ROMANS 10:14-21 "FAITH COME FROM HEARING, AND HEARING THROUGH THE WORD OF CHRIST"

 

Our text is a profound commentary on the problem of selective hearing- or better still, a commentary on how sin affects our hearing of the truth. I will close with some application on this problem.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul has presented us with the clearest and fullest explanation of the Gospel. In the gospel humanity’s main problem is addressed and dealt with. Unless we are reconciled with God, saved from the wrath of God, we will not go the heaven. That is the bad news! The good news is that the gospel, the message of salvation, is a gift from God, that can be received through faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot be received by self-effort, and not by following religious laws. Just look to Jesus !

Last time we considered Romans 10:1-13. There Paul had stressed the absolute need for faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation. A review of 10:9-13 teaches that confessing, believing, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, are necessary for salvation.  “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved…”  (10:9).  

This is no new teaching. Paul finds it in the Old Testament. 

• In Rom. 10:11 Paul finds it in Isa. 10:11 “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
• And in Rom. 10:13 Paul finds it in Joel 2:32 : “For everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved”.  

 The gospel is for everyone – the Jews first, and the gentiles (Rom.1:16)

If that is what the OT teaches, then we must ask, how did Israel, Paul’s countrymen, the most privileged nation upon the face of the earth (cf. 9:4-5) by and large not hear that? It is very clear that Paul is grieved by the overwhelming non-response of his Jewish countrymen   to the gospel (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-4).   This, incidentally, does not apply to Jews only. We see this kind of apathy also in our gentile world. 

Why will our world at large not hear the gospel? 

Why in fact does it reject the gospel?

We have already considered this problem by way of the teaching on election in Romans 9. That doctrine is God’s truth, and it explains the ultimate reason as to why some people   are saved at all. However, this knowledge of who is elect and who is not, belongs to God. Romans 9 relates to the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty, and the “why” of it He has not revealed to us.[1]

In Romans 10 we find the counterpart to that great doctrine – the doctrine of human responsibility. What must we do to help men and women to believe? The answer is this: We must preach the gospel to them! This is our clear God given responsibility. All people, Jew and Gentile, need to hear the gospel, confess the gospel, believe the gospel, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus!  Everyone may be saved by confessing, by believing, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus. (10:11,13). Our context is geared specifically to the Jews, but it can be applied to the rest of mankind.

But how is this to be done?  What we learn here is vital to our understanding, doctrine and practice of evangelism. It is also important to the expectations we may have of our evangelistic work. Follow the logic of the text with me…  

 1.        10:14-15   A CALL TO GOSPEL PROCLAMATION 

          4 Questions

(i)          How will they call on Him (Christ) if they have not believed in Him?

(ii)     How are they to believe in Him (Christ) if they have never heard (the gospel of Christ)?  

(iii)       How will they hear (the gospel of Christ) without someone preaching?

(iv)       How are they to preach (the gospel) unless they are sent?

Why these questions?  We need gospel clarity in order to believe!  In asking these four questions, Paul says that people need

(i)       help to call on Him in whom they have not believed   

(ii)     to hear a clear explanation of who Christ is  

(iii)   a preacher to explain the gospel of Jesus the Messiah 

(iv)   Preachers need to be sent. Churches do selection  and  the sending

This is a very direct and pointed command, rooted in the Great Commission (Matt.28: 18-20). Here in Rom. 10:14-15 we have the how to do it. We need authorized (called) preachers who help people to receive a clear explanation of who Jesus is: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news”- another quote from the OT – Isa. 52:7. Just that. Nothing more, nothing less.  

People need to hear the plain gospel, clearly explained. People need to hear how they may be saved from the consequences of their sin.  Sadly, the church is very tempted by the idea that the preaching of the  plain gospel is not enough. We are tempted to become more appealing to the culture; to focus more on not being offensive;  to focus on  contemporary worship; making a big fuss of people; making the church more user friendly; draw crowds by minimizing   the problem of sin; avoid talking about substitutionary atonement  and the cruel death of Christ on the cross; avoid talking directly about the need of repentance etc.  

