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Seeking the Unity of the Church (4)

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3).

In the last three issues, we noted the following ideas expressed in this text: 1 ) In various ways, the Holy Spirit has made this admonition an extremely urgent one, one, therefore, to which we ought to give our careful attention. 2) The unity of the church is on the foreground here, that is, the unity of the church as it is manifested in the world in the local congregation and denomination. 3) This unity is not the false unity of modern ecumenism which seeks a unity on the lowest doctrinal level; it is a unity in Christ the Head of the church, and is, therefore, a unity of the mind of Christ and the will of Christ. 4) This unity is further defined in the text by pointing out that it is characterized by love and peace. 5) We do nor create this unity; it is created by the Holy Spirit of Christ who works in the hearts of all the elect and who makes the church one in Christ as He leads into all truth and enables the saints to perform the will of Christ. Unity is therefore a gift that is given to us, a gift more precious than silver and gold. Our calling is to “keep the unity of the Spirit.”

The calling we have to keep the unity of the Spirit involves several spiritual virtues. We are, says the apostle, to keep this unity “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another.”

These virtues are crucial. Without them it is impossible to keep the unity of the church. It is essential that we understand this, for these virtues to which the apostle calls attention are contrary to our natural inclinations and selfish tendencies to seek and exalt ourselves and to promote our own well-being as much as possible.

To seek the unity of the Spirit as manifested in the church requires of us that we recognize that the church is the most important institution in our lives, and that, therefore, it ought to be the very centre of our entire life in the world. The church is, to use a figure common among the Reformers, our mother. She gives us our spiritual birth into the family of God. She nourishes us, as infants and children, at her breasts, giving to us such food as is essential to our growth. She cares for us throughout all the days of our earthly pilgrimage, keeping watch over us, disciplining us when we stray, comfort­ing us in our sorrows, strengthening us in our weaknesses, assuring us repeatedly that the end of our sojourn will bring us to the house of our heavenly Father. Without our spiritual mother we would never be able to make the spiritual journey of this life to heaven.

We are seeking the welfare of our own spiritual mother when we keep the unity of the Spirit revealed in the church. How foolish it is to disparage our own mother. How bent on spiritual destruction we are when we forsake mother, speak evil of her, do all in our power to make her work impossible. We do harm to our own spiritual life.

So frequently the church lies at the periphery of our life. It is an institution towards which we tip our hats on occasion. It is handy to have around when we need a baby baptized, or when we wish to marry, or when we are ready to be buried. We might even attend church with some regularity thinking in this way to maintain our tenuous ties with God and slipping into heaven by the back door at the last moment. We may use the church as a safety net so that we have something to fall back on when the going is difficult. But all this will not do. It is really rooted in selfishness. We seek ourselves, our own purposes, our own pleasures, our own name and honor. We set ourselves up above the church and, if we recognize the church at all, we do so to make the church serve our goals in life.

But the Lord requires something quite different from us. The church is far, far more important than any one of us. What happens to us personally is of little account; what happens to the church is more important than anything. The church must be at the centre of our lives so that all we do revolves around the church. To it we must devote our lives. For its good we must deny ourselves. What will benefit the church is far more important than what benefits us.

There are times when things do not go as we think they should in the church. There are events that disturb us. There are decisions taken which we consider less than wise. There are people who irritate us. There are sermons that we consider less than desir­able. There are imperfections that we, in our own self-righteousness, cannot tolerate. But it remains our calling to put aside our own personal likes and wishes for the greater welfare of the church. For the peace of Jerusalem is far more important than any one of us and our own personal comforts or pleasures.

This does not mean that we overlook unconfessed sin, or tolerate false doctrine. The welfare of the church ought to be so much our concern that we seek the holiness of our fellow saints and the purity of the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. But when we help those entrapped in sin, we go with them to the cross, kneeling there at their side. When we pursue purity of doctrine, we do so with the desire to see “mother” remain or become the institution we need for ourselves and our children. We do so fully aware of the fact that every one of us is a great sinner, saved by grace, and that not one of us is capable of knowing fully the great, towering truths of God’s Word. 

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Additional Info

  • Volume: 8
  • Issue: 20
Hanko, Herman

Prof. Herman Hanko (Wife: Wilma)

Ordained: October 1955

Pastorates: Hope, Walker, MI - 1955; Doon, IA - 1963; Professor to the Protestant Reformed Seminary - 1965

Emeritus: 2001

Website: www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Prof._Herman_Hanko

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  • City
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  • State or Province
    MI
  • Zip Code
    49428
  • Country
    United States
  • Telephone
    616-667-6033
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