There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also 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 us all.
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Ephesians 4:4-6 sits inside this longer paragraph.
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also 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 us all. But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Parallel Translations
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There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also 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 us all.
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beynge one body and one sprete even as ye are called in one hope of youre callynge.
Let ther be but one lorde one fayth one baptism:
one god and father of all which is above all thorow all and in you all.
Show all 3 translations
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There is one body, and one Spirit, euen as yee are called in one hope of your vocation.
There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptisme,
One God and Father of all, which is aboue all, and through all, and in you all.
Cross-references (83)
- Ephesians 2:18 (v4) For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
- Romans 12:4-5 (v4) For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in…
- Romans 11:36 (v6) For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 (vv5–6) yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,…
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 (v4) Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds…
Show all 78 cross-references
- Malachi 2:10 (v6) Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant…
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 (v5) For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one…
- 1 Peter 3:21 (v5) This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward…
- Galatians 3:26-28 (vv5–6) For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There…
- Romans 3:30 (v5) since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.
- Matthew 28:19 (vv4–5) Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Corinthians 12:20 (v4) But now they are many members, but one body.
- Ephesians 1:18 (v4) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his…
- Ephesians 4:1 (v4) I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- John 20:17 (v6) Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my…
- Galatians 4:3-7 (v6) So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time…
- 1 John 3:24 (v6) He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
- Revelation 4:8-11 (v6) The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying,…
- Colossians 1:5 (v4) because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News
- Zechariah 14:9 (v5) Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- Matthew 6:9 (v6) Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
- 1 Corinthians 1:13 (v5) Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
- Hebrews 6:18-19 (v4) that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to…
- 1 John 4:12-15 (v6) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we…
- Jude 1:3 (v5) Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend…
- 2 Corinthians 11:4 (vv4–5) For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we didn’t preach, or if you receive a different spirit, which you didn’t receive, or a…
- 1 Corinthians 1:2 (v5) to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our…
- Ephesians 5:30 (v4) because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones.
- Colossians 3:15 (v4) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.
- Titus 1:2 (v4) in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
- Ephesians 2:22 (vv4, 6) in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
- Numbers 16:22 (v6) They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the…
- Jeremiah 14:8 (v4) You hope of Israel, its Savior in the time of trouble, why should you be as a foreigner in the land, and as a wayfaring man who turns aside…
- Romans 14:8-9 (v5) For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end…
- 1 Corinthians 12:5 (v5) There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 12:6 (v6) There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 (v6) What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and…
- Galatians 5:6 (v5) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
- Ephesians 2:16 (v4) and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it.
- Ephesians 4:13 (v5) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of…
- Philippians 2:11 (v5) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:16 (v4) Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
- Titus 2:13 (v4) looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
- 1 Peter 1:3-4 (v4) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope…
- 1 Peter 1:21 (v4) who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
- 1 John 3:1-3 (v6) See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us,…
- 1 John 3:3 (v4) Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
- Genesis 14:19 (v6) He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (v6) Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is…
- Psalms 95:3 (v6) For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods.
- Isaiah 40:11-17 (v6) He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who…
- Isaiah 40:21-23 (v6) Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?…
- Isaiah 63:16 (v6) For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Yahweh, are our Father. Our Redeemer from…
- Jeremiah 10:10-13 (v6) But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to…
- Daniel 4:34-35 (v6) At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High,…
- Daniel 5:18-23 (v6) “You, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness…
- Matthew 6:13 (v6) Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- John 14:23 (v6) Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
- John 17:26 (v6) I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
- Acts 2:36 (v5) “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- Acts 10:36 (v5) The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—
- Romans 6:3-4 (v5) Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through…
- Galatians 1:6-7 (v5) I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, but there isn’t another…
- Ephesians 3:17 (v6) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Ephesians 6:23 (v6) Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Philippians 3:8 (v5) Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered…
- 1 Timothy 1:1 (v4) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope;
- Titus 1:1 (v5) Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which…
- Titus 1:4 (v5) to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
- Titus 3:7 (v4) that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
- Hebrews 6:6 (v5) and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put…
- Hebrews 13:7 (v5) Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith.
- Jude 1:20 (v5) But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
- Jeremiah 17:7 (v4) “Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose confidence is in Yahweh.
- Acts 15:11 (v4) But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:17 (v4) Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread.
- Ephesians 1:21 (v6) far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
- 2 Peter 1:1 (v5) Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our…
78 distinct cross-references across this passage (83 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. There is one body. He proceeds to show…
4. There is one body. He proceeds to show more fully in how complete a manner Christians ought to be united. The union ought to be such that we shall form one body and one soul. These words denote the whole man. We ought to be united, not in part only, but in body and soul. He supports this by a powerful argument, as ye have been called in one hope of your calling. We are called to one inheritance and one life; and hence it follows, that we cannot obtain eternal life without living in mutual harmony in this world. One Divine invitation being addressed to all, they ought to be united in the same profession of faith, and to render every kind of assistance to each other. Oh, were this thought deeply impressed upon our minds, that we are subject to a law which no more permits the children of God to differ among themselves than the kingdom of heaven to be divided, how earnestly should we cultivate brotherly kindness! How should we dread every kind of animosity, if we duly reflected that all who separate us from brethren, estrange us from the kingdom of God! And yet, strangely enough, while we forget the duties which brethren owe to each other, we go on boasting that we are the sons of God. Let us learn from Paul, that none are at all fit for that inheritance who are not one body and one spirit.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 An argument of great weight, for an earnest entertaining…
An argument of great weight, for an earnest entertaining of brotherly love and charity one with another, because we are made one body as it were of one God, and Father, by one Spirit, worshipping one Lord with one faith, and consecrated to him with one Baptism, and hope for one selfsame glory, whereunto we are called. Therefore whosoever breaketh charity, breaketh all these things asunder.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even…
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ver. 4. In one hope of your calling] That is, unto one inheritance, which we all hope for. Fall not out therefore by the way, as Joseph charged his brethren.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–6 There is one body; i.e. the church of Christ,…
There is one body; i.e. the church of Christ, Eph 1:23; see Col 3:15.
And one Spirit; the self-same Spirit of Christ in that body by which all the members live and act, 1Co 12:11,13.
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Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one inheritance in heaven, to the hope of which ye are called, Col 1:12.
Hope, for the thing hoped for, as Col 1:5; see 1Pe 1:3,4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v4 The apostle having exhorted the Ephesians to a strict…
The apostle having exhorted the Ephesians to a strict unity and concord amongst themselves next proceeds to enforce his exhortation with several arguments; and there are no fewer than seven summed up in the three verses now before us.
1. Says the apostle, there is one body, that is, one universal church, whereof ye are all members.
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2. There is one Spirit, by which ye are all animated and enlivened, and therefore keep the unity of the Spirit.
3. There is one hope of eternal life, by which we are all excited. Our inheritance in heaven is the same; God doth not give one a double portion, or a parti-coloured coat above another; but it is called an inheritance in light, because all alike are partakers of it, and sharers in it: the saints have all one hope, therefore should have all but one heart.
4. One Lord Jesus Christ, the head of his church, the Saviour of the body, one whom we all profess to serve and obey: Be ye therefore one, for your Lord is one.
5. There is one faith: that is, either one grace of faith whereby we believe, or one doctrine of faith which is believed; ye all believe in one and the same Saviour, and are justified by him after one and the same manner; therefore be ye also one; one in affection as well as one in belief.
6. There is one baptism, one door by which we all enter into the church; both Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor, they are all one in Christ Jesus, and by one Spirit baptized into one body.
7. One God and Father of all things. And of all persons in Christ, whom we all expect one and the same salvation from. And this God is transcendently above all, and over all: his eye penetrates and pierces through you all, and he is in and among you all, as in his holy temple; therefore such as endeavour to divide you, do as much as in them lies to divide God himself that dwells in you.
This then is the sum of the apostle’s argument: Seeing ye are all members of one body, partakers of one Spirit: expectants of one hope, having one Lord and common Saviuor, one faith and belief, one and the same baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and one and the same God and Father in Christ; seeing you are one in all these particulars, be one among yourselves, and endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
From the whole learn, That so many are the obligations, so strong the bonds and ties, which lie upon all the members of the church to be at unity among themselves, of one judgment, and of one heart; that such as violate these bonds, and culpably divide and separate themselves from communion with their brethern, Christ looks upon them no longer as members of his body, but as having rent and torn themselves from it.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–6 There is one body,.... The church; in what sense…
There is one body,.... The church; in what sense that is a body, and compared to one; see Gill on Eph 1:23. It is called "one" with relation to Jews and Gentiles, who are of the same body, and are reconciled in one body by Christ, and are baptized into it by the Spirit; and with respect to saints above and saints below, who make up one general assembly; and with regard to separate societies; for though there are several particular congregations, yet there is but one church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; and saints of different ages, places, states, and conditions, are all one in Christ Jesus, who is the one, and only head of this body: and this is an argument to excite the saints to unity of Spirit; since they are, as one natural body is, members one of another, and therefore should not bite and devour one another; they are one political body, one kingdom, over which Christ is sole King and lawgiver, and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand; they are one economical body, one family, they are all brethren, and should not fall out by the way.
And one Spirit; the Holy Spirit of God, who animates, quickens, and actuates the body: there is but one Spirit, who convinces of sin, enlightens, regenerates, and makes alive; who incorporates into the body, the church; who comforts the saints; helps them in their access to God through Christ; makes known the things of Christ to them, is a spirit of adoption, and the seal and earnest of the heavenly glory; and the consideration of this should engage to unity, because a contrary conduct must be grieving to the Spirit of God, unsuitable to his genuine fruits, and very unlike the true spirit of a Christian: and by one spirit may be meant the spirit of themselves, who, as the first Christians were, should be of one heart, and of one soul, of the same mind, and having the same affections for one another; which sense is favoured by the Syriac and Arabic versions; the former rendering the words, "that ye may be one body and one spirit", making this to be the issue and effect of their endeavours after union and peace; and the latter reads them as an exhortation, "be ye one body and one spirit"; that is, be ye cordially and heartily united in your affections to one another:
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even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; that is, the glory hoped for, and which is laid up in heaven, and will be enjoyed there, to which the saints are called in the effectual calling, is one and the same: there are no degrees in it; it will be equally possessed by them all; for they are all loved with the same love, chosen in the same head, and secured in the same covenant; they are bought with the same price of Christ's blood, and are justified by the same righteousness; they are all equally the sons of God, and so heirs of the same heavenly inheritance; and are all made kings and priests unto God, and there is but one kingdom, one crown, one inheritance for them all; and the holiness and beatific vision of the saints in heaven will be alike; and therefore they should be heartily affected to one another here on earth, who are to be partners together in glory to all eternity. So the Jews say (p), that in the world of souls, all, small and great, stand before the Lord; and they have a standing alike; for in the affairs of the soul, it is fit that they should be all "equal", as it is said Exo 30:15, "the rich shall not give more".
