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One spirit one body3/16/2023 That is why His voice from heaven said to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus (when he was intent on arresting and killing believers), “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” ( Acts 9:4 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:4)). Not only is it a signal honor to be chosen, as believers, to be members of His body, but also it is a truth supremely precious to Christ. To be joined to a risen Christ, as our Head in heaven, and to be part of His body on earth is a privilege that was never known before the present dispensation of grace, nor will such a privilege be accorded to any others after the church is called home. Paul taught it to all those believers to whom he ministered, but it is most clearly brought out in Ephesians, a book that gives us the highest blessings of the believer. Spreading the unified message of the love of Christ for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, together, using the God-given talents of each individual for Gods glory.In Ephesians 4:4 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling (Ephesians 4:4) we read these clear and definite words: “There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” This precious truth, so dear to God, was revealed to Paul from a risen Christ in glory. The gospel message is intended to blend all followers of Christ into one body, one giant multitude of people, of like minds, working together for the greater good of all. “There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-8) For it is through this Spirit of Christ that we are to be unified in Christ, that we can then become a force for Christ in the world today. Showing the love of Jesus for all people, showing the Christian attributes that Paul describes in his prayer humility, gentleness, patience and love. It is through this Christian love that we become able to walk together in Christ, to walk in a manner worthy of being imitators of our Lord Jesus. “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (the gospel) with all humility and gentleness (as Jesus walked) with patience, bearing with one another in love (for Christ and each other) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3) For all to be imitators of our Lord, showing his grace and mercy to others in our daily lives.Īs with many of his letters to the churches of Asia Minor, Paul was writing during one of his times of imprisonment, imprisoned by the Roman government for preaching the gospel of Christ our Lord.īut, he goes on emboldened by the very gospel message that he was in prison for preaching Third, he was encouraging all believers to walk together in the ways of Christ. Second, he stressed the importance of unity in the body of Christ, the church itself, how each should work together with the others. Paul had a threefold message or purpose in this prayer, this letter of faith-giving.įirst, he wanted to fully expound on the blessings enjoyed by the church. The prayer for spiritual strength, a pleading to God by Paul for the people of the churches at Ephesus. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we think or ask, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Much need for all to come together in love for Christ and one another to become the body of Christ as he intended from the beginning of his ministry on earth. AugIn a world overtaken by the devil and sin there is much need for strength for all people to stand against the forces of evil.
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