SPEAKER_00 0:02

Have you noticed just how much emphasis Paul places on the unity of the church? Without unity, we are divided and broken. Pastor Wei stirs us to go further in unity and knowledge of the Son of God in his message today.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

This morning, church, we are talking about the unity of the church, the unity of the faith and knowledge that we have in Jesus. And I'm sure that at many points in our life we have uh all heard about how important unity is. Right? When I was younger, uh we learned we have to learn this Chinese proverb. I'm gonna try to say it in Chinese Ikan Kwai Zhi Rong it's uh shiken kwa in root here, which translates to uh one chopstick uh is easy to bend and break, right? But if you take ten chopsticks together, um it becomes hard as metal, or rather, it is it's like almost impossible to bend and break. Um I mean in Singapore we know that we have this initiative, right? Singapore Together, where the government is seeking greater partnership with citizens, and um whether it's in warfare, whether it's in team sports, uh in fighting for a social cause, in facing a crisis together as a nation, we all know that unity is paramount. Without unity, we cannot get things done, we cannot achieve our goals. Um in this morning's passage, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 to 16, we see that Paul writes with great emphasis on the unity of the church. But there is a stark difference with in the idea of unity here. And first and foremost is that the origin of the unity of the church is not from us, it's not from men, right? It is not man's idea with man's goals to achieve. And so, I mean, not to press the energy analogy too hard, but um it is fine and well that 10 chops are put together are very difficult to bend, very difficult to break, right? Um but is that what chop states are made for? What is the point of bunching them together? I'm gonna use it to throw a paper as a rod. Um and it's all fine and well that a united people can do many great things. But what are they made for?

