"Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit" "with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love."
It is a fatal mistake to suppose that this unity 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 sledge hammer. The teaching must be through the operation of the Spirit. And grace characterizes this operation. So I must be gracious, patient, loving.
Let brotherly love abound, and bitterness be put away- edifying one another in love.