“Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” (Ephesians 4:1-3). We must try to maintain the unity of the church which Christ established by His death, burial, and resurrection. 

There exists a wonderful unity within the Trinity: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (vv. 4-6).

Our unity with one another is rooted in the unity of the triune God, which He graciously bestowed upon the body of Christ. There's one body—one church, one Spirit, and one hope of your calling. We're all going to be together, fellowshipping together in the presence of the Lord.

We can pursue this unity now by refusing to make an issue out of the walls that divide us. Because of the oneness we share in Christ, we’re called to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. To walk worthy is to walk in humility.

We agree and believe in the triune God, we believe in the atonement of Christ, we believe in the bodily resurrection, and in Jesus’ second coming. If somebody denies the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, we can safely, with authority, say they are not a true believer. If you agree on the essentials but disagree on the manifestation of spiritual gifts, that is a secondary issue. This is beautifully summarized in a highly influential phrase from the seventeenth century: “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, but in all things, charity.”

We are going to disagree. In the church, like any family, we're going to have different interpretations, ideas, and values. But don’t look down on others because of it—rather than fighting the variety in the body of Christ, enjoy it. We're all different. Look around the world and you’ll discover God loves variety.

Even Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement that caused them to part company (see Acts 15:36-41). Yet, God redeemed even that situation, because after they parted ways, there wasn’t one group on a missionary journey, but two—preaching Christ everywhere they traveled. 

Our goal should always be to “come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13).

Unity. In one faith, one baptism, under one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all.