Where is your heart today? What’s the condition of your heart? Is it united in a singular focus towards Christ or is it disunited and running a different direction? Is it bound or glued together in Christ or is it divided by multiple visions of satisfied desires? Is it full of the peace of Christ or is it full of the turmoil of sin and suffering?
In Ephesians 4:1 – 6 Paul says…
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
We are called to be prisoners for the Lord who walk in a worthy manner. We are called to walk in hope-filled obedience and Christlike character. We are called to eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit as we walk in the bond of peace. But where does this unity come from? What is the bond or the glue that holds us together? How do we walk in peace?
The opposite of unity is disunity. The opposite of something that is bonded is something that is divided. And the opposite of peace is turmoil. Disunity, division and turmoil have affected every institution from the family, to the church, to the government. And individual people who are a part of those institutions are marked by the effects of disunity, division and turmoil.
Every one of us struggles with walking in unity in the bond of peace because deep within every one of us is a tiny little thing called a heart. And our hearts are often disunited, divided and in turmoil.
If your heart is full of disunity, division or turmoil then you have to ask, why is this so? Why is my heart so full of disunity? Why is my heart so divided? Why is my heart so full of turmoil? And what will it take to bring unity, single-mindedness and peace to my heart?
#1: Why is my heart disunited, divided and full of turmoil?
I ask this question in response to what Paul says here in verse 3 where he says that we are called to eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit as we walk in the bond of peace. The words that caught my attention in this verse were unity, bond and peace. And I began thinking about the opposites of those three words. Which is where I came up with the words disunited, divided and turmoil.
And as I prayed through this I kept getting visions of the seasons of my life where I didn’t walk according to the call of God on my life. Memories of seasons where I didn’t walk in a worthy manner. Periods of time where I didn’t walk in hope-filled obedience with Christ-like character.
And as I prayed through these memories I remembered the meaning of the word “division”. Division simply means two visions. And I remembered that when my heart is divided it’s because my heart has been captured by another vision of the good life that competes with the vision of the God-life that we are called to.
Sometimes these competing visions that distract me from Jesus don’t seem so bad. This is what can be so deceptive and so destructive about competing or even supplementary visions. A relationship. A vocational accomplishment. A goal for my kids. Something to work on in my marriage. A dream for the church. A financial goal.
These things are not bad or evil in and of themselves. But when those things become ultimate things or even supplementary things to my calling to follow Jesus and to desire him above all else, they become idolatrous things and my heart becomes divided by two visions.
Have you experienced this? Are you experiencing this now? Do know what it’s like to have a heart that is walking in disunity, division and even turmoil with the Lord? We need to pray this prayer with the Psalmist every day, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11).
#2: What will it take to bring unity, single-mindedness and peace to my heart?
How do I eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit as I walk in the bond of peace? If I’ve begun to believe that my relational goals, or my parental goals, or my vocational goals or my financial goals are better than or even supplemental to my relationship with Jesus then the issue is the beliefs and the affections of my heart.
If my heart is disunited, divided and in turmoil then somewhere along the line I’ve made an agreement in my heart that Christ alone isn’t good enough to satisfy me. Somehow I’ve believed that Jesus plus something is better than Christ alone. One part of my heart is chasing Jesus and the other part of my heart is chasing something else.
So how does Paul speak to this? What truth does Paul speak into these little deceptive and destructive lies? What does Paul communicate in these verses that will act like a strong foundation to my heart in the midst of the shifting sands of my desires and my affections?
In verses 4 – 6 Paul says that the sure and steadfast foundation of my walk is the truth that “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” There are seven biblically and historically true statements here that could be called “The Unity Creed”.
In fact, some scholars rightly point out that the early church used these seven statements of unity as a confession of faith for members of the church. A confession of faith comes after a confession of sin and it’s meant to produce repentance in us. There is no true repentance without a confession of sin and a confession of faith.
Count these seven confessions of faith with me: 1. There is one body. 2. There is one Spirit. 3. There is one hope. 4. There is one Lord. 5. There is one faith. 6. There is one baptism. 7. There is one God and Father of all. The singular vision we get from these seven truths is the vision of the triune Godhead. Father, Son and Spirit.
We believe in the unity of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are equally and eternally united. There is no separation in God. Distinct persons yes but no separation. No disunity. No division. No turmoil. The Father gives his Son at the cross to pay the penalty for our sin so that we can have a new hope as we place our faith in him alone. The Spirit woos us to the Father through Christ, establishes us as newly adopted children through baptism within the family of the church and then he continually forms us into the character of Christ.
