As this song has said to us, we may bring our
burdens directly to the Father because we have
one who intercedes on our behalf before Him,
even the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you give that
burden to God right now and ask Him to bring
strength or healing or renewed joy to your heart?
as He lifts that burden. Let Him do it right
now. Father, may we be free to receive what You
have to say to us from the Word this morning.
Liberate us from our own anxieties and from Satan's
attacks so that we might be able to focus our
minds and our hearts upon that which is eternal,
even the Word of God. May the Holy Spirit do
a work in us, uniting us together as one body
in Jesus Christ, even as we meditate upon this
truth this morning of your unity as God. In Jesus'
name I pray, amen. A few days ago, a friend of
mine here in the city invited me again to go
to a rotary club meeting with him. I always enjoy
that, not just because I have the opportunity
to sit with him and fellowship for a while, but
because it's just interesting and even fun to
be out there with people in the community and
to see how they talk and to see how they think.
As we go to the Rotary Club, the session usually
begins with the preliminaries. And usually that
involves a Pledge of Allegiance and the singing
of some kind of a song much like we used to begin
school back in the olden days and then we have
our meal together and someone usually asks blessing
upon the food from God and then we eat and following
that there is the the main program and then everybody
goes home As we were walking out this last Monday,
I said to my friend, you know, this is a religion
to some of these people, isn't it? And being
a member of the club and being there fairly regularly,
he said, yes, in fact, it is. Many of these people
belong to churches, but their real religion is
rotary. It's a service club. And that's where
they sense they belong. In fact, that sense of
belonging is so real that at the club, they keep
track of attendance. And this last Monday they
published how many times each member had been
there over the last few months and what the percentage
was. And I thought to myself, what a great idea
for a church. They're really serious at rotary
regarding belonging to that organization. That
all of us have heard in the last few weeks regarding
the rise of gangs. especially in the inner city
of North Minneapolis. Some of it apparently related
to drugs, but these gangs are groups of kids
who want to belong to something. Now certainly
money is part of it, drugs is part of it, thrill
may be part of it, but at the real heart of it.
is a desire on the part of the kids to belong.
And we've gone from one end of the spectrum,
a community service organization that does a
lot of good, to a gang that does a lot of bad.
But there's a common thread that ties them together,
I think, and that is the desire on the part of
members of both to belong. You see? God has put
the desire to belong in the heart of every human
being. I believe that that desire is a fingerprint
of God upon every human life. We all want to
be a part of something. We are living in an age
when we are told there is a trend toward privatization.
Some call it cocooning. where people are withdrawing
into their own homes or their own apartments
and conducting their business and even their
social life in private away from everybody else.
That is abnormal. In a certain sense, that's
more abnormal than belonging to a gang. Because
the normal thing is to want to be with others
and to belong with others to something that is
meaningful. I repeat, the belonging that we inherently
seek I think is a fingerprint of God upon us.
Think with me about the original creation and
how it reflected a God -designed oneness. When
you go back in your reading of the Bible and
look at Genesis chapters 1 and 2, and you see
how God created the world, the universe, and
mankind, you see there an evident harmony between
God and his creation. After God had finished
his work, he looked at it and he said, it is
very good. There was a harmony between God and
that which He had brought into existence. And
likewise, we see a harmony between the various
categories, species, and kinds that are involved
in creation. A wonderful oneness and harmony
to the creation that God brought into existence.
Now there was certain hierarchy, and there was
order. But there was also a wonderful harmony
to all things. Everything belonged together.
It fit. Now why is that? Why did God create the
world that way? He did not create it the way
we see it today. He created it differently. It
was a world that was harmonious. Well, the reason
God created the world that way is because He
desired that the creation reflect Himself. And
God is one. In the unity of the Godhead, there
are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. But it's not three gods. It's one
God. The oneness of creation was the glory, the
reflected glory, of God's essential oneness.
God's oneness. That oneness is stated for us
in Deuteronomy 6 .4, where it says, Hear, O Israel,
the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. That is
a basic tenet of Judaism. It's called the Shema.