(p) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 154. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–6 There is one body - The universal church, all…
There is one body - The universal church, all believers throughout the world. One Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father - The ever-blessed Trinity. One hope - Of heaven.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Verse 4. There is one body] Viz. of Christ,…
Verse 4. There is one body] Viz. of Christ, which is his Church.
One Spirit] The Holy Ghost, who animates this body.
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One hope] Of everlasting glory, to which glory ye have been called by the preaching of the Gospel; through which ye have become the body of Christ, instinct with the energy of the Holy Ghost.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v4 Eph 4:4-6. The apostle proceeds to remind the believers…
Eph 4:4-6. The apostle proceeds to remind the believers at Ephesus of some of the many very powerful considerations which had force enough, if attended to and laid to heart, to induce them to cultivate and preserve the unity to which he exhorts them. There is one body — One mystical body of Christ, of which he is the living head, and ye all are members; and as such should sympathize with, care for, and assist one another, as the members of the human body do. And in this one body there is one Divine Spirit — Which enlivens, actuates, and fills it, and under his influence it should be your constant concern to act; even as ye are called in one hope of your calling — To the expectation of one and the same common heaven, one and the same glorious abode in the eternal world. One Lord — And Master, of whom you are all servants; one Redeemer and Saviour, who hath assumed our frail nature, lived and died for us, that he might unite us in bonds of mutual, fervent, and everlasting love; one faith — In that one Lord, and in the truths of one and the same divine revelation, all which are designed and calculated to bind the disciples together in the pleasing bonds of love and unity; one outward baptism — Or seal of the covenant of grace, and emblem of the washing of regeneration. One God and Father of all — Whose real people, whose true worshippers, whose beloved children, whose living temples you are; who is above you all — Ruling you as his subjects, and presiding over you as his children; through you all — By his enlightening and directing word; and in you all — By his quickening, sanctifying, and comforting Spirit. Such are the reasons and motives obliging the true disciples of Christ to love and unity with one another; reasons and motives most powerful surely to bind them together in peace and harmony, and such as manifest discord, contention, strife, and division, to be unspeakably unreasonable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–6 There is one body - One church - for…
There is one body - One church - for so the word “body” means here - denoting the body of Christ; see the notes on Rom 12:5; compare notes on Eph 1:23. The meaning here is, that as there is really but one church on earth, there ought to be unity. The church is, at present, divided into many denominations. It has different forms of worship, and different rites and ceremonies. It embraces those of different complexions and ranks in life, and it cannot be denied that there are often unhappy contentions and jealousies in different parts of that church. Still, there is but one - “one holy, catholic (i. e., universal) church;” and that church should feel that it is one. Christ did not come to redeem and save different churches, and to give them a different place in heaven. He did not come to save the Episcopal communion merely or the Presbyterian or the Methodist communions only; nor did he leave the world to fit up for them different mansions in heaven. He did not come to save merely the black man, or the red, or the white man; nor did he leave the world to set up for them separate mansions in the skies. He came that he might collect into one community a multitude of every complexion, and from every land, and unite them in one great brotherhood on earth, and ultimately assemble them in the same heaven. The church is one. Every sincere Christian is a brother in that church, and has an equal right with all others to its privileges. Being one by the design of the Saviour they should be one in feeling; and every Christian, no matter what his rank, should be ready to hail every other Christian as a fellow-heir of heaven.
One Spirit - The Holy Spirit. There is one and the self-same Spirit that dwells in the church The same Spirit has awakened all enlightened all; convicted all; converted all. Wherever they may be, and whoever, yet there has been substantially the same work of the Spirit on the heart of every Christian. There are circumstantial differences arising from diversities of temperament, disposition, and education; there may be a difference in the depth and power of his operations on the soul; there may be a difference in the degree of conviction for sin and in the evidence of conversion, but still there are the same operations on the heart essentially produced by the same Spirit; see the notes on 1Co 12:6-11. All the gifts of prayer, and of preaching; all the zeal, the ardor, the love, the self-denial in the church, are produced by the same Spirit. There should be, therefore, unity. The church is united in the agency by which it is saved; it should be united in the feelings which influence its members.
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Even as ye are called - see Eph 4:1. The sense is, “there is one body and one spirit, in like manner as there is one hope resulting from your calling.” The same notion of oneness is found in relation to each of these things.
In one hope of your calling - In one hope “resulting from” your being called into his kingdom. On the meaning of the word “hope,” see notes on Eph 2:12. The meaning here is, that Christians have the same hope, and they should therefore be one. They are looking forward to the same heaven; they hope for the same happiness beyond the grave. It is not as on earth among the people of the world, where, there is a variety of hopes - where one hopes for pleasure, and another for honor, and another for gain; but there is the prospect of the same inexhaustible joy. This “hope” is suited to promote union. There is no rivalry - for there is enough for all. “Hope” on earth does not always produce union and harmony. Two men hope to obtain the same office; two students hope to obtain the same honor in college; two rivals hope to obtain the same hand in marriage - and the consequence is jealousy, contention, and strife. The reason is, that but one can obtain the object. Not so with the crown of life - with the rewards of heaven. All may obtain “that” crown; all may share those rewards. How “can” Christians contend in an angry manner with each other, when the hope of dwelling in the same heaven swells their bosoms and animates their hearts?
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4–5 In one hope of your vocation. The three great…
In one hope of your vocation. The three great reasons that we have to love one another are contained in this verse, because we have but one body, of which Christ is the head. We are all animated by the same spirit, viz. the Holy Ghost, who is given to us all, and we all live in the same hope of eternal happiness. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v4 2. Three motives to the preservation of the unity…
2. Three motives to the preservation of the unity in the Spirit
Eph_4:4-16
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a. The working of the Triune God in the Church
(Eph_4:4-6)
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called [as ye were also called] 5in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above [over]8 all, and through all, and in you all [in all].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Connection.—These three verses are joined to what precedes without any connecting particle, and, as parallel clauses, follow each other without any such particle, since the context, being quite clear, requires none. Theodoret: πανταχοῦ τὸ ἓν καὶ εἱ̄ς τέθκεικεν εἰς συμφωνίαν συνάπτων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. Bugenhagen: omnia, unde Christiani sumus, unitate nobis commendantur. The exhortation to maintain the unity of the Spirit has mainly occasioned these verses; they give a reason for it; γάρ is wanting however, on account of the liveliness of the discourse, and for emphasis.9 The objective bases for unity in the Spirit, to which they have been exhorted, the motives for such exhortation are stated.10 Hence we should supply ἐστίν, and not ἐστέ, as though it were continued exhortation (Syriac, Calvin, Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, II. 2, p. 127, and others). [Braune’s view is that generally received, and by far the most tenable.—R.]
Eph_4:4. The nature of the fellowship.—There is one body and one Spirit [ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα].—Ἓν σῶμα (Eph_1:23; Eph_2:16; Rom_12:5; 1Co_12:13; 1Co_12:20) designates the totality of Christians as a corpus mysticum; it is not=ἐκκλησιά, church, which is to be viewed as the external phenomenon, the body of Christ is hidden, but a reality, like the body of nerves, a hidden reality, which can be traced, making itself perceptible, the invisible church, the unity of which is emphasized by the Apostle and to be held fast.—Καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα is added to designate the soul of this body, the Holy Ghost, which forms and moulds the body, and to show that this σῶμα of Christ is no πτῶμα. He is not speaking therefore of an ideal invisible church, which does not actually exist, but of the actual, real essence of the church, which is internal, but comes into being continuously. It is foolish to explain here, we should be united penitus, corpore et anima, non ex parte duntaxat (Calvin and others).
Since Christ’s body and the Holy Ghost are perceptible, not in their essence, but only inwardly and in their effects and consequences, Paul refers next to their own experience:
As ye were also called in one hope of your Calling [καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως ὑμῶν].—According to the calling (καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε), by means of which he who is called has obtained or can obtain knowledge and perception of the “body” and “Spirit” just mentioned! This calling points likewise (καί) to the unity, because it is consummated “in one hope;” as soon as a man is called of God, he is in the hope of salvation (σωτηρία, κληρονομία) and this hope is one and the same for each and all who are called, by right, in tendency and effect. This “hope” belongs so especially to the being called (ἐκλήθητε) that it can be termed all along “of your calling;” hope and calling are not to be separated from each other. Bengel is excellent: Spiritus est arrhabo, atque ideo cum ejus mentione conjungitur spes hereditatis. They belong together from the beginning; Paul here however refers to the history of the origin of church-fellowship which is to be maintained, whether one looks at the unity of the church, or of principle, or of aim. It cannot be said that the calling consists in hope (Bengel: ἐν exprimit indolem rei, Harless and others), still less that it takes place by means of hope (Meyer), or that ἐν is=εἰς. Winer, p. 385.
