Over the Fence: Lessons From EphesusSýnishorn

Day 5 – Unity is the Key
Ephesians 4

Chapter four is where things start to get serious. Paul has finished his introductions, prayers, and opening comments, and now he’s ready to dive into the issues facing the early church. This wasn’t the only church Paul started that struggled with race and ethnic division. The need for unity, purity, and guidance on how Jews and Gentiles should live together was a consistent theme in Paul’s letters.

While the church in Ephesus clearly needed this instruction, it’s also likely that this letter was circulated among other churches in the region of modern-day Turkey. These were common issues in the early church, and Paul wanted to make sure they were addressed across the board.

There are three key takeaways from this passage that I believe apply powerfully to our lives today:

1. We Are the Church

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
—Ephesians 4:11–13

It's all too common in the Western church to treat church like a goods-and-services model. People come on Sunday, put money in the basket, and expect the pastor to do all the ministry—hospital visits, sermons, spiritual care, and so on. In this model, we’re essentially paying for the services the church staff provides.

But that was never the design of the early church. Pastors and church leaders were given by God to equip the community to do the work of ministry themselves. My role as a pastor isn’t just to do ministry (although I do that often); it’s to train, empower, and release others to disciple, pray, lead, care, and guide the community themselves. We are the church. All of us.

2. Unity Is the Path to Maturity

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
—Ephesians 4:14–15

Paul makes it clear that unity is a key to spiritual maturity. Yes, he would also include things like prayer, scripture meditation, fellowship, and sacrifice as vital for growth. But without unity, Paul says, we’re easily tossed around by confusion, false teaching, and manipulation.

Unity builds trust. And when we trust each other, we can speak the truth in love. It’s been said: “Truth without love is harsh legalism; love without truth is empty sentimentality.” But when love and truth are held together in unity, they sharpen us, challenge us, and help us grow.

Unity creates the environment where truth can be heard, and love can be felt.

3. Be Careful with Your Anger

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
—Ephesians 4:26–27

We’re all going to experience anger—especially in the church. But instead of addressing it, many of us take the passive route and avoid the person we’re angry with. We tell ourselves, “Just give it a day, and it’ll fade.” But often, it doesn’t, and we just end up avoiding that person.

The emotion might fade, but the offense remains. We stop trusting that person. The relationship is damaged, and the desire to repair it disappears. I don’t think Paul is telling us to seek out drama or pick fights over every small offense. Surely, there are many things we should overlook and extend grace for.

But when someone deeply wounds us—when we lie in bed fantasizing about how we’d “tell them off” or get even—that’s a red flag. We’re not just angry. We’re allowing bitterness to take root. And when bitterness grows, it not only divides us from that person—it removes their ability to speak truth and love into our lives. That’s dangerous.

So what?
Who in your faith community are you harboring bitterness toward? You may never get the apology you think you deserve, but you do need to forgive.

Holding on to division in your heart will stunt your spiritual growth and harden you to the love and truth God wants to speak through the people He’s placed in your life.

Ask God to help you forgive. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger tonight.

Mystic Chef’s XP Boost – Ephesians 4

Think of a story where a team has everything they need to win but only if they stop fighting each other and start working together. That’s Ephesians 4. Paul isn’t just giving advice; he’s calling us to live like we actually belong to the same mission.

We’ve all been given different gifts, different roles, different wiring. But instead of comparing or competing, we’re meant to build each other up. Like a band that finally finds its rhythm, or a team that figures out how to play to each other’s strengths when we lean into unity, the whole thing starts to make sense and we become more than just the sum of the individual parts.

But it takes effort. Humility. Patience. Forgiveness. The kind of stuff that doesn’t just happen. We have to choose it.

So today, ask God to help you live like you're part of something bigger because the world needs to see what grace in motion really looks like.

We’re not called to be the same, we’re called to move together. One body. One Spirit. One hope. Let’s live like it.