Ephesians 4:4-6

Ephesians 4:4-6

One body and one Spirit, just as you also were being called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is upon all, through all, and in all.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul begins this passage with a very understandable analogy.  There must be one body and one spirit.  After all, what happens to a body that does not work in a coordinated effort?  If one hand goes one way, another hand goes a different way, one foot goes forward and another goes backwards – what happens?  What happens is that in the best case the body gets nothing done and in the worst case the body stumbles and hurts itself.  Furthermore, the body needs the brain – that is: logic, reason, emotion – to guide it.  Paul thus says that there is one Spirit to guide Christ’s body, too.  What is Paul’s point?  The church will only be effective when we are all working together under the same agenda: the Holy Spirit.  What is that agenda?  The agenda is the Spirit’s agenda: make disciples and spread the glory of God throughout the world.

Do you belong to a fellowship of faith – regardless of how small it is – that is acting as one body under the Spirit?  If you look at the worldwide church, are we following Paul’s vision of one body working under one Spirit?  How does this point make you feel?  What can you do about it?

Second Thought:

To be clearer about the images that He is presenting, Paul reminds us that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.  Our Lord is Jesus.  Our faith (also translated as faithfulness) is being obedient to the will of God just as Christ’s faith was complete obedience to God’s will for His life.  Our baptism is that of the Holy Spirit, who calls us into our obedience.  All of these things originate with God.  We can do none of these on our own unless we are first acted upon by God.  But understanding that we have a Lord, our faith is submitted to Him, and we receive the Spirit through Him is very central to living out our faith properly.

Is Jesus your Lord?  How do you know?  Do you have one path of obedience and faith in your life?  Is the Spirit a part of who you are?

Third Thought:

To put the capstone upon this, there is one God.  He is upon all – or as many translations say, over all.  There is nothing that happens that God does not know.  He is through all.  There is nothing that exists that did not come through God’s creative power.  God created all out of nothing.  Everything is through Him.  God is in all.  Everything in the world could be used for His purposes and used for His glory.  Granted, we don’t always make that a reality.  Sometimes we abuse Him and His creation.  But that doesn’t mean that God isn’t present and that He cannot be used in any circumstance.

What emotions are evoked in you by knowing that God is upon, through, and in all things?  How can you live a life more closely to this God who is everywhere you could possible turn?

Passage for Tomorrow: Ephesians 4:7-10