We are not saying that we must not be welcoming, friendly and joyful – we have every reason to be, but we must not do this at the expense of watering down the gospel. 

THE POINT:  Above  all, the Gospel must be clearly heard!

 2.       10:16-21 THE GOSPEL IS NOT CLEARLY HEARD – THE PROBLEM OF SELECTIVE HEARING

Again, this problem is directly related to Israel in context but it also applies universally.

(i)            10:16-18 “But they have not all obeyed the gospel”. Some have, but most not. The problem is not that Israel did not have  gospel  preachers. They did. The OT proves it- see Isaiah 53:1: “Lord who has believed what he has heard from us?” and again in 10:18 which is a quote from Psalm 19:4. Psalm 19 deals with the two ways in which God has made Himself known to mankind: 

              1. General Revelation (19:1-6)- God’s revelation in nature and 

           2. Special Revelation (19:7-14).  God has made Himself known through His OT Word, and then very specifically through sending His Son into the World (Hebr. 1:1-3). He is the WORD.  The Jews had  the best  opportunity to hear the message and respond to it.  We will come back to 10:17 in a moment...

(ii)   10:18 -21   The Jews have heard the gospel, but did they understand?  Was the gospel explained sufficiently? Was it clear?  Paul says that the problem is not that Israel lacked understanding. They should have. Even the gentiles had understood it!  [Notice, 10:19 is a reference to Deut.:21 and 10:20 is a reference to Isaiah 65:1] Paul’s point is this:  If the gentiles understood the gospel (with all their deficient OT background) how could the Jews not have understood it? This is not an   intellectual problem and 10:21 gives the reason: "All day long I’ve stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people". (Isaiah 65:2). There is the problem! Never underestimate the impact of disobedience and contrariness.  Disobedience to the clear Word of God hardens our hearts to the gospel. This is what  the Jews were when Jesus appeared.  They had  hardened hearts. A reading of the gospels helps us to see this clearly.

 Romans 10:17

"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

The key to saving faith is to HEARING the Word of Christ by confessing Christ, by believing in Christ  and by calling upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, through His Word  and  the outpoured Holy Spirit continues to stretch out His hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

If faith comes by hearing, and that hearing is the hearing of the word of Christ, then  we need messages from our pulpit that are full of the gospel of Christ Jesus, because that is the only means by which saving faith is produced. 

Sadly, many churches don’t believe this anymore and that is why you hear motivational speakers rather than preachers. Motivational speakers preach about ‘Seven ways to Better Financial Planning’; ‘Eight Steps to Being a Better Parent or husband or wife’ ;  ‘How to Improve Your Love Life’. The Bible is used as a launching pad and is quickly left behind,  and the preacher basically becomes a pop psychologist. Christ is not heard. He is not the grand  subject  and solution to our problems. 

This  kind of proclamation cannot not sustain  the hungry impoverished soul.  

Systematic, Spirit filled, passionate  Bible exposition is key. When the Bible is properly preached, the Lord Jesus Christ and all His work for us is at the center of it all. And when Jesus is preached, He will draw people to Himself (John 12:32). As people  come to Him, and as they remain in Him (John 15) they will become better husbands, wives, children, employers, employees, better financial stewards etc. They will become more kind, loving, merciful, honest… they will grow daily in the grace and the knowledge of Christ.

Regular sitting under the Word is key. 

Israel sadly began to feed upon and listen to something else other than the word of God. She indulged in selective hearing. She became hardhearted, obstinate and unbelieving - and as a result she missed her Messiah, Jesus, the best gift that God has given to this world (2 Cor. 9:15)

 THE DANGER OF SELECTIVE HEARING  

The Bible frequently warns against the danger of selective hearing. 

The Israelites often fell into this trap, choosing to follow God's commands only when convenient. Jeremiah 6:10, laments, "To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it."

