PRACTICE AND PRESERVE THE BOND OF PEACE
As a prisoner in the Lord, then,
I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peaceG1515.
Ephesians 4:1-3
Paul reminded the Ephesians that he was in prison due to his mission ordained by the Lord to preach the gospel—the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ for all who believe—to the Gentiles. His imprisonment was in accordance with divine design. This would remind them that service to the Lord Jesus could come at a price to them as well. Paul admonished them to live a life worthy of their salvation and the specific gifts the Holy Spirit had bestowed on them. They should be worthily living out the purpose for which they were created. Not that they earned salvation in any way, but that their behavior would be evidence of the change brought about in them by the Holy Spirit. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary brings out this point:
Ephesians 4:2 The apostle now specifies four graces that evidence this essential proportion between calling and character: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. These are all qualities necessary for good relations with others in the Christian community and beyond. (80)
Believers should be consistently characterized by humility and patience toward others by the power of the Holy Spirit working within them. Overall, our interactions with other believers should be the result of love, the kind of love that can only come from a relationship with the Lord Jesus. The Fruit of Spirit as well as the attributes Paul just listed here all build one upon the other, but the foundation of all of them is Christ-like love. Again, the Expositor’s Bible Commentary makes this clear:
“Love” is a recurring theme in Ephesians. The four graces Paul recommends here are all aspects of love and are exemplified to perfection in Christ (Php 2:2, 5). (81)
The graces described in this verse and the love they exemplify can only be achieved when the Holy Spirit is flowing through believers as we present ourselves as instruments of God’s purposes. We cannot do any of this in our own strength. In Christ, we can do all He calls us to do, but without Him, we are incapable of accomplishing His will. Our longsuffering and seeking peace are a direct result of the love the Holy Spirit gives us for our fellow (and sister) believers. We are to have a “bond of peace.” What does this mean? We looked up bond in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and as a result of that, looked up “ligament” in The American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828:
G4886 sýndesmos, soon’-des-mos; from G4862 and G1199; a joint tie, i.e. ligament, (figuratively) uniting principle, control:—band, bond. (82)
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
LIG’AMENT, noun [Latin ligamentum, from ligo, to bind, that is, to strain.]
1. Any thing that ties or unites one thing or part to another. Interwoven is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts.
2. In anatomy, a strong, compact substance, serving to bind one bone to another. It is a white, solid inelastic, tendinous substance, softer than cartilage, but harder than membrane.
3. Bond; chain; that which binds or restrains. (83)
Webster, Noah
The bond of peace that holds us together as the body of Christ is like the ligaments that hold our bones together. When I had torn ligaments and tendons in my ankle, surgery was required to restore the stability of that joint. At this point in history, it seems that ligaments of Christ’s body have been injured. There is a divide among the people of this country and even among believers. We must “endeavor” as the King James Version translates this verse, to return to the bond of peace that unites us. The New Testament word for peace relates to the Old Testament “shalom” which involves wholeness or as Susan has defined it “nothing missing, nothing broken.” There is brokenness among Christians in America, and our sincere prayer is that the Holy Spirit will restore the bond of peace that unites us! Lord, help us be diligent to seek unity! Divisiveness in the church is harmful not only to those failing to come together in unity, but also harms those observing this behavior. This should never be! It grieves the heart of the Lord when we are divided. Jesus prayed for us to be united as one in His high priestly prayer.
John 17:20-21 I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Father, Your desire is that we be one, united family in Jesus Christ. Help us to endeavor to bridge the gaps between each other. Help us to be united rather than fragmented. Let our unity be a witness to the world.
How should we walk? Listen to The Gaither Vocal Band united with Ernie Haase and Signature Sound singing “I Then Shall Live”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNisXkfuo7k