The Lord is one. And because of the misunderstanding
of Jews about Christianity, they often say that
we worship three gods, when in fact we worship
the Lord who is one, but who eternally subsists
in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. That involves the mystery of God's
triunity. And God's tri -unity is an essential
doctrine of Scripture, even though the word itself
is not used. One cannot be a believer in the
God of the Bible and reject the concept of God's
tri -unity. But notice just in that word, the
word unity, tri -unity, three in one. The idea,
the concept of God being three in one was one
that took a number of centuries for the church
to begin to grasp and to articulate. It was a
doctrine that was somewhat hidden in the Old
Testament. We can go back with the searchlight
of the New Testament and see it in various places.
But it's not until the New Testament that the
tri -unity of God is clearly evidenced. And yet
it took the church several centuries to be able
to come to grips with what that means. One of
the oldest of the statements and clearest of
the statements is called the Athanasian Creed.
Athanasius was a church leader in the fourth
century who debated and defeated the teachings
of Arius, who denied the deity of Jesus Christ
and the triunity of God. His modern -day descendants
are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now there's a creed
that bears his name, although he did not write
it. It's called the Athanasian Creed. It says,
in part, the Catholic faith is that we venerate
one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity. neither
confounding the persons nor separating the substance.
Sounds like a creed, doesn't it? The person of
the Father is one, of the Son another, of the
Holy Spirit another. But the divinity of the
Father, Son, and Spirit is one, their glory equal,
co -eternal, their majesty. The Father is neither
made nor created nor begotten. The Son is from
the Father alone, not made, nor created, but
begotten. The Holy Spirit is from the Father
and the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten,
but proceeding. Therefore there is one Father,
not three Fathers, one Son, not three Sons, one
Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this
Trinity there is nothing prior or posterior,
nothing greater or less. But all the three persons
are co -eternal and co -equal, so that in all
things both a trinity in unity and a unity in
trinity is to be worshipped." Did you get that?
Those are heavy duty thoughts that are compressed
together in a creed, and that's what a creed
is all about. But the point is this. Now we have
come to an understanding of what this idea means
that God is a unity, God is one, and yet eternally
exists in three persons. Now we can't fully explain
it. It's impossible for us to reason this, but
we begin to understand what the Word of God reveals
to us about the majesty of this one that we call
God. And the creation was harmonious. Even though
it was diverse, it was harmonious because it
reflected His glory as the one God. But God's
original design was ruined. The oneness was destroyed
by the entrance of sin. Sin is the great separator.
Sin separated God from man. Sin separated man
from man. Sin separated human beings from animals.
It's the great separator. The glory of God's
oneness was no longer evident in the fallen order.
And so God's purpose in Jesus Christ is to restore
the glory of his oneness to creation. Turn with
me to Colossians, chapter 1. And look at verses
19 and 20. It was the Father's good pleasure
for all the fullness to dwell in Christ, and
through Him to reconcile all things to Himself.
Having made peace through the blood of his cross
through him I say whether things on earth or
things in heaven Part of the purpose of redemption
of the work of the cross of Jesus Christ is to
reconcile all things Whether in heaven or on
earth to God To bring things full circle as it
were back to this oneness Look in Ephesians chapter
1 in verse 9 It says he made known to us the
mystery of his will according to his kind intention
which he purposed in Christ with a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the
times The apostle is looking ahead when everything
is consummated all of God's purposes are finally
realized. He calls that the fullness of the times.
It's the destiny toward which everything is moving.
And he says that is the summing up of all things
in Christ. Things in the heavens and things upon
the earth. You say where is history leading?
It's leading to a summation. Where everything
will be summed up in Jesus Christ There will
be a unity or rather a harmony a oneness About
creation again in its relationship to its creator
And just one more text in Romans chapter 8 where
we see the same basic idea In verse 20 of this
great chapter it says the creation was subjected
to futility, not of its own will, but because
of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation
itself also will be set free from its slavery
to corruption into the freedom of the glory of
the children of God. You see, the work of Jesus
Christ at the cross certainly dealt with our
sin. That's the primary focus of it, but in the
focus as well. is the liberation of creation
and the bringing back to a harmony and a oneness
that the whole universe will share in by the
work of Jesus Christ. God is in the business
today of bringing together a people for His name's
sake. A people who are at one with Him and who
someday will be at one with all of the creation.
