Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit

The apostle Paul admonished the saints in Christ in the church at Ephesus to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. This rightly raises the question in the mind of the believer just how does one preserve the unity of the Spirit? Is it possible to understand and teach this unity with words and expressions that are not shrouded in vague and dubious language? There is a challenge and a need to understand and teach these things freely given to us by God. These things, the apostle Paul said, we are to teach by combining (I Corinthians 2:13) spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also 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 over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."

This call to preserve the unity of the Spirit is accomplished, as some saints believe, by nothing more than proclaiming aloud in slogan form of the expression, 'one body and one Spirit . . . one lord, one faith, one baptism.' The inclusion of 'one God and Father of all' gives just the right ring of authority. Some brothers and sisters see this as nothing more than an unfulfilling use of a slogan. Certainly the words are right from the text of the scriptures, but it is nothing more than a slogan which may sound good, but offers little or no understanding for those who seek understand and live in unity. Understandably they reject, not the word of the LORD, but the woeful presumption that such a slogan is sufficient for the teacher and the learner.

Generally the unwillingness or inability of one to articulate coherently their claims of assurance that they preserve and maintain the unity of the Spirit is itself telling. This is not a crime. It is not a sin. However any articulation which claims to limit itself to the so-called Christian New Testament gives reason for one to be leery.

The apostle Paul makes reference to Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4. One can rightly follow the Spirit to that passage. It has its own background and fulfillment. It gives (my purposeful word choice) the direction for believers to gain understanding on the passage of Ephesians 4. Is there a lesson for our learning from the passage of Psalm 68? I will simply note that I am aware of the variation in the expression between Psalm 69 and Ephesians 4, 'you have received gifts among men' and 'He gave gifts to men,' respectively. I will not expend more time on that than this reference. Suffice it to say, for the sake of acknowledgment, that the fulfillment and application is two-fold, as concerns the reigning succession of kings in Jerusalem who took captive men, and received gifts, but, also, Messiah who received gifts which He gave to men. This, too, is a mere acknowledgment and not the focus of this article.

The background of unity

The focus of this article is the unity of the Spirit. It is a unity, the oneness, the harmony of the statutes and commandments which the LORD God commanded Moses to impress on the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:4.

4 Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 

Simply put God commanded Moses to instruct Israel that 1) what God said was to be heard/obeyed/believed, 2) what Moses said God said was to be heard/obeyed/believed, 3) what the judges said God said was to be heard/obeyed/believed, 4) what the prophets said God said was to be heard/obeyed/believed, 4) what Jesus said was of the Father was to be heard/obeyed/believed, 5) what the apostles said was of the Holy Spirit was to be heard/obeyed/believed, and 6) what the saints in Christ read as the written testimony of the Spirit is to be heard/obeyed/believed. There was never a time and there has never been a time when what God said was to be diminished because it was repeated, written, printed, or read. These were the statutes, and commandments of God which Israel was to learn and they were to teach these things to every successive generation of their children without fail. These statutes and commandments are reminders for the believer of the unity and harmony of the LORD God who is one. It is not a mathematical, numeric quantitative value of one, two, three, or four. It is the affirmation by the LORD God Himself of who He is, and to all that He says, namely, that there is unity and harmony without variation, contradiction, or inconsistency in the revelation of His will towards men.

A display of unity

Arguably there may be no greater display of the wisdom and unity of the LORD God than as is revealed in the history of Israel. It happened at the time of the division of the kingdom between the twelve tribes which made up the kingdom of Israel in the north, and the two tribes which made up the kingdom of Judah in the south. The reaction of the men of Judah in their notion of maintaining unity in Israel was to strap their swords on and go out and cut down their rebellious brothers. It would have happened, too. It did not happen. The LORD God sent His servant, the prophet Shemaiah (I Kings 12). Shemaiah's message was brief and to the point. Put away your swords. Go home. The LORD said, “This thing has come from Me.”

Division came from the LORD? Yes. Unlike us who do not how to handle the knowledge of good and evil which God declared is how we became like Him, He knows how to handle quite deftly the evil of division. The division in the kingdom was not a surprise to God. It was not like the division was a failure which which would inflict damage on the unity of His will towards men. Right in the midst of misguided zeal of the men of Judah the LORD extended the gift of grace, of His favor, even towards the rebellious (Psalm 68:18) men the same from among whom the psalmist declares that He received gifts. Yet it needs to be said that to their credit all parties disbanded and obeyed the word of the LORD through his servant Shemaiah.

These were men in Israel who did not see, understand or agree with the way of the LORD or His own people. But the description in Psalm 68, which is quoted by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4, is of peoples ('rebellious') over whom the king has triumphed and led captive. All men, friend and foe alike came to give gifts to the anointed, reigning king in Jerusalem. Does anyone doubt that if He is willing and able to do so with the rebellious that He would not do the same for those who love Him? Or that we should do any less or differently than as the LORD our God has taught us?

Giving freely even as we have received

What this suggests, to me, is that unity is not something which we receive and maintain. Yes, we have received unity just as much as we have received the bond of peace. Unity is the desired objective, but that unity is also what we give, or what we gift to other men, even as we have received. Why? Because to do so, even with the rebellious, is to give what God has given us, gifted us, not for ourselves, but for the 'equipping of the saints,' that is, for others. Jesus reminds us (Matthew 10:8) 'Freely you have received; freely give.'

conclusion

How does one diligently maintain the unity of the Spirit with the rebellious, or those whose understanding is different than our own? It is no less and no different than as the LORD God continually sought after all his children all the time. We have nothing but time and the children of God for whom we are to seek 'over all and through all and in all' after in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.