[See Eadie for a list of prepositions used with καλέω in the New Testament. He, with Alford and Ellicott, rightly supports the usual meaning of ἐν here: the element in which the calling took place. Ellicott speaks of this sense of the preposition as being, “so to say, its theological meaning.” He takes the genitive as one of originating cause, but it is rather that of possession, “the genitive of the correlative noun, suggesting what belongs to the call and characterized it, when they received it. The ‘hope’ is ‘one,’ for it has one object, and that is glory; one fountain, and that is Christ” (Eadie). Ἐλπίς is of course subjective.—R]
Eph_4:5. Christ and the union with Him.—One Lord, one faith, one baptism.—This refers to the way and the means of salvation. Εἱ̄ς κύριος, “one Lord,” is Christ, the Lord par excellence. See Eph_4:1; Eph_1:21. The word found in Deu_6:4 is now applied in the New Testament to Christ (1Co_8:4-6). His will has authority over all. Each one stands equally near to Him; for there is “one faith,” which unites with Him; faith (Eph_1:1; Eph_1:15; Eph_2:8; Eph_3:12; Eph_3:17) unites inwardly to the one Lord, trusts Him as Lord. Hence there is but one faith, and not several kinds: fides, qua creditur; it is not then a faith in abstracto (Harless), nor the doctrine of faith (Grotius and others); for this faith is actually and efficiently present and a living power, a believing. [A vast deal of difficulty as well as of error is avoided by bearing in mind that πίστις, “faith,” in the New Testament, almost invariably means subjective faith (Gal_1:23 is the only exception, and this perhaps an apparent one). The conception of “faith” as a universal dogma belongs to a later age, and while it has preserved Roman Catholic uniformity, has not “kept the unity of the Spirit.” So the Apostle implies: Because there is one faith, keep unity, not because we need unity, lay down one objective Catholic undoubted Christian faith. Dr. Hodge defends the objective sense here, but must make limitations which are of necessity indefinite enough to cast doubt on his own view. Still the context plainly points to the “one Lord” as the object of the “one faith;” and in the nature of things one subjective recognition of this eternal truth respecting Christ, this apprehension of Him in His Person and work, necessarily involves a common objective profession of it, and thus we pass to the third term of the verse, which is to be regarded as the external sign of faith, and in one aspect as a profession objectively made.—R.]
Faith, which is one, begins with baptism, which is also only one; the former is an internal subjective medium, the latter an objective one, from without and above; these two factors make the Lord our own, and us the Lord’s own. Modo baptismus modo fides præponitur, Mar_16:16; Col_2:12 (Bengel). [The order of the words does not justify this view of Dr. Braune’s. Alford takes the verse as presenting three great facts on which unity rests, the first objective, the second subjective, the third compounded of the two: “the objective seal of the subjective faith, by which, as a badge, the members of Christ are outwardly and visibly stamped with His name.” To find a reference to one mode of baptism is unwarranted by text or context.—R.]
Why the Lord’s Supper is not mentioned, is evident from the context, which contains the motives for the exhortation, to desire to preserve the unity of the Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is rather an act of the preserved unity, than a motive for its preservation. It is celebrated by those who have been reconciled with God and hold each other to be brethren; it does not so much give an impulse to peaceableness, as it is a result of the same, as a common celebration of those who have become united together, as an attestation of the church which has become one in the Lord. De Wette refers to this by intimating that the Lord’s Supper is not mentioned, because it is a representation of unity.11 The reference to the fundamental conditions of the Christian communion at its beginning is an insufficient ground for the omission of this sacrament (Harless and others). Still less admissible is it to suppose that it is included in the one sacrament of baptism (Calovius), or in the “one Lord, one faith” (Olshausen), or to explain historically, that there has been as yet no separate celebration (Meyer), or that this is prophetic foresight, since the unify of the sacred feast would be broken nevertheless (Stier), or because he did not wish to hinder the manifold form of the rite (Schenkel), or because a definite expression for it was wanting (Bleek).
Eph_4:6. The deepest basis of true unity. One God and Father of all.—Hero God the Father is referred to, after the Spirit (Eph_4:4) and the Son (Eph_4:5) have been made prominent. As little as God can be disunited with Himself, so little should you who are His children be among yourselves. Hence to the phrase “one God,” there is added epexegetically: “and Father,” the genitive “of all,” under which Christ cannot be included, leading us to understand it as the Father of believers, of those who have become God’s children in Christ. “Father” cannot then mean merely “creator,” according to the heathen conception, nor can “of all” be neuter in this context. Nam omnes ad unitatem rediguntur (Bengel), and the following “all” (πάντων πᾶσι) takes up the first one again, referring to persons, to the members of the Church, who should preserve the unity in the Spirit; on which account Eph_4:7 continues: “to every one of you.” It is accordingly neither neuter (Irenæus and others), nor to be extended to men in general (Holzhausen).
Who is over all, ό ἑπὶ πάντων marks the Ruler, Guardian, Guide (Winer, p. 351) governing over all (Winer, p. 390). Chrysostom: ἐπάνω πάντων, τὴν δεσποτείαν σημαίνει.
And through all, καὶ διὰ πάντων, per omnes operans (Bengel); the individuals are instruments, means, as Rom_15:18; 1Co_3:9; Gal_1:1 : διʼ ἀνθρώπου—διά Ἰησοῦ. See Winer, p. 390.
And in all, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν, dwelling in all (Bengel, Winer), filling them, perfecting them (Joh_14:23). All three qualifications refer to “God and Father,” hence are not to be interpreted in a trinitarian sense, of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, so that He who is “through all” is the Head working through all, and He who is “in all” is the indwelling Spirit, yet such a reference lies unmistakably in the background (Rom_11:36; 1Co_12:4-6; 2Co_13:13), at all events was not far off, so that Harless can discover here a recapitulation of “one God,” “one Lord,” “one Spirit,” which Stier and others think was intentional. Comp. Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, I. p. 201 f., who doubts any reference to the trinity, but applying it to the Father not without the Son and the Spirit, excludes no one Person. The reference to Redemption alone is clearer, hence “through all” is not to be understood of the all-pervading creative power, nor of Providence in general.
[While the mention of “one baptism,” with its Trinitarian formula, suggests the great probability of a reference to the Trinity in the several expressions of this verse, which is further favored by the first and third prepositions, it is far safer not to press it. The express mention of the “Father” is against it; διά can be referred to the work or office of the Son only by departing from its proper sense or inverting its relation to the rest of the verse (“per quem omnia facta sunt,” Aquinas, so Olshausen), and as Eadie remarks: “In previous portions of the Epistle triune relation has been distinctly brought out; here the representation is different, for unity is the idea dwelt on, and it is the One God and Father Himself who works through all and dwells in all.” Ellicott here confessedly allows doctrinal considerations to outweigh his exegetical convictions, and it is precisely thus, that those who defend the well-grounded doctrine of the church lose in their contests with those who impugn it. They attack our exegesis of a passage like this, and we must defend the doubtful, unimportant outpost at a disadvantage.—One thing is certain that this passage refers to believers alone, neither teaching God’s Fathership of all men (though Alford thinks it is referred to as a lost possession), nor pantheism of any kind.—R.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The unity of the Church. Although ἐκκλησία and σῶμα (Χριστοῦ) describe so nearly the same, that of the former it is said (Eph_1:23): “which is his body,” while in Col_1:24 we read of “his body, which is the church,” yet the two may be thus distinguished: the former designates the church as an assembly of believers, of saints; the latter as a living organism, the organ of Him who is the Head, thus with the corpus Christi mysticum, giving more prominence to the inner concealed side, the unity of the same. Hence there are indeed “churches,” but no “bodies of Christ.” The Nicene creed was right in adding: unam to sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam (the Apostles’ has only: sanctam ecclesiam catholicam); so the Augsburg Confession, Art. vii: quod una sancta ecclesia perpetuo mansura sit. Strictly there is but one Church of Christ, though in groups of congregations with different confessions. No confessional church (though, strictly speaking, the term is a misnomer) is the Church of Christ, it is only a church by the side of others, through which the body of Christ extends itself.
2. The distinction of the body of Christ from the Spirit is indicated definitely enough by their being placed side by side, yet the latter at the same time gives prominence to the church as the working-place of the Spirit.12
3. The call, when accepted and effectual, begins within the called, not with a mere promise which he receives, but with a hope corresponding thereto, so that the objective call of God and the subjective acceptance of the man come together, and he from the very beginning knows and feels himself to be shown out of the lower sphere of life into the higher one.
4. Christ is the One Lord, and no faith in Him is genuine, except it be in Him as Lord. It is not sufficient to believe the Master or Teacher; it is not enough to feel and deem ourselves scholars, hearers, disciples. The Christian must be servant, subject of Christ, not merely to bear or listen to Him, but to belong to Him, to hearken to Him, to obey, to follow Him as His vassal, attendant, servant. No human dignity, in the history of our lives or of the world exceeds the dignity of Christ: He is the one only Lord; who gives Him up, must give up faith and the fellowship of the church.
5. Baptism, with which faith begins (regeneratio præcedit fidem) imparts the germ of the new life, the beginning of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the principle of faith in the subject, as at birth, upon coming to the light of the world, man is endowed with reason. It is not merely a symbolical act, nor a mere prophecy of the cleansing which begins later, but it is the incorporation into the body of Christ, animated by the Spirit, implantation into the soil of divine life. [This is the Lutheran view, approaching, in its estimate of the objective grace of this Sacrament, the position of Romanism and Anglicanism. Certainly the fact that baptism is mentioned at all, puts it into an exalted position, from which unchurchly Zwinglianism would degrade it. But it is not placed before faith, nor is there here any warrant for the assertion that faith begins with baptism. The Reformed or Calvinistic view is most in accordance with our passage. See Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 69–74; Belgic Confession, 34; Westminster Confession, 28; comp. especially Romans, p. 206, Doct. Note 3.—While there is no reference to the one mode of baptism, there is probably an allusion to the fact that baptism is not or should not be repeated.—R.]
6. God, the Father of believers, is not far from them, over them, but near to them, disposing concerning them, working through them, yes, dwelling in them, as in a temple, furnishing His work as in a work-shop. God is a Person, who not only rules throughout the universe, but gives to His own a special personality.
7. The Atheist denies the Father, the Deist the Son, the Pantheist the Holy Ghost, because he substitutes for it the unholy “spirit of the world” (Baader).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Ever return from multiplicity to unity, and in freedom to obligation; but never let your view of the unities be disturbed. Do not hold faith higher than baptism, penetrate into the communion of the Church until you reach the Spirit which is its soul, and do not sunder the Lord Jesus and God the Father!
