Ephesians 4:1-3 CSB – Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

I’m sure I’ve read this passage more than a hundred times in the last few decades, but only now have I realized that Paul wasn’t trying to get the Christians in Ephesus to produce unity or to create peace. He wasn’t urging them to make anything, but rather to keep something. The Greek word, translated “keep” here, is tēreō, and it means to guard by keeping an eye on someone or something. In other words, if we are to “keep” the unity of the Spirit, it means we are to guard it, watch out for it so it doesn’t slip away.

When my children were toddlers, they loved going to the park to play. I was constantly on my feet either following them or running to help them. If we went on days when there were lots of people there, I was extra vigilant in my looking out for them. I didn’t take my eyes from them, because I knew they were prone to wander, or could even be snatched by someone! I kept watch over them.

I “kept” them in the same sense that Paul told the Ephesians to “keep” unity. But, we can’t keep something unless we have it in the first place, right? Paul must have believed that unity was already ours, but it needed our attention!

Jesus prayed for our unity.  He said “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one…that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.” John 17:21-22. Did you catch that? Jesus said that He had given us what we needed for this unity! He gave us the “glory” that His Father had given Him, so that we will be one just as Jesus and the Father are one! I think the “glory” He was talking about was the power and presence of the Holy Spirit working in us. Jesus gave us His glory so that we could be one, and then prayed that we would be one. He knew that to have and keep unity we would have to choose to guard and defend it against our enemy’s efforts to divide and conquer.

Unity sounds wonderful, but is it really achievable? Paul said the glue that will hold us together in unity is the “bond of peace”. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you…” John 14:27. This inner peace Jesus was talking about displaces worry, discontentment, self-promotion, pride, fear of the future, and anything else that churns up our insides into impassioned storms. Peace is a gift that is available to us when we lean into God’s presence and ask Him for peace. His peace is ours for the asking!

As Paul painted the picture of what living “worthy of the calling” looks like, the first thing he mentioned was humility. I think he knew that we would never manage any of the other virtues he named unless we were willing to truly be humble. Choose humility, and gentleness and patience will be seen too. The truth is, it’s way easier to “bear with one another” when we humbly realize we’re not perfect ourselves!  

Father God, Your Son prayed that we would be one even as You and He are one. He said that if we would have that kind of unity, the world would know the truth of who He is. He wanted us to have unity because He knew that our bickering, gossiping, and slandering would say to the world that He wasn’t sent by You, His Father! Forgive us Lord for not truly “making every effort” to keep the unity of the Spirit. No doubt that has prevented people from believing in Jesus. Holy Spirit, teach us about humility. We need the power of Your Spirit to help us live in such a way that Jesus receives the honor He is due. And thank You for always gently, patiently, and lovingly bearing with us! We love you!