CHRISTIAN UNITY

EPHESIANS 4:1–6

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(Ephesians 4:4–6)

Paul has told us to be humble, gentle, and patient. Now he sums it up in Ephesians 4:3, telling us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. How do we keep this unity? By focussing on the bond of peace. Living peacefully with one another requires humility, gentleness, and patience.

This unity is grounded in the spiritual unity of the church. In His high priestly prayer recorded in John 17, our Lord prayed that we may be one even as He and the Father are one. God does not deny any petition of His Son, and so we can be certain that we are indeed one, even if it does not look like it. In this day of denominations, it does not appear to the eye that we are one but we are. We don’t need to become one; we already are one. We simply need to manifest that oneness more fully.

Paul enumerates a sevenfold oneness in verses 4–6. There is one body and one Spirit. The Spirit breathed life into Adam’s body in Genesis 2. In the same way, the new Adam of the church, the body of Christ, is created by the breath of the Spirit. There is only one Spirit, and thus only one body. The first one-body was in Adam, but the new one-body is in Jesus Christ.

Third, there is one hope. Christians differ over the details, but all share the hope of the resurrection and of eternal life. All Christians entrust the future to God.

Fourth, and central in the series of seven, there is one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His body of which we are part. We are united to Him by faith and baptism. Again, Christians differ over the details of the faith, but all true believers confess the holy trinity and the saving work of Christ. Christians also differ over baptism, but all agree that baptism is the sign of entrance into the one body of the church. Baptism is an outward pledge of unity, and we must live out the implications of our baptism by living at peace with all Christian brethren.

Finally, climaxing the series of seven, there is one God and Father. Paul’s trinitarian theology has moved from the Spirit and the church, to the Lord, and now to the Father. All of us have one Father, and so all are in one family.

CORAM DEO

Joshua 9–12

It is not true that we are only united in the “invisible church.” What are some visible signs of Christian unity that you can see? What other kinds of visible unity should we be working for? According to Genesis 11:6, why does God want the church to manifest her unity? What will be the result in culture and society?

For further study: Psalm 133 • 1 Corinthians 12:12–20

thursday

march