unknown 2:20

Right?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

At one point in humanity's history, a united people did a great thing. They built a tower that was gonna touch the heavens, and nothing was impossible for them as a civilization. But their unity was futile and in fact disastrous for humanity because in their pride they deviated from the intentions of God. So Paul gets at the heart of the meaning or of the purpose of unity by spelling out the foundation of the church. God's ultimate plan brought into fruition in Christ. And as we will see, it is God who forms the church, who also gives the unity to the church. Uh, and he gives it for his very own purpose, and that the nature of the unity of the church is intertwined with the very nature of God. And so we turn now to verses 1 to 3. Um, and I'll quickly quickly read it out for us again. Paul writes this I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in a bond of peace. And the word therefore there is crucial. Right? Uh it points us back to what Paul has said in the in the previous uh chapters. Right? One key focus in the earlier chapters is the purpose of God. In uh chapter 1, verse 10, we read this that God's plan uh was for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. And as we have heard from last week's sermon, right, um, in that plan that of God, God has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between the Jews and the Gentiles by the blood of Jesus, so that there may be peace and reconciliation, that they are now formed into the one humanity, one new humanity in Christ. And so, having kind of talked about all of that, Paul now in chapter 4 is saying, No, this is what God has done for us. See how he has brought about peace and reconciliation between enemies. We who have been brought together in Christ are now one, and there are deep implications to that. And that becomes the fundamental reason for what Paul is about to write next. And he writes this I urged you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. And so all of us have a calling from God, right? Uh, some of us may be kind of wondering what's my you know, special call, what's my vocational call, what is God asking me to do in the world, and and those are questions that we can we can ask, we can seek, um, and some of us are still searching for. Um, but there is a basic call for all of us here, and it is clearly written out for us in scripture, and that is the call to be Christian. And in that call to be Christian, uh to be in Christ, it is also the call to be one with the church. And Paul uses a heavy phrase here to describe this call. We are to walk or we are to live in a manner worthy of the calling. Um, Paul, of course, has used this language elsewhere in uh in his other letters, right, in Thessalonians and in Colossians. But it is in Philippians that he uses the language to press the issue of unity of the church. So Philippians chapter 1, verses 27 and 28. Um quickly read it out for us. He says this that only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come or see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponent. Paul writes, walk in a manner worthy of the call or worthy of the gospel. The root word for the word worthy has the idea of weighing to see if something measures up. In ancient times, um the way they would weigh things is to uh kind of weigh one thing against another on a scale, right? Uh on the on a balance. Um nowadays we we don't see this, and nowadays we use electronic uh or digital scale, right? Uh and even just two years ago, there was this debacle with a a certain local supermarket where the actual weight of the item uh does not quite um does not quite uh weigh out exactly. Uh so people were paying more for for for for something. Um and people feel felt cheated, right? They felt like uh they were not getting what was worth the price tag. And that's the force behind the term worthy, to live in a manner that measures up to the calling that Christ caused us to when we decided to follow Him. When we decided to be like Christ in the way we live and relate with people. When we live in humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. All these are important virtues, right, uh, in our relationships with one another. Um, and lastly, he says in verse 3, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. So, Paul, uh, note that Paul says the word maintain the unity, meaning the unity has already been given to us, right? We did not create this unity, we did not uh come together and say, you know, maybe it's good that we, you know, just stick together for a while or we we journey in life together, right? It is all a result and an initiative of God's saving work in us, the result of his reconciliation of people, of bringing his people together as one in Christ. And having been brought into this unity, Paul writes, we are to eagerly maintain it. Why does God place so much emphasis on the unity of the church? One important uh reason is because it reflects the very nature of God, and in verses 4 to 6, Paul writes this, right? There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your core, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Our oneness, brothers and sisters, our oneness is rooted in the oneness of the triune God. And Paul cannot be any clearer about God's intention for the church to be one, just as the Father, Son, and Spirit are one. If you can recall Jesus' prayer uh in John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer, Jesus prays that his disciples will be one, just as Jesus and the Father are one. Put another way, the church is the expression of the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is the expression of God's unity. And as the church, we visibly embody that unity as we relate with one another, as Paul says, in humility, gentleness, patience, and love. And this is to be the nature of the church. It is only when we understand this divine origin and this nature of the church that we can more clearly see and strive towards the aims of God for the church. Right? Once we understand the fundamental reason why we are the church in the first place, to understand the fundamental reason why we have been caught together, then we know what we are aiming for. And so once we know what we're aiming for, Paul writes this that we are we are to be built up in verses 13 to 16 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Verse 15 rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. And that's the end, uh, the the aim for all of us, right? Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Um, for us to grow as Christ followers, for us to grow into Christ in every way, right? To think and act like Christ would in all aspects and all situations of our lives. Um and when when you know Paul writes about faith and knowledge, it is not something cognitive, it is not something uh there's that there's just mere intellect, right? It is not something we just think about. It is this this faith and this knowledge is lived out in the way we walk, in the way we live our lives. And the antithesis of it, the opposite of it, uh, it's kind of found in in uh verses 17 to 20, but I don't want to step into it too much because that's your uh that's our passage for for next week. But in 17 to 20, Paul writes uh very briefly that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Um, and then Paul writes how they are uh they have become careless, they have given out uh themselves to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. And verse 20 he says this that is not the way you learn Christ. That is not the way you learn Christ. The way we learn Christ, the content of that faith and the knowledge of Jesus has has great implications in the way we walk in this world, in the way we live our lives. And so Paul says that you know the the main aim for the church then is to grow and to mature in our belief in him, in our trust in him, in being able to surrender our wills to him, to let him have his way with us. It is also to mature in our understanding of who he is, of what he has done and what he is still doing today in our world. We grow in faith and knowledge so that we may be more and more like Jesus each day, that we may become his ambassadors and join in his ministry of reconciliation, as Paul writes in 2 uh Corinthians chapter 5. And this is the vision, not just for individuals, right? Paul here is not writing, yeah, the few select uh people in church, you know, grow up to be like this, and the rest, you know, if you want to uh come on keep up with it, you know, that's fine, right? This is a vision for the corporate body, right? Paul is writing to everyone in the church that we are to be united together as one in the faith and knowledge of Jesus. The church as the body of Christ makes a unified demonstration of God's wisdom and work in Christ to the world. We make a unified demonstration of God's wisdom and God's work in the world. And so, to that end, to attain the unity of faith and knowledge, uh, Paul writes that the Spirit gives different gifts to the people of God. And within this unity, then there is a God-given diversity, right? All of us have different gifts, we have different talents, and we are called to exercise them, right? Regardless of what gifts or talents we have, to exercise them for the common good, for the body of Christ. And in such a way we are all equipped for the work of ministry, um uh so that together we may be built up, uh we may build up the body of Christ. Um, and it is our diversity that allows us to maintain the unity of the church. It is our diversity that allows us to play different parts in the body of Christ so that the body may be built up in every way. And yet, in our brokenness, in in our frailty, diversity often um becomes um division, it becomes disunity.

unknown 15:14

Right?

