Ephesians 4: Gathered Together in Love, Forgiveness, and Unity

Introduction

That morning, the morning devotion at Église Évangélique Paris Métropole opens with a time of fasting and prayer around one theme: "gathered together in love, forgiveness, and reconciliation." The text for the day is Ephesians 4:1-6: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called."

In the introduction, this passage is presented as a reminder: the unity of the Church is both a gift from God and a responsibility. We form one body, animated by one Spirit, around one Lord. Preserving this unity means bearing with one another, seeking peace, and giving up pride and division.

After a time of worship, Pastor Daryl brings the message. When this theme was entrusted to him, he says, his heart said "thank you, Lord," because this theme "speaks directly of God, speaks directly of the person of Jesus Christ."

Outline of the message

1. A theme that speaks of who God is

Love first: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). If you want to define God, you speak of love.
Then forgiveness, which is an attribute of God. When the paralytic is brought by his friends, Jesus first declares that his sins are forgiven. The religious leaders are astonished: only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7). Jesus then heals the man, showing that he has this power.
Finally reconciliation: we were first reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, and then he entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18), so that this message of love and forgiveness would be proclaimed to the nations.

2. Walking in a manner worthy of your calling

In the first chapters of Ephesians, Paul reminds us of our identity in Christ: we have been changed, transformed. This new identity pushes us to live in a certain way.
We once walked according to the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Now we live according to a new calling addressed to us by the Lord.
This calling was not addressed to one person alone. It was addressed to a group of people. You and I decided to follow Christ, and in this commitment, we are joined together.

3. A unity that is not merely apparent

Humility comes first, because what we are today does not depend on us but on the grace of God. Your brother, your sister, has also been called by the Lord. We do not look at them with contempt.
In his high priestly prayer (John 17:21), Jesus prayed that we would be one.
There is a façade of unity: we pretend to be united, but deep down there is bitterness, anger, resentment, and wounds. In Acts, the disciples were of one heart and soul (Acts 4:32), "not only in appearance, but also deep within themselves."
A few days earlier, the pastor bit his tongue. Thinking about it, he asked himself why the tongue does not leave the mouth to avoid being bitten again. Because it knows this is its place, joined together with the teeth to do a job. Sometimes, when we are troubled, we want to leave, to come apart. He prays that, whatever happens, we would stay joined together.

4. Renewed to give up bitterness and slander

The rest of the text says it: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).
This is hard to live out in our humanity. But God has made us new and given us a new mind: we are renewed in the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4:23). He is the one who brings about this renewal.
Thus renewed, we understand things in a spiritual way and we can put off our old way of life to live with friendship and brotherhood.
Slander is not only false or unverified facts. Sometimes it is true things that are amplified, exaggerated, "dramatized." The pastor prays that we would live "with complete integrity toward one another."

5. Forgiving as God has forgiven us

If your brother or sister wrongs you, sometimes even without knowing it, resentment can take root. The Bible calls you to forgive. That is where we notice that something glorious has happened in us: the grace of God.
In the prayer he teaches, Jesus has us say: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). If we cannot forgive, "this prayer is distorted. It is as if we were telling God a lie."
We deserved nothing. Jesus gave himself on the cross for us who were sinners, blasphemers, lost. Before such a commitment, we can say: "Lord, forgive them already, and give me the strength to forgive as well."
When the disciples ask how many times they must forgive, the Lord answers that we must always forgive (Matthew 18:21-22). Forgiveness is part of what it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27).
Drawing on a sermon by Pastor Joël at the house of prayer, he describes bitterness as a poison that poisons the heart of the one who carries it. Let us not be that poison that contaminates and brings death, but a sweet aroma that spreads life (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

6. Unity, a great challenge for the Church

Among the challenges facing the Church, the pastor is particularly focused on unity. In Acts, the tendency toward division comes up again and again.
When the widows of the Greek-speaking Jews were being neglected in the daily distribution, arguments broke out. The Lord led the apostles to a wise decision (Acts 6:1-6).
In Acts 15, a division threatened over the inclusion of the Gentiles in the faith. The Lord gave a word of wisdom to James and the other apostles, so that unity would remain.
"The Church is not just a stone on the left, a stone on the right; it is stones joined together." There is one Lord, one faith, one Spirit, and the Spirit cannot be divided.
The message ends with a prayer drawn from Romans 12:2: that the Lord would renew our minds so that we grasp the importance of unity, forgiveness, and humility, and unload everything that stands against unity.

Key takeaways

Love, forgiveness, and reconciliation are not first of all values: they describe who God is and what he has done for us in Christ.
God's calling is addressed to a people. Walking worthily of this calling means walking together, in humility.
A façade of unity is not enough: God wants to unite us down to the depths of the heart, without bitterness or hidden resentment.
Refusing to forgive distorts our prayer. The forgiveness received at the cross gives us the strength to forgive.
As the tongue stays in its place despite the bite, we are called to stay joined together when relationships become difficult.

Personal application

Is there bitterness, a wound, or a relationship in you that still stands in the way of unity?
Is your unity with your brothers and sisters sincere, or do you sometimes pretend to be at peace?
Do you ever amplify or "dramatize" what you tell about someone?
When you say "forgive us our debts, as we forgive," whom do you think you still need to forgive?
In a situation where you feel like leaving, what would it mean for you to stay in your place, joined together with the others?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Why do love, forgiveness, and reconciliation speak of God himself?

For Pastor Daryl, this theme touches directly on who God is. God is love (1 John 4:8). Only God can forgive sins, as the religious leaders acknowledge before the paralytic (Mark 2:7). And it is God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and then entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Why is forgiveness essential in prayer?

In the prayer he teaches (Matthew 6:12), Jesus has us say: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." For the preacher, if we cannot forgive, this prayer is distorted: it is as if we were telling God a lie.

What is a façade of unity in the Church?

It is an apparent unity: we pretend to be united and to show peace, but deep down there is bitterness, anger, resentment, or wounds. The first disciples were of one heart and soul (Acts 4:32), not only in appearance but deep within themselves.