Can you see this vision? Can you see the Father, the Son and the Spirit making this plan before the foundations of the Earth for you? Can you see them writing your name in the Lamb’s book of life? Can you see the weight of your sin? Can you see Jesus coming and dying joyfully on the cross for you? Can you see him standing here and calling you to drop everything to come and follow him? What kind of eagerness does this create within you?
#3: Hosea 7:8 – 13 confronts our divided hearts…
The people of Hosea’s day were trying to worship both pagan idols and the one true, living God. So the prophet Hosea used three colorful figures of speech to describe their divided hearts.
Ephraim (Israel) mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all this. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the Heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. (Hosea 7:8 – 13)
The Israelites were like a half-baked cake – desirable neither to God nor the pagans (7:8). They were like a proud man who can’t see the signs of his aging – they were unaware of their spiritual decline (vv.9-10). They were like a senseless dove – flying from one pagan nation to another in a vain quest for help (v.11). They were in danger of destroying any chance or redemption. (vv.12 – 13)
Today, we as Christians are often afflicted with the same divided-heart syndrome. We believe on Jesus but we are reluctant to commit every area of our lives to Him. We go to church but we don’t want to live out our faith each day if it deprives us of worldly success or pleasure.
A divided heart results in some serious consequences. First, we don’t please God or attract unbelievers to Christ. Second, it may take a crisis to show us our true spiritual decline. And third, we live unfulfilled lives, even though we run from one worldly pleasure to another. We need to pray this prayer with the Psalmist every day, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11).
#4: Deuteronomy 6:4 – 15 calls us to walk in singular devotion to God alone…
Moses says, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you – with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant – and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you – for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God – lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. (Deut. 6:4 – 15)
In these verses there’s a reminder, a command, a promise and a warning. Moses reminds us that God is one. He cannot be disunited, divided or in a state of turmoil. Therefore we are commanded to emulate God with our lives. Our thoughts, our words, our actions, our relationships, our homes, our families, our business’s, our churches, our entertainment, our lifestyles, should all be marked by a singular devotion to God.
There’s a promise and a warning in these verses too. We are promised that the Lord will bless our lives abundantly as the God who sets us free from slavery pours out his blessings upon us. But he warns us not to forget him. Not to chase the things that the world chases after. Not to chase after other gods.
Now don’t let yourself off the hook just because you don’t have statues to bow down to like the Israelites did. Statues weren’t the main issue for Israel. The main issue was their divided, disunited and tumultuous hearts that were chasing the popular practices of the world they lived in. In our world it’s no different.
It’s popular to chase the almighty dollar. It’s popular to chase inappropriate relationships. It’s popular to chase vocational success. The Lord warns us not to follow the call of the world because if we do we will trade the blessings of God for the righteous anger of God. How eager are you to walk in obedience to the Lord?
Conclusion…
I want to remind us that we are called to walk with eagerness as we maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This begins in the heart of every individual and works it’s way out into the family relationships we have. And if the vision of the Father, Son and Spirit from Paul in Ephesians 4 and Hosea and Moses hasn’t provoked your heart towards this kind of joyful, energetic, passionate eagerness then let me bring one more passage of Scripture to your attention.
You may recall the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. The son lives in his Father’s presence with everything he could ever need. And one day he gets bored with his Father. He implies that he wishes his father were dead when he asks for his inheritance early so he can follow the call of the world and chase down what he wants.
His Father graciously turns his son loose to follow his dreams. And after melting his life down he finds himself longing, desiring and dreaming about eating the pig slop with the pigs in the pigpen. Now stop here for a minute and ask yourself, what caused this son who had everything he could ever need to walk away and begin dreaming about eating pig slop? What person in their right mind would want to eat pig slop or think that pig slop looks desirable in comparison to the presence of our good Father?
And that’s the turning point in the story because Jesus tells us that “when he came to himself” or “when he woke up” or “when he came to his senses,” he remembered how good the presence of his Father was. And in that moment his affections were changed. His desires were changed. His needs became his wants. His heart was united by the vision of his good Father who was running down to the end of the driveway to throw his arms around him and throw a welcome feast for him. He was no longer walking in disunity, division and turmoil.
Now I ask… what kind of eagerness does this provoke within you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all? What kind of eagerness does this provoke within you?