Unity: The Mark of Regeneration & Revival
By Pastor Matt Black
19
August 2007
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 4:3
Introduction: Open your Bibles to the book of Ephesians 4. The title of this morning’s message is “Unity: The Mark of Regeneration & Revival”. Once you’ve found Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, let’s stand out before our great and awesome God as we read His Word this morning. It’s not my word or my ideas I’m giving you this morning.
Now if you are visiting with us, we are going through the book of Ephesians. We generally go through entire books of the Bible verse by verse. We take God’s Word very seriously. It is the Word of the King of kings.
Now before we read, let’s understand that Paul’s just given three chapters of what God did to regenerate us—now He gives this mark of true Christians. We have a unity, “togetherness”, a fellowship, a oneness in the Gospel. We all have something in common. It is the great work of the Spirit that called us to a vocation (a life’s work) of obedience to God. We are really looking at the ministry of the Spirit of God within us this morning. What He did in regeneration in uniting us together in one Body. But the life that we need to endeavor to keep constant is the watching that our lives revolve around the work of the Spirit. The unity takes a massive amount of work to maintain. That work is really what God does in progressive sanctification. He’s putting us through all kinds of trials and tests to make us more like Jesus. It makes us more dependent on God and more interdependent on one another!
Before we read, our outline this morning is:
I. Our Walk (Walk worthy)
A. A penetrating Walk
B. A pleasing Walk
C. A purposeful Walk
D. A painful walk
II. Our Work (Endeavour—work to the point of exhaustion)
A. The grit of this work
B. The goal of this work
C. The guts of this work
III. Our Watch (Keep or be a lookout for unity) I note five marks of Christian unity)
A. Awareness of God’s Presence
B. Sensitivity to Sin
C. Holiness of Life
D. Responsiveness to God’s Word
E. A Willingness to Witness
IV. Our Well-being (The bond of peace!) A revived Church is full of life and joy.
Let’s read Ephesians 4:1-6, “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.”
I. Our Walk. Verse 1, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”. If you are going to be united, you are going to need to walk worthy! Walk—daily obedience to the Lord.
A. A penetrating walk. Walk WORTHY!!!! None of us here understands the sheer weight of what God has done for us. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Paul took us through some amazing things that God has done for us in chapters 1 through 3, but the Spirit of God says this morning, that we have not seen the tenth of it! We all ought to be weighed down and penetrated because by His grace we can be called the “elect” of God (1:4). “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” God left Esau alone, but He wrestled with Jacob! He went after Jacob. God left Esau alone. Esau received just hatred from God. God should have hated us too. Each of us is certainly worthy of His wrath. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight. He is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” and He cannot “look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:12). Why can God look on us? Because “To the praise of the glory of his grace… he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (1:6). By nature we were all objects of His wrath “fitted for destruction”, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (2:4-7).
B. A pleasing or worthy walk. There is an activity to the Christian life. But the Christian life is not just about activity. We cannot humanly reproduce what only God can do. Activity does not necessarily mean spirituality. It is about being active about the right things. It’s not just about programs and having a social club. You can be busy about things, but you had better make sure they are the right things. We are to walk in a way that pleases God. We want to be a God centered, Bible saturated church. We don’t come here to please ourselves—to entertain ourselves. We come because we are impressed with God. And we leave here impressed with Him. We leave here like Isaiah saying “Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
You might be active at church, but are you walking worthy at home? Are you singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” at church, and forgetting about holiness the rest of the week? Are you at all impressed with God?
C. A purposeful walk. Our walk is to a calling to Christlikeness. Why did God leave us here in the muck and the mire? Why didn’t he just translate us all to heaven the moment we were saved? So God could vindicate the power of His Word to make us like Christ.
We have a purpose to all of this activity. It is found in Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son Seek the deeper things.” Everything we do ought to be so that we please God and that we are conformed to the image of Christ.
D. A painful walk.
1. God calls us. We follow Him. His call may mean going to the backside of a desert for 40 years. You don’t argue with the call of God. You just go. You do what God wants you to do. Right now it might be a job, or a difficult family situation. It may be your health. But remember this call is not to a utopia on earth, it is to a paradise in heaven! Paul said in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
2. God creates a moldability in us. Verse 2, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love”.
Just before Jesus went to the cross, he lifted up His eyes to heaven, and he revealed the desire of His heart in a prayer.
