Romans 8:26

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 147:1
• Hymn — How Great Thou Art (#227)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Heidelberg Catechism — Lord's Day 24 (Questions 61–64)
• Hymn — His Robes for Mine
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:1-3
• Sermon
• Hymn — My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (#459)
• Benediction — Hebrews 13:20-21

---

Sermon Title: Cultivating and Maintaining Gospel Unity

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-3

I. Live Like Christians

A. Paul urges the church to walk in a manner worthy of their calling — Ephesians 4:1 B. In Ephesians 1–3, Paul establishes the grand reality of the new humanity in Christ: God has healed our alienation from him and brought believing Jews and Gentiles into one body C. The implication: God has sovereignly and indestructibly united his people to himself and to one another; now Christians are to live out that unity

1. God's sovereignty and human responsibility are not contradictions — they work together
2. Be who God has made you to be in Christ; cultivate and work at the unity he has given

II. Love God's Family

A. Paul gives the specific how of Christian life and unity in Ephesians 4:2 — with humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance

B. Humility

1. A modest estimation of self combined with high esteem for others — cf. Philippians 2:3
2. Does not mean wavering in conviction about God's word, but convictions must be held without pride
3. Humility looks like selfless service — a new heart that beats for Christ and his people
4. Pride, the opposite of humility, destroys fellowship and fractures unity

C. Gentleness

1. Not weakness, but strength under control deployed for the benefit of others
2. Contrasted with a bully's self-assertion; illustrated by emergency responders and soldiers who risk themselves for others
3. The supreme example is the Lord Jesus — the most powerful man who ever lived, who welcomed children and gave himself to be crucified for sinners
4. Christians are called to lay down rights, privileges, and even life for the benefit of others in the household of faith

D. Patience

1. Forbearance toward personal offenses — enduring with aggravating people
2. Willingness to cover offenses; essential for unity in the household and in the church

E. Tolerance (bearing with one another)

1. Not politically correct tolerance, but making space for one another
2. Giving leeway, cutting one another slack, suffering one another's different personalities for the good of the family
3. All of these virtues are expressions of love — seeking the best interest of others even at personal cost

III. Keep the Peace

A. Paul commands eagerness and diligence to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace — Ephesians 4:3 B. This unity was purchased at the cost of the blood of the Son of God and wrought by the irresistible work of the Holy Spirit; therefore it must be guarded C. Practical applications of diligence:

1. Guard the tongue and the heart
2. Cultivate humble concern for others and seek ways to serve them
3. Use strength and resources to bless rather than assert
4. Be patient and give one another space D. Gospel unity is simultaneously a gift from God and our responsibility — we must ask whether this witness of love is evident in the local church E. Call to prayer: ask Christ to pour out his Spirit, root out pride, and make humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, and love an ever-increasing reality in the congregation