Unity defined, not as membership of an organisation, but as a bond between those in union with Christ and bearing His likeness. Then, the opposition believers will know and the answer of holy living. Lastly: service and loyalty to the body, the local church.

The apostle lays down the vital role of the entire congregation functioning together in evangelism and sanctification. The chief agent of this is 'the truth'. Here we seek to appreciate more fully the privileges and power of the faith entrusted to us.

First, an analysis of the sad state of the unsaved heart. Then two levels of transformation: (1) conversion, where putting off the old and putting on the new life is God's work, and (2) details of sanctification, where believers are empowered to act by God.

Formative in the sense that in addition to being deeply offensive to God, they form deep roots in the character, promoting other sins and shaping the whole person, whereas new opposite virtues (performed by the Lord's help) lead to lifelong blessing and usefulness.

The apostle's appeal never to grieve the Holy Spirit. Here are the sins that do, causing Him to withdraw from (but never leave) us. Here also is what the sealing of the Spirit means for us, and the folly of undervaluing His grace.

The duty and treasure of kindness toward God's people, its impediments constrasted with the great motive - the full readiness of the nature of Christ's love to us, and how He yielded Himself up for eternity. Also the necessity of cleanness, and the pitfalls of jesting. 

Charismatic thinking mistakenly sees similarities between the effects of alcohol and the filling of the Spirit. This verse describes tremendous differences between them. Here are the details of Spirit-filling together with the fruit and the means of obtaining this filling.