“Therefore, as a prisoner of the Lord, I implore you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 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 4:1-6
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In almost every verse, we see the majesty of Christ and what Christians are called to be in Christ. In the first three chapters, Paul gives us sound doctrine so we will know the truth of God. Then, in the last three chapters, Paul gives us direction so we will know how to live out the truth as followers of Christ. It is an amazing verse by verse guide of how Christians are to live within the body of Christ, the church.
The beginning of Ephesians chapter four is the transitional point between Paul’s emphasis on doctrine and his emphasis on directing the church on how to live the Christian life as Christ followers. Paul says Christians are called by God to be one in Christ and live a life of unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.
This unity comes only from the Holy Spirit given to born again believers of Christ. Therefore, Christians are supernaturally part of the family of God where “there is one body and one Spirit, just as you (believers) were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
One in the natural realm is a very lonely number – alone and distant from others, but most importantly distant from God. However, one in Christ Jesus brings one into a relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as seen in this passage, and also brings the believer into the body of Christ, the church universal throughout the world until we go to be with God in eternity.
The spiritual “one” of Christianity is a very special entity. We are one in Christ just as the Father and the Son are One. Listed to Jesus praying to God the Father in John 17:
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” John 17:22-23
As Christians, we are ONE!
May God bless you with His grace, love and truth!