HUMILITY:

We read in Ephesians 4:1-2 "Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, showing tolerance for one another in love." I have often stated that the three secrets of the Christian life are: Humility, Humility, and Humility. That's where everything begins. Jesus humbled Himself and said in Matthew 11:29, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am humble and gentle." The only two things He ever told us to learn from Him were humility and gentleness. Why? Because as the children of Adam, we are all proud and hard. If you want to demonstrate a heavenly life on earth, it is not going to be demonstrated first by evangelism, preaching, Bible teaching, or social work. It is going to be demonstrated by an attitude of humility and gentleness first of all. God looks for humility, gentleness and patience. Ephesians 4:2 (LB) says "Make allowances for each other's faults because of your love". No-one in any church is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. So in the church we will have to bear with one another's mistakes. We have to make allowances for each other's mistakes because we love one another. "If you make a mistake I will cover it up. If you leave something undone, I will do it". That's how the Body of Christ is to function.

UNITY:

We read in Ephesians 4:3 "Be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace". Unity is a great theme in many of Paul's letters. And this is the burden the Lord has for His church too. When a human body dies, it begins to disintegrate. Our body is made of dust, and the bits of dust are held together because there is life in this body. The moment the life is gone, disintegration starts; and after a while, we find that the whole body has become dust. It is the same in a fellowship of believers. When the believers in a church are disunited, we can be sure that death has already come in. When a husband and wife are disunited, you know that death has already entered, even if they never divorce each other. Disintegration can start in a marriage within a day after they are married - with misunderstandings, tensions, quarrels, etc. That can happen in a church too. A church usually starts with a few zealous brothers who come together with great zeal to build a pure work for the Lord. Very soon disunity comes in and death enters. We have to fight a battle constantly to preserve the unity of the Spirit - both in a marriage and in a church.

God is not building a bunch of holy individuals. He is building a Body. This is what Paul is speaking about in Ephesians 4:1-3 . He urges us to "preserve this unity of the spirit because there is one body." When can we say that there is unity in a local body? "By the bond of peace" ( Eph. 4:3 ). "The mind of the Spirit is peace" ( Romans 8:6 ).