As Paul the
apostle continued to exhort the Ephesian church members, he told them
to “walk worthy of” their “vocation wherewith”
they “were called”, and they were to do so with “all
lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in
love”. In chapter four and verse three of his letter, Paul
shared how they were to “endeavor to” be “unified”
“in the Spirit” where we read:
The
verse begins, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the
Spirit ...” Paul began with
the word, “Endeavoring”
which means “to hasten, make haste, exert one's self and give
diligence” “to keep”
or “attend to carefully, take care of, guard, observe and reserve”
“the unity” which
means “unanimity and agreement” “of the Spirit”
which refers to “the third person of the triune God, the
Holy Spirit who is coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son”.
Christians are to “give diligence” and “attend to carefully”
“unanimity and agreement” by God's “Spirit”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...in the bond of peace.” Paul
continued, “in the bond” which means “that which binds
together like a band or bundle” “of peace” or “a state
of tranquility, exemption from rage and havoc, harmony, concord,
security, safety, prosperity and felicity”. Paul's idea was for the
Ephesians to “bind together” in a state of “peace” as
they walked out their “calling”.
When
we consider these words of Paul, we understand the importance of
being at “peace” and “unified” with our fellow
believers. This happens through God's Holy “Spirit” and is
managed by our relationships with Jesus Christ. As we “walk”
out our “callings” together, we should be “in agreement
and as one”, and as we continue in “unified” fellowship
with Jesus and others, the world will know our witness of God's love
and commitment to them.
Next
time Paul shares about “one body” and
“one Spirit”, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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