Unity in Christ as Children of Light

Posted by anointedplace on April 30, 2010 · 8 Comments 

Ephesians 4

Unity in the Body of Christ

¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸This is why it^[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”^{[b] 9}(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions^[c]? ¹⁰He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

I have said many times before that we shouldn’t be “killing our witness”  and its not something I just decided to make up.  We don’t realize who is watching us and the affects of how we carry ourselves influence those watching.  Not only that but how we live out this faith reflect on the doctrine or foundation laid by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit through the generations of apostles, prophets and teachers.  If we live a life that shows no sign of regeneration and still make claim of salvation; do we then make the Word of God a lie?  Good thing God has no dependence on mankind because no matter how we are, He is still God.  Yet, that gives us no excuse to continue that way.   a lot of times when ministers or pastors do the “call to discipleship” it is inferred  that the saying “accept Christ today” includes us repenting of our sins.  See, some still think that coming to Christ is on our own doing (read Ephesians 2).  And while we walk down that isle it never cross our mind that there is sin in our lives.  We come to Christ thinking that we are good people; just like we love to say: “why do the good die young?” (read Romans 3:10).  It is this same thinking that leads to us living a unfulfilled, powerless life as a Christian.   Becoming a Christian is not like joining a club.

Living as Children of Light

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

²⁰You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶“In your anger do not sin”^[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I have said in a post titled “Who’s ministry is it anyway”  that we love to separate God out of certain parts of our lives.  So if you again think that it is my own invention then please hear it from the Apostle Paul…  No, no one is perfect but is the Holy Spirit powerless to change you?  Are you so powerful that God cannot change your heart? Or is it that you love the world, Satan, Sin and yourself so much that you would reject Christ? Because that is what we do when we fight the regeneration of our old man to the new man in Christ. We are refusing to kill the sin in our life and choosing it over the life Christ is giving us freely (Luke 9:23-27, Romans 6:1-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

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