Ron Dunn Podcast - Spirit Of Unity

Episode Date: December 28, 2022

Ron Dunn speaks on Unity from the book of Ephesians

Open your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4, and we're going to read the first six verses, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. And we're continuing our study in the Holy Spirit's ministry in the life of the believer. Few books of the New Testament have as much rich material and revelation concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit as does the book of Ephesians. The work of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4, the first six verses. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation

wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all.

Now I want to read again the fourth verse. Or rather the third verse. Paul says, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One phrase. The unity of the Spirit. The unity of the Spirit. The unity of the Spirit.

God places a premium on unity. Have you ever studied, have you ever noticed the emphasis that God places on unity in the Bible? The unity of believers. Over and over again, as you read through the Gospels, and in particular the Epistles, you find this recurring phrase, one accord, one heart, one mind. As Paul writes to the church at Philippi, the word sin is not even found in the book of Philippians.

Philippi, the church there, was probably as much a pleasure to Paul as any other church that ever existed. And as far as we can discern from the letter itself, there was only one thing, one problem. And it was that a couple of the ladies were having a little disunity problem. And Paul says, I beseech them that they be of one mind. In the book of Acts, over and over again, you'll find these phrases. Of one accord.

They were of one heart. They were of one soul. On the day of Pentecost, they were all of one accord. In Acts chapter 4, again, when the Spirit of God filled them, it says they were of one heart and of one soul.

God places a special premium on unity. The psalmist said it is good for brethren to dwell together in unity. And in John chapter 17, you'll find one of the most important statements concerning this unity of believers to be found in the Bible. Jesus is interceding for us, and he says in verse 19, as he prays to the Father before he goes to the cross, And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Now notice what his prayer at this particular point is. That they all, not just a few, but all may be one.

As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Now notice the petition, that they may be one. Notice the pattern, as you and I are one. The measure of that unity, the example of that unity, the standard of that unity, as you and I are one. Notice the purpose of that unity, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. He goes on in the 22nd verse, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect

in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Now the astounding thing about that passage to me is not so much that Jesus is praying there for our unity, because I have seen that before. Not even that that unity is to be matched, rather it's to match the unity that exists between Jesus and his Father, because I've seen that before. But what I really never saw before until recently was that this unity, this visible, obvious unity of believers is the evidence that the world has that God sent Jesus into the

world. And twice he says it. He says that the world may know that thou hast sent me. And not only that, that thou hast loved them and that you have loved me. Jesus is saying, if the church, if believers, if Christians are not in unity and they are not in harmony, if there is not a oneness about believers, the world is never going to believe that Jesus Christ was sent by God. The world is never going to believe that God loves us. The greatest evidence, Jesus is saying, the greatest evidence that the world has

that what we say and preach about Jesus is true is the fact of our unity. If there is disunity, if there is quarreling, if there is disharmony, if there is strife, then everything you and I preach and say to the world concerning Jesus Christ coming into the world, being the Lord, being the Messiah, concerning his love and redemption to us,

the world doesn't believe it. Because the evidence that they see and the evidence they have is the unity of believers. And this is why God has such a preeminent position for oneness and unity. Now, what does he mean by unity? What is the unity of the Spirit? I have two main things I want to say about this unity as revealed in this passage. Number one, the Holy say about this unity as revealed in this passage. Number one, the Holy Spirit produces this unity. The Holy Spirit produces the unity. Notice in the third verse, he says that you and I are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Notice it's the unity of the Spirit, the unity which comes from the Spirit. The Holy Spirit produces this unity. Now, the unity exists whether you see it or not. The unity is there whether you believe it or not, because the Holy Spirit has supernaturally produced this unity. Now, this, first of all, reveals to us the nature or the essence of this unity. What kind of unity is he talking about? Well, I wrote in the margin of my Bible that the word is unity, not unison. Now, you know the difference between unity and unison. Unison is everybody singing the same note. Is that right? Right. Unison would be everybody in the same place. That's not necessarily unity.

We all may be singing the same note, but I might want to sing another note while I'm singing that same note. There may be disunity in my unison. Years ago I heard an evangelist describe the difference between unity and unison like this. He said you can take two tomcats and tie their tails together and throw them over a fence and you've got unison, but you don't have unity. What Paul is speaking of here is a spiritual unity. It is not an ecumenical unity. It is not an organizational unity. It's not an ecclesiastical unity. It's not a mechanical unity. You cannot legislate unity. You can legislate unison, but you cannot legislate unity.

