Graces Needed to Maintain Unity of The Spirit, 1

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin begins by referencing the ongoing sermon series on not grieving the Holy Spirit, specifically focusing on how a lack of diligence in maintaining the unity of the…

Martin uses the absurd image of him pounding the pulpit with a framing hammer to illustrate that inanimate objects cannot feel grief, setting up the point that the Holy Spirit, being a divine person, can indeed be grieved.

In a few moments, I were to take from the shelf that's underneath this pulpit, within my sight but not yours, and I were to remove from that shelf a framing hammer, and for you non-carpenters, that's a big'un. That's not the kind of hammer a man uses when he's doing delicate work, putting on trim in the house, but that's the hammer you use when you're doing the rough work of raising up the house. That's not the kind of hammer a man uses when he's doing delicate work, putting on trim in the house, but that's the hammer you use when you're doing delicate work, putting on trim in the house. Appar...

1:07 - 2:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin begins by referencing the ongoing sermon series on not grieving the Holy Spirit, specifically focusing on how a lack of diligence in maintaining the unity of the…

He compares the failure to diligently pursue unity to a piece of meat left unrefrigerated and unsalted, where the 'bacteria of remaining sin' will multiply and devastate unity, grieving the Spirit.

Last Lord's Day I sought briefly to open up that text and to demonstrate that it is the duty of the people of God to give diligence, that is, to engage themselves consciously, deliberately, and constantly, in the preservation of the unity of which the Holy Spirit is the author, and the primary characteristic of which is peace. We are to give diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And if we fail to do this, given the reality of remaining sin in the hearts of individuals, and the stirring up of that remaining sin in the interaction of the corporate life of the church, li...

6:08 - 7:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He identifies lowliness and meekness as 'Siamese twin graces' essential for unity, highlighting their close association in Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, and Philippians 2.

Lowliness and meekness are described as 'Siamese twin graces' to emphasize their inseparable connection and mutual dependence in the context of Christian unity.

But the structure of the language clearly indicates that Paul is calling them to these graces of lowliness and meekness viewed as an inseparable couplet. In Siamese twins, you have two individuals, but until they are surgically separated and occasionally it's been done in the life of both or one of them, you have two individuals. But until one has been spared, the life of the two individuals is so joined that generally when one is severed, they both die. And it's in that sense that these are Siamese graces, Siamese twin graces, lowliness and meekness. Any giving diligence to keep the unity of ...

25:58 - 27:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But it came to speak of one of those graces. That in the Christian church and in New Testament literature became a very close synonym for humility. That grace in which we consciously take our place as dependent creatures…

Martin contrasts the biblical concept of lowliness with the secular idea of 'rotten self-esteem,' arguing that the former is about acknowledging creaturely dependence, not bolstering self-importance.

This New Testament word was not used as a noble quality or a voice of virtue in the secular world as I wrestled with a contemporary term that would show how the secular world used this. Most of the old writers talk about mean-spirited, but for us that means somebody that's got an ugly attitude, and they didn't mean that. I think what they would say in current parlance is it would speak of someone with a rotten self-esteem. Now I don't like the term self-esteem because I'm too familiar with my Bible and everything my Bible says about self is not to promote it but to put it on a cross. To deny i...

30:16 - 31:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But it came to speak of one of those graces. That in the Christian church and in New Testament literature became a very close synonym for humility. That grace in which we consciously take our place as dependent creatures…

He quotes an old writer who called lowliness 'the very casket in which all other graces are found,' highlighting its foundational importance because God gives grace to the humble.

What's the antithesis of pride? It is the grace of lowliness. And one of the old writers said it is not merely a grace among many graces, but it is the very casket in which all other graces are found. For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

33:10 - 33:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines lowliness as the opposite of pride, a conscious recognition and acceptance of one's identity as a dependent creature of God, not a worldly concept of low…

He uses the character of Uriah Heep to illustrate what true lowliness is not – it's not mock humility or an inverted kind of pride, but a genuine acceptance of one's identity.

The more complex compound word is not used there, but the root word that captures the essence of it. Our Lord says lowly in heart. Now certainly that can't be the Uriah Heep mentality. I'm nobody.

34:28 - 34:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now anyone familiar with the word of God knows that the grace of love is the queen of all graces. of the Christian character. 1 Corinthians 13, the greatest of these is love.

He visualizes unity as believers standing hand-in-hand in an unbroken circle, with forbearing/long-suffering love as the left hand and forgiving love as the right hand, emphasizing their essential role in maintaining the bond.

Remember Jesus' new commandment, John 13.35, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you by this shalom, and know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another. And John's epistles, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, who would dispute that love is there set forth as the queen of all the graces. But I don't want to talk about love generically, because according to the scriptures, according to at least my present light in studying out this subject of the unity of the Spirit, it is particularly the grace of forbearing, long-suffering, and forgiving love that contrib...

43:35 - 45:00 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Fervent love will cause each one of us to have what I called some years ago an internal blanket factory where all the time we're turning blankets off the loom of our hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost. Not to embroide…

He describes fervent love as an 'internal blanket factory' in the heart, producing 'blankets' to cover the sins of brethren rather than exposing them, preventing provocation and public display.

Things that in our brethren and in ourselves are actually falling short and missing the mark of God's standard of perfection. But not sins of such a nature that warrant rebuke let alone discipline. The many, many, many sins with which we find ourselves encompassed while we are yet in this present life. Fervent love will cause each one of us to have what I called some years ago an internal blanket factory where all the time we're turning blankets off the loom of our hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost. Not to embroider on those blankets the sins of our brethren and hang them up as banners for...

53:59 - 55:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Find it in your heart to be forbearing, long-suffering, and forgiving to your brethren, remembering how Christ treats you.

Martin uses the analogy of the human immune system fighting off viruses and bacteria to illustrate how graces like lowliness, meekness, and forbearing love act as a spiritual immune system in the church, protecting unity from 'indwelling sin' and preventing 'spiritual AIDS' where defenses break down.

As I again sought to illustrate it I couldn't help but think of how the human body operates. God has wonderfully made the human body that when it is healthy it has a very effective immune system. And when the signal goes that a foreign virus or bacteria has entered it is not in the best interest of the body it immediately goes to work and calls up the Home Guard calls up the National Defense and they begin to attack those invaders and seek to destroy them. And a healthy body God alone knows how many otherwise deadly or debilitating diseases we might all have if it were not for our immune syste...

56:49 - 57:55 Read in full sermon