listening and responding to the world’s ways, we should be speaking Christ’s truth as mature followers, growing stronger and more faithful and more enthused every time we do. And this is where the connection comes into play.

We usually think of God when we talk about the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. John Wesley even preached a sermon "On The Trinity", But there is another “trinity” that we need to be aware of – that which consists of God, the Church, and the world. When we surrender our life to Jesus Christ and the call that is placed on us, the relationship that the Lord has intended for us begins to produce spiritual fruit. The unity that comes to us by faith leads us to growing in that “bond of peace” that we read of earlier. And together with the Holy Spirit and the rest of the Church, we reach out into the world to share the Gospel message with all who will listen.
This is an important part of our relationship, and it is the only purpose of the Church – to encourage and support each other in spreading the gospel, through Godly unity, to all who have yet to believe! Each of us may be carrying the message to different people, and may be sharing it in unique ways, but the message itself must never change. That is a requirement of our Godly call – that it is Christ’s way that we proclaim, and not our own or someone else’s.

Do we truly believe in God? Do we follow His life and teaching? Do we understand that the only reason that we live together as the Church is because the Father is Father of all? Do we understand that in our oneness, and while we receive varied gifts from the Holy Spirit, we are to use them for a common purpose – that of our personal growth and faithful maturity, and from there, to be about building up the church for Jesus Christ?

We are an integral part of God’s Holy Plan, but do we truly live it?