Starke:—There is but one Church, which receives life and movement from the Holy Ghost, and hence but one ship, with which we can sail into the haven of bliss; all other vessels destroy and drown.—Christians are all equal in the fellowship of heavenly possessions, and no one has a better God, Christ, Spirit, Faith, etc., but what one has, the others have also, although one may have a greater enjoyment of such possessions than another.
Rieger:—The body of Christ is ruled by one Spirit; one Lord gave Himself for the Redemption of all; out of one Word of truth and of faith are we convinced; one baptism is the door of entrance for us into the kingdom of God. Therefore God administers such a government of love over all, that as much as possible equality is established; out of his property every one can contribute something to the common benefit: as God on the other hand so gives Himself to be enjoyed by each, that he dare not look too anxiously upon others, still less through secret envy render difficult his keeping peace with all.—Heubner, see Homil. Notes on the preceding section.
Passavant:—There is one path, one goal, one house, one family, one home to which you have been called; you all hope for one heaven, and in the same heaven to obtain a common inheritance, an identical blessedness and glory in the heavenly life.—“I do not know, how it happens, that we glory in being the children of God so confidently and yet at the same time forget brotherly love.”
Stier:—Where there is still body, there is also Spirit—that is the Apostle’s great thought.—Baptism and Faith belong together: 1. As faith is the subjective appropriation, so baptism is the objective representation of the same; 2. Faith takes out of the Lord’s hand, in baptism we have the firm foundation and beginning from the Lord.—I confess that I find the one faith on the Lord in many a [Roman] Catholic with the hearty joy of fraternal agreement, and in many a zealot for the pure Word and Sacrament I might look for it with pain and in vain.
[Eadie:—“One baptism” is the result and expression of the “one faith” in the “one Lord,” and, at the same time, the one mode of initiation by the “one Spirit” into the “one body.”—All this unity is but the impress of the great primal unity—one God.—Christ’s claim for the preservation of unity is upon all the churches—a unity of present connection and actual enjoyment—not a truce, but an alliance, with one living and cognizance—not a compromise, but a veritable incorporation.—Hodge:—All sins against unity are sins against the Holy Ghost.—R.]
[Seven times does the word “one” occur in these verses, but the middle term is “one Lord,” next on either side “one hope”—“one faith.”—How great a unity results from “one faith,” the same trust of the heart on the “one Lord;” one creed often leads and always permits us to chop logic and split hairs, but where the “faith” is “one,” hearts are one, and no earnest Christian has failed to notice how quickly this manifests itself.—It is a comfort to come back from the jars of the church of to-day and the wars of the church of the past, to the simple truth: There is one body: but here too faith is required.—R.]
Footnotes:
[8]Eph_4:6.—The Rec. inserts ὑμῖν (with very slight authority), while D. F. K. L., good versions and a few fathers, 40 cursives, read ἡμῖν; no pronoun occurs in א. A. B. Cּ, 10 cursives. Most fathers also sustain the omission, which is accepted by nearly all editors and commentators since Lachmann, the pronouns being regarded as exegetical glosses to confine the assertion to Christians.—R.]
[9][So Eadie with more correctness than Alford and Ellicott, for though γάρ is not to be supplied, yet the logical connection of the assertion is argumentative. It is one of the rare cases where the grammatical nicety of the commentator last named has led him somewhat astray.—R.]
[10][So Meyer: “Objective relations of unity, to which the non-observance of the precept in Eph_4:3 would be opposed. These are: 1. The Church itself constituted as a unity—one body, one Spirit, one blessed consummation, Eph_4:4; Ephesians 2. That by which this constitution of the same as a unity has and does come to pass—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, Eph_4:5; Ephesians 3. The supreme Ruler, Administrator and Preserver of this entire unity—one God and Father, etc., Eph_4:6. Notice the triple tri-partite division.”—R.]
[11][On this question, which seems to have occupied undue prominence from the sacramental tendencies of many commentators, Ellicott remarks that if a reason must be assigned, “it must be referred to the fundamental difference between the sacraments. The one is rather the symbol of union, the other, from its single celebration and marked individual reference, presents more clearly the idea of unity,—the idea most in harmony with the context.”—R.]
[12][Hodge: “There are many passages to which the doctrine of the Trinity gives a sacred rhythm, though the doctrine itself is not directly asserted. It is so here. There is one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father. The unity of the Church is founded on this doctrine. It is one, because there is to us one God the Father, one Lord, one Spirit. It is a truly mystical union; not a mere union of opinion, of interest, or of feeling: but something supernatural arising from a common principle of life. This life is not the natural life which belongs to us as creatures; nor intellectual, which belongs to us as rational beings; but it is spiritual life, called elsewhere the life of God in the soul. And as this life is common on the one hand to Christ and all His members, and on the other to Christ and God, this union of the Church is not only with Christ, but with the Triune God.”—R.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–6 In the apostle's creed, the article as to THE…
In the apostle's creed, the article as to THE CHURCH properly follows that as to THE HOLY GHOST. To the Trinity naturally is annexed the Church, as the house to its tenant, to God His temple, the state to its founder [AUGUSTINE, Enchiridion, c. 15]. There is yet to be a Church, not merely potentially, but actually catholic or world-wide; then the Church and the world will be co-extensive. Rome falls into inextricable error by setting up a mere man as a visible head, antedating that consummation which Christ, the true visible Head, at His appearing shall first realize. As the "SPIRIT" is mentioned here, so the "LORD" (Jesus), Eph 4:5, and "GOD the Father," Eph 4:6. Thus the Trinity is again set forth.
hope--here associated with "the Spirit," which is the "earnest of our inheritance" (Eph 1:13-14). As "faith" is mentioned, Eph 4:5, so "hope" here, and "love," Eph 4:2. The Holy Spirit, as the common higher principle of life (Eph 2:18, Eph 2:22), gives to the Church its true unity. Outward uniformity is as yet unattainable; but beginning by having one mind, we shall hereafter end by having "one body." The true "body" of Christ (all believers of every age) is already "one," as joined to the one Head. But its unity is as yet not visible, even as the Head is not visible; but it shall appear when He shall appear (Joh 17:21-23; Col 3:4). Meanwhile the rule is, "In essentials, unity; in doubtful questions, liberty; in all things, charity." There is more real unity where both go to heaven under different names than when with the same name one goes to heaven, the other to hell. Truth is the first thing: those who reach it, will at last reach unity, because truth is one; while those who seek unity as the first thing, may purchase it at the sacrifice of truth, and so of the soul itself.
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of your calling--the one "hope" flowing from our "calling," is the element "IN" which we are "called" to live. Instead of privileged classes, as the Jews under the law, a unity of dispensation was henceforth to be the common privilege of Jew and Gentile alike. Spirituality, universality, and unity, were designed to characterize the Church; and it shall be so at last (Isa 2:2-4; Isa 11:9, Isa 11:13; Zep 3:9; Zac 14:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. There is—The italics show that these words are…
4. There is—The italics show that these words are supplied by the translators. Like the “for” supplied by Eadie, they weaken the sense. Thus far Paul has been preparing the Ephesians for the unity; he now points to the high centres of unity their Christianity presents, and abruptly exclaims, One body, one faith, etc. Seven times is the word one repeated to show them how perfect is their ideal oneness.
One Spirit—Forming the higher soul of the one body. It is the infinite Spirit so animating all their finite spirits as to centralize them into one body, and give that body life and power.
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One hope—The single blessed hope in Christ, by which they joyfully anticipate a glorious eternity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. one body] See on Eph_1:23; Eph_2:15-16; and below,…
4. one body] See on Eph_1:23; Eph_2:15-16; and below, Eph_4:15-16. Here as always the imagery of the Body suggests not only union but united energy and operation.—Its frequent recurrence emphasizes its importance and significance. Vital union with Christ, by the Spirit, is the one true secret of holy growth and action, alike for the individual and the community.—The “one” is highly emphatic. As regards the vital Union, there is one Organism, and one only. Let the relations of practical Christian life and work correspond to that fact, to the utmost possible.
one Spirit] The same Divine Spirit as above, Eph_4:3. He, the immediate Agent in regeneration (John 3), unites each regenerate individual to the Head, and, as the Sanctifier, maintains that union. He is thus comparable to the all-pervading spirit energizing and preserving the human frame.
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Bengel remarks on the close sequence, in the “Apostles’ Creed,” of the articles of the Holy Ghost and of the Holy Church. Cp. at large 1 Corinthians 12.
ye are called] Perhaps a special reference to the work of the Holy Ghost, the immediate Agent in the “call” of grace. Cp. 1Co_12:13.—Lit. and better, ye were called.
in one hope of your calling] On the “hope” and the “calling,” see on Eph_1:18. They were called “in” the hope; i. e., so as to be in it, embraced and possessed by it.—On the spiritual power of the “one hope” cp. Col_1:4, for a real parallel. There, the “love for all the saints” is (lit.) “on account of the hope laid up in heaven.” The community of blissful prospect binds faster the communion of sympathy and affection.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 (4) There is one body, and one Spirit.—The words…
(4) There is one body, and one Spirit.—The words “There is” are not in the original, which starts with a striking abruption, and with that terse concentration of thought and word which marks out an embryo creed.