SPEAKER_01 15:14

In our brokenness, we find it hard to maintain unity when we exaggerate differences between ourselves. When we and there's those exaggerate exaggerated differences leads to divisions and to disunity. Um people often kind of look at the Protestant church um uh and and look at all these different denominations and church traditions, and the question is always uh why why what's what's the difference between the Lutherans and the Anglicans? What's the difference between Methodists and the Presbyterians and what are the differences here and there? And we are we tend to be quite fixated on the differences. Um and and of course we want to on we want to acknowledge that we do have different approaches to uh certain issues or certain things in church, in in scripture and all, right? Um but that gives the impression that we are so fragmented that the Protestant church as a whole is just a mess. But the truth is um the truth is that there is a fundamental agreement across churches, right? We may disagree on certain things, no doubt, but there's a fundamental agreement across all Protestant churches and across all denominations and church traditions. And these are the important things that has kept us united as the church of Christ. The affirmation of the apostle and the the Nicene creeds, uh we we we we believe in the same things about God, about the way to salvation, about the Bible, and so on and so forth. There are fundamental agreements, right? But often we are much happier dwelling in the differences, right? And that becomes the crux of the issue for us, right? And so when we kind of zoom in into a local church setting in a parish um like ours, um diversity is even more apparent, right? Uh we have we have different personalities, we have different perspectives, we hold we have all have different strengths and different weaknesses, right? And we tend to like to harp on those differences a bit more. And so when we rub shoulders with each other, um sometimes there's unhappiness, and then unhappiness slowly fastens and grows into bitterness, into resentment. Right? To the point that sometimes we just don't want anything to do with someone else in church. Right? Or we argue over all sorts of things, from practical things like how to do certain things, um, how we use money in church, how we allocate and make use of space here, uh, to matters of theology and and and uh biblical interpretation. Um for some of us, it might be uh an issue of pride, knowingly or unknowingly, right? We see others as less than, or we think that, yeah, I know better. Uh I we we think that yeah, I am much better at doing this, right? I should hold more prominent positions in church. Um would want to be more exclusive, right? We don't want to include others in our circle, we don't want to have our own social club here, um, where where others are kind of not allowed in, right? Um Paul and the other writers in the Bible know full well how common these problems are. These problems are not unique to us, it's not unique to uh churches in Singapore. It's a universal problem, it seems. Um, and Paul and the other writers know full well how problematic these things can be, right? And so they write on the issue of unity and how to relate to one another. Uh, they write about it so much precisely because some of the churches in your time were very divided, right? These were issues that the churches, even at that time, have had to deal with. And the biggest problem, right? If you consider what Paul has what Paul has been saying, how God is the initiator and the author of this unity, right? The biggest problem of it all is that if the church is the expression of God's unity, then as one writer writes, when the church fails to maintain and express unity, it radically undermines the credibility of its belief in the one God. When we choose to dwell on the differences, when we choose to divide, when we choose to work against one another, we are essentially working against God, right? We are working against the spirit of peace that binds us. We are working against the gospel of Christ, who is the head of the body, we are working against God and his intention for his covenant with people. And that's why going back to verse 1, Paul exhorts, right? He is uh he petitions the church, he almost begs the church, right, to maintain and attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of Jesus. And so, how do we do that? Um, from today's passage, what can we see uh and what can we learn from Paul uh in trying to maintain and trying to attain this unity for the church? And number one is to realign ourselves to the gospel message, right? Um to really question the fundamental stuff of our life and our faith, right? Uh, and do some kind of introspection for our for ourselves, right? How is our walk with the Lord? Um, how are we living? And is it is it in a manner that is worthy of the call, worthy of um the gospel? From verse 20. How have we learned Christ? Right, and how has that knowledge and that faith informed the way we live our lives today? Um we will never achieve perfection on this side of heaven. I don't think Paul is writing so that all of us may attain perfection per se, right? Um but we can mature in our faith. Peter and Paul often write, right, to move from from when you are an infant, so to speak, when you are young in the in the faith, right, we feed on spiritual meal. But we want to mature, we want to grow up, right? Even in today's passage, right? We want to be become a mature adult so that we will not be like children being tossed to and fro by the winds of false doctrines, right?