that God will make in the new heaven and the
new earth. God is bringing together a people
who are also to be one with one another. It is
the Holy Spirit who makes this oneness a reality
when we're saved. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12,
the Apostle says, we're all baptized by one Spirit
into one body. It means that the Holy Spirit
places us into the body of Jesus Christ so that
we belong. It's fine to belong to Rotary or to
the PTA or to the 4 -H or to whatever else one
wants to belong to in this world and has the
time and energy and money to be a part of. It's
fine to belong to those things. But I want you
to know that the greatest belonging there is,
is to belong to Jesus Christ and to His body.
That's the greatest belonging in the universe.
There is no association of people that is greater
than that association that is brought about by
the blood of Jesus Christ and people who trust
in Him. The ultimate in belonging is to belong
to Him. Turn back again to 1 Corinthians and
look in chapter 3, and I want you to notice something
that I think is very special. He talks about
how wonderful it is to know God in these early
chapters of 1 Corinthians 3, to have that true
wisdom. And he says in verse 21 of 1 Corinthians
3, so then let no one boast in men. You remember
that's what these people were doing. They were
winding up with various Bible teachers or apostles
and they were saying, I'm the follower of this
one or I follow that one. And the apostle says,
let no one boast in men for all things belong
to you. Let's just stop there for a minute. Just
park your car for just a minute on that phrase.
All things belong to you. Just think of that.
All things belong to you. He goes on to say whether
Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life
or death or things that are present right now,
or the future, things to come. He says all things
belong to you. Sometimes we mope around and we
crawl around like we are the poppers of the earth.
Sometimes our checkbook does reflect something
pretty similar to that, doesn't it? But folks,
spiritually, we are the princes of God's creation.
We are the royalty of God's creation. And all
things in God's universe belong to us. But there's
something even more wonderful than that. It goes
on to say, and you belong to Christ. Now put
your car in park again and just stay there for
a minute. Think about that. Just look at this
spectacle. You belong to Christ. Someone told
me that as you drive down Interstate 35 through
Iowa that there is a place called Scenic Overlook.
Now immediately you see the contradiction, don't
you? But there it says Scenic Overlook, and as
you drive back into this Scenic Overlook, you
drive back into a soybean field. And that's all
there is. They were going to make a lake, but
they decided not to do that. But they kept the
scenic overlook. So you drive back into the soybean
field and all you see is soybeans. I want you
to drive into this scenic overlook for a minute
and realize that you belong to Jesus Christ.
That means you don't belong to this world. You
don't belong to this world. You don't even belong
really to yourself. You've been redeemed with
the price. You belong to Jesus Christ. You're
His possession. You're His treasure. You're His
body. I had a part in a wedding yesterday. and
read Ephesians chapter 5. No man ever yet hated
his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes
it. That's true of all of us. We nourish and
cherish our own bodies. Why? Because it belongs
to us. And you are Jesus Christ's body. And that
text says that he nourishes and he cleanses and
he treasures You because you belong to him talk
about belonging What a wonderful calling God
has given to us that we should belong to Jesus
Christ Because we belong to him all things belong
to us It's all for our benefit. It doesn't mean
that it's all focused on us Because it's all
focused on God But we are called to be heirs
of the kingdom which God has promised to those
that love Him. James 2 verse 5. We are a part
of God's kingdom, God's family, God's church
in the world. Now there are some implications
to this. And now we come to our text for today
which is Ephesians chapter 4 which was read earlier.
Now if you've parked long enough at this scenic
overlook, you can come back to Ephesians 4 .1
and see why Paul says what he does. I therefore
the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which
you've been called. To belong to Jesus Christ.
To be in harmony with God. To be reconciled to
God. He says, I plead with you, walk worthy of
that calling. Don't walk less than worthy of
it. How do we do that? Well, he says, walk with
humility, all humility and gentleness, with patience,
showing forbearance to one another in love, being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
in the bond of peace. You and I are redeemed
to share in a new order of creation. It is a
renewed oneness that is going to characterize
the new heavens and the new earth. You and I
are called by God to be a part of this summation
of all things. You say, won't all people be there?
