Putting on Christ’s Character in Divided Days

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1)

In Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges the Ephesians—and us, through them—to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. The unity of the church in divided times is, as always, first of all brought about through Christ’s work on the Cross yet secondarily linked with disciples putting on the character of Christ. The verb here in Ephesians 4:1 is “to walk.” We need to walk worthy. We’re to walk it out. Live it out daily. What does that look like practically? Paul describes the contours of this in verses 2-3.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.“ (Ephesians 4:2-3)

We are to put on the character of Christ and Paul describes the nature of it in verses 2 and 3. So let’s just walk through it slowly with some application to our current moment.

“Be completely humble”

Paul urges the believers toward complete humility, which is a very challenging word. Which of us has arrived at that? Clearly, the right answer here is: “None of us.” The sense here is that believers are to have a wholly humble opinion of themselves. When we think about the way we live together in the church, we must remember that if we swiftly develop a high opinion of ourselves and lack humility, then our unity will be destroyed. This is part of the challenge that gripped the church in Corinth. There, Paul exhorted the believers: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). It is only through God’s grace worked out in humility that such things can happen.

“and gentle”

Gentleness is a strange word to ponder today. It is strange because the concept of gentleness is largely foreign to our present moment. Who has ever heard a political leader or a CEO start their campaign or new job by saying their agenda would be marked by gentleness? Such an agenda would not usually be well received. We usually prefer hearing about strength or boldness (if not brashness). But gentleness, I would like to suggest, is actually a form of strength. A word related to gentleness, which we encounter in the Beatitudes, is “meekness.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Our experience may lead us to believe Jesus’ statement is not true, but the life of Jesus supports the truth of Jesus’ claim to a different way. The legacy of Jesus has lasted far beyond many of the boisterous figures who captivate human imagination in the moment but fade away over time. In fact, this first phrase of Paul in Ephesians 4:2, “Be completely humble and gentle,” may remind us of Jesus’ own description of Himself when He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:28-29). If we forsake gentleness and meekness, not only will we fail to look like Jesus, and thereby undermine the unity of Christ’s people, but we will also succumb to a less effective way of living in the long run. However, if we keep in step with the Holy Spirit, the gentleness of Jesus will lead us into solid footing and strength.

“Be patient”

If the first two words we have examined have not challenged you enough, then without a doubt this one will. One synonym for patience is long-suffering. To suffer long is not something we aspire to. Even more, an additional shade of meaning of this word is that such a person is slow to take vengeance. It is good to be slow to take vengeance for two reasons. First, we often react in the moment in ways we later regret and, second, because God Himself has said that vengeance is His, not ours (Romans 12:19). But here is the challenge: we live in a vengeful culture. We all know public figures or friends who have failed to do or say the right thing in public only to be haunted by it later. We all learn to be cautious, yet also find it hard to control ourselves in the moment because of the anger that brews inside of us. In fact, even our private wrongs can sometimes become the cause for public shaming or destruction by those who share them with others. The shocking thing is that at times those who accuse others and seek revenge often find themselves later targets of the same sort of exacting vengeance. This is what happens in a culture fixated on retributive justice but absent of grace and truth: it cycles endlessly through the destructions of vengeance. But the community of Christ is called to live differently. Because of what we experience through Christ we are called to be patient; that is, slow to take vengeance. If we forsake patience, if we are quick to anger and swift to revenge, then unity will be destroyed.

“Bearing with one another in love”

The image here is to hold something up as one stands upright, sustaining something or, here, sustaining one another. Believers are, in a sense, to stand tall, shoulder to shoulder, upholding one another. How do we uphold one another? Paul tells us that we uphold and sustain one another in love. I really appreciate how The New Living Translation renders this part of the verse: “making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Have you ever seen another person’s faults? How about this: have you ever seen another person’s faults in the church? Undoubtedly, we all have. But let’s turn the question around. Have you ever seen your own faults? Hopefully so. It is a gift to be self-aware of our faults. It helps us grow and become more true. Paul tells us that as Christ’s people we are called to make space for one another, to bear with one another, and to help each other stand tall in Christ. When we do, unity is sustained and upheld.

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

To cap it all off, Paul says that we have to exert ourselves to keep unity. Here is an important idea: unity does not happen by accident. The natural tendency of human existence is toward disunity and disorder. Just look at your apartment or house over the course of a week. It does not become cleaner on its own, but will become increasingly dirty and disordered. In a similar manner, the gravitational pull in human relationships is toward disunity and disorder. Unity occurs only through focused exertion toward that end. But human exertion will only go so far. In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that it is Christ who has brought us together as one new human being. Notice here in Ephesians 4 that Paul emphasizes our exertion toward unity partners with the Holy Spirit’s power. Unity is never merely a human work; it begins as a spiritual work of God in Christ and is sustained as a spiritual work of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. But if we do not work at it, relying upon the Holy Spirit, our unity will be destroyed

This season of time feels terribly divisive in our culture. We are all carrying feelings of trauma and angst. We all feel it personally but it impacts us in groups as well. Churches are not immune from the tensions of these days. But even as the church is a diverse community, with young and old, local and international, rich and poor, many professions, many ethnicities, and many opinions, we are called to unity. With God’s help, presence, and power, we must make space for one another around Jesus and the Cross. But that will only happen as we also daily choose to put on the character of Christ in our relationships as Paul describes here in Ephesians 4.

Please pause and consider some personal reflection questions about this in the midst of the divided days:

• how does our character match up with Paul’s exhortation here?
• how is our humility, gentleness, patience?
• how well are we bearing with one another in love?
• are we exerting ourselves toward unity…or are we hoping someone else will sustain it if we speak or act impatiently, live with pride, open our mouths in gossip, and generally lean into our flesh?

May God help us to walk with Christ and in Christ as one.