• 以弗所书 2

出死入生

1从前，你们因着自己的过犯罪恶而死了。 2那时，你们在过犯罪恶中生活，随从今世的风俗，顺服空中掌权者的领袖，就是现今在悖逆的人心中运行的邪灵。 3我们从前也都生活在他们当中，放纵肉体的私欲，随着肉体和心中的意念去做，和别人一样，生来就是该受惩罚的人。 4然而，上帝有丰富的怜悯，因着他爱我们的大爱， 5竟在我们因过犯而死了的时候，使我们与基督一同活过来—可见你们得救是本乎恩— 6他又使我们在基督耶稣里与他一同复活，一同坐在天上， 7为要把他极丰富的恩典，就是他在基督耶稣里向我们所施的恩慈，显明给后来的世代。 8你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信；这并不是出于自己，而是上帝所赐的； 9也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。 10我们是他所造之物，在基督耶稣里创造的，为要使我们行善，就是上帝早已预备好要我们做的。

在基督里合而为一

11所以，你们要记得：从前你们按肉体是外邦人，是“没受割礼的”；这名字是那些凭人手在肉身上“受割礼的人”所取的。 12要记得那时候，你们与基督无关，与以色列选民团体隔绝，在所应许的约上是局外人，而且在世上没有指望，没有上帝。 13从前你们是远离上帝的人，如今却在基督耶稣里，靠着他的血，已经得以亲近了。

14因为他自己是我们的和平，使双方合而为一，拆毁了中间隔绝的墙，而且以自己的身体终止了冤仇， 15废掉那记在律法上的规条，为要使两方藉着自己造成一个新人，促成了和平； 16既在十字架上消灭了冤仇，就藉这十字架使双方归为一体，与上帝和好， 17并且来传和平的福音给你们远处的人，也传和平给那些近处的人， 18因为我们双方藉着他，在同一位圣灵里得以进到父面前。

19这样，你们不再是外人或客旅，是与圣徒同国，是上帝家里的人了， 20被建造在使徒和先知的根基上，而基督耶稣自己为房角石， 21靠着他整座房子连接得紧凑，渐渐成为在主里的圣殿。 22你们也靠他同被建造，成为上帝藉着圣灵居住的所在。

• 以弗所书 4:11-13

11他所赐的有使徒，有先知，有传福音的，有牧者和教师， 12为要装备圣徒，做事奉的工作，建立基督的身体， 13直等到我们众人在信仰上同归于一，认识上帝的儿子，得以长大成人，达到基督完全长成的身量。

在教会中，合一性与独特性如何共存？

我们都听过这个说法：“分而治之”。在战争中，这种策略迫使敌人分兵防守，使其处于弱势。撒但也用同样的策略来对付基督的教会。他设法要“分而治之”，因为他知道一个不合一的教会是软弱的。

但什么是合一呢？遗憾的是，很多人以为合一就是“一模一样”。不是的。合一不是同一。相反，合一可以被定义为“具有共同目标、愿景或方向的任何群体”。重点不是要大家都变得完全相同，而是要向着同一个目标前进。想想一支美式足球队吧。球场上有不同的位置，每个位置的球员各有不同的技能、角色和责任，但球队中的所有球员都向着同一个终点区前进，因为他们的目标是一致的。

我们必须认识到，种族一直是上帝计划的一部分，但上帝的计划还包括在不同种族之间促成合一的方法。这个计划的中心就是耶稣基督。通过基督，不同种族的群体被调和成一个身体，即教会。在教会里，人与人之间的所有不同点都不应该造成任何分裂，因为我们在基督里合一。我们的共同目标，是通过分享耶稣基督的福音来推进上帝的国度。当来自各个种族的信徒走到一起，实践圣经所教导的合一时，我们就不会被分而治之；我们反而将得胜。

• 花点时间向神献上感恩与祈求

• EPHESIANS 2

By Grace Through Faith

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

11Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

• Ephesians 4:13

11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

How can unity and uniqueness coexist in the church?

We have all heard the phrase divide and conquer. In war, this strategy forces the enemy to divide their defenses and leaves them vulnerable. Satan uses these same tactics against the body of Christ. He seeks to divide and conquer because he knows that a disunified church is weak.

But what is unity? Unfortunately, many think that unity means “sameness.” This is not true. Unity is not uniformity. Instead, unity can be defined as any group of people who are characterized by a shared purpose, vision or direction. It’s not about being the exact same, but about advancing toward the same goal. Think about a football team. There are different positions on the field. Each position has different skill sets, roles and responsibilities. But all players on the team march toward the same end zone because their goal is the same.

What we must realize is that race has always been a part of God’s plan, but God’s plan also included a way to create unity among the different races. That plan’s epicenter is Jesus Christ. Through Christ, racially divided groups get reconciled into one body, the church. The church is the place where all distinctions should no longer cause any divisions because of our unity in Christ. Our common goal is advancing God’s kingdom through sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. When believers, from every race, come together and operate in biblical unity, we will no longer be divided or conquered. We will be victorious.

• Take a moment to give thanks and prayers to God