Be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” There are some very interesting observations that we can make concerning this brief passage from Ephesians 4:3, where Paul is writing to the believers in the church at Ephesus.

The first thing we notice in this passage is that these believers are admonished to keep or preserve something. This indicates that they, as genuine, born-again, Spirit-filled believers, had been given something, and that they were expected to keep it. In fact, it says that they are to be diligent, to make every effort, to keep it.

What they have been given, and were expected to make every effort to keep, was the unity of the Spirit. These Ephesians that had believed in Jesus, confessing Him to be Lord of all, had received the Holy Spirit and had been placed into the body of Christ by God.

Romans 12:4-5 says: “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” This body of Christ has many members, yet is one body. It was the Spirit that made the many into one body. This is the unity of the Spirit. This is the unity that they were instructed to make every effort to keep.

As believers, we do not need to try to become one body. We do not need to try to create a unity or oneness within the body of Christ. If we have been born of the Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, then we already have been given this unity. We only need to be concerned about keeping it, not about creating it. It is the Spirit that has made us one in Christ.

The next thing we notice is the way in which we are expected to attempt to keep this unity that has been given to us in the Spirit. We are to do it through the bond of peace. “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, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

What is this bond of peace? Ephesians 2:14 declares: “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” Here we see that Christ is our peace. It is Christ that makes us one with God and one with one another. He removed the wall of hostility and set us at one, at peace with both God and man.

In John 14:27, Jesus tells His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” The peace that Jesus had with the Father, He gives unto us. Jesus continues in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

This peace that Christ has given each believer is a peace that will never leave. In fact, because Christ is our peace, the peace He has given us is always there, fully available to us whenever we look to Him. Paul instructs us in Colossians 3:15: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Paul goes on to say in Romans 14:19: “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” We do this by allowing the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. This ruling of Christ in our hearts as Lord is the bond of peace that keeps the unity of the Spirit.

We also see in Galatians 5:22-23 that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” When we are being led by the Spirit, this fruit of peace will be produced and manifested in our lives.

When we look at the context of Ephesians 4:3, we see this fruit of peace presented as the expectation of the kind of lives that we need to live in order to “keep” the unity of the Spirit. In Ephesians 4:1-6 Paul wrote, “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, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

It becomes apparent that the way to keep the unity of the Spirit is to be led by the Spirit. All of the things that make for peace with God and with others are provided to us richly in the Spirit. All of these things, love, peace, forbearance, gentleness, humility, patience, produce an environment that enables us to be at peace. When we are walking by the Spirit, we will be making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. In fact, we can only keep the unity of the Spirit by walking in the Spirit.

It is the flesh that seeks to destroy this unity. Whenever we cease to be led by the Spirit, and begin to walk according to the flesh, this unity is damaged. Galatians 5:19-21 states: “Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.”

The works of the flesh produce the very picture of the lack of peace: hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and orgies. This is what is produced in our lives when we are not being led by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-18 promises: “walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (WEB).

The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other. You cannot be led by the Spirit and gratify the desires of the flesh at the same time. You will either be walking by the Spirit and manifest the fruit of the Spirit, or you will be walking by the flesh and manifest the works of the flesh in your life. The flesh and the Spirit are mutually exclusive.

If you believe that you are walking by the Spirit, all you need to do is to take account of what is being produced in your life. Sit down and honestly take account of your actions, your words, and your thoughts. Consider what fruit is being produced in your life. Is it adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, and orgies, or is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?

It is important to realize that you can fool yourself all of the time. You can fool others some of the time. But you can never fool God. No matter how much you may try to hide it, God sees you as you really are. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11: “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”

Many have wondered why there are so many divisions within the body of Christ. From the passages that we have considered already, it seems quite evident that some of these divisions are the result of the works of the flesh; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.

The believers in Corinth had divided into various groups claiming, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or I am with Peter,” or “I am with Christ.” Paul says they are acting fleshly and unspiritual. He urges these believers that there should be no divisions among them, that Christ is not divided.

We each must consider whether we are making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, or are we trampling under foot the blood of the Son of God? Hebrew 10:29 warns: “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

When we do not make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit, we are insulting the Spirit of grace. When we choose our own way, when we place more importance on being right, than on being one in the Spirit, we are insulting the Spirit of grace. When we place more importance on the right doctrine and the right practices and rituals than we do on the oneness for which Christ died, then we are insulting the Spirit of grace.

Romans 12:18 exhorts: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Romans 14:12-19 reminds: “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love.

"Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

How important is it to you to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace?

Writings By Jon von Ernst

The Lord of All Things Series - A Trilogy of Truth 
Books in this series:
Book 1 - The Gospel of the Kingdom
Book 2- The Victorious Christian
Book 3 - Walking in the Light  -  Following in His Steps

*- Audio of these books are available free of charge at thepureword.net.