The Pharisees were notorious for their selective adherence to the Law. Jesus rebukes them in Matthew 23:23, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness." Their focus on minor details while neglecting the core principles of the Law exemplifies the danger of selective hearing. And in the end, they were the one’s who could not bear to hear the words of Jesus.  

Selective hearing refers to hearing only those parts of God's Word that align with our desires while ignoring the rest.

Selective hearing poses significant spiritual danger.

•       It leads to a distorted understanding of God's will.
•       It hinders one's relationship with God.  
•    It leads to spiritual deafness. Jesus addresses this issue directly in Matthew 13:13-15: "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'" A hardened heart and selective hearing prevents people from truly understanding and accepting Jesus’ teachings.
•     It leads to lack of spiritual depth and authenticity. James 1:22-24 warns us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." Here we learn the importance of not only hearing God's Word but also acting upon it.
•     It makes us vulnerable to false teachings. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul cautions, "For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." If we engage in selective hearing  an stop relying on the good counsel of God’s Word,  false teachings become plausible.

 GUARDING AGAINST SELECTIVE HEARING

• Be receptive to all God's Word.
• Test all teachings against Scripture (e.g.  the Bereans in Acts 17:11). Read and study the Bible for yourself
• Seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit with prayer
• Keep your focus on the Lord Jesus. Look for Him in the Bible.
• Be obedient to God’s revealed will

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[1]  Deut.  29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the works of his law.”

ROMANS 10:1-13 "EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED"

 

Becoming a Christian is at once the easiest thing and the hardest thing in the world. 

It is easy when you lay down your arms, repent from your waywardness and receive Jesus Christ as Saviour. 

It is hard when you want to have it your own way, or when you wish to decide the terms   on which you wish to be reconciled with your Creator.  

We are working our way through Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul’s intention is to help us understand how we become Christians (Rom. 1-11) and how we may continue  to live as Christians (Rom 12-16). Having outlined the problem of sin against a holy God, whose creation we are, he helps us to understand that there is only one solution to our dilemma, by which we may have peace with God - Jesus Christ, the Saviour.   Nowhere does he indicate that we may choose our own path to God. Quite the opposite- God chooses His Saviour and He chooses the method of salvation. It is when we bow our knee to Him that our salvation becomes most visible.  Tragically, the Jews in Paul’s day refused to bow the knee  to Jesus.

In Romans 9:30-33  Paul explains that Israel’s failure to embrace the gospel was directly related to their stumbling over Jesus Christ. They would not accept God’s solution for salvation.  Instead, Israel by and large was seeking salvation by law keeping, rather than by trusting in Jesus Christ alone.  And so, Jesus became that stumbling stone predicted by Isaiah (Isa. 8:14; 28:16 à cf. Rom. 9:32 see also 1 Cor. 1:23). Jesus became to them a stumbling stone,  when in fact He was their rock of salvation (Ps. 95:1). Unlike most of them  that godly Jewish old man Simeon saw the infant Jesus in the temple, 8 days after He was born, and  he rightly prophesied that this child was “appointed both for the fall and rising of many in Israel”(Lk. 2:34)  

OUTLINE:   ROMANS 10:1-13

1.       Ignorance of the righteousness of God (10:2-3)

2.       Jesus is the righteousness of God (10:4-7)

3.        Believe in Jesus (10:8-13)

In Rom. 9:1-5 we had seen  that this large rejection of their Messiah had deeply grieved Paul  and again he  expresses his heart for them  when he says in 10:1, “brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” So again, what is their problem?  And better still what is the solution?

  1.          Ignorance of the righteousness of God (10:2-3)

Again, Paul makes known the heart of Israel’s problem. It is not that they deny the existence of YAHWEH, the God of Israel. In fact, says Paul, “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God … BUT not according to knowledge.   

What knowledge did they not possess?  

10:3 answers the question:  they were ignorant of the righteousness of God; they sought to establish their own (basis of) righteousness; they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  

That word, ‘righteousness’  is a key word in the letter to the Romans[1]. The Jews had been zealously seeking to establish their own righteousness through law keeping, but they failed to reach that standard (9:31,32). 