And the problem with so many church leaders today is they're seeking unity, and they think that you're going to have unity by having everybody come together in one big church. That's not unity. That's unison, but that is not unity. This is a unity that is produced by the Holy Spirit, not produced by an organization, not produced by a plan that is produced by the Holy Spirit, not produced by an organization, not produced by a plan, not produced by man. It is a heart unity. It is a fellowship. It doesn't mean that all of us think the same and have the same idea about everything, but it means that all

of us are of one heart and of one spirit and of one love. And there may be in this church 2,000 people, but we all beat as one heart and we all think as one mind and we all have one desire, and that is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a unity of heart and a unity of spirit and a unity of fellowship. It is a unity that can only be produced by the Holy Spirit. It's a spiritual

unity, not an organizational unity. I think this unity sometimes is best seen by me when I go to a meeting where it's interdenominational. I don't go to very many. I'm not invited to very many. Most of my preaching and most of your listening has been done within the confines of a denomination. And you know, you get to thinking after a while that you're the only one safe and that everybody else out there, they don't know what it's all about. And the amazing thing that I keep discovering as I go to these interdenominational meetings where just believers there, no denominational label is, that there is a unity there that is produced not by a denominational label, not by an organization, not even by a doctrine, but it is a unity

that is produced by the Holy Spirit. And there is the life of Jesus flowing through each person. And that unity of Jesus Christ as he indwells us through the Holy Spirit draws us together. And there is a unity in this church. We have diverse backgrounds and educations and jobs and likes and dislikes. Some of you like short hair, some like long hair. And some make good money and some make bad money. and some are literate and some are more literate. But there is a unity, a unity of spirit, and it is that oneness, that oneness is produced by the Holy Spirit. Now, I want you to notice the elements of this unity. What is it that makes us one? Where

does this unity come from? Now, in verses 4, 5, and 6, he gives us the foundation or the grounds of our unity. And let me emphasize the unity does not come from any outward organization, any ecclesiastical plan. It doesn't come from that, but it comes from a spiritual experience. And in verses 4, 5, and 6, we have the elements of this unity. What makes us one? Now, there are three things mentioned in verse 4, three things mentioned in verse 5, one thing mentioned in verse 6. There's a trio, and each one of you will notice in each verse one member of the Godhead is featured. And in this trio of facts, you have the basis of spiritual unity. All right, let's look at verse 4. There is one body.

What is it that makes all believers one? Because we have a common family, a common family, one body. All of us who are saved, whether you're Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, if you're saved, if you have been born again, you are a member of the body of Christ. You belong to one family. That is the first basis of our unity is we have a common family. All right, notice the second thing. There is one spirit. You have a common life.

A common family, a common life. The same spirit that indwells me indwells you. And the same spirit that indwells me indwells you. And the same Spirit that indwells you indwells this brother. And the same Holy Spirit that indwells this brother indwells this person. And that is the basis of unity. And by the way, let me just throw in here, as we're in the neighborhood, we'll just drop by. You know, there are some that teach

that you receive the Holy Spirit after you're saved. That you receive Jesus Christ first, and then later on, in an experience that is called by many different names, you receive the Holy Spirit just as you receive Jesus. And I have a book in my office, Seven Steps to Receiving the Holy Spirit. But let me just say something about that. That kind of teaching destroys two things. First of all, it destroys the unity of the Godhead. The Bible says that all the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth in Jesus, and that you are filled with it too, in him. And to say that you receive Jesus, and then later on you receive the Holy Spirit,

is saying that you can have part of the Godhead without having the other part of the Godhead. Jesus doesn't go where the Father isn't and where the Holy Spirit isn't. Everything Jesus did, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he said, it's the Father who dwells in me. He does the works. In John chapter 14, he said, the Holy Spirit will be in you and I will be in you and the Father also will be in you. There is a unity in the Godhead. And to say that we receive Jesus now and receive the Holy Spirit later is to destroy

the oneness of the Godhead. But not only does it destroy the unity of the Godhead, it destroys the unity of believers. The thing that makes us unified and makes us one body is the fact that we all have the same Spirit indwelling us. We have a common life, and the same life that lives in me tonight lives in you, and that is the basis of our unity. Not anything external, not anything superficial, but that which is inward, the Holy Spirit. And if there is to be a unity of believers, it must require the Holy Spirit in dwelling every believer. There is a unity because we have a common life. Notice he says we are called in one hope. We have a common future, a common goal. Every person who's been saved, every person who has been born again, he's a member of the body of Christ. He has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him,

and he looks forward to the day when he shall be redeemed from the body of this death. And that is the first basis of his unity. All right, notice verse 5. We have a common master. There is one Lord. Now, this is the name given to Jesus, but notice he doesn't say one Jesus. He says one Lord. Now this is the name given to Jesus. But notice he doesn't say one Jesus. He says one Lord. Nobody, nobody can receive the Holy Spirit until Jesus Christ becomes Lord. Nobody can be saved if they do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord. We have a common master. That's where our unity comes from.