The “one body” is the Body of Christ, “from whom it is fitly framed, joined together, and compacted,” so that in every part “it grows up into Him.” But this communion with God in Christ being “the life eternal,” the Holy Ghost, by making it effectual alike to the Church and to the individual soul, is the “Lord and Giver of Life.” Hence, His presence is spoken of as being to the body of Christ what the spirit is to the natural body—the uniting and vivifying power for all its members. Under the same idea we have (in 1Co_12:13), as a description of the first entrance into the Church of Christ, “By one Spirit are we all baptised into one body . . . and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
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Even as ye are (or rather, were) called in one hope of your calling.—The connection, though not at first obvious, is clear on consideration. Since the grace of the Holy Spirit is not only the “seal” of regeneration, but also the “earnest” (Eph_1:14) of future perfection, the mention of the one Spirit suggests naturally the “hope of our calling” (i.e., the perfect unity of heaven). In this, in spite of all natural and spiritual inequalities, and in spite even of our divisions and strifes upon earth, all Christians are still actually one. Hence the communion of saints is perhaps most clearly realised in the times of high spiritual aspiration, and in the near presence of death.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v4 Vers. 4-6. WHEREIN UNITY CONSISTS SEVEN PARTICULARS. There is…
Vers. 4-6. WHEREIN UNITY CONSISTS SEVEN PARTICULARS. There is one body. (see Eph_2:16) The Church is an organic whole, of which believers are the members, and Christ the Head, supplying the vitalizing power: The real body, being constituted by vital union with Christ, is not synonymous with any single outward society. One Spirit; viz. the Holy Spirit, who alone applies the redemption of Christ, and works in the members of the Church the graces of the new creation. As ye also were called in one hope of your calling. This is one of the re-suits of the Spirit"s work; when the Spirit called you he inspired you all with one hope, and this one hope was involved in the very essence of your calling. (comp. Tit_2:13, "Looking for the blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ To all believers the Spirit imparted this one blessed hope. One Lord; Jesus Christ, unique and beyond comparison: as Teacher, all hang on his words; as Master, all own his supreme authority; to his example all refer as the standard; his likeness all covet as the highest excellence (where Mary is worshipped, though nominally you have but one Lord, virtually you have two). One faith; not objective in the sense of creed, but as denoting the one instrument of receiving salvation, (Eph_2:8) the one belief in the one Savior by which we are justified, adopted, and in other ways blessed. One baptism. One initiatory rite admitting into the visible Church baptism in name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, symbolic of thewashing of regeneration, the one way of entering the Church invisible. One God and Father of all. We rise now to the fountain of Godhead, the one supreme Being with whom all have to do, the only Being who is or can be the Father of us all; who can be to us what is implied in the name "Father," who, so love and grace can satisfy our hearts. Who is over all; the supreme and only Potentate, exercising undivided jurisdiction, "doing according to his will in the armies of heaven." etc. And through all; pervading the whole universe, sustaining and ruling it, not dwelling apart from his works, but pervading them; not, however, in any pantheistical sense, but as a personal God, whose essence is separate from his works. And in all. A closer and more abiding influence; he dwells in them, and walks in them, molding their inner being, and filling them with his own light and love. Some commentators of mark have tried to find a reference to each of the persons of the Godhead in the three prepositions over, through, and by, but this seems a strained view. The three persons, however, appear clearly in the seven elements of unity, but, as before, (Eph_3:16-19) in the reverse of the common order first, the Spirit; second, the Son; and third, the Father. These seven elements constitute the true rarity of the Church. It is out of the question to identify the Church which is thus one, with any external organization like the Roman Catholic Church. How many millions have been connected with it who have notoriously been destitute of the one hope, the one Spirit, the one Father! It is of the invisible Church the apostle speaks, and his exhortation is, seeing that this blessed sevenfold unity is the unity wrought by the Holy Spirit, maintain that unity; maintain the manifestation of it; give no occasion to any one to say that there is no such unity that the Holy Ghost is a Spirit of confusion and not a Spirit of order and unity.
Vers. 4-6.
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The sevenfold unity.
The apostle proceeds to state the nature and grounds of the unity which is to be so carefully guarded. It has its basis in the fact that the Church is one, and does not consist of two rival societies.
I "THERE IS ONE BODY." The body with its many members and its many functions is yet one. Similarly, "we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another"; (Rom_12:5) so that believers, no matter how separated by race, color, language, station, opinion, interest, circumstance, experience, are members of this one body. The body cannot, therefore, be an external visible society, but a spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. It may not be so easy to realize this unity in the midst of the multiplication of sects and denominations, each with its well-defined lines, of doctrine and order, and each more or less sharply distinguished from its neighbor. Yet there is still but "one body there is amidst accidental diversities a substantial unity, a unity that covers all truly essential elements. The diversity arising from temperament, culture, habit, has had its due effect in the development of truth; for some parts of the Church have thus given prominence to some truth which other parts have allowed to fall into the background. The beauty of the Church is manifest in this very diversity, just as it requires all the hues of the rainbow to make the clear, white ray of colorless sunshine. The duty, therefore, of believers is to regard the differences that keep them apart, not as hindrances to loving intercourse, but as helps to the fuller development of Divine truth and the fuller manifestation of the mind of God to the Church.
II "ONE SPIRIT." As in the human body there is but one spirit, with a single vivifying power, so in the Church there is but one Spirit, animating all its members, as the common principle of life. "By one Spirit were we all baptized into one body," and "were made to drink into one Spirit". (1Co_12:13) "We have access by one Spirit unto the Father." There is, therefore, no room for a conflicting administration. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit"; (1Co_12:4) and therefore all sins against unity are sins against the indwelling Spirit. Sectarian or divisive courses have a tendency to grieve the Spirit. Indeed, it is a mark of a separating apostasy that it has not the Spirit. (Jud_1:19) Let us remember that the one Spirit who animates the body of Christ produces as his own choicest fruits joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance". (Gal_5:22) These are graces with a distinctly unifying tendency.
III "ONE HOPE OF YOUR CALLING.
1. Its nature. Here it is not the thing "hoped for," as it is in Col_1:5 and Tit_2:13, but the emotion of hope, the expectation of future good. All believers have the same aspirations, the same anticipations of coming glory, as the effect of the Spirit"s indwelling. The hope is subjective.
1. Its origin. The hope is "of your calling." It springs out of the effectual call of the Spirit, who begets us to "a lively hope", (1Pe_1:3) being himself the Earnest and Seal of the future inheritance. We naturally hope for what we are invited to receive.
2. Its effect. Just as two strangers meeting for the first time on the deck of an emigrant ship, both bound for the same new land, and purposing to pursue the same occupation, are united by a common interest of expectation, so believers are drawn together into unity by a consideration of their common hopes.
IV "ONE LORD." As the Head of the Church, the supreme Object of faith, and into whose Name all saints are baptized. There are two ideas involved in this blessed lordship ownership and authority.
1. Ownership. Jesus Christ is not only Lord of all, but especially Lord of his own people. We are not our own, for we have been redeemed and bought with a price, (1Co_6:20) even with his precious blood. For this end he both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Rev_19:4)
2. Authority. Therefore we are subject to him, ore" reason to his guidance, our conscience to his precepts, our hearts to his constraining love. There is no part of our being, there is no event of our lives, that is not subject to this authority which brooks no rival. It is this subjection of all believers to one Lord that marks the inner unity of the Church; for loyalty to a common Lord makes them stand together in a common hope, a common life, a common love.
V "ONE FAITH." Not one creed, though all believers do really hold all that is essential to salvation, but one faith in its subjective aspect, through which the one Lord is apprehended. It is one in all believers, for they are all justified in exactly the same manner, and it is in all a faith that "purifieth the heart," "worketh by love," and overcometh the world." It is not, therefore, an external unity that this faith builds up, but a union of a spiritual character, wrought by the grace of God. This principle or grace of faith has a thoroughly uniting tendency, because it brings us near to the Savior, and the nearer we stand to him we stand the nearer to one another.
VI "ONE BAPTISM." There is but one baptism, once administered, as the expression of our faith in Christ; one initiation into the one body by one Spirit; (1Co_12:13) one dedication to the one Lord. All believers are baptized unto the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus". (Gal_3:27, Gal_3:28) Christendom owns but one baptism. It has been remarked as strange that the Lord"s Supper one bread" (1Co_10:17) should not have a place among the unities, as it is essentially the symbol of union among believers. But it differs from baptism in two important respects:
(1) baptism is individual, the Lord"s Supper is social;
(2) it is by baptism, spiritually regarded, we are carried into the unity of the one body; (1Co_12:13) it is by the Lord"s Supper we recognize continuously a unity already accomplished. Thus baptism is included among the seven unities, because it embodies the initial elements that enter into the unity.
VII "ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, who is above all, and through all, and in all." The unity of the Church finds its consummation at last in him, who originated the scheme of grace and from whom all the other unities are derived. If God be our Father, then are we members of one family, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and are therefore bound to live together in unity. The counsel may well come to us, "See that ye fall not out by the way". (Gen_45:24) All the unities are secured by the relation of God the Father to the Church. He is "over all" its members, and therefore there can be no rival sovereignty. The Church is the habitation of God through the Spirit." He is "through all," in respect of pervading and supporting energy; he is "in all," as the Source and Spring of constant light and grace and goodness. There is here no pantheism. Thus there are seven unities, like so many distinct obligations, to incline believers to the unity of the Spirit, which can only be preserved in the bond of peace. Believers ought, indeed, to be of one heart and one soul. T.C.
Vers. 4-6.
Christian unity.
This is a frequently recurring theme in the Epistle to the Ephesians, and it is always treated with an emphasis that marks its supreme importance, and with a prophetic hopefulness that regards the higher development of it as one of the grandest features of the ideal future.
I WHEREIN CHRISTIAN UNITY CONSISTS.
1. Externally it consists in the one body." Plainly the "one body" is the Church, the community of Christians. It should be clear to an impartial reader of the New Testament that neither Christ nor his apostles contemplated the ideal of the kingdom of heaven on earth as we see that kingdom realized only in a Christendom torn and distracted with the bitter
2. rivalries and mutual excommunications of innumerable sects. The Church of Christ, the Church in St. Paul"s conception, was to be catholic one great family, harmonious, mutually sympathetic and mutually helpful.
3. Internally it consists in the one Spirit." So long as there is not oneness of spirit in the Church, the attempt to preserve external union by force is futile; nay, it is positively hurtful. It is best not to have a mock semblance of union when at heart we differ strongly. But if there is a unity of spirit, that should be regarded as the most essential thing. History shows that the greatest breaches of unity have been caused by the illiberal efforts of bigots to constrain uniformity. If we want true unity we must dispense with agreement in doctrine, form of worship and ecclesiastical order, and be content with oneness of spirit. This unity will be realized, not by increasing, but by minimizing, the points of uniformity; in comprehensiveness, not in stringent discipline; with larger charity, never with more absolute authority.
