MONDAY May 20, 2024

The Unity of the Spirit

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3

Paul used the word therefore which pointed back to everything God had already encouraged us with in the last three chapters. After we know how spiritually rich we are in Christ, and know our position in Him, we are to walk forward to fulfill the call God has on our lives. The word beseech means that Paul, through the love of Christ, was urging believers to bring God glory in their walk with Him.

There is something beautiful in this text––the four graces of unity. They will bring unity in the body of Christ. The word lowliness describes “humility.” It is a grace whereby we put Christ first, others second, and ourselves last. We are not to place ourselves in the center; we place ourselves at the end. We do not go around bragging how humble we are. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Humility cannot be phony. It is a genuine work of the Holy Spirit.

The next graces are gentleness and longsuffering. The word gentleness means “benignity––the quality of being kind and gentle” or “kindness.” In the KJV the word gentleness is translated as meekness. The word meekness means “power under control.” Our lives are under the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you show meekness when placed under pressure or frustrating circumstances?

Too often when provoked, we become enraged and out of control. We must walk under the control of the Holy Spirit and bear spiritual fruit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance... (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV). Longsuffering means “patience, forbearance, slowness in avenging wrongs.” Lastly, bearing or forbearing is a word that means “to bear with” or “to endure a person in the love of God.” Using these graces, be at peace with God and with each other.

God alone can give unity to a church, and he only gives it by sanctifying its members.
~C.H. Spurgeon~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!