Second, we have a common experience. One faith. Now, the word faith here doesn't refer to faith as a body of doctrines or beliefs, but it refers to the experience of trust, of committing your life to that Lord. We have a common master, we have a common experience, and we have a common confirmation of that experience, one baptism. Now, some believe that that refers to water baptism. Others believe that refers to spirit baptism. Doesn't make any difference whether it refers to water baptism or spirit baptism. When a person is saved, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, we are all baptized in one spirit into the body of Christ. And that baptism of the Holy Spirit

is the confirmation of our salvation. If it refers to water baptism, it means the same thing. When a person is baptized, they are giving outward confirmation that they have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord. They are scripturally confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. Personally, I believe this refers to the baptism of the Spirit because not everybody who's saved has been baptized in water so I believe this refers to the Spirit baptism that is the confirmation of our salvation the moment you have that experience of faith in the one Lord the Holy Spirit baptizes you into his body.

Now notice in verse 6, we not only have a common master and a common experience and a common confirmation, we have a common father. That's the real basis of our unity. One God and father of all. Notice how Paul emphasizes this. He's the father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. Somebody said that's why they knew Paul all, and through all, and in you all. Somebody said that's why they knew Paul was a Southern Baptist, because he said you all. We have a common Father. He's the source of all life. He's the Father of all. He is the sovereign of all life. He is above all. He is the sustainer of all life. He is through all, and he's the secret of all life. He is above all. He is the sustainer of all life. He is through all, and he's the secret of all life.

He is in all. The secret of the life of the believer is the fact that the Father, through the Holy Spirit, dwells in him. And that's the basis of our unity. And that's the only way Christians will ever get together, to amount to anything. And that's where real unity comes in. And this unity is produced by the Holy Spirit. Now, point number two. The unity is produced by the Spirit. It is to be preserved by the saints. You know, it's an amazing thing. I'm constantly asking God to do something He wants me to do,

and I'm constantly wanting to do something God says that he alone can do. Have you ever noticed that? I want you to analyze your prayer life and your want life as far as it relates to spiritual things, and I think you'll discover that one of your problems, one of my problems is that we're constantly trying to do the things that only God can do, and we're trying to constantly trying to do the things that only God can do, and we're trying to get God to do the things that we ought to do.

I have sometimes heard people pray that the Lord would preserve the unity of the church, and yet Paul here says that it is our responsibility to preserve that unity. He says in the third verse that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit produces that unity. It exists, but it is your responsibility, my responsibility, to perpetuate, to preserve that unity. He says we are to endeavor to keep. And the word keep means simply to maintain, to maintain that unity. The Holy Spirit attained it.

We're to maintain it. I like that word endeavoring. It really can't be translated into English. It takes about six Greek words to bring out the full meaning of the word endeavoring. It means to be in a hurry. It means zeal. It means to burn within.

Paul is saying that our desire to maintain and preserve the unity ought to be a burning desire within us, and we ought to hastily and speedily do everything that we can to preserve and maintain the unity of believers. Now, the reason is obvious, not only for our own enjoyment, but also for the world's evidence that God has sent Jesus Christ into the world. There is no more valuable possession that this church has than its spiritual unity. The unity, the oneness.

And I tell you that there is nothing that will substitute for it. And you can build buildings and have preachers and have choirs and have equipment and have facilities, but I want you to know that there is not the unity of the Spirit, the oneness of heart. Have any of you ever been in a church where that oneness was not there? Have any of you ever been in a church where that oneness was not there? Have you ever been in a church where that oneness was not there? Can anything substitute for it? There is no substitute. There is no substitute. It's important to me, I guess, that we build a building, but we can get along without me, I think. I know. And we can get along without Jameel, and we can get along without the deacons. I tell you, there's one thing

we can't get along without. We cannot get along without the oneness of the Spirit, the unity of the Spirit. And as a fellowship of believers, we ought to hasten, to burn with zeal, to preserve the unity, the unity of the Spirit. There are three ways you can do it. First of all, you do it by walking honestly. Look what he says in verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of a vocation wherewith you are called. Now the word vocation is really the translation of a word for calling.

And what Paul is saying is I beseech you that you walk worthy of your calling wherewith you are called. What is the calling of the believer? What is the calling? We read it earlier in John 17. Jesus prayed, I pray, Father, that they may be one as you and I are one. In other words, God has called us to be one as he is one. And we are to walk honestly. In other words, if we're not going to walk in that unity, we ought to change our name. Ought to change our calling. To walk worthy of the name or to walk worthy of that calling with

which you've been called means to walk in such a way that will harmonize with that calling. In other words, if I have been called to be a soldier, then my life must be lived in such a way as to harmonize with that calling. If I have been called to be a doctor, then my life, my walk, my behavior must be honest to that name, to that title. If God has called me to be a preacher, then my behavior must be honest with that calling. God says you have a calling, and you had better walk worthy of that calling. And that calling is that you and I might preserve the unity of the Holy Spirit.

