Bible reading for 40.Day 2026 | Ephesians 4:4-6

Ephesians 4:3 says, “We have to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” 

What is this unity of the Spirit? It is something the Holy Spirit Himself created. It is not produced by human effort. It is established by God through the Holy Spirit. It is rooted in our shared identity in Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13, tells us, by one Spirit, we were all Jew or Gentile, baptised into the same one Body connected to the one head, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is our spiritual oneness among believers. Notice that Scripture says unity of the Spirit, not unity in the Spirit. Unity in the Spirit refers to us being led, guided, empowered by the Holy Spirit, such as praying in the Spirit, worshipping in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit.

What is this unity not? It is not uniformity. It does not erase differences. Just like a choir: There are many different people singing different parts, but producing one harmony. Just like our physical body: There are many members, some are seen, some are unseen; they all have different functions. Just like a church which comprises diverse people, diverse gifts, and yet we are to flow as one, connected to the head.

This unity is based on shared spiritual truths. We are reminded in Ephesians 4:4-6 that there is one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. This unity is already established on our part. We are exhorted to keep it, not create it.

We have no choice as to who the members of our biological family are. We have no choice who our parents are, who our siblings are.

Similarly, we do not choose who belongs to God’s family. The Cross of Jesus Christ has reconciled each of us to God and to one another. And because this is unity of the Spirit, this requires believers to be spiritual. 

The greatest threat to this unity is carnality. In fact, 95% of problems in the church have got nothing to do with God, and nothing to do with the devil. It’s got to do with leaders, Pastors, members, responding, behaving out of their sinful nature, out of their carnality, out of their spiritual infancy.

Paul describes all these words in 1 Corinthians 3: They are carnal, worldly, still drinking milk. 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.” 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

All this results in disunity. It results in pride, leaders or members having a low self-esteem, being easily offended, not aware of personality differences or work style differences. 

In fact, Galatians 5:17 says that the flesh and the spirit are in constant conflict: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.”

The Bible gives us various accounts of conflicts. 

In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul talks about divisions. In Philippians 4:2, Paul pleaded with Euodia and Syntyche to please agree as fellow workers in the Gospel. In Acts chapter 15, Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement regarding Mark. 

In Galatians 2, Paul rebuked Peter when he was siding with the Jews about circumcision and imposing that upon the Gentile believers. The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) had to meet to debate and argue as to whether the practices of Judaism ought to be imposed on the Gentile believers.

I was having lunch with a business executive a few months ago, and he was comparing the country club with the church. He made a statement that the church minus spirituality is just like a club. And we went through the names of various social clubs, with their lawsuits, conflicts, lobbying and complaints and fights.

The Bible reminds us again, in the same chapter, Ephesians 4, how do we keep this unity of the Spirit? Paul listed out four key characteristics. 

The first one he mentioned in Ephesians 4:2 is to be completely humble. I always thought I was humble, but the Lord said “You are not completely humble”. Because our human nature wants to surface the pride, that boastfulness, that self-esteem, that significance from time to time. So the first trait is humility, complete humility. 

The second one is gentleness with those who are weaker. 

The third one is to be patient, to be long-suffering towards those who are slower in catching up with us. 

And lastly, the fourth characteristic is to bear with one another in love. There are practical ways to show love, and that love has to cover a multitude of sins. 

We are to speak the truth, yes, but in love, which means that we need to forgive quickly. We are to refuse gossip and bitterness. We are to address conflict biblically, to affirm, to support one another.

I often use this phrase: “Win the war of unity”. Choose our battles: We don’t have to fight every battle. We don’t have to respond to every criticism, every remark made at us, especially as leaders and believers in the body of Christ.

In fact, in Ephesians 4, Paul went on to say that this is spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 4:26-27 Paul said: Don’t give the devil ground. Don’t give the devil a foothold. Don’t give the devil open doors into our church and our ministry.

And he reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

The devil will go all out, because he knows that a united Church is a powerful church. Therefore the devil will do everything to disrupt this unity.

That’s why the Bible says in Romans 12:18 that as far as it depends on us, we are to live at peace with one another.

Pursue peace with all that we have. Peace must be pursued; it is not passive. Peace must be protected, it must be practised. Because without unity, relationships will be fragmented. Our mission will fail, and churches will be fractured.

Unity requires time, effort, intentionality.

Let us pray.

Father, we thank You that You have willed for the unity of the Body of Christ. We thank You, Lord Jesus. We have prayed that this unity will be kept by all in the body of Christ. And we thank You Holy Spirit, You’re the one who orchestrates this unity, as You work in each and every believer to walk by the Spirit, to be under the authority of Scripture, to be led by You always.

So we commit ourselves to You. We commit the body of Christ in Singapore to You, that You will bind us in the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace to the glory of the Father, to the exaltation of Jesus, so that He will draw every heart to Himself, even by the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray all this, giving You thanks and praise in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reflect:

1. How can we have unity of the Spirit while appreciating the different ways in which God has made us all?
2. Are we facing conflict in church? Will we submit our carnal, worldly nature to Christ?
3. In what ways can we pursue peace and intentionally build unity?

Pray:

1. That He will help us to be completely humble, not harbouring pride or esteeming ourselves better than others.
2. That we will be gentle with those who are weaker.
3. That we will be patient with others just as the Lord is patient with us.
4. That we will bear one another in love, showing love and choosing love above offence.

Follow Salt&Light on Telegram, Facebook or Instagram for more of LoveSingapore’s daily devotions until August 9, 2026.