Ephesians 4:3-6; One Lord.

Class Outline:

EPH 4:4-6

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

 

Jesus Christ is the center of all things. He is Savior and Lord. We are to believe in Him for salvation and then serve Him as Lord.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ’s present authority

 

The main point is that those who recognize Him as the one Lord obey and follow Him and Him alone, swearing loyalty to Him, and considering Him faithful to entrust their souls to.

 

The name Lord is used over 7,700 times in the Bible and 648 times in the NT.

 

EPH 4:1-3

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

EPH 5:15-17

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

 

EPH 6:7-8

With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

 

To think of Him as Savior only is to treat Him as a means to an end, making us the center and not Him. He is The Man, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Head, the Victor, the Savior and we are found and live in Him and so serve Him.

 

We are to follow Him and yield ourselves to Him. He saved us for this very purpose. If we only think of Him as Savior then we ignore the purpose. Those who do this are still saved so as through fire, but they lose their reward of seeing what they would if they had followed Him.

 

Individualism is the reason of much of the isolation and sectarianism of modern churches. Individualism is the negation of church life.

 

Men who value Christ for what they can get from Him for themselves do not follow Him and yield themselves to Him simply for the sake of what He is - the one Lord.

 

They may listen willingly and joyfully to the Lord say:

 

MAT 11:28-30

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

 

But then these same may become hard of hearing when the Lord says:

 

MAT 16:24

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

 

Missing the implication of Christ being the one Lord leads to disloyalty to His body and lack of affection for His church, and indifference to all interests beyond the personal. The right of the one Lord stifles the clamoring of “I am of Apollos, I am of Paul,” who are only servants of Christ and nothing compared to Him. The one Lord bids each of us to live in our place in the body of Christ without ambition and without sloth.

 

We must see Him for who He is and be reminded of His position and ours every day.