II TOWARDS WHAT END CHRISTIAN UNITY IS TENDING. The Christian calling points to "one hope." All things make for final integration. (Eph_1:10) We fail of our vocation if we are satisfied with a churlish isolation. There will be varieties of life in the future, no doubt, as there will be "many mansions." But all Christians will be united in the one city of God, even in the one house of our Father. (Joh_14:2) It becomes, therefore, our manifest duty to heal the breaches of Zion. Controversialists should ask themselves whether they bring the millennium nearer by their pugnacious advocacy of pet doctrines, or drive it further off by deepening the fissures of a sorely divided Christendom; and ecclesiastical advocates of Church unity should consider whether it is likely they will win over to their side all the divergent sects by standing on the narrowest possible ground and erecting about it frowning ramparts.
III ON WHAT ORIGINAL FOUNDATIONS CHRISTIAN UNITY IS BASED.
1. One Lord. We all have one and the same Christ, and in him we are one. In proportion as Christianity becomes less an affair of theological dogmas and ecclesiastical systems, and more a religion of personal devotion to Christ, shall we be able to realize our true unity.
2. One faith. All Christians must experience the same spiritual faith in becoming Christ"s, and must walk equally by faith. Opinions and rules may differ, but we do not live by opinions and rules we live by faith. Now, faith is the same spiritual act in child and in philosopher, in penitent and in saint, in the shouting recruit of the Salvation Army and in the grave Quaker, in the evangelical Methodist and in the devout restorer of medieval theology.
3. One baptism. There is one outward sacrament common to nearly the whole of Christendom significant of the washing and renewal all need and all can receive in Christ.
4. One God and father. A common worship unites. Communion with our one Father makes us members of one family. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4–6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as…
Eph_4:4
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.
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The seven unities of spiritual life
1. One body. Now the body is for our habitation, and it is for our action upon the world around, and it is for our reception of influences that the world around exerts upon ourselves. The body is for habitation, for activity, and for reception. If, then, in our own personal body our spirit so dwells that all the various organs work together for a common end, which end is good, then our body is what God designed it to be. And if in a group of persons the common life actually resides in each individual, so that each for the rest works willingly and earnestly towards procuring a common good, then there is a body. So, if through our bodily frame we act well upon the world, the use for which God designed the body is being fulfilled: and if our various senses are inlets of wisdom and of happiness from the world without, then again the use for which God designed the body is being fulfilled. And if a group of men are acting upon the world by their various individualities, combining by one thought to promote one good, they are a body--the use God designed in forming men into societies is being fulfilled. So, too, if they are receiving from without the various influences of knowledge and of happiness, they are as one body--the use that God designed is being fulfilled. We notice then, again, with respect to the body, that some of its members are more essential to existence than others, and yet they are all essential to completeness of existence. And one last thing concerning the body we may say, which is this--that though particular works require particular organs, or a connection of such organs, these are always best done when the general health and aptitude of the body are highest. Thus, if you have to work as a player upon instruments of music, or work as a painter with colours and with the pencil, the hand is requisite; but will it be merely the hand to which your excellence is due? Certainly not. If there be no general fineness of your senses, there cannot be any peculiar excellence in your specialty. Whatever be that specialty of a man which requires a certain organ or group of organs, his work will always be of the best sort according to the general health of his bodily sensibilities, the general harmony of his bodily powers. And so it will be in the works of a spiritual society. Whatever we require to be done, though it may, so to say, need only a part of our organism to fulfil it, that will be best done when our general state is healthiest. If we be full of bodily excellency, then any particular work will be most excellent.
2. There is one Spirit. Were there not one life in the root, the blade, and the ear, there could be no progression from the root towards the full corn. Were there not one life throughout the bodily frame, there could not be this union of activities to promote common advantage. There is one life in each thing that lives; nay, it could not be called living, were it not for this fact of internal unity. Now, speaking of ourselves completely, and not of the animal man merely, we say that if there be a disturbance in the spirit, the unity of life will show itself in the distress and groans of experience; but we say also, that whatever we do spiritually aright, whether it be to sing, to pray, to read, to give gifts, to discuss, to advise, to study--whatsoever we do aright, the benefit of the part will produce a blessing for the whole. Especially is the Spirit called the Holy Spirit. Now, the first thing required of us in preparing what is holy is separation; and the next thing is conjunction. The soul disunites from the world, and comes into conjunction with the Lord God.
3. One hope. Ye are called in one hope of your calling. A happy thought that is, that we are called. We have not in uncertainty come and asked, Is there any heaven, and which is the way there? Is there any God, and is He friendly? But there has come a call to us, and it is a call upwards. That is the only call that is a sufficient one for men. It is the call to glory and virtue that is a sufficing call for man. We are called, then; and as replying to the Divine call, with our active feet and our ready hands, we partake in a hope. Now, what is this hope? We hope for the redemption of the body, and the full perfection of the spirit; and as we are already much interested in one another, it is not simply the full redemption of our own flesh and blood, and the full perfection of our own individual limited spirit, that satisfies us, but we hope for a wise and happy world; we hope for a full and abiding joy. We are all called to do good--all called to be good; and it is quite certain that we can never be satisfied until individually there be a perfect spirit in a harmonious and healthful frame, and socially, also, there be a perfect spirit in a harmonious and healthful frame. This is our hope, and it is a hope of which we need not be ashamed.
4. One Lord,--the Lord Jesus Christ. One Lord; but men have not been at one in their thoughts of Him; they have not been at one in their conduct, which they have professed was governed by Him. This Lord has brought strife into the world. Now, to reconcile opposed persons is very hard, but to reconcile opposed opinions much easier; for truths have no animosity to each other; but persons, although their interests may be identical, are often, and soon, and very, angry with one another. Now, we must seek to reconcile truths in our own mind. Of course, as they are in the Divine mind which contains all truths in eternal harmony, there is no reconciliation required; but it will require much effort to make our little minds in some humble manner a transcript of the bright Divine mind.
5. One faith: by which we adhere to the one Lord. Faith is at once an expression of a weakness that we acknowledge, and of a strength which we trust and receive. It is, then, our adherence to the one Lord, who in His humanity gives us all necessary example and sympathy, and in His Divinity sustains us with a fund of strength that can never be exhausted.
6. One baptism. The actions that pertain to baptism, like the opinions that pertain to faith, are of comparatively little moment; but baptism itself is essential, because it is the application of the purifying element to the soul. Now, there are two principal elements, the water and the fire, that are applied for purification; and surely any man who comes out of the water after baptism, or has used the water thoroughly in any way for baptism, may say to himself, This very water that cleanses me could drown me; this very water, whose action is so gentle, could sweep me away, as with a mighty rage. In its gentle application, water removes impurities from us, as still capable of being cleansed; but should we become utterly impure, instead of washing in the wave to be made clean, we are washed away by it, that the earth may be cleansed.
7. Then we may speak last of all of the one God,--the one God and Father of us all, who is over all in His creative love, who is through all in the actions of His multiform but harmonious providence, and who is in us all, making the body of the spiritual Church to be the residence of His own love and truth. The Father of all: is the great Fatherhood of God yet manifested to the world? No, Is even His unity as the one Lord of creation manifest to the world? No. And are we approaching--for this is surely a suitable thought to allow ourselves in the closing moments of this discoarse--to a time truly catholic? Is society getting more catholic, or more conglomerate; more of a Church, or more of a medley? Are things becoming more in common; the spirit becoming more truly holy? (T. T. Lynch.)
Gospel unities
1. There is one body--the Church.
2. One Spirit--the Holy Ghost.
3. One hope--the resurrection from the dead.
4. One Lord--Jesus Christ.
5. One faith--the Christian religion.
6. One baptism--Christian baptism.
7. One God and Father of us all--the Lord God Almighty.
(1) He is above all. Then He is supreme. And because of this--
(a) He is worthy of our worship.
(b) He is worthy of all reverence in our worship.
(2) He is through all. Then He permeates all.
(3) He is in you all. Then we may each realize Him. Conclusion: If all this be true--then union should exist everywhere. (A. F. Barfield.)
The unity of the Church
The Church is one. When the apostle wrote this Epistle there were societies of Christians--Churches--in Rome, in Corinth, in Thessalonica, in Philippi, in Colosse, in Ephesus, in the cities and towns of Galatia, in the Syrian Antioch, and in Jerusalem. There were less famous Churches in other cities. They stood apart from each other; every separate Church had authority over its own affairs, maintained its own discipline, elected its own bishops and deacons, organized its own worship. As yet there was no confederation of these independent societies under any central ecclesiastical authority. Their unity was not constituted by an external organization, but by their common possession of the Spirit of God, and it is therefore called by the apostle the unity of the Spirit. He has spoken of the unity of the Church in the earlier part of the Epistle. The exclusion of the pagan races from the commonwealth of Israel had ceased; the middle wall of partition which separated them from the sacred court in which the elect nation had nearer access to God had been broken down. There was now one city of the saints, of which all Christian men of every nation were citizens; one household of God in which they were all children; one holy temple built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, into the sacred walls of which they were all built for a habitation of God in the Spirit. He has asserted this unity in a still bolder form; for after speaking of the glory of Christ, who sits at the right hand of God, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come, he described the Church as the Body of Christ, the organ of His life and thought and will, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. And now he returns to this great conception. The Body of Christ, he says, is one; the Spirit of Goal who dwells in it is one; and in harmony with this unity of the Body of Christ and this unity of the Spirit who dwells in it, the great hope of all Christian men, of all who have been called into the Divine kingdom and have obeyed the call, is one. There is one Lord, only one--Christ Jesus the Prince and the Saviour of men; one faith--not a common creed, but a common trust in Christ for eternal righteousness and eternal glory; one baptism, and one only, the same rite by which Christ visibly claims men as belonging to the race for which He died, and over which He reigns, is administered to all. There is one God and Father of all; we all worship before the same eternal throne, and in Christ we are all the children of the same Divine Father; His sovereignty is absolute and supreme--He is over all; the power of His life penetrates the whole Body of Christ--He is through all; and His home is in all Christians--He is in all. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
The communion of saints
Believers in Christ are bound together in the ties of a holy brotherhood. Let us look a little at the nature of this communion.
