January 28, 2011 … Our Unity In The Spirit

Passage of the Day [NIV]: Ephesians 4: 4 – 6 [emphasis noted by capitalization/underlined words] – 4 There is ONE body and ONE Spirit—just as you were called to ONE hope when you were called— 5 ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; 6 ONE God and [ONE] Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

My Journal for Today: Well, in case you didn’t notice ;) , the operant word in this passage is the word “ONE;” and the Apostle Paul is almost shouting that we, of the Body of Christ, are ONE body in Christ … sealed by ONE Spirit … with ONE eternal calling from God, the Father. He is clearly stating that we are not many bodies, … but ONE … The Church Universal … all ONE in Christ Jesus (see Gal. 3: 28) …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Gal. 3: 28 … There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus.

ONE; … no matter how many creeds we believe and utter; … no many how many races are represented in our congregations; … no matter how many languages we may speak; … no matter how many worship styles we represent; … our individual souls and our singular houses of God are collectively ONE Temple, guided by ONE Spirit [1st Cor. 6: 19], Who builds The Body in the likeness of our ONE Lord, … Jesus Christ [Eph. 2: 22].

>>> SCRIPTURE: 1st Cor. 6: 19 … Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 2: 22 … And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

And finally, it is that ONE Spirit, Who has sealed (or guaranteed) us into the ONE hope of our ONE calling, which is our inheritance in eternity [Eph. 1: 13-14] from our ONE Lord …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 3: 13-14 … And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of His glory.

You’ll never get a better guarantee than that in this world! Therefore, we must do all we can as THE ONE Body of Christ to maximize the unity unto which we are called and sealed. Therefore, we, as born-again Christians, need to recognize from the context of the passage Dr. MacArthur has been using all this month (i.e., see Eph. 4: 1-3) that our worthiness as His bride, the Church, is dependent on our faith in the ONE Lord and our belief in and surrender to the ONE Spirit, Who ministers to our spirit in the Name of the ONE Father in Heaven.

My Prayer Today: Precious Lord, I am ONE in You for eternity. Hallelujah! Amen