What should they do?  

• They should not be ignorant of the righteousness of God 
• they should submit to Gods righteousness
•  God's righteousness is expressed in Christ who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  

And here we find a massive lesson in understanding the nature of true biblical faith. 

Outward zeal (i.e. mere religious sincerity and earnestness) cannot save anybody!  It is not an infallible sign that someone is right with God. Passion without truth cannot save anyone.  This needs to be said loudly and boldly!  Many people, even sincere Christian people  are  frequently more  impressed by expressions of zeal rather than by  truth.  We easily make up our mind not by what people  actually say about their beliefs  but by what we feel about them.  Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones in a searching sermon on Romans 10:3  gives an illustration of this:

“On a visit to London some years ago, I went into a certain book room which was managed by an evangelical organization… To my astonishment, I found that they were selling there a second-hand book by a man who was notorious at that time. He was no longer alive, but he had written this well-known book about Christianity in which he virtually denied all the cardinal articles of the Christian faith. As I was looking round, the secretary of this society came to speak to me, so I called his attention to this book and expressed my amazement.

'Ah,' he said, 'wait a minute. You know, we must be very careful.'   'What do you mean?' I asked. He said, 'Have you ever met this man?' And when I told him I had not, he replied, 'Well, I have. I stayed with him a few months back. I was on deputation work and he entertained me for the night, and the next morning we went into a little chapel attached to his house where he took family prayers. And you know, I don't think I have ever been in such a spiritual atmosphere. It was a blessing to my soul to hear him taking family prayers on that occasion.'   'Yes, but my dear sir,' I said, 'what does he say in this book?' 'Oh, I know that,' he said, 'but you see, if you had heard him taking those prayers! I have never known a more devout man. I have never been in a more devotional atmosphere.' My reply was this: 'But I don't care what you felt. This is what the man says about the Lord Jesus Christ and His work and it is a denial of the Scriptures!' But I found it very difficult to persuade him. 

And so it is that we find that people are easily taken in with personalities, and particular with people of charisma and zeal, whose utterances about Jesus and His work would leave one gasping.  And yet people hang on to their lips! In my years as a pastor -preacher  I  have been in trouble at times with sincere Christians for calling out such people. They are listened to on the social media, their music are listened to and sung and their books are being read and sold in Christian bookshops, and it is thought that they must be right when, in truth, they would have been condemned as heretics by the early church councils – particularly the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) which confirmed that Jesus is equal to God the Father, rejecting Arianism. They would have been condemned at the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD) which confirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. 

We say it again and let each one examine themselves in this regard: we easily value our own experience or feeling over Scripture. We often value enthusiasm, zeal, presentation, eloquence, personality over biblical truth.  How can such a nice guy be wrong?

Our zeal must be directed by the whole counsel of the word of God. Our zeal must flow from a converted heart. Our zeal must be  directed  by the Holy Spirit, who is the Inspirer of the Word of God. Paul says that Israel by and large had not understood her own God inspired Scripture.  If they had read their Scriptures correctly[2], they would have known that any system that teaches that salvation is gained by self-righteousness cannot be right. Both, the OT and the NT teach that salvation is by God’s grace alone. 

The law (and the keeping of it) cannot make anyone righteous. This is the first thing that Paul points out.  

2.  JESUS CHRIST OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS  (10: 4-7)

Here is the second great  truth. 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. 

This is a powerful statement. Christ is the end of the law.  The Jews believed wholeheartedly that one was saved by law-keeping. This, says Paul, was never a true emphasis of the OT. And those that say that the OT is all about salvation by works, while the NT is all about salvation by grace are wrong!  That is playing the OT off against the NT. You cannot do that! There is one covenant, one law and it is completed in Christ! He is the end of the law.   There never have been two systems of salvation. There has always only been one way.   The law   of the OT has always been waiting for its fulfilment in Christ.

But the Jews could not see that.  Instead, they had progressively twisted the law of Moses   to become a legal system by which, they thought, righteousness could be obtained. There was no faith required, and so it became a system of works.  They were stuck in a system, and so, Christ, the Messiah, the end of the law, became a stumbling stone for them.  

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness! When Christ is the end of the law, it follows that we must look to Him!  The Buck stops there! We must take our righteousness from Him!  

10:5 It is true that the law of Moses commanded absolute obedience. But since no one kept the law perfectly, there were the laws of sacrifice illustrating that sin was serious  in God’s sight. By instituting the sacrificial system, sins were  atoned. However, does the blood of bulls and goats truly take away sin? No! (Hebr. 10:4 à cf. Psalm 40:6-8.   So,  the law foreshadowed the coming of the ultimate sacrifice – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29,36 -à We find Him in Isaiah 53)

10:6 The righteousness based on faith does not look at our own performance of the law. We will always fail!  Therefore, the law makes us ultimately look to Christ.  He, the spotless Lamb has kept the law perfectly for us. He has born the penalty for those that trust in Him.   The price is paid once for all, and those that look to Him are radiant! (Psalm 34:5). 

But what about these strange words in 10:6,7?  "Do not say in your heart, who will ascend into Heaven to (that is to bring Christ down) or who shall descend into the abyss, (that is to bring Christ up) "?  Paul is simply saying this: In seeking to be saved God is not asking you to perform some monumental task by going up into heaven to look for it there, or by descending into the abyss to look for it there.  No! NO!  All you have to do is LISTEN and LOOK right HERE: The word is near you … that is the word of faith that we proclaim (10:8). LISTEN! LOOK!  BELIEVE!

3.       BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (10:9-13)

And so in 10:9 he says it as clear as clear can be, and that, in two ways: by way of an outward vocal confession of Jesus as Lord, and with an inward heart conviction.  

• You must confess[3] with your mouth Jesus as Lord 
•  You must (ii) believe in your heart[4] that God has raised Him from the dead. This thought is strengthened in 10:10  and   again in 10:11  with  quotes from the OT -  Isaiah 28:16,  and in 10:13 we find a quote from Joel  2:32

Paul emphasizes that the OT way of salvation is salvation by grace through faith; not in law-keeping. Christ is the end of the law.  His emphasis in 10:11-13 is of supreme importance:  

Look to Jesus! Look to Him, the righteous One. Receive His righteousness!

Look to Him as the One who was raised from the dead. Believe in Him. In His risen life is your life! 

10:12 In this regard there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. There is not one way of salvation for the Jews and another way for the Gentiles. The same Lord is Lord of all."  There is one way of salvation, and that one way of salvation is Jesus Christ  ALONE.  “

And so,  "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved".  No nation, no tribe  is excluded from this gospel call. 

Can this be said any clearer or plainer?  

Who is here who has not yet called upon the Lord Jesus?

 

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[1] Dikaiosune is mentioned 36 times

[2]  e.g.  Jesus said in Matt.  22:29  “You are wrong, because you know neither  the Scriptures nor the power of God”

[3] Homologeo -  to say the same thing as another, to agree, confess, or openly declare. It is an aorist active subjunctive verb, pointing to a decisive, whole-action acknowledgment.

[4] en tῇ kardia "In the heart," representing the core seat of human thought, will, and emotional conviction rather than mere surface intellect

Ephesians 4:1 - 16 - “Unity for Productivity“

 

From our text we learn that a united church will be a productive church.

The unity we are commanded to maintain will lead to equipping, building, and maturing of the saints for the work of ministry, working properly, making the church grow and built up in love (4:1-16).

As we survey the history of the church, we recognize that church unity has always been a challenge.  Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church in Acts 20:29,30 that fierce wolves would come in among them, speaking twisted things. Satan, the sworn enemy of the church is behind all this, causing division, and therefore we must fight Him in the full armour of God and with the only offensive weapon in our armoury - the Word of God (Eph. 6:10-18 cf. Lk. 4:1-13).

 Context

Ephesians 1-3 contain the doctrinal foundations of the letter to the Ephesians.

In Ephesians 1 we are taught how we become Christians.

In Ephesians 2&3 we learn that Christians are saved to belong to the church. The NT church consists of both, Jew and Gentile, and they are molded into one people. The church is built upon one foundation of which Jesus is the cornerstone - one Lord, who the Head of the church, which is His body (2:20).  

The unity of the church is undergirded by the unity of the Trinity – the three are one!

Ephesians 4-6 follow by way of by practical application. In Chapters 1-3 God says, “I have made you a Christian”, and in Chapters 4-6 he says, “Live like a Christian!” 

We learn much from Paul’s way of thinking and writing. He always lays down doctrinal foundations before he proceeds with practical application.  We cannot be practical unless we know how to be practical. The Bible helps us to be practical.  The Bible is to the church what the skeleton is to the human body.

Doctrine is fundamental. All of life illustrates this. You cannot be a doctor/nurse, a mechanic, a teacher etc. without the relevant doctrine or training which underlies each discipline. Pastors cannot be truly helpful in their preaching and counseling and pastoring without a solid knowledge of Scripture. Likewise, being an effective Christian requires a practical understanding of the Word of God, as it reforms and transforms our mind, leading to fruitful living.  Biblical doctrine does not divide; it unites.

 Chapter 4 begins with an appeal to unity.  

Here we find four important foundations for unity  which lead to productive Christianity:

1. The Grace of Unity (4:1-3)
2. The Ground of Unity (4:4-6)
3. The Gifts for Unity (4:7 -11)
4. The Goal of Unity (4:12-16)

1. THE GRACE OF UNITY (4:1-3)

Here we learn that unity is both, a gift (a grace) from God and a duty (a grace) to be maintained.

Ø  It is a gift from God. We do not create unity. By the grace of God our unity has been provided through the shed blood of Christ (2:13). It is the unity of the Spirit (4:3).  This is a genitive of source or origin—the unity produced or given by the Holy Spirit. It is not something manufactured by human organizational effort.   

Ø  It is a duty to be upheld: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called “(4:1). From this follows the call “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace “(4:3).  How do we do that?   4:2 provides the answer: “..with all humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love”. These are some of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Gal. 5:22,23.

This is the productive soil in which unity can flourish.

 2.  THE GROUND OF UNITY (4:4-6)

“There is one body and one Spirit -just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

The key word, “one” (implying unity), is used 7 times in 4:4-6. 

Church unity is  GROUNDED  in the work of the Tri-unity [the Holy Spirit (4:4); the Lord Jesus (4:5) and God our Father (4:6)]. The Trinity is foundational to the church’s existence and spiritual health.  The true church proceeds from God.  No true church exists apart  from the Trinity.

 Four  further  expressions of unity: one body, one hope, one faith, one baptism.

Ø  One body: The purpose of the saving work of Christ is to bring people together - assimilated as one body -the church!  The great picture given in Ephesians 2 is that   God has assimilated for Himself one people (Jews and Gentiles) from among all nations!  He unites! Satan by contrast, persecutes, scatters and divides. Our old nature tends towards divisiveness.  We have a duty to learn and to practice unity.  We learn to put off the old self and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God (see 4:22-24).

Ø  One hope (that belongs to your call): The Church shares one hope: gaining heaven.  In Ephesians 1:13-14 we learn that that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of this great promise. A believer who has their focus on this ultimate goal is a promising candidate to be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker; a ‘unifier‘ and not a ‘divider’.

Ø  One Faith:  There is one settled body of truth given by Christ to His church. This is the ‘faith’ once entrusted/delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).  We make it our aim to be of the same mind, the same faith. That produces unity. 

Ø   One Baptism:  The ‘church’ is those who have been “baptized in the Spirit“ (by the Holy Spirit who causes us to be ‘born again’ Jn. 3). From  there follows the practice of  believer’s  baptism - an outward testimony and a symbol of that which has taken place in us spiritually.  Only true believers can be united in the church.

 3.  THE GIFTS FOR UNITY (4:7-11)

Ø  Grace filled believers (4:7a): “But grace (Gr. charis) was given to each of us …”. Incidentally, that  ‘grace’ which is given to us  at conversion is the grace which we must give to each other in the body of Christ. It comes in the form of spiritual gifts.

Ø  Believers are gifted in differing degrees (4:7b) “according to the measure of Christ’s gift”[1]. This indicates that Christ gives each believer measured (Gk. ‘metron’) grace.  This is often not understood. All Christian people receive gifts, but all do not receive the same gifts, and neither do all receive them with the same intensity (see also Rom 12:3-6). Our different giftedness is due to an enablement by Christ.  Our Head knows what is good and what is needed to maintain unity in each body of believers.

Ø  Christ is the Giver of the gifts (4:8-10). This is substantiated by an interesting quotation from Ps 68:18. The Psalm is a call to God to come to the rescue of His people. David remembers how God went before His people after the Exodus (v.7) so that the earth quaked (v.8) and kings were scattered (vv. 11-14). Then the king who wanted Mt Zion as his residence (v.16), came from Sinai to his chosen holy place (His sanctuary) (v.17). As he ascended   towards Mt Zion as the conquering King, he led captives and the spoils of war in his entourage. Along the way he generously distributed the gifts (the spoils of war) to the residents of Jerusalem. Paul here applies this picture to Christ. Christ had descended to this sinful earth to die for our sins.  He rose from the grave, triumphing over the power of death, delivering His people, under Satan’s dominion, from spiritual exile.  Christ by His death plunders Satan’s kingdom, robbing him of many of his “sin slaves “, redeeming them to be His own people.  As He ascends   to His glorious throne - the spiritual Mt. Zion, with all His captives for His kingdom, he shares the spoils of that battle won against Satan, by dispensing these former ‘sin slaves’, as His gifts to this world. These gifts from God come to us in the form of people, whom the heavenly King uses to bless His church - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor- teachers.   Pentecost was the primary event when these gifts were given, when the ascended Jesus descended through His Spirit and gave such people to the church in the world.

Ø  Christ has given us foundational gifts to build up the church (4:11-12) This list represents the leading ministries (graces) for the church (the body): apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. I cannot say much about this now. However, since there is much controversy about apostles and prophets in our own day, we must briefly clarify this.  In Eph. 2:19,20 the offices of apostles and prophets are regarded as ‘foundational’ in the church. Foundations do not need to be built continually. We do not need new or more apostles and prophets any more than we need a new Lord Jesus. Their ministries  continue  as we read  and learn from their writings.

 4. THE GOAL OF UNITY (4:12-16)

 We are now coming to our concluding thought. Why does the church need this unity? Why does the church need spiritual gifts? The answer is given in 4:12-16: 

“…to equip the saints for the work for ministry, for building to build them up…”.

All these foundational ministries are very important to the church’s existence and unity, since through these ministries, God’s people  are prepared and perfected  and  equipped.

The word for “preparing /perfecting/ equipping“[2] means ‘fixing something that's broken’ (e.g. torn nets in Matt. 4:21). It can also mean ‘to supply something that is lacking’ (as in 1 Thess. 3:10, "We desire to supply, or equip, what is lacking in your faith").

The work of these foundational ministries is to repair what is broken and to supply what is lacking in and among the members of the church in every generation. 

The members of the church are in the final analysis called "for the work of ministry".  The fixing and supplying what is lacking is meant to make the saints into servants, and in this way the ministering saints contribute to the wholeness of the entire body.

This is unity for productivity. God wants His church to be a unified, healthy body so that His Name can be made known in all the earth.

The more the church understands that she is rooted in the work of the Holy Trinity (the supreme manifestation of Unity) and the more the church works to  understand and apply sound doctrine, enabled by foundational gifts, and the more unity  she  shows  among her members, the  more effective she will be  in her work on earth  as she  fights  this  spiritual war, taking  captives from Satan for Christ’s glory. 

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[1] See also Romans 12:6

[2]  Greek katartizo