Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

February 9
Sunday


MAINTAIN
UNITY

READ:
Ephesians 4:1-6
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Endeavoring to keep
the unity of the spirit
in the bond of peace.
__Ephesians 4:3
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A man stranded by himself on an island was finally discovered. His rescuers asked him about the three huts they saw there. He pointed and said, "this one is my home and that one is my church." He then pointed to the third hut: "That was my former church." Though we may laugh at the silliness of this story, it does highlight a concern about unity among believers.

The church of Ephesus during the time of the apostle Paul was comprised of both rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, masters and slaves. And where differences exist, so does friction. One concern Paul wrote about was the issue of unity. But observe what Paul said about this issue in Ephesians 4:3. He didn't tell them to be "eager to produce or to organize unity." He told them to endeavor "to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Unity already exists because believers share one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all (vv.4-6).

How do we "keep the unity"? By expressing our different opinions and convictions with lowliness, gentleness, and patience (v.2). The Spirit will give us the power to react in love toward those with whom we disagree. __Albert Lee

```````````````````````````Lord, may our walk and our service be a``````````````````````
````````````````````````picture of the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit in``````````````````
````````````````````````heaven above. Fill us with the fruit of the Spirit`````````````````
````````````````````````````that we might love others as you desire.`````````````````````
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Unity among believers comes
from our union with Christ.

**************************************Today's Bible Reading __ Ephesians 4:1-6********************************

1 I, therefore, the prisoner
of the Lord, beseech you to
walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called,

2 with all lowliness and
gentleness, with
longsuffering, bearing
with one another in love,

3 endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. 4 There is
one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called in
one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; 6 one God and
Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in
you all.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The letter to the Ephesians contains practical advice about following
Christ. Today's passage is a very clear admonition on what that
entails. In verse 1, Paul asks the believers in Ephesus to "walk
worthy of the calling with which you were called." In verses
2-3, he explains just what that means: to be lowly and gentle,
patient (longsuffering), "bearing with one another in love," and
"endeavoring to keep...the bond of peace." All of these elaborate
on how we are to interact with those around us. What happens in
our relationship with Christ impacts our other relationships.

[Dora]

Yes! Thank you for sharing.