Now as we continue with our studies in taking lessons from the church at Ephesus, I'm going to read to you now from the Epistle to the Ephesians chapter four. The Epistle to the Ephesians chapter four, now read the first seven verses or the first six verses of this chapter. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye are worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring 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. I'm sure the Lord will bless to us the reading of these verses. Let us bow for prayer. Our Father, we thank thee for these revelations of truth found in thy word. We thank thee for what we have already learned from this wonderful epistle. The truth concerning redemption in Christ Jesus. The truth concerning reconciliation. the truth concerning the revelation of the one body, the church, with Christ as the head. And now as we have read again from thy word, we do as, by thy Holy Spirit, help each listener to understand and take it in, but above all, give us the grace, O God, to be able to live out in a practical way these things that we learn from thy word. Hear us in these things, for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. Now we come to this chapter, chapter four. Now, in the first three chapters, we've been learning things concerning the calling of the church. I hope that by now my listeners have learned this, that there is a difference between the earthly calling and the heavenly calling. That is, you've learned to distinguish between Jew and Gentile and the Church of God. When God called Abraham, he gave to Abraham certain promises. The covenants that they entered into had to do with earthly things. And the Jews had covenants with God, but their calling was an earthly calling. It had to do with a land and with material things. But when we come to the Epistle, to the Ephesians, we're dealing with church truth. And the calling of the church is a heavenly calling. That very expression is used in the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter three, where he says, Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of your confession. So we're dealing here in these first three chapters, with the particular calling of the church. But where there is the calling, there ought to be the conduct. And that conduct should correspond to the nature of the calling. One has said, it's like this. You set up the balance. In the one side of the balance, you place all the things pertaining to your calling. On the other side of the balance, you place the things pertaining to your conduct. And the things associated with our conduct should balance up with the things pertaining to our calling. So therefore, we're dealing here in this particular passage now with the believers' positional relationship. Number one, in the first three verses there is the plea for unity. Then verses four through six, there is the principle of unity. So he is dealing here with the subject then of unity. The plea for unity found in the first three verses. Number one, there is the worthy walk. Paul presents his plea for the believers to live a balanced life. And therefore, we must set up the balances of truth. Into the one side we place the weight of our calling, as I have already indicated, which is associated with our standing in Christ, while in the other side we place our conduct, and that has to do with our state. Now these things should balance each other in quality and in testimony. I wonder how many of my listeners today have taken time to consider and study the difference between the standing of the Christian and the state of the Christian. Some Christians haven't even learned the truth about their standing, and others who know about their standing have never learned the truth about their state. You see, our standing is associated with our calling. We have learned in the first three chapters that we have been called by God. We have been raised up. We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly. Our acceptance by God then is in Christ the beloved. You're placed in Christ. That's your standing. That's what gives you an acceptance with God. That's how God sees us in His beloved Son. But then chapter four brings us right back down to F. And we're not in heaven yet. We're still on F. And here it's our conduct that's in view, or if you like, our state. Now our state ought to correspond with our standing. Now a number of years ago, during World War II, members of the forces were taken overseas. In a certain European city, there was a number of boys from the American Navy, from the United States Navy, and they were walking along one of the main streets in a European city. I don't think they had been drinking. I'm almost positive they hadn't been, but they were acting as if they were. The fact is they had their hats at a very unusual angle, and they were just shoveling along in a slovenly manner, and unknown to them, there was one of their military policemen, at least there were two of their military policemen just hiding in at a doorway watching them. They let them go for a short time, And then went over to them and stopped them. Now the strange thing was there. I was watching all this. And I saw these boys. Whenever they saw the policemen, the forces policemen approaching them, they changed. My, they drew to attention very quickly. And within a very short time, they had their hats properly placed on their head. They straightened themselves up, and they looked like real sailors. Now you see, the thing was this. They were still sailors. They were still members of the Navy, but they weren't acting like it. They were acting like old bombs, as if they were drunk. Whether they were trying