Ephesians 4:1-6

1: Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
3: being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
5: one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6: one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

*** 

Because of all he’d written to the Ephesians so far, Paul now, as one imprisoned for the cause of Christ, implored them to walk worthy of this calling to live as one body in Christ. He instructed them in their attitude and behavior to be humble, gentle, patient, and tolerant of one another in love. He encouraged them to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

To achieve this unity would require all believers—Jew or Gentile—to walk in love and acceptance of each other. Not in arrogance, as Paul said in Romans 12:3-5 that no one should think more highly of himself than he ought to as we each have our place and part in the body. There is one body of Christ in the earth, and we all have been given the same Spirit in Christ. It’s time to move on from the Jew-Gentile distinction and form one new man in Christ as Paul described in Ephesians 2:14-16.

Paul emphasized the oneness of God Himself, though three distinct persons in the trinity. There is one God and Father who is over all, through all, and in all. There is one Lord in whom we believe in and through Him we are baptized into His one body. And there is one Spirit which we are all partakers of. As the church, we have one common hope, one common goal, which is seen in Jesus’ prayer to the Father, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).

This unified attitude is the foundation we build on as we each grow in Christ and take our place in the body as we are individually called. Paul laid this foundation first before he moved on to speak of the gifts given to the body to help bring us to the maturity and unity of the faith we are called to.

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