Ephesians

The Bond of Peace

Once we truly understand where our Christian unity comes from—that it is given by the Holy Spirit, not created by ourselves—our behavior in the church will be transformed. We begin to realize that our job is not to create unity, but to live in a way that is worthy of the unity of the Spirit that is already ours. Instead of striving toward unity in our own strength, we will simply try to align our lives and our actions with the unity that already exists among us through the Holy Spirit.

This is what Paul means when he says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). If we begin to think of our brothers and sisters in Christ as one with us through the Spirit, then our actions will be transformed. As prisoners of Christ, we will become more aware of the fact that our quarreling and struggling against one another is at odds with the fundamental reality that we are one with each other in the bond of peace. When we are tempted to feelings of resentment or to such actions as attacking one another or spreading rumors against one another, we should stop and ask God to bless the other person.

“That person is my brother or sister in Christ,” we should pray, “and we are one together in the Spirit. Lord, show me how I can reach out to my brother or sister in this time of irritation. Make me a blessing and not a hindrance in that person’s life. Show me practical ways I can work to maintain the unity between us that you have made possible through your Spirit. Replace my annoyance with understanding, my impatience with forbearance, my grudges with forgiveness, my bitterness with a sweet spirit, my resentment with love, my hardened heart with a tender heart. Lord, I am Your prisoner. I am ready to take orders from You.”

Study Questions

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