And I tell you that if there's a believer in any church, Baptist, Methodist, or Presbyterian, that does not intend to do everything he can to preserve the unity of the Spirit and to preserve the unity of the fellowship, he ought to take down his shingle and get out of the Spirit and to preserve the unity of the fellowship, he ought to take down his shingle and get out of the church. He has to walk honestly. If you're going to call yourself a Christian and say that you've been called of God

and you have one Lord and there's one faith and one God and one Lord and one baptism, then you ought to be honest about it. And you're dishonest when you wear the name and you walk not worthy of that name.

Walk worthily. Walk honestly. Second, in order to preserve the unity of the Spirit, you have to walk humbly. You have to walk in humility. Notice the second verse. He says that we're to walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. Now, the word lowliness indicates lowliness of mind.

And it is a word that is sometimes translated humility. It really means a person's attitude towards himself, and that attitude towards himself is one of lowliness. Now, it doesn't mean he's putting himself down. It doesn't mean that he's knocking himself out and saying he's no account, no good. But it means that his estimate of himself, his evaluation of himself, is a lowly estimate.

Now, how do you get a lowly estimate? You get a lowly estimate of yourself two ways. Number one, by self-knowledge. And if you've never come to know yourself or been honest enough to face yourself, then you don't know what you really are. There is no person who honestly will face himself and know what's in his own heart and know what's in his own mind who can have a high estimate of himself because he realizes that in his own heart is the potential of sin of wickedness and ungodliness he knows that he's nothing more than a sinner saved by grace and there but for the grace of God go I and he has a self-knowledge he knows knows himself, he knows his weakness, he knows his frailty,

and therefore because he knows himself and he's honest and he faces it, he's lowly. But it comes not only by self-knowledge, but it comes also by knowledge comparing ourselves with the Savior. And he's the standard. The Bible says in Romans 3, 23, that for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that's all that sin is,

is coming short of the glory of God. And so when you compare yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, compare your life with his life, the only way you can come out is to be lowly of mind. Now, of course, this deals the death blow to pride and haughtiness

and a party spirit and wanting to have my way and doing my thing and pleasing myself and nobody else. Lowliness of mind. I guarantee you there'd never be a strife, there'd never be an unkind word, there'd never be any disunity in any church if every believer fell right into that category, walking in lowliness of mind. Second thing is meekness. Meekness.

We've discussed this word many times. It simply means to be God-controlled rather than self-controlled. Not controlled by your passions, not controlled by your emotions, means to be controlled by God. Well, if you could ever get free of being controlled by your emotions,

you'd be in good shape. Last time you got angry, you got angry because you were controlled by your emotions. Last time you got your feelings hurt got angry because you were controlled by your emotions. Last time you got your feelings hurt, you were being controlled by your emotions. Last time you had an argument, you were controlled by your emotions. Last time you worried and lost your temper, you were controlled by your emotions. Last time you got mad at Sister So-and-So at circle meeting, it's because you were controlled by your emotions. Last time you got angry at

Brother So-and-So at deacon's meeting, it's because you were controlled by your emotion. Last time you got angry at Brother So-and-so at Deacon's meeting is because you were controlled by your emotions rather than controlled by God. Meekness. Meekness. The next thing is longsuffering. The best way I know to translate longsuffering is put-up-withness. Put-up-withness. It's just putting up with things and it refers primarily to people just putting up with their weakness putting up with their stubbornness putting up with their selfishness just putting up with it

and notice the next word forbearing one another in love and that word means simply to endure you put up with that fellow and you just endure him. And you do it in love as the Lord has done it. Walking in humility, esteeming the other better than yourself. And there's one final thing. We don't have time to comment on it, just to mention it. We must walk in holiness, to walk in holiness. And you'll find this in verses 22 and following. Holiness is both negative and positive.

You'll notice there is a negative command and a positive command. In verse 22, he says that we are to put off some things concerning our former life. And in verse 24, we're to put on some things. Put off the old life, put on the new life. Put off the characteristics of the lost life, put on the characteristics of the saved life. A person walks in honesty, honest to his calling, honest to the name that God has given him. He walks in humility, lowliness of mind, not pushing himself in front of others, forbearing others, long-suffering, being controlled not by his emotions, not by himself, not by his wants or wishes,

but being controlled by the will of God, enduring, enduring, putting up with what other people put out, and walking in holiness, putting off the former things and putting on the life of Jesus Christ. And when believers walk in that way, they will preserve the unity of the Holy Spirit, and the world will know that the Jesus that we preach is truly the one sent from God. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent.

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