This week we are focusing on Ephesians 4:1-6, the text that Local Impact Pastor Chris McElwee will teach from on Sunday, November 28.

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

In Ephesians 4:1, Paul turns a corner. In his letter up to this point, he has taught these believers, he has prayed for them, and now he is ready to challenge them to translate that doctrine into life-to start living in a way that is worthy of their calling.

"In light of all God has done and the riches of His amazing grace-in light of the fact that He chose you to be part of His own family, and brought you from death to life, from slavery to freedom, from alienation into a family relationship, and from hopelessness to a hope-filled eternity. In light of all this," Paul writes, "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

Like newly adopted children who suddenly find themselves part of a royal family, Paul elevates our lives to a whole new standard of living based on who we are in Christ. Live lives, he says, befitting those who have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight (Eph. 1:3), redeemed and forgiven through Christ's blood (1:7), and saved by God's amazing grace (2:8-9). Live in a way that reflects your new standing as adopted members of God's own family.

Father,

I look forward to eternity, when my thoughts will turn naturally to praising You for all You have done for me. But for today, when so much conspires to distract me, I need Your Spirit, I need a constant realignment based on the truth of Your Word, and I need the strength of Your power to think and speak and act like one who belongs to You. Thank You for providing all I need to live a life that brings You glory. Help me to apply it and use it.

Amen

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 4:1-6, the text that Local Impact Pastor Chris McElwee will teach from on Sunday, November 28.

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul has spelled out all God has done for us in Christ, and now he moves into three chapters of describing God's new society in action. But rather than laying out an organizational chart for the church, or suggesting a schedule of events and programs, he begins by focusing on what kind of people we should be and what qualities should dominate our lives.

In fact, he sets the standard incredibly high, and taken apart from its context in this letter, his list might be seen as overly demanding, or even impossible to take literally. Notice that verse 2 does not just say, "Be humble and gentle," but, "Be completely humble and gentle." And in verse 3, we read, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit." Who can do that?

Paul is not telling us to put on a smiley face and pretend everything is fine. He's setting a standard for our attitude of love and gentleness, humility, patience, and tolerance that would be impossible, humanly speaking.

So, where does it come from-this gentleness, patience, and humility? This love that makes allowances for the faults of others? It comes out of His glorious riches, His power that strengthens us, His Spirit in our inner being-Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith.

Reread Ephesians 3:16-19, and refer to those verses often, commit them to memory, pray through them-because the truth they contain describes the only way we can be the people we need to be.

Father,

Bring unity within Your Church, and start with me. In my daily interactions-with the people I live with and work with and worship with-help me to live out the evidence of Your work in my life, through Your Spirit and by Your grace.

Amen

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 4:1-6, the text that Local Impact Pastor Chris McElwee will teach from on Sunday, November 28. Below is that text in the New Living Translation.

¹Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ²Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. ³Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. ⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.

Have you ever felt like your faith is something just between you and God? Are you ever tempted to pull back from people-particularly difficult people?

Truthfully, it would be surprising if any of us could have gotten this far in our Ephesians studies still thinking that doing it alone is any part of God's plan for us, or to contend that our faith is primarily something that happens in private. In fact, if the teachings in chapters 2 and 3 haven't blown away our "going solo" tendencies, then Paul's next three chapters-nearly all dealing with our human relationships and how the new "society of the redeemed" is to operate-should convince us entirely.

Unity is not avoiding people or hiding our feelings in order to get along. It's not backing off when someone annoys us or hurts our feelings. In fact, if we are going to put this week's text into practice, we are going to need to bring other people-along with all their flaws-into the picture, and authentically interact. As we confront and work through our differences, guided by Scripture and led by the Holy Spirit, we gain confidence and create a Christ-centered momentum-experiencing healthy community, where fellowship grows deeper, and believers challenge and encourage each other to grow in their faith.

Unity, Paul says, requires that God's Spirit will shape us, and grow the necessary qualities in our lives. Reread verses 2-3 and meditate on how each of those qualities are being built into your own life, and where you've seen examples of these qualities in the lives of others.

Father,

Give me opportunities today to practice unity with other Christ followers-to know and be known by my brothers and sisters in the faith. Help us live in unity, as we show humility, gentleness, patience, and love toward one another. Bind us together in peace.

Amen

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 4:1-6, the text that Local Impact Pastor Chris McElwee will teach from on Sunday, November 28.

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

If you wanted to sum up Paul's teaching of Ephesians thus far, you could hardly imagine a more eloquent and to-the-point summary of these profound truths than what we find in the second half of this week's text. 

Read phrase-by-phrase through verses 4-6 and drink in the truth of that powerful description of our oneness in Christ. Reflect on what each of these foundational unifying truths means to you as one who is fully vested-with full access and full privilege-in it all.

One body

One Spirit

One hope

One Lord

One faith

One baptism

One God and Father of all!

Father,

Use the truth of these verses to clarify the foundational truths that I share with Christ's followers everywhere. Make these unifying truths a reality that binds me together with other believers, here and around the world. Help me to live and work and worship with other believers in ways that reflects our unity in Christ.

Amen

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 4:1-6, the text that Local Impact Pastor Chris McElwee will teach from on Sunday, November 28.

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

What a powerful picture God's Word provides when it labels the family of believers the "body of Christ," giving us an object lesson that is with us every day, wherever we go. Picture the human head-the brain-that keeps the heart beating and sends steady and dependable signals to the diaphragm and lungs that maintains a necessary supply of life-giving oxygen. Think of all the various organs and structures that receive and respond to chemical signals that trigger needed actions and the production of blood cells, hormones, enzymes, and more-and of the hands, the fingers, the legs, and the feet that move in immediate response to lightning-fast impulses from the brain.

That's how we wake up and get on with the tasks of each day. It's the way we take actions both meaningful and mundane, and do the things we need and want to do.

A healthy body, when everything is working as intended, is really a pretty amazing thing. But even the smallest malfunction of one or two critical parts can be devastating. We've all seen enough of the disease and damaged that happens in this broken world to know that not all bodies are healthy or functioning as intended. Think about what happens when a piece of the heart muscle stops functioning, or the kidneys fail.

The fact that God's Word uses the picture of the body to represent the church creates a powerful image of what happens when the parts of that body stop functioning as God intended.

But for today, as we meditate on Paul's call to us to walk in unity, let's think about what it would mean to be part of a fully functioning and healthy body of Christ, instantly responsive to our Head, perfectly coordinated and working together in harmony with all the other parts. That's the church as God created it-an organism so powerful and unstoppable that no force the enemy can muster can stand against it.

Father,

Keep that picture before me today, of a healthy and functioning body that responds to Your will without hesitation. Help me to see myself and the believers in my church as people chosen by You in Your unfolding plan for the ages, living and serving in unity for Your glory. 

Amen