No. I am sorry to say and I am saddened to say
all people will not be a part of this, only the
redeemed. Only those who have come to faith in
Jesus Christ will be a part of this summation.
Those who reject Jesus Christ will go to the
eternity they have chosen to be separated from
God and from His glory and to perish forever.
That's worth parking on for a while too. But
we don't have time to do it. But those of us
who have trusted in Jesus Christ, look what we're
part of. God has called us to share the destiny
of His kingdom that is going to last forever.
Now He says right now in this world, where you
are in your church, in your community, live like
it. Live like it. Live like God's royalty with
humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance
and love and being diligent to preserve what
God has created, unity in the body of Christ.
That's how we experience a foretaste of the oneness
that's to come. by preserving the unity in this
new community of our local church. The fellowship
of God's people in this world breaks the barriers.
God is not only the God of the Jews, He is the
God of the Gentiles. He is not only the God of
the slaves, He is the God of the free people.
He breaks down the human social barriers. We're
made one in Jesus Christ. A friend of mine for
a number of years pastored the Miramante Baptist
Church in San Salvador, El Salvador. When he
pastored that church, he had the privilege of
leading to faith in Jesus Christ, one of the
leading rightists in that country who happened
to be a general in the military. He also led
to Jesus Christ, one of the intellectuals in
El Salvador, who was an attorney and a professor
at one of the universities. Both of them, on
opposite ends of the political spectrum, were
baptized into the fellowship of one local church.
And learned to love each other as brothers in
Jesus Christ, though they had different perspectives
on some of the problems of the people of El Salvador.
There is oneness in the church. The distinctions
that are out there in the world do not belong
in the body of Christ. Now he says preserve that
unity. Preserve that oneness. Guard that harmony.
Don't let anything arise that creates division.
in the body of Christ. Belonging is God's plan.
I am convinced that it is God's plan for every
Christian to belong to a local church. I mean
that is just in the warp and the woof of the
whole New Testament. Belonging. Being a part
of it. Joining. Being a member. That's God's
plan. It's not man's plan, it's God's plan in
God's order. Someone asked recently, well, in
joining, what are the benefits of joining? Ask
like a true 19th, 20th century American. What
are the benefits in joining? And my answer was,
number one, obedience. Do we need to go beyond
that, really? In the church, God wants us to
know acceptance. He wants us to know mutual commitment,
seeking the good of others, a loving honesty,
a forgiveness, truth and goodness, purity and
peace. Those things are to be a part of God's
church. And you and I are responsible to promote
and to preserve those things which are produced
by the Holy Spirit in our midst. The fellowship
of the new community of God. Present in the local
church is a precious thing. To undermine it is
to strike at the very glory of God. Because unity,
you see, reflects God's unity. And disunity denies
God's unity. And it's also destructive to the
people of God. in an old monastery in Germany,
who were told that there are two deer antlers
that are permanently interlocked. The antlers
are there displayed in that church and they've
been there for many years. Apparently what happened
was two deer were fighting fiercely and their
horns became so entangled as they fought with
each other. that they became locked in that position
and could not free themselves, they could not
disengage, and both of them perished from hunger.
One man comments about that, I would like to
carry those horns into every home and school
as a warning against fighting to the last ditch
to have your own way. I would also bring them
into every church so that their silent message
might sink deep into the hearts of those who
seem to delight in locking horns with other Christians
at the least provocation." God's plan is unity,
and God's command is that we preserve it. What
an exciting thing to be called by God to belong
to His new order. It's okay to belong to human
organizations, but friend, don't miss God's.
It's a fine thing to belong to an organization
that's going to last a few years in this world,
but don't miss the one that's going to last forever.
God's family. And being a part of God's family,
be a part of that expression of His family in
a church, a local church. and there seek to promote
and to preserve unity because that unity is a
reflection of the oneness of the God that we
worship. Would you take a hymnal please and turn
with me? I'd like for us to sing a verse of hymn
44. Now this probably is a new hymn to most of
us. But it's a very simple tune. And I think
you'll be able to pick it up very quickly. It's
called We Believe in One True God. It's number
44. Let's stand together as we sing.