John 17:11, “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”
John 17:21, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
John 17:22, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one”.
John 17:23, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
God has done something awesome—He’s made us one. He’s united us to the Spirit. That is Christ’s prayer, that we would be one. That is our work.
II. Our Work (Endeavor) Verse 3, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.
A. The Grit of Christian unity—it’s hard work!
Unity takes work. Endeavor! We are told to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Christian life is hard work. The word “keep” means to maintain. Christ put you in the Body. He gave you the Spirit. Now work hard to keep close fellowship with Him, and through that, you will have close fellowship with other believers. But this takes work.
The word is translated in other places in our English Bible as “to be forward”, “give diligence” or “to labour”, —it has the idea in 2 Timothy 2:15, to “labor to the point of utter exhaustion”: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
B. The Goal of Christian unity is maturity or Christlikeness. Look at Ephesians 4:13. Why are working so hard? What is the goal of working toward this unity? “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”. There is coming a day when we will be perfect or mature. We are to work hard to maintain the unity that the Spirit of God has already given to us until we come to Christian maturity. There is serious die to self discipline involved in genuine Christians. Many who want to call themselves Christians give up trying to be holy, and they get out of step with the rest of the body. A true Christian may get out of step, but he will not stay out of step. He will work hard to stay in step with the Spirit.
Illustration: Imagine you are in a canoe on a moving river. The river current is always moving. What do you need to swim against the current? You need an anchor and some paddles. We are all rowing against the current of the world. It is hard work. Christ is our anchor. With our trust in Him we can never be moved. But if we do not work hard and put our gaze on Him every day, then what will happen? What happens to a boat that has no paddles and no anchor? It’s swept into the current of the world.
C. This work takes Guts—personal responsibility. Endeavor! Give it all you’ve got! It demands all you’ve got. 1 Corinthians 9:24 asks “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?” What is Paul’s answer? “So run, that ye may obtain.” Unity demands all you’ve got. We are all coming to Christian maturity.
This is not a new and revolutionary principle to you. You all know that we are to walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We are told “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), all the while knowing that it is “God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”.
Yes, God is working in you. Certainly we can say that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). But it is your personal responsibility to grow and change. There are times here and there when you will need to seek out a counselor in the church, but the vast majority of the time in the Christian life, you are to go directly to God. He is our “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). You and I serve the same God. The God of Solomon is your God. Solomon wasn’t wise until God made Him wise. You’ll not be wise until God makes you wise. If you need an answer, you need to make it your habit to go to God first.
Your goal, my goal in working hard to guard the unity is maturity. Christlikeness. Work to the point of exhaustion for this unity—this common growing in Christlikeness!
So we’ve seen our Walk and our Work! There’s activity. There’s hard work. But you can’t be idle. You need to watch.
III. Our Watch (Keep, guard, maintain the unity of the Spirit. Essentially we are to guard our coporate union with the Spirit by guarding our personal union or walk with the Spirit. As Verse 3 says, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.
You need to make every effort—working to the point of exhaustion to keep the unity. “Keep” means to be on the lookout, like a watchman. What are we looking for? “The unity of the Spirit”. Nothing is more vital to maintain. The spiritual fruits of
Ø All Lowliness: literally, “low mindedness”.
o Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Ø Meekness: The ability to receive injury without retaliation. It is a gentle response to injury.
o Matthew 5:39, “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Ø Long Suffering: The construction has two words: distance (long) and passion (suffering). Distance yourself from fleshly irritations and aggravations.
Ø Forbearance in Love: tolerating, putting up with, like you would a family member.
The very best way you can make sure you keep these low opinions of yourself and loving attitude and responses to the brethren is by maintaining your own union and fellowship with the Spirit. We call this progressive sanctification or personal revival.
Look at verse 3 again: we are to be “endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.
Ø Keep your eyes open for the Spirit’s Work
We could say it this way: keep your eyes open for the Spirit’s work. Always be endeavoring, longing, working to the point of exhaustion—agonizing for the Spirit’s work. Keep your eyes open! What are the manifestations of that bring a spiritual unity? We are talking about this atmosphere that is palpably filled with the Spirit of God.
