We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that

Everyone Would Be
United in Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

 † In Jesus Name †

May the experience of indescribable love of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help you realize you are united those in Christ Jesus!

7 Mentions of the Collateral Blessing

As a historian, and one who is fascinated with naval ships, I have often heard the word collateral, especially in terms of damage. The term comes from the earliest days of mortar fire, from days when ships were propelled by the wind.

The idea was that you would shoot the cannon fire, with the new exploding cannon balls over a high arch, clearing obstacles and landing inside an area and then exploding. But firing these mortars was not an exact science, as humidity, temperature, wind resistance, imperfects in the “ball” all could affect the flight path, and how the fuse ignited before the mortar cannon fired.

Collateral damage would happen when the shell didn’t travel far enough and exploded over your own troops. Or flew too far, and exploded among civilians in a nearby village, rather than within the fort walls. Or on rare occasions, the shell would explode inside the mortar cannon, and if that happened, the ship was destroyed. These reasons collateral damage occurred were unintended and were beyond calculation.

In today’s reading from Ephesians, we do not see collateral damage—we see a collateral blessing, mentioned 7 times.

And make no mistake, this collateral blessing was not unintended. It was specifically an intention of God to cause this blessing, and while not the primary blessing of the cross, it is incredibly power, important and necessary.

The intended collateral blessing is this.

UNITY.

Why Can’t We See this Unity?

In order to see Unity created, whether in a family, a church, or a nation, we have to recognize what distracts from true unity, and what destroys it.

The simplest way to identify a lack of unity is when we start using pronouns to designate differences. For example, rather than saying we have a problem, we say there is something wrong with them.

Or when we divide territory and possessions. The husband who says those are your parents, rather than say our parents, is indicating that there is a bigger problem at stake, one that is threatening the unity of the marriage. Or a church that says, this is your vision to one groups, means that they aren’t united in vision, for there is no mutual ownership. Or when a nation is divided over a problem, and one group says,—Homelessness—that’s your problem—deal with it—rather than recognizing that the problem is the entire nations and it will take the entire nation to deal with it.

These sins develop out of pride and its sister, insecurity. In both cases, the division forms from the idea that one side must be right, and the other must be wrong. And that whoever is wrong is somehow threatening whoever is right.

This is nothing new, and Paul deals with such division in Romans 14, as people argued over what day to worship, and whether those in a relationship with God could eat bacon wrapped scallops! (or any pork or shellfish!) And Paul says both parties are wrong, for they are treasuring something more than their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Some might ask, aren’t there doctrinal issues that we must draw the line with? Can we just accept everything? Of course not, but how we even deal with such horrible errors has to be with love. The Apostles Paul writes,

²⁵  Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. ²⁶  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.  2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NLT2)

He also says that our message must be to plead with such people to be reconciled to God! ( 2 Cor. 5:20)

Which brings us back to Jesus, and the intended collateral blessing.

Where unity proceeds from

When someone is reconciled to God, they are brought to a position where they trust in His promises of His forgiveness, of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the guarantee of eternal life!

All this is because God united them to Jesus, as they were united to His death and His resurrection (Romans 6, Colossians 2). What an amazing thing this is! What a new life God creates as He reconciles them through the blood of Jesus!

The intended collateral blessing is that if you are united to Jesus, you are united to me, because I am And you are united to Zac and William, and Larry and Josephine, and George, and everyone in the English service and in the church throughout the world.

That is why God had Paul write, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. ¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

The primary reason for the cross is, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, to united us to the Father as we are united to Him. But it was always God’s intent that what unites us to Him, united us to each other as well!

That is why Paul said,

³ Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴ For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

The effort is not expended around in a debate format, nor is it found at a discussion table

It is found in Christ, in those moments where we all realize His presence and His work, as He forgives His people, as He instills in them the faith that causes them to depend on Him, as He washes away all our sin in baptism, so that we know we have been united to Him together, and this grace, this mercy, this forgiveness we share, all intended collateral blessings, mean we are united in Him and share in His peace, and His glory, together.

AMEN!