Fragment: Unity, Grace, Legalism

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“With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2323And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (Ephesians 4:23)).
It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the unity of the Spirit can be kept in a legal way. It must be grace. It must be the fruit of communion with Christ and living of His life. I cannot take my own yardstick and measure everybody else by that. I cannot lay down my interpretations of Scripture and say every man must walk by this rule. That is to make a law of Scripture and put everybody on legal ground. And this is the worst kind of legalism.
If our minds are formed by the Word and Spirit of God, others will feel the power, and they will be edified. If I am handling the Word of God in a legal way, I will only provoke the flesh, and no good will result. I cannot teach you the Word of God with a sledgehammer. The teaching must be through the operation of the Spirit. And grace characterizes this operation. So I must be gracious, patient and loving. Let brotherly love abound and bitterness be put away (Heb. 13:11Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13:1); Eph. 4:3131Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (Ephesians 4:31)) edifying one another in love (Eph. 4:1616From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)).
A. H. Rule