“Ephesians 4:1-12”

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you 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. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)  And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

--- End of Scripture verses---

Sometimes the greatest number of all is the number ONE. Just as surely as there is only one Father, one Spirit, and one Lord Jesus Christ; there is only one common faith that holds together the one body of Christ. Since the body is the church (Colossians 1:18), then the apostle Paul is stressing that there are not many churches belonging to Christ, but only ONE. That's the very same church that Jesus prayed for (John 17:20-21), and said He would build, and that the gates of Hades would not overpower (Matthew 16:18).

But the main focus of this passage, and of the number one here, is unity. Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are tightly bound together (in essence, power and purpose), so the one body is solidly united together by the bonds of peace. It is the one common faith that has been revealed by the one Spirit in the New Testament that provides the powers of adhesion.

God has given many gifts to many individuals in this one, blood-bought body (verses 7-11). But they all have been given to provide for the growth and development and maturity of the one body: the church of Christ (verses 13-16). And verse 12 tells us the works that are to be engaged in by the many gifted individuals that God has populated His church with. Our collective resources are to go toward "perfecting" or "equipping" the saints (building Christians up spiritually); for the "work of the ministry" (serving the needs of Christians); for the "edifying" or "building up" of the body of Christ (teaching and converting the lost so that God can add them to the church).

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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