I long to see us become a people where the Spirit of God is so alive and free that someone involved in sin would immediately sense the Spirit’s conviction just by being among us.
I want to take an exercise of how to do this through the Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in Isaiah 6. How is your bond to the Spirit? Turn to Isaiah 6, and let’s find out.
Here we see five marks of a strong Unity to the Spirit. Now we should all be seeking this together, because it is the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. This seeking of revival and Christian maturity or Christlikeness is what binds us together. It is the “tie that binds”. To be like Jesus! There are five marks of a strong union with the Spirit. Look at Isaiah 6.
A. First there is an Awareness of God's presence. Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah said, “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” He says in verse 5, “mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”.
The first and fundamental feature in unity among God’s people is the sense that God has drawn awesomely near in his holiness, mercy, and might. This is felt as the fulfilling of the prayer of Isaiah 64:1-2: “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence . . . to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!” There are times when we are more awakened for God’s presence. My case tonight is that our Ephesians 4:3 text implies that we ought to work for this heightened awareness of union with the Spirit of God. This is exactly what happened to Isaiah. I a vision he “saw the Lord sitting on a throne” in the temple and heard the angels' song — “Holy, holy, holy”—
You I’m sure are asking how you can achieve this heightened sense of the presence of God.
1. A yielded heart.
Ephesians 5:18 tells us, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” The idea here is be ye being filled. It is a continual filling.
So first, I would say there must be a constant yielding to God.
2. An asking heart. Secondly, I think we get another step is asking. We read in Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” The context here is a child of God asking for a greater measure of the Spirit control. Again this is the filling, but we have a new element added here. That is not only a yielded heart, but an asking heart.
B. Secondly, there is a Sensitivity to Sin. There is a deep awareness of sin for the one who is awakened by the Spirit of God. Isaiah heard the angelic voices, “Holy, holy, holy”, and he was forced to cry in verse 5, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips”. God manifests His presence, and there is a scorching of the soul, and the searching begins! “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
We must here understand that we can weary God with our sins.
1. In awakening we have an intense realization that sin grieves the Spirit and wearies God.
We read in Ephesians 4:30, “grieve not the holy Spirit of God”. The slightest shred of hypocrisy must be discarded. God says to Israel of old in Isaiah 43:24, “thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.”
Like a leg that has fallen asleep, we need to awaken ourselves daily in the broad daylight of God’s presence.
2. In awakening sin becomes exceeding sinful. We awake, and Christ sheds light on all our sin. Ephesians 5:14, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
3. This awakening is a daily need. We need an extreme sensitivity to sin. Is a little bit of sin ok in the presence of God?
Colossians 3:10, “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”.
Romans 12:2, “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”.
2 Corinthians 4:16, “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day”.
Daily we must battle against coldness and hardness of heart. Only a radical surrender can begin to penetrate the apathy in our heart. I use a word like “radical” because it shows urgency. Be urgent about your union with the Spirit! Be radical about the Spirit’s filling and working in your life. Endeavor—work to the point of exhaustion—to maintain it.
“If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:30).
A person filled with the Holy Spirit is deeply aware of all that assaults holiness.
As we live in the light of God’s presence, we will constantly see where we are out of step with the Spirit and with the Body of Christ. Our unity is broken when we break union with God. We call that SIN.
Deep awareness of what things are sinful and how sinful we are is the third feature of revival that calls for notice. No matter how exciting things are in the church, if there is no profound sense of sin at its heart, then it is not a manifestation of the Spirit. When the Spirit of God comes, “when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). If one can remain comfortable with sin, the Spirit is not there, no matter how dramatic the preaching or how “powerful” the program.
God's coming, and the consequent impact of His Word, makes Christians much more sensitive to sin than they previously were: consciences become tender and a profound humbling takes place. The perverseness, ugliness, uncleanness, and guilt of sin are seen and felt with new vividness.
Under revival conditions consciences are so quickened that
conviction of each person's own sinfulness becomes strong agonizing and
unbearable, bringing on agonies of mind that are beyond imagining till they
happen. The Gospel’s love and forgiveness as seen in Christ's cross comes to be
loved as never before, as people see their need of it so much more clearly. The
cross becomes the BLAZING CENTER OF GOD’S GLORY because it is the only place
for sinners to find shelter from the just wrath of God.
