Conquering Divisions

Conquering Divisions

The Conquering King, Part Ten — Ephesians 4:1–6

Preached Sunday, September 27, 2026 by Pastor Jeremy Arnold

Ephesians 4:1–6 • Matthew 28:19–20 • 1 Corinthians 4:5 • Matthew 18:15–17 • Philippians 2:3–5 • Ephesians 6:12 • Galatians 5:17

For nine weeks the Conquering King has taken ground — outside the camp, then inside our own chest. This week the battlefield is the pew beside you. The flesh that wants to control me is the same flesh that divides us.

Last week we talked about conquering the flesh. God is faithful to provide a way of escape from temptation. The issue lies with us — will we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and submit to Him in obedience, or will we follow through with our own desires? We learned that God has given us Himself and the resources to overcome every scheme of the wicked one and to live victorious lives in and through Christ.

As we look at today’s Scripture we see that we are called to walk worthy of our calling in Christ. Our calling begins with who God created us to be as His image bearers, but in Christ that calling is restored and redirected toward making disciples and living as the people of God.

We are simply called to be students, and to make students, of the Word and of Christ.

• Christ creates the unity.
• The Spirit establishes the unity.
• We are responsible for maintaining the unity.

The only way we can effectively accomplish this is to follow Paul’s teaching to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 4:1–6.

Just as when we are tempted to sin, sometimes our emotions and perceptions become out of focus and skewed. It is in these times that we are confronted with the hard decision to follow after the Spirit rather than following our emotions and the flesh. The same principle applies when offence comes.

Someone says something. Someone doesn’t call you. Someone doesn’t include you. Someone gets the position you wanted. Someone makes a decision you don’t like. Someone misunderstands you. Someone hurts your feelings.

There is a moment where we are presented with a choice — follow the flesh or follow the Spirit. And in that moment God provides a way of escape. Here are our choices:

• Obedience to the Spirit or reaction.
• Grace or retaliation.
• Prayer or gossip.
• Conversation or speculation.
• Forgiveness or bitterness.

Don’t assume you know someone else’s motives. One of the most destructive things we do is assume the why behind something:

• “They are trying to run things.”
• “They don’t like me.”
• “They are just jealous.”

Go to the source. And go asking, not accusing:

• “Can you help me understand?”
• “Do you realise how that made me feel?”

This connects to conquering the flesh, because division is often not conquered by winning an argument. It is conquered by crucifying the flesh.

• The flesh says surround yourself with like-minded people. Jesus says love your neighbour, and love your enemies.
• The flesh says protect yourself. Jesus says lay your life down.
• The flesh says make them pay. Jesus says forgive.
• The flesh says they hurt me, so I will hurt them. Jesus says take up your cross.

You can be right about an argument and wrong in the spirit in which you approach it. Often the issue at hand is not the issue any more — it becomes an issue of being heard, and then an issue of me versus them.

Many times issues can be resolved by good listening: giving our full attention to the person we are speaking with. The Word of God gives us a great recipe for this:

Stay focused. The person standing in front of you is not the enemy. He or she is created in the image and likeness of God, just as we are.