unknown 21:59

And so.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

We can mature in our faith and we can assess uh assess how closely we have worked with Jesus. And I think importantly, uh, it's for us to also ask, kind of ask uh the question of our faith in relation to the church. Right? Uh, are we concerned with our own growth, our own life, or do we believe that God has called us to be part of the church and to build it up? To answer the most fundamental question first before we talk about you know uh working towards a certain aim or a certain angle, right? Um so that's number one, to realign ourselves with uh what God has done, with the gospel message in Christ, right? And the second then is this just to show up. You know, um participation in the life of the church is really important. Um the writer of Hebrews put it this way, right? That we do not neglect to meet together, to meet up with one another, right? And practically speaking, it's difficult to have a sense of unity if people are not there. If we are not here, it's very hard to even have a sense of yeah, we are united, we are one as a body, right? And um, I think showing up, just being around, uh matters a lot. We are blessed by one another's presence whenever we show up in the various activities uh of the church. Um, whether it's on Sunday service today, um, which is why it we it is all it always brings us joy, right, to be here in the house of the Lord with you every Sunday morning to worship God. Um or it is or whether it's staying behind after service to have refreshment and to catch up with one another, you know, so that we can have some fellowship after service. Um whether it's showing up and being present at like connect groups, connect group meetings. Um, those of you who are connect group leaders, I'm sure you know the pain of you know planning and and uh organizing uh meetings and then only have one or two people turn up, right? That and there is a pain when there's absence, right? But there's joy when people come, there's joy when people show up to fellowship and to grow together. Or even to show up for um certain certain activities that we have in church, right? Uh it was just announced that we are gonna start our prayer meetings again and we are gonna have a prayer meeting next Saturday. And it would be great if all of us can come together. All of us can participate in the life of the church in this way. To come together to worship and to pray. Um and of course, also, lastly, you know, if I can uh uh one more time kind of uh encourage you to consider signing up for the church camp. Right? It is a time where we can get away from Singapore, when we can get away from this busy, hectic uh schedule that that we are all see, we all seem to be stuck in in Singapore, right? Just to spend those few days uh slowing everything down and uh being being there with the family of God. Right? Um whatever it is, you know, I want to say this our physical presence is not only precious, right, it is a visible sign of the unity that we have in Christ. And the whole body is blessed when people gather in his name. So if number one, uh realign, number two, show up, number three will be to serve in church, right? Contribute to the ministries of the church. Um verse 16, Paul writes this that when each part is working properly, uh they make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Right? The various ministries have different parts to play in moving and in growing the body of Christ in the church, right? And ultimately, the aim of the ministries is the maturing of our faith and the building up of the church, right? Until we attain to the goal, until we attain to the unity of faith and knowledge. Um and to be honest, how much vitality we have in these ministries is highly, highly dependent on all members of the church. With more people involved, ministries will have more capacity to build the church up. We noted that God has given us this diversity, God has blessed all of us here, right, with different gifts, different talents, and even different burdens for the church. Let's make use of them to do what God has called us to for the work of ministry and the edification of the body. And so I would like to also encourage those who uh have been thinking about serving or you're not serving anywhere to really consider and pray about ministry in our church that uh you can get involved in. Um and if you're interested in serving elsewhere, if you're interested in exploring this a bit more, please feel free to look for any of the pastoral stuff, uh including myself, to find out where you can serve in. Right? Um, but the very last thing that I think we can learn from today's passage is just this very fundamental concept for all of us, and that is to love and to love and to love. Someone wrote this the absence of love always leads to the loss of this unity. The absence of love always leads to the loss of uh of unity. Um, just in these 16 verses, Paul writes three times, no, in verse 2, bearing with one another in love. In verse 15, speaking the truth in love. In verse 16, building the church up in love. Um, all of us are familiar with with the passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 13. And I think the the kind of the trouble with with uh associating something with with uh an event um is that we think that that verse is only meant for, say, weddings, it's only meant for married couples, right? But we have to remember that uh Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to the church, to all members in the church. And he writes this, right? Um in uh chapter 13, verses uh 4 to 8. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Loving someone is probably one of the hardest things to do consistently for everyone we meet, especially with those whom we have problems with, right? Um, it's something that I I think, at least for myself, is something that we will spend a lifetime learning and relearning. And it's something that we can only learn when we actually are present with people and then we actually relate with others in church. You know, we can avoid people. It's very easy to avoid people, right? And there will be no problem at all, there will be no you know uh divisiveness, there will be no no no issues, right? Um but there will this will also be not be an act of love, right? There will be no demonstration of love if all we do is avoid one another. Rather, we we we we follow Christ. This is the way of Christ, right? Who is always reaching out in love to people. Um we we remember that that that John writes, we love because God first loves us. And so the writers in in the New Testament is always harping on this point to love, to love, to love. So let all that we do, church, or let all that we do, even in disagreements or in admonishments or confrontations, let all that we do be tampered with the love of Christ.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

We pray that you've been ministered to the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about Eastern Christian Church, please visit our website at yccanglican.com. Have a blessed day.