Ephesians 4 v 1 - 6

Paul brings gloriously together all that he has been writing about in the previous chapters in these verses we are looking at today. It is all about unity. God's purpose right from the beginning was to bring everything together under Christ and this was going to cost the Godhead enormously. Remember that sat on the right hand side of God the Father is Jesus Christ, a wounded, scarred human being. God has taken our wounds upon Himself, just as Isaiah prophesied in 53 v 5: 'He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole, He was whipped so we could be healed.' So, think a moment. What does this mean for you, for me, for us? We know now that it is all about unity, about love shared amongst us, about one-ness. It is not about your individual salvation, nor mine, it is about how we get on together, that is why Church is essential, why the fellowship, the chat over coffee, is as important as the singing songs together and sharing bread and wine together. It is what we are missing at this time and why we feel desolate. But, I think we have learned to appreciate each other and that time more through absence. You are a child of God if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and you are committed to following Him. As one of His children, you and I are called to live differently and we are called to demonstrate that difference by the way we love each other sacrificially. I have been studying the book of James this week and he makes a remarkable point, all the more remarkable for being obvious in chapter 2 v 14: 'What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith, but don't show it by your actions? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say: ''Goodbye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well''-but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?''