Eph 4:1-7 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with 
which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with 
one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is 
one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, 
one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  But
 unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

The Unity of the Spirit! - The underlying motive is to work at keeping the Unity of the Spirit.  
Let’s consider what the “unity of the Spirit” is, what is involved in maintaining or holding onto it, 
and why is it so valuable.    

A simple definition for “unity of the Spirit” is the common ground we share in the Lord by the 
working the Holy Spirit in us. 

¨      One Body – Each of us is joined vitally to Christ and is called to be an expression of His 
Glory in the earth.  1 Cor 12:12-22 …the body is one and has many members, but all the members … are one body, so also is Christ. … Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free … 
all been made to drink into one Spirit.  ….the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand,
 I am not of the body," … If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? … 
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 
19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? … eye cannot say to the 
hand, "I have no need of you"… No, much rather, those members of the body which 
seem to be weaker are necessary.  KJV

a)      Discuss the application of this text in the context of our being one body. 

Every Christian is part of the Body of Christ / You can not shun someone because of their differences although church discipline is still a possibility / Every member is meant to bring 
benefit to the whole / The Baptist needs the Charismatic… / God has established local 
churches for a purpose that is complimentary not competitive / God has placed you in a 
church for a purpose that benefits the Body. Rom 12:4-5 & 1 Cor 10:17 May shed 
further light if necessary. 

b)      What is the greatest challenge for you living out being part of one body in this 
local church?

c)      What is the greatest challenge for you living out being part of a church body that 
is only one part of the greater body of Christ?  

¨      One Spirit – Matt 16:16-18 … flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. …  Gal 1:11-12 … the gospel which was preached by me is not according to 
man. …it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.   Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the 
LORD is upon Me… John 14:16-18  … Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 
the Spirit of truth… He dwells with you and will be in you. … I will come to you.   NKJV

a)      Do all Christians have the same Holy Spirit, what does the Holy Spirit do in the 
life of the believer, and how might He work differently in believers?  No one
 comes to the Lord without being drawn by the Lord.  The Holy Spirit does the work of regeneration in every Christian.  No Christian can be born again without the work of the 
HS.  It is in the Spirit we are connected to God.  There is not a Baptist HS and a 
Pentecostal HS.  There is one HS who quickens in spirit soul and body each Christian. 

¨      One hope of your calling – “… the same glorious future…” TLB  “… you were called to 
one hope when you were called…” NIV  Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the 
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 
Heb 6:18-20 …This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,… 1 Peter 1:3-4 … begotten 
us again to a living hope …. 1 John 3:2-3 … we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him 
as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 

a)      How important is the hope we have as Christians and does this hope effect how we
 live.  All of us hope in an eternal salvation / This hope anchors us through the storms of 
life / It is a “Living Hope” and that is more than talk / All hope to be made like Him / The 
hope encourages us in living a life of purity.

¨      One Lord – By definition a Lord is the one in supreme or ultimate authority.  All 
Christians have given this place to Jesus Christ because of what He has done for us.  
Rom 14:8-9 … we are the Lord's. …1 Cor 1:1-3 … to those who are sanctified in Christ 
Jesus… with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both 
theirs and ours  1 Cor 8:6 … one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and 
through whom we live.  1 Cor 12:5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
   Phil 3:8-9 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord…

a)      What areas of your life have been most impacted by the call to live under the 
Lordship of Christ?  We belong to the Lord.  He is Lord over a mixed multitude at FFD
 and in the earth.  All things exist by Him and without Him nothing was made.  It is by the 
design of our Lord that there are differences of ministries.  We respond to His giving 
everything by giving Him all of us.  Therefore how I spend my time and money, and all of 
my life choices are directly effected by my response to His Lordship.

¨      One faith – Rom 3:22-26 … the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ … 
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … that 
He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.   Phil 3:8-14 Yet 
indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
Lord… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, … I press on, that I may lay hold of that for 
which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren … I press toward the goal for the 
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Gal 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.  NKJV

a)     In the context of our faith what are some of the things that unite believers, and 
what are the things they divide over?     Our shortcomings are visible and we don’t 
have identical doctrine.  Churches apply different doctrines and interpret the Bible 
differently.  We don’t keep the main thing the main thing and that is living out our faith.    Deliverance is another potentially divisive issue. 

© 2003  Rev. Paul Gmitter