Ephesians 4: 1-6 (King James Version)
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech
you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are
called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4: 1-6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
(AMPC)
1 I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to
and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you
have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s
service,
2 Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of
mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with
patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one
another.
3 Be eager and
strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by]
the Spirit in the binding power of peace.
4 [There is] one body and one Spirit—just as there
is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received—
5 [There is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of [us] all, Who is above all
[Sovereign over all], pervading all and [living] in [us] all.
Ephesians 4:1-6 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 I, a prisoner in the Lord, encourage you to live
the kind of life which proves that God has called you.
2 Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient
with each other and lovingly accept each other.
3 Through the peace that ties you together, do your
best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives.
4 There is one body and one Spirit. In the same way
you were called to share one hope.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over everything,
through everything, and in everything.
Ephesians 4:1-6 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
1 As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a
way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own.
2 Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up
with each other and love each other.
3 Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your
hearts united. Do this by living at peace.
4 All of you are part of the same body. There is
only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to
be God’s people.
5 We have only one Lord, one faith, and one
baptism.
6 There is one God who is the Father of all people.
Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives
in all of us.
Points to Note:
- There is a ‘unity of the Spirit’ that exists already. We are urged to maintain, preserve, keep, guard this unity.
- We are not called to produce or conjure this unity. This unity is produced and created by the Holy Spirit Himself and is of Him alone. It is neither man-made nor orchestrated by human means. No amount of good administration or structures can produce this unity because it is born by the Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is the only One who can keep our hearts united in the Body of Christ. It is a mystery and a miracle.
- The 120 disciples of Jesus experienced this unity BEFORE Pentecost (Acts 2:1) because they has received a measure of the Spirit (John 20:22).
- After Pentecost (the outpouring of the Holy Spirit), this unity became vivid and obvious to all in a very practical way (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-37).
- It is the work of the Holy Spirit to mould the bBody of Christ and keep her in unity.
- The example of Annanias and Sapphira in Acts 5 show how much this unity and oneness means to the Holy Spirit and how much it grieves Him when it is tampered with.
- This unity is refreshing and precious – Psalm 133 (LB) and where it exists, God promises His blessing (Psalm 133 GNB).
- This is the same unity that exists among the Trinity, the Godhead (John 17:11, 21-23).
- Ephesians 4:4a – one body. This unity is about ONE BODY – THE BODY OF CHRIST.
- This unity and oneness is a pre-condition for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we are waiting for…
So let us pray…
- I thank You, Holy Spirit, for the miraculous unity of the Body of Christ. Thank You for this precious oil and refreshing dew of unity that You produce in Christ’s body.
- Holy Spirit, I ask You to give me insight into this unity and its significance, its implications for my life and walk in Christ.
- Holy Spirit, only You can produce unity in the Body of Christ. Help me not to embark on any fruitless activities by trying to forge unity through human means.
- This unity is about the Body of Christ. Holy Spirit, help me to be able to discern the Body so that I do not grieve You by insensitive actions.
- My part in this unity is to make every effort to keep, maintain, preserve and guard it as I live in peace with other members of the Body. Help me to do my part, Lord. Don’t let the Body suffer disunity because I am not living in peace as I should. Show me the different areas and ways in which I should be following peace with others.
- Holy Spirit, help me not to fall into the error of Annanias and Sapphira. Work in my heart so that I will never take Your presence for granted in all that I do, especially in any labour You allow me to be involved in.
- Holy Spirit, by Your miraculous power, let there be unity in the Body of Christ in our day, just as it was with the early church. Help us to be one in mind, purpose, vision, focus, prayer and in our faith in the Son of God.
- Lord, in our day, let the world know that we are disciples of Christ because of the unity and love that is evident for all to see. Let the practical fruits of unity be demonstrated powerfully like in the early church. Let unity of the Spirit be a great witness for Christ in our day.
- Make us one, in Your Body, Lord, by Your Spirit. Uproot everything that is working against the unity of the Spirit and bind our hearts together in the bond of peace.
You are building a people of power
And You’re building a people of praise
Who will march through this land by Your Spirit
And will glorify Your precious Name
Make us one, Lord
Make us strong, Lord
Join our hearts, Lord, through Your Son
Make us one, Lord, in Your Body
In the kingdom of Your SonJoin this HeartCry Prayer- Every Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm (UK time)
