a note on Ephesians 4:1-10

(2) Saturday, January 19, 2008

Ephesians 4:1-10

"[Be] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.... grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."
(Ephesians 4:3,7)

A note on our Ephesians reading today. This passage is one of the clearest proclamations of the unity of the Body of Christ, and of our calling to maintain that unity. Paul has spent the first half of the epistle glorifying God for the great work he has done in Jesus Christ in bringing together as one those who were estranged and that this church will display the manifold wisdom of God; Paul has just prayed this church will be strengthened with power by the spirit, indwelt by Christ through faith, rooted and grounded in love, comprehending the bounds of that love, and filled with all the fullness of God.

Again, Paul is talking about the church. In this prayer that immediately precedes his unity plea the "you" is plural. The context of being the church, of doing discipleship together, is the power of the Spirit, the indwelling Christ, the love of God and the fullness of God in the people of God.

While I don't know all of what it means, and frankly it scares me to think about it because of what it might mean for my own privacy and personal comfort, this passage reiterates this calling to unity and community and to living out our discipleship not just alongside other individuals, rooting each other on, but somehow actually living it out together. A couple of Wednesday nights ago we looked at a lot of Paul's "one another" commands (do your own study of this) which emphasize our responsibility to and interconnection with one another.

Yesterday I wrote in the "Full House" entry:

This week in a discussion on the Sermon on the Mount I was convicted and convinced that I needed the help of other Christians if I was ever to live it out (by the grace of God and indwelling presence of Christ), and that Jesus gave it not to a bunch of individuals but to a band of disciples, a community of his followers. We really do need each other.

I just want to continue to submit this for our prayers and consideration. I won't go on except to call attention to the "blessed" man described in the psalm, whose righteousness is expressed in terms of his relationship with those around him:

His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely;
he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever...