Topic: Be on Guard [David Jeremiah Devotional july 16 2019 | Turning Point Ministries]

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JULY 16, 2019

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

 Recommended Reading: Ephesians 2:13-18

Everyone guards what is valuable. We guard our time, our money, our health, our relationships—the more valuable something is, the greater the effort we exert to preserve it. Another insight: We can’t keep or preserve something we don’t already possess.

Paul exhorted the Ephesian church to keep—the word means to “keep, preserve, or guard”—the unity of their life in Christ. He doesn’t tell them to create unity; that’s something God has already done (Ephesians 2:13-18). God brought together Jews and Gentiles (all people—Galatians 3:28) into one spiritual Body through the cross of Christ. God has given us spiritual unity as a gift; it is up to us to manifest it. And is that easy? No—the word for endeavoring in Ephesians 4:3 means “to hurry, to be diligent, or to make every effort.” When cracks or splits appear in the unity of the Church it’s because someone didn’t make every effort to guard and preserve it.

Are you making every effort to keep the unity in your home, your friendships, your workplace, your church? The unity of our life in Christ is too precious not to guard.

Unity in Christ is not something to be achieved; it is something to be recognized.
A. W. Tozer