Attitude for unity

ATTITUDES FOR MAINTAINING UNITY

A. TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS, PAUL TAUGHT THE VIRTUE OF...
1. "Lowliness" - Ep 4:2
a. This word means:
1) The having a humble opinion of one's self
2) A deep sense of one's (moral) littleness
3) Modesty, humility, lowliness of mind
b. Without this virtue, members in the body begin trying to be
the "head" of the body, a role reserved only for Christ
2. "Gentleness" - Ep 4:2
a. This word can be translated as gentleness, mildness,
meekness
b. It is not a quality of weakness, but of power under control
1) Moses was a meek man (Num 12:3), but capable of great
strength and boldness
2) Jesus was "meek and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29), but we
see where He drove the money changers out of the temple
c. Thus it is being gentle, even when there is the potential
for being harsh, but gentleness is more conducive for
maintaining unity
3. "Long-suffering" - Ep 4:2
a. The idea here is one of patience, forbearance,
longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs
b. When the body consists of members who are not perfect, and
often sin against each other, maintaining unity is not
possible unless they are willing to endure each other's
imperfections
4. "Bearing with one another in love" - Ep 4:2
a. Similar to longsuffering, "bearing" means to sustain, to
bear, to endure
b. What makes such "longsuffering" and "forbearance" possible
is another virtue: "love"
c. As Paul wrote in his chapter on love: love suffers long...
is not provoked" - 1 Co 13:4-5
d. Indeed, the virtue of love is the "tie" that binds all
these virtues together - Co 3:12-14
5. "Endeavor" - Ep 4:3
a. Displaying these virtues does not come naturally nor easy,
nor does maintaining unity
b. Thus the need for much effort, as Paul uses a word which
means "to exert one's self, endeavor, give diligence"
-- Only by giving diligence to display ALL these virtues, can we
hope to "keep (maintain) the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace" - Ep 4:3

B. TO THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI, PAUL DIRECTED THEM TO...
1. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit" -
Ph 2:3
a. It is necessary to point out those attitudes we should NOT
have!
b. For possessing these attitudes will destroy unity
1) Both involve "self-centered" attitude
2) Rather than a "Christ-centered" attitude
c. Therefore, it is required that we rid ourselves of:
1) The DESIRE FOR EXALTING SELF ("selfish ambition")
2) The IMPROPER ESTIMATION OF SELF ("conceit")
d. In place of these, we should substitute...
2. "in lowliness of mind" - Ph 2:3
a. In other words, humility - cf. Ep 4:2
b. This will effectively replace the problem of "conceit"
c. Humility should be easy to maintain if we remember our own
faults
3. "let each esteem others better than himself" - Ph 2:3
a. This should be easy for us to do...
1) For we are aware of our own defects, but we do not have
the same clear view of the defects of others
2) We can only see their OUTWARD conduct; in our case, we
can look WITHIN
3) We see our own hearts, with all its faults; we cannot so
look into the hearts of others
b. In writing to the brethren at Rome, Paul exhorted them to
outdo one another in this regard - "in honor giving
preference to one another" - Ro 12:10b
4. "look out...for the interest of others" - Ph 2:4
a. This attitude eliminates the problem of "selfish ambition"
b. It is the attitude of MATURITY, and was the attitude of
Christ! - Ro 15:1-3
c. So it should be the attitude of every Christian!
-- As strongly suggested by Ph 2:1-2, these qualities in verses
3-4 contribute to the unity that produces fullness of joy!

C. TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA, PAUL...
1. Cautioned against the improper use of our liberty in Christ
a. While it is true that we must stand fast in our liberty and
not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage... - Ga 5:1
b. ...we should use our liberty as an opportunity to serve one
another in love - Ga 5:13-14
2. Otherwise, abuse of our liberty gives the flesh opportunity to
destroy one another! - Ga 5:15

D. TO THE CHURCH AT ROME, PAUL WROTE...
1. We should pursue things that lead to peace and edification -
Ro 14:19
2. That the strong should be willing to bear with the scruples of
the weak - Ro 14:1,13; 15:1-3
3. That the weak in faith must be careful not to judge (condemn)
those whom God has received! - Ro 14:3-4
-- Such attitudes are necessary, are we will not be able "with
one mind and one mouth [to] glorify the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ!" - cf. Ro 15:5-7

E. FINALLY, TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH PAUL MADE IT CLEAR...
1. That knowledge can puff one up, but it is love that edifies
("builds up", in contrast to knowledge which "puffs up") -
1 Co 8:1
2. That we who have liberty in Christ should be careful that we
don't use it to the destruction of our brethren who are weak
- 1 Co 8:9-12
3. That we should therefore be willing to forego our liberties if
it can help keep a brother from stumbling - cf. 1 Co 8:13;
10:31-11:1

CONCLUSION

1. From personal experience, I can attest that:
a. Where members display these attitudes in addition to their
devotion to the "apostles' doctrine"...
b. ...there will be a congregation of Christians in which love and
unity will prevail

2. That's not to say there will always be perfect understanding and
agreement on every subject
a. When people from every conceivable background come to Christ, we
should expect some differences
b. When there will always be brethren at various levels of spiritual
growth, we can expect some challenges

3. But if we can...
a. Agree that the teaching of Christ as expounded in the "apostles'
doctrine" is our standard of authority in religious matters
b. Inculcate the Christian attitudes described in this lesson into
the heart of every member
...then we shall be able to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace" (Ep 4:3) as we all continue to "grow in the grace
and knowledge of Jesus Christ" (2 Pe 3:18), to the glory of God!

Introduction

The devil likes to paint a gloomy picture when things do not go as we have planned. When this happens, we need to take them to the Lord in prayer. Letting things discourage us is very easy. If we are not careful, we can get a bad attitude about different circumstances that happen and let those things depress us.

We need to look at the positive side of things rather than the negative side. The devil would have us look at the negative side of things.