I. With respect to the condition. There is one Body and one Spirit; and the exercise of that Spirit and the execution of His office are the same in all--to show them the things of Christ, that thus through Christ they may hold communion with the Father. The whole Body of the faithful are joined together in communion with the Father of spirits. They all meet at the same throne; they all unite in one common feeling, and join in one common song of praise.
II. Their pursuits. The Church is dispersed throughout the world; it is separated by difference of language, rank, age, circumstances; but being partakers off one Spirit and one faith, they are of one heart and one mind in the gospel, and they unite in the pursuit of Gods glory.
III. Their enjoyments. Here again their hearts are one. Christ Jesus is the centre of their joy. (William Reeve, M. A.)
One Body and one Spirit
The Church or Body is one. There are not two rival communities. The Body, with its many members and complex array of organs of very different position, function, and honour, is yet one. The Church, no matter where it is situated, or in what age of the world it exists--no matter of what race, blood, or colour are its members, or how various the tongues in which its services are presented--is one, and remains so, unaffected by distance or time, or physical, intellectual, and social distinctions. And as in the Body there is only one Spirit, one living principle--no double consciousness, no dualism of intelligence, motive, and action--so the one Spirit of God dwells in the one Church, and there is, therefore, no rivalry of administration, and there are no conflicting claims. And whatever the gifts and graces conferred, whatever variety of aspect they may assume, all possess a delicate self-adaptation to times and circumstances, for they are all from the one Spirit, having unity of origin and oneness of design and result. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The oneness of Christs Church
The real spiritual Church of the Redeemer is one Body. All the members of that Church partake of the same grace, adhere to the same rule of faith, are washed in the same Blood, are filled with the same hopes, and shall dwell at length in the same blessed inheritance. Heretics and ungodly men may find their way into the Church, but they remain really separated from its invisible conjunction of charity. There may be variations in what Barrow calls lesser matters of ceremony and discipline, and yet this essential unity is preserved. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The Church is not a material Body
In contemplating this Body you must divest yourselves of a material idea. What we call matter is by no means essential to living organisms. On the contrary, it is essential to the reality, unity, and permanence of a body that it be not material. There are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial. But the celestial is much more strictly a body than the terrestrial. For a celestial body is incapable of decay, but an earthly body soon collapses, and falls into an inorganic mass. A body may be material, or psychical, or spiritual. The material is the lowest, and least worthy of being called a body. Strictly speaking, matter is an apparition. It is essentially deficient of the higher qualities of being, and consequently cannot maintain its integrity. It is a dense vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanishes away. As our own material body is a veil hiding another body, in like manner, the material universe is a covering upon a more glorious universe. The sanctuary, which was so constructed as to be a figure of creation, had for its outmost covering rough animal skins; but by lifting a series of coverings, you came to gold, and within all was the Divine Presence. Peter, James, and John were permitted to see that our Lord had, within His material body, a divinely luminous one, which was His true body. We are called to become citizens of the kingdom which is the inner and true body of the universe. This is the kingdom of heaven, which our Lord preached and opened to men. Our souls live, move, and have their being in this inner sphere. We are a part of it. (J. Pulsford.)
Sins against unity
All sins against unity are sins against the Holy Ghost. (Dr. Hedge.)
Union is strength
If you consider how it is that a hempen twine is made strong enough to draw a loaded waggon, or to bear the immense strain of a ship as she rides at anchor, you will see a significancy that perhaps did not occur to you before, in the use which Holy Scripture makes of this work of human art as an emblem. It is formed of many threads twisted together into one cord, and these cords are again combined into one cable. Each thread is in itself so weak, that a child could break, or the slightest weight would burst it; but when the threads are turned into one rope, their united strength is such as would have seemed incredible. A three-fold cord is not quickly broken. The truth is just before us that union is strength. They who are weak and helpless singly are able to produce a vast result, when they combine their powers. It was in order to restrain His sinful creatures from carrying out what they had combined with the intention of doing, that God frustrated the building of the tower of Babel, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and He gathers together again His elect people in one body in Christ, that by uniting their various energies in one work, and for one end, they may strengthen each others hands, and effectually bruise under foot the powers of darkness. (Bishop Trower.)
Christian work promotes unity
Captain Moreton, to illustrate the concord that came from union in work, retailed the following incident he had heard from Mr. Macgregor (Rob Roy). He was walking one day on the southern English coast, and fell across some seafaring men quarrelling about the way in which a button had been sewn on one of their coats. They were on the point of coming to blows, when a cry was raised that there was a ship on the Goodwin Sands, and that the lifeboat was needed. Instantly the trumpery quarrel was at an end, and all were heartily at work doing their best to save their shipwrecked brethren.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4–6. There is one body. The Unity commanded has…
4–6. There is one body. The Unity commanded has a basis in seven unities which existed in the church, and should exist in all ages. There was then only one body, the church, the body of Christ; not a Gentile body and a Jewish body. Modern denominations were unknown. Compare Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13; Eph. 2:16. And one Spirit. The same Spirit bestowed upon Jew and Gentile, and upon all saints. Called in one hope. Wherever called and from whatever state, all were filled with one hope, that of immortality.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v4 Eph_4:4-6. One body … and in you all.—“Seven elements…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Eph_4:4-6. One body … and in you all.—“Seven elements of unity St. Paul enumerates.… They form a chain stretching from the Church on earth to the throne and being of the universal Father in heaven” (Findlay).
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Eph_4:4-6
The Sevenfold Unity of the Church reflected in the Trinity of Divine Persons.
I. One Spirit (Eph_4:4), the animating Principle of the one body (Eph_4:4)—the Church; the Source of its life and ever-watchful Guardian of the Church’s unity; the Inspirer of the one hope, “Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (Eph_4:4). Where the Spirit of Christ dwells as a vitalising, formative principle, He finds or makes for Himself a body. Let no man say, “I have the spirit of religion, I can dispense with forms, I need no fellowship with men, I prefer to walk with God.” God will not walk with men who do not care to walk with His people. The oneness of communion amongst the people of Christ is governed by a unity of aim. The old pagan world fell to pieces because it was without hope; its golden age was in the past. No society can endure that lives upon its memories, or that contents itself with cherishing its privileges. Nothing holds men together like work and hope. Christianity holds out a splendid crown of life. It promises our complete restoration to the image of God, the redemption of the body with the spirit from death, and our entrance upon an eternal fellowship with Christ in heaven. The Christian hope supplies to men more truly and constantly than Nature in her most exalted forms
“The anchor of their purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of their heart, and soul
Of all their moral being.”
The hope of our calling is a hope for mankind, nay, for the entire universe. We labour for the regeneration of humanity. We look for the actual ingathering into one in Christ of all things in all worlds, as they are already gathered in God’s eternal plan. If it were merely a personal salvation that we had to seek, Christian communion might appear to be an optional thing and the Church no more than a society for mutual spiritual benefit. But seen in this larger light, Church membership is of the essence of our calling (Findlay).
II. One Lord (Eph_4:5), or Master, whom we are called to serve. A consentaneous and harmonious obedience to His mandates blends His servants into one compact unity. One faith (Eph_4:5), one body of inviolable truth, one code of divine commands, one gospel of promise, presenting one object of faith. One baptism (Eph_4:5), one gateway of entrance into the company of believers forming the one Church, one initiatory right common to all. Christians may differ as to the mode of baptism and the age at which it should be administered, but all agree it is an institution of Christ, a sign of spiritual renewal, and a pledge of the righteousness that comes by faith. Wherever the sacraments are duly observed, there the supremacy of Christ’s rule is recognised, and this rule is the basis on which future unity must be built.
III. One God, the supreme and final unity, who is “the Father of all,” who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Eph_4:6). Above all—He reigns supreme over all His people (Rom_9:5). Through all—informing, inspiring, stimulating, and using them as instruments to work out His purposes (Rom_11:36). In all—dwelling in and filling their hearts and the ever-widening circle of their experience. “The absolute sovereignty of the divine Mind over the universe,” said Channing, “is the only foundation of hope for the triumph of the human mind over matter, over physical influences, over imperfection and death.” With what a grand simplicity the Christian conception of the one God and Father rose above the vulgar pantheon, the swarm of motley deities—some gay and wanton, some dark and cruel, some of supposed beneficence, all infected with human passion and baseness—which filled the imagination of the Græco-Asiatic pagans. What rest there was for the mind, what peace and freedom for the spirit, in turning from such deities to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! This was the very God whom the logic of Greek thought and the practical instincts of Roman law and empire blindly sought. Through ages He had revealed Himself to the people of Israel, who were now dispersed amongst the nations to bear His light. At last He declared His full name and purpose to the world in Jesus Christ. So the gods many and lords many have had their day. By His manifestation the idols are utterly abolished. The proclamation of one God and Father signifies the gathering of men into one family of God. The one religion supplies the basis for one life in all the world. God is over all, gathering all worlds and beings under the shadow of His beneficent dominion. He is through all and in all; an omnipresence of love, righteousness, and wisdom, actuating the powers of nature and of grace, inhabiting the Church and the heart of men (Findlay).
Lessons.—
1. In the moral as in the material world there is diversity in unity and unity in diversity.
2. All phases of good find their consummation in an imperishable unity.
3. To disturb the balance of unity is a great evil.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Eph_4:4-6. The Unity of the Church.
I. There is one body.—The Church is a body of which Christ is the Head, and believers are the members. Though Christians are formed into distinct societies, they constitute but one body. They are united to the Head by faith and to their fellow-members by love.
II. There is one Spirit.—As all members of the natural body are animated by one soul, so all the members of Christ’s body are sanctified, strengthened, and led by the same Spirit. Since there is one Spirit which dwells in all Christians, all contention, bitterness, and envy, all animosity, division, and separation in the Church are offences against the Holy Spirit.
III. There is one hope of our calling.—We are all called by the same word, our hope is grounded on the same promises, the object of our hope is the same immortal life.
IV. There is one Lord.—Christ is Lord of all by the same right. He has bought us with a high price, redeemed us by His own blood. There is no respect of persons with him. We are called to the same service, are under the same laws, and must appear at the same judgment.
V. There is one faith.—The same gospel is the rule of our faith, and this all Christians profess to receive. The faith of all true Christians is essentially the same. The object of it is the word of God, the nature of it is receiving the love of the truth, the effect of it is to purify the heart.
