posture: A position of a person's body when standing or sitting. Or, a particular way of dealing with or considering something; an approach/attitude.
Key Point: Our posture towards God reflects our posture towards one another.
Ephesians 3:14-4:6
"...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, & that you, being rooted & grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth & length & height & depth, & to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church & in Christ Jesus to all generations forever & ever. Amen. 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 & 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 & one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father of all who is over all & through all & in all."
- strengthened (krataiothenai): to strengthen, fortify, brace, invigorate (with power through His Spirit).
- power (dunamai): power (referring to Power through His Spirit), with infused (to become an element of something, to insert or fill) strength.
- dwell (katoikesai): to dwell, live in, settle down. Denotes permanent habitation as opposed to sojourning or an occasional visit.
- surpasses (huperballousan): to throw beyond, to excel, to surpass.
- more abundantly (huperekperissou): super-abundantly, quite beyond all measure, greatly exceeding all boundaries. The form is used as the highest form of comparison imaginable.
- worthy (haxios): worthily, 'that which balances the scales.'
- humility (tapeinophrosune): lowly thinking, humility. Refers to the quality of esteeming ourselves as small but at the same time recognizing the power & ability of God.
- gentleness (prautes): meek, gentle. The humble & gentle attitude that expresses itself in a patient submissiveness to offense, free from malice & desire for revenge.
- tolerance (anekomenoi): to bear, to bear up, hold oneself up. The word indicates giving patience to someone till the provocation is past.
- Spirit (pneumatos): Spirit. Subjective Genitive--indicating the source or agent producing the unity.
Central Truth: We should relate to one another out of the context that as Christians, Christ dwells in our hearts & He produces Christ-like character within us.
When Christ dwells in you & you are filled up to all the fullness of God...the following characteristics will manifest themselves in your life. The means of unity in a believer's life (by no means is this complete):
Humility:
- The quality of esteeming ourselves as small but at the same time recognizing the power & ability of God.
- "How can anyone be arrogant when he stands beside the cross?" --Carl Henry
- "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness & our sinfulness." --CJ Mahaney
Gentleness:
- An attitude that expresses itself in a patient submissiveness to offense, free from malice, & desire for revenge.
- Unwilling to provoke & not easily provoked or offended.
- "A bruised reed He will not break & a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice." --Isaiah 42:3
Patience:
- Longsuffering
- "A patient bearing of injuries without seeking revenge." --Matthew Henry
- "He was oppressed & He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, & like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth." --Isaiah 53:7
The Holy Spirit is the source of unity in believers' lives & God gets great glory when we relate to one another in love.
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