to put on a face or not, I don't know. But the moment they came face to face with their superiors, then the scene changed. and they made their conduct correspond with their calling. You see, it seemed to be beneath the dignity of those in the United States forces to act like that on the streets of a strange city, so that their conduct or their state ought to correspond with their calling or their standing. Now, in like manner in the spiritual sense, what God has made us in Christ, He expects us to be. There is to be a worthy walk. We have to walk like those who are in Christ. He says, I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. What God has made you, he expects you to be. Now therefore there's the plea here for the worthy walk. Then there is the forbearing spirit. Notice what he says. With all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. When we think of this forbearing spirit then, this is the expression of Christian love. First, there is loneliness of mind, seeing ourselves as God sees us, and taking our true place with all love. lowliness. Now after all we were considering in a previous study that we've got to bring to remembrance what we wear and every time we think of what we wear it should keep us very lowly. We've got nothing to boast about except all our boasting should be in the cross of Christ. It's only what he has done for us only by his grace that we are what we are. So therefore there's to be a forbearing spirit. First of all, there's to be the lowliness of mind. And if we see ourselves as God sees us, we'll take our true place in all through lowliness. Then there is to be meekness of spirit. Accepting all of God's dealings with us as being good. For it says with all lowliness and meekness. Now you know Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth. But meekness is not weakness. Now a man may be weak but not meek. Moses was far from being weak. He was a strong man. He was a powerful man. He seemed to have a powerful mind. He was a born leader was Moses. He was an educated man in all the arts of the Egyptians. And see, for forty years he led God's people right from Egypt, right to the borders of the promised land. All the years they were in the wilderness, he was a leader. He was a strong man. But he was meek, meek in spirit. So therefore we should be meek. The Lord Jesus Christ was meek. He said so. Take my yoke upon your land of me. for I am meek and lowly in heart. He was meek. Then we have to be long suffering. Now long suffering means leaving the offender time to repent. Long suffering, forbearing one another in love. Now you see the thought here is this, that if we have this forbearing spirit and someone offends us, and there's someone doing something that's wrong, causing us to suffer. How often have you heard people said, Oh, I have been suffering for a long time now? Yes, but it may be they're not long-suffering. You'll say suffering long and long-suffering seem to be two entirely different things. But we have to be long-suffering. We're accepting this. in order to bear with the other party, for bearing one another, and you're doing it in love. Leaving the offender time to repent. But then, notice what this peaceful bond really is. Now, unity was created by breaking down the middle wall of partition. We learned that in chapter three. The middle wall of partition was broken down. and abolishing the enmity which had existed. So now, that unity must be maintained in the uniting bond of peace. Remember then what it costs the Lord to create this unity in peace. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Now, let me put it like this to you. If you go back to the Old Testament in Psalm one hundred and thirty-three, there you have a beautiful picture of unity. How good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity, says the psalmist, in that beautiful psalm. Then he gives us two outstanding illustrations of that unity. It's a picture of unity. It is like the holy anointing oil that was poured on Aaron's head that ran down his beard and touched the skirt of his garment in plain words. The oil that was poured on the head sanctified the whole body. Now we've just learned from our previous study that Christ is the head and we are the members of the body. Now here he speaks of endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If the oil has been poured on the head and Christ was anointed, that same bond runs down, touches every member of the body. Now we're not asked to create this unity. The unity was created. We're not asked to make it. We're asked to keep it. Now then. Not only do we have the picture of unity back in the Psalms, we have a prayer for unity in John chapter seventeen, where the Lord Jesus Christ is praying the Father. He addresses him as Father. as Holy Father, as righteous Father, and he prays that they may be one even as we are one. That is, he's praying for those that the Father has given to him, and he's praying for their unity. It's a prayer for unity in John seventeen. Here it is a plea for unity. But I hope that all my listeners today have got the perfect idea of this unity. There's a difference between a union and a unity. There's a lot of people, members of a union, but they're not in unity. There's a lot of people trying to unite all the different denominations today, and they're calling it unity. That's not unity. We're not asked to make this unity. We're asked to keep the unity. This unity has already been made. And now we're asked to keep this unity in the bond of peace. Now remember again what it cost the Lord to create this unity. It cost him his life's blood at Calvary. It was there that he obtained this peace. It was