VI. There is one baptism.—We are all baptised in the name of Christ, and He is not divided. May differ as to the age at which persons become the subjects of baptism and the manner of administration, but regarding the design of it we are one. Baptism intended not to divide, but unite the whole Christian world.
VII. There is one God and Father.—The Father of the whole creation, but in a more eminent sense the Father of Christians. He is above all. He reigns supreme. He is through all. His essence pervades our frame, His eyes search and try our souls, His influence preserves our spirits. He is in all. In all true Christians by His Spirit. They are the temple of God, and His Spirit dwelleth in them.—Lathrop.
Eph_4:4. The Oneness of the Church.—
1. All the members of the Church being one body is a strong argument enforcing the duty of keeping peace and unity; it being no less absurd for Christians to bite and devour one another than if the members of the selfsame natural body should tear and destroy one another.
2. As those in nature are in a hopeless state, having no right to heaven and happiness, so the gospel doth open to the person called a large door of well-grounded hope, that, whatever be his misery here, he shall be perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for ever hereafter.
3. The joint aiming of the saints at one mark should make them of one mind and heart, seeing there is that in glory which will suffice all. Their seeking of one thing need be no occasion of strife and emulation, but rather of unity, for why should they strive together who not only are brethren but also heirs together of the grace of life and shall one day reign together in glory?—Fergusson.
One Body and One Spirit.
I. The unity or oneness of the Church as set forth by the unity or oneness of the body.—One life animates the whole. The parts mutually subserve one another, while the head thinks and the heart beats for all. There is a certain harmony existing between all the members; they constitute a symmetry among themselves, so that one could not be taken away without destroying the perfection of all the others, more or less marring the grace and beauty of the whole frame. So the Church is one—one mystical body—having one author, God; one Head, which is Christ; and one informing Spirit, the Holy Ghost; one country towards which all its members are travelling, heaven; one code of instructions to guide them thither, the word of God; one and the same band of enemies seeking to bar their passage, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Despite all miserable divisions, wherever there is a man with true love to God and man, any true affiance on Christ, any true obedience to the Spirit and His leadings, there exists a member of this mystical body.
II. As in the human body there is unity, so there is also variety, diversity, multiplicity.—This is true of the Church of Christ. Its different members have different functions and offices, and in performing these the Church makes equable and harmonious growth.
Lessons.—
1. As members of the same body, let us not separate from brethren in Christ.
2. If we are members one of another, many are the debts as such we owe the one to the other.
(1) We owe one another truth.
(2) Love one to another.
(3) Honour one to another.—R. C. Trench.
Eph_4:5. One Lord.
I. Christ is our Lord according to every notion and acceptation of the word “Lord.”—He is our Prince and Governor, we are His subjects and vassals; He is our Master, and we are His servants; He is our Owner, or the Possessor and Proprietary of us; He is our Preceptor or Teacher; that is, the Lord of our understanding, which is subject to the belief of His dictates; and the Lord of our practice, which is to be directed by His precepts. He is therefore also our Captain and Leader, whose orders we must observe, whose conduct we should follow, whose pattern we are to regard and imitate in all things.
II. Christ is also our Lord according to every capacity or respect of nature or office that we can consider appertaining to Him.—
1. He is our Lord as by nature the Son of God, partaking of the divine essence and perfection.
2. He is our Lord as man, by the voluntary appointment and free donation of God His Father; in regard to the excellency of His Person, and to the merit of His performances.
3. He also, considered as God and man united in one Person, is plainly our Lord.
4. If we are to consider Him as Jesus, our Saviour, that notion doth involve acts of dominion, and thence resulteth a title thereto. Nothing more becomes a Lord than to protect and save; none better deserves the right and the name of a Lord than a Saviour.
5. Likewise, if He be considered as the Christ, that especially implieth Him anointed and consecrated to sovereign dominion, as King of the Church.
III. Survey the several grounds upon which dominion may be built, and we shall see that upon all accounts He is our Lord.—
1. An uncontrollable power and ability to govern is one certain ground of dominion.
2. To make, to preserve, to provide and dispense maintenance, are also clear grounds of dominion.
3. He hath acquired us by free donation from God His Father.
4. He hath acquired us by just right of conquest, having subdued those enemies unto whom (partly by their fraud and violence, partly from our own will and consent) we did live enslaved and addicted.
5. He hath also further acquired us to Himself by purchase, having by a great price bought us, ransomed us out of sad captivity, and redeemed us from grievous punishment due to us.
6. He likewise acquired a lordship over us by desert, and as a reward from God, suitable to His performances of obedience and patience, highly satisfactory and acceptable to God.
7. He hath acquired a good right and title to dominion over us as our continual most munificent benefactor.
8. Our Saviour Jesus is not only our Lord by nature and by acquisition in so many ways (by various performances, deserts, and obligations put on us), but He is also so by our own deeds, by most free and voluntary, most formal and solemn, and therefore most obligatory acts of ours.
(1) If we are truly persuaded that Christ is our Lord and Master, we must then see ourselves obliged humbly to submit unto and carefully to observe His will, to attend unto and to obey His law, with all readiness and diligence.
(2) If Christ be our Lord, then are we not our own lords or our own men; we are not at liberty, or at our own disposal, as to our own persons or our actions.
(3) If Christ be our Lord (absolutely and entirely such), then can we have no other lords whatever in opposition to Him, or in competition with Him, or otherwise any way than in subordination and subserviency to Him.
(4) If Christ be our Lord, we are thereby disobliged, yea, we are indeed prohibited, from pleasing or humouring men, so as to obey any command, to comply with any desire, or to follow any custom of theirs, which is repugnant to the will or precept of Christ.
(5) Finally, for our satisfaction and encouragement, we may consider that the service of Christ is rather indeed a great freedom than a service.—Barrow.
Eph_4:6. God the Father.
I. God is the universal Father.—
1. God is the Father of all things, or of us as creatures, as the efficient Cause and Creator of them all.
2. The Father of intellectual beings. He is styled the Father of spirits; the angels, in way of excellency, are called the sons of God.
3. The Father in a more especial manner of mankind.
4. The Father of all good men, such a relation being built upon higher grounds; for as good they have another original from Him, virtue springs in their hearts from a heavenly seed, that emendation and perfection of nature is produced by His grace enlightening and quickening them; they are images of Him, resembling Him in judgment and disposition of mind, in will and purpose, in action and behaviour, which resemblances argue them to be sons of God and constitute them such.
II. The uses of this truth.—
1. It may teach us what reverence, honour, and observance are due from us to God, in equity and justice, according to ingenuity and gratitude.
2. This consideration may instruct and admonish us what we should be and how we should behave ourselves, for if we be God’s children it becometh us, and we are obliged in our disposition and demeanour to resemble, to imitate Him. It is natural and proper for children to resemble their parents in their complexion and countenance, to imitate them in their actions and carriage.
3. This consideration may raise us to a just regard, esteem, and valuation of ourselves; may inspire noble thoughts and breed generous inclinations in us; may withdraw us from mean, base, and unworthy designs or practices; may excite and encourage us to handsome, brave, worthy resolutions and undertakings suitable to the dignity of our nature, the nobleness of our descent, the eminence of so high a relation, of so near an alliance to God.
4. This consideration is a motive to humility, apt to depress vain conceit and confidence in ourselves. If we are God’s children, so as to have received our beings, all our powers and abilities, all our goods and wealth, both internal and external, both natural and spiritual, from His free disposal, so as be continually preserved and maintained by His providence to depend for all our subsistence upon His care and bounty, what reason can we have to assume or ascribe anything to ourselves?
5. This consideration shows us the reason we have to submit entirely to the providence of God with contentedness and acquiescence in every condition.
6. Obligeth us to be patient and cheerful in the sorest afflictions, as deeming them to come from a paternal hand, inflicted with great affection and compassion, designed for and tending to our good.
7. Shows the reason we have to obey those precepts which enjoin us to rely on God’s providence.
8. Serves to breed and cherish our faith, to raise our hope, to quicken our devotion. For whom shall we confide in if not in such a Father? From whom can we expect good if not from Him? To whom can we have recourse so freely and cheerfully on any occasion if not to Him?
9. Considering this point will direct and prompt us how to behave ourselves towards all God’s creatures according to their respective natures and capacities. If God be the Father of all things, they are all thence in some sort our brethren, and so may claim from us a fraternal affection and demeanour answerable thereto.—Barrow.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v4 4-6. Here we have a beautiful golden chain, consisting…
ARGUMENT 15
THE HEAVENLY CHAIN
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4-6. Here we have a beautiful golden chain, consisting of seven links, “one body,” which is the mystical spiritual body of Christ, the Church of the Firstborn, without spot or wrinkle.
“One Spirit,” the blessed Holy Ghost, the Third Person in the adorable Trinity, the illuminator, convictor, regenerator, adopter, sanctifier, and glorifier of fallen humanity. “One hope,” the sweet anticipation of universal Christendom singing away the lugubrious clouds of human woe, and spanning the firmament with a thrilling prelibation of coming glory. “One faith,” the spiritual hand alone competent to receive the things of God, take Jesus by the hand, and turn over to him the battle of life, shouting victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. ‘One baptism;” we take it for granted that no one reading these pages will be so foggy as to see water here in this beautiful golden chain of seven links, which lifts humanity up to God; you would not be so inadvertent as to insert a water link, as in that case your chain would be weak as water, and lift no soul up to glory. This is most assuredly the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire (Mat 3:2), administered by our Savior to his own children exclusively. You must not mar the spiritual homogeneity of this beautiful gospel chain, by inserting a water link. Again, beware that you do not nullify the unity of Christian baptism by a baptism of fire, distinct from that of the Spirit. There is no danger of your having too much fire nor too much water; the latter the symbol, and the former concomitant of the spiritual baptism administered by the omnipotent Sanctifier. “One God;” we must beware of heresies on all lines, and not emphasize the three persons of the Trinity so forcibly as to drift into the dogma of three gods. There is but “one God,” of whom the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct persons, accommodatory to finite apprehension and the redemptive scheme.
