A while back while reading and thinking about Ephesians chapter 4 and the first few verses, I was impressed with some words in those first few verses. We are exhorted to walk worthy of our calling with lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering. He also tells us to forbear one another in love. What does forbear mean? It means "holding back" and "putting up with." As Christians, there are times we must defer to one another, take the lower place, and put up with stuff we may not like. We do this for the sake of unity.
Verse 3 tells us to "keep" the unity of the Spirit. We are not told to "manufacture" unity and we are certainly not told to "destroy" unity, but we are told to "keep" or "maintain" the unity that already exists as far as God is concerned. We need to learn to ignore our denominational and organizational boundaries which men in their "wisdom" have created and organized. We need to ignore the little fiefdoms and cliques established over the years and the petty quarrels and divisions which have developed.
Some times we have to be like Joseph in
Genesis 42:8. He recognized his brothers but they did not recognize him.
Some thoughts on "keeping" or "maintaining" the unity of the Body of Christ:
1. Recognize the unity of the one true Church
2. Receive one another as members of the Body
3. Respect our brothers and sisters and their right to be different than us
4. Realize none of us is perfect
5. Restore any who fall
6. Rely on God's Spirit to help us
7. Really try
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