there that he broke down that middle wall of partition. It cost the Lord the great sacrifice of the cross. Here now is the peaceful bond, there endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Here then is the plea for unity in those first three verses. Now verses four through six he outlines to us the principle of unity. Notice the principle of unity is based upon seven things. A great number of people today are crying out for unity and they're trying to tell me and tell others That there's no need for people to be so strict on certain doctrines. That doctrines are of no value at all as long as we are united. My friend, you cannot unite darkness with light. You'll come up with twilight. Neither one thing or the other. You cannot mix water with earth. If you do, you'll come up with mud. Now you see there are certain things that are different. Night and day are different. Darkness and light are different. And you must distinguish between things where God has made a difference. So therefore, when you speak of unity, remember this unity must be according to the teachings of the Word of God. This unity in Ephesians four is based upon seven one things. He starts off by saying this. There is one body. Now that one body, note now, in the church which is his body, there is no national, racial, or denominational distinctions, only one body. That one body, which is the true church, does not take the name of any country, nor yet does it take the name of any city. This one body is universal. You break down every barrier. The middle wall of partition is taken away. The national thing is gone. Racial thing is gone. There's no denominational barrier. There's only one body. If you are a Christian and you meet with another Christian, then both of you are members of the same body. Then he says there is only one spirit. As a common life pulsates throughout every member of a human body, so the Holy Spirit indwells each believer individually and also the whole body collectively. All this teaching today that tells us that some Christians have the Spirit and some Christians have not the Spirit does not fit in with the teaching of the Word of God. If any man is not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, so that there is only one Spirit. And it's a common life that pulsates throughout every member of the body. Then not only does he say one body and one spirit, but you're called in one hope of your calling. Every believer in Christ has the same hope, and it includes all that is prepared for the church at the return of the Lord. The great hope of the Christian is the coming of the Lord, and not only his coming at the time of the rapture, not only his coming for his saints, but his coming with his saints. in order to set up his kingdom and to reign. Remember, Jesus shall reign. Wherever the sun does his successive journeys run, his kingdom stretched from shore to shore, till moon shall wax and wane no more. Every believer has this one hope that Christ shall yet be seen. He shall be manifested in all his power and glory and be acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then he says, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Lord. This is the central truth, and every believer should be subject to the Lordship of Christ and be obedient to his rule. You know, in the church at Corinth, this is what had gone wrong. There were those in the church at Corinth who were not acknowledging the Lordship of Christ. They were pleasing themselves what they would do, doing their own thing, to use a modern expression. And do you know that seventy times over in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, He uses the name of the Lord or the title of the Lord, seemingly to draw their attention to the fact that they must acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. There is one Lord. But then there is one faith. Do you remember where your Christian experience began? If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. There's your faith. This surely is the body of doctrine delivered once for all unto the saints, and for which we are exhorted to contend earnestly. Now, you exercise faith. That is the thing you believe with. But the one faith, I suggest, goes much further than that. And the one faith is this whole body of doctrine. It's been delivered to us. So be sure that you don't take anything from it. Don't add anything to it, and certainly do not alter anything that's in it. Then he says, there is one baptism. All this has created a lot of controversy with different denominations. What is the one baptism? We're not speaking here of the mode of baptism, although I do believe that the Scripture speaks it is by immersion. Otherwise, it's not baptism. But this baptism here, while many of my good friends believe that this is the baptism of Christians, I'm going to go a lot further than that. I suggest that this baptism is the baptism of suffering that the Lord endured when he suffered the death of the cross. You remember he said, I have a baptism to be baptized with. How am I straightened until it be accomplished? It will be found upon close examination that all other baptisms have a common denominator with a point of meeting, and a point of meaning in this baptism suffered. by the Lord. So that even the baptism of Christians must be connected with the thought of the baptism that he endured in his suffering. We are associated with him in his death, in his burial and resurrection. And then he says there is one God and Father. He is the supreme ruler over all and the controller of all and the indweller of the believer, and so therefore he gives us the principle of unity, based upon the certain one thing.