Look at Acts 2:367. Peter preaches, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both
Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked
[PIERCED] in their heart”.
Peter's listeners on the day of Pentecost were “pricked to the heart,' which literally means to inflict with a violent blow, a vivid image of an agonizingly painful experience. The people were shattered, and the congregation cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Peter showed them the way of repentance, faith, and discipleship through Jesus Christ, and three thousand of them took it (Acts 2:37-41). They continued steadfast in the apostle’s doctrine and prayers and breaking of bread.
Revival always includes a profound awareness of one's own sinfulness, leading to deep repentance and heartfelt embrace of the glorified, loving, pardoning Christ.
C. Thirdly, there is Holiness of Life. We read in verse 7 that Isaiah received cleansing, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged”. The angel flew over to Isaiah with coals from off the altar of burnt offering where the lamb would have been offered. Listen, the life of unity is a cross-centered life. “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted”! Isaiah says, “comfort ye my people”. Let me comfort you. Come to the cross and confess your sins and God will cleanse you completely. All you need for holy living is a humble heart. God will turn your brokenness into zeal for holy living.
D. Fourthly there is a Responsiveness to God's Word. Verse 8, once Isaiah is cleansed, he hears a voice!! John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”.
Let’s go back to Isaiah! “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Our unity is based on truth. Not our voice, but God’s voice. Not our plan. Our ultimate authority is God’s Word. This is the truth for us. But it is not just knowing truth, but responding to it. The sense of God's presence imparts new authority to His truth. The Bible, which previously was making only a superficial impact, if that, now searches its hearers and readers to the depth of their being. The statement that “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12) is authenticated over and over again in the life of an awakened believer. The word of God authenticates itself to revived consciences, and there is no room for half way lukewarm responses. It’s all radical forceful obedience to His Word.
E. Finally, there is a Willingness to Witness. Look at verse 9, God says, “Go, and tell this people…” Revival always has an evangelistic into the world. When God revives the church, the new life overflows from the church for the conversion of outsiders into the life of the Body. Christians become fearless in witness and tireless in serving Christ.
IV. Our Well-being (Bond of Peace).
Bond is to be tied together. A revived church is full of the life, joy and power of the Holy Spirit. With the Spirit's coming, fellowship with Christ is brought right to the center of our worship and devotion; the glorified Christ is shown, known, loved, served, and exalted. Love and generosity, unity and joy, assurance and boldness, a spirit of praise and prayer, and a passion to reach out to win others are recurring marks of a people experiencing revival. So is divine power in their preachers, a power which has nothing to do with natural eloquence.
Listen the result of regeneration (chapters 1-3) and revival (the working and watching) is peace with your brethren. But remember all the world is at war against you. And there may be fold who come into our assembly who are not walking in the Spirit, who are not watching and working each day to please the Spirit of God. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). There are those who oppose the work of revival. There are those who will mock and call you strict and legalistic because you oppose sin. So be it. Let us be holy as God is holy. Let us join ourselves together in holy covenant. We are bound together by the cords of peace. The tie that binds is our love for Christ and our love for one another. There may be much strife coming at the Body. Always the world will oppose us—always we are at war with the enemies of our Lord. But let us “work to the point of exhaustion” “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.
Conclusion: Why Must we Work So Hard to Maintain this Unity?
Two reasons:
You see here there are always two sides to the Christian life. God elects us. He draws us to Himself. We have that high and weighty calling. But
When I speak of personal revival, I mean a daily renewing of your mind, a recommitting of yourself to the Lordship of Christ. I urge you daily to take remembrance of what Christ has done for you and what His claim on your life is.
The truth of this that we’ll be looking at this morning is found in verse 3, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. As we said last week, this word “endeavoring” means to spare no effort—it has the idea of urgency, passion, and diligence. Are you bound to the Spirit in perfect harmony? Are you obeying the unction and leading of the Spirit in your life?
Of course in short order, Paul is going to tell us why unity is so important. He’s going to tell us that we are to “do the work of the ministry”. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, and in order to accomplish His will, we must be passionately, diligently, and urgently connected to Him and His will and heartbeat for our lives.
Essentially, we all need to maintain the life of the Spirit in our personal lives and in our interactions one with another in the church.
Closing Hymn: 12 All Hail the Power of Jesus Name