The conditions for such pursuing and preserving of peace in the fold of Christ are briefly indicated in verses 1 and 2. There must be--
(1) _A due sense of the dignity of our Christian calling_: "Walk worthily," he says, "of the calling where with you were called." This exhortation, of course, includes much besides in its scope; it is the preface to all the exhortations of the three following chapters, the basis, in fact, of every worthy appeal to Christian men; but it bears in the first instance, and pointedly, upon Church unity. Levity of temper, low and poor conceptions of religion militate against the catholic spirit; they create an atmosphere rife with causes of contention. "Whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal and walk as men?"
(2) Next to low-mindedness amongst the foes of unity comes _ambition_: "Walk with all lowliness of mind and meekness," he continues. Between the low-minded and the lowly-minded there is a total difference. The man _of lowly mind_ habitually feels his dependence as a creature and his unworthiness as a sinner before God. This spirit nourishes in him a wholesome self-distrust, and watchfulness over his temper and motives.--The _meek_ man thinks as little of his personal claims, as the humble man of his personal merits. He is willing to give place to others where higher interests will not suffer, content to take the lowest room and to be in men's eyes of no account. How many seeds of strife and roots of bitterness would be destroyed, if this mind were in us all. Self-importance, the love of office and power and the craving for applause must be put away, if we are to recover and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
(3) When St Paul adds "with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love," he is opposing a cause of division quite different from the last,--to wit, _impatience and resentfulness_. A high Christian ideal and a strict self-judgement will render us more sensitive to wrong-doing in the world around us. Unless tempered with abundant charity, they may lead to harsh and one-sided censure. Gentle natures, reluctant to condemn, are sometimes slow and difficult in forgiveness. Humbleness and meekness are choice graces of the Spirit. But they are self-regarding virtues at the best, and may be found in a cold nature that has little of the patience which bears with men's infirmities, of the sympathetic insight that discovers the good often lying close to their faults. "Above all things"--above kindness, meekness, longsuffering, forgivingness--"put on love, which is the bond of perfectness" (Col. iii. 14). Love is the last word of St Paul's definition of the Christian temper in verse 2; it is the sum and essence of all that makes for Christian unity. In it lies a charm which can overcome both the lighter provocations and the grave offences of human intercourse,--offences that must needs arise in the purest society composed of infirm and sinful men. "Bind thyself to thy brother. Those who are bound together in love, bear all burdens lightly. Bind thyself to him, and him to thee. Both are in thy power; for whomsoever I will, I may easily make my friend" (Chrysostom).
Verses 1-3 exhibit the temper in which the unity of the Church is to be maintained. Verses 4-6 set forth the basis upon which it rests. This passage is a brief summary of Christian doctrine. It defines the "foundation of the apostles and prophets" asserted in chapter ii. 20,--the groundwork of "every building" in God's holy temple, the foundation upon which Paul's Gentile readers, along with the Jewish saints, were growing into one holy temple in the Lord. Seven elements of unity St Paul enumerates: one _body_, _Spirit_, _hope_; one _Lord_, _faith_ and _baptism_; one _God and Father of all_. They form a chain stretching from the Church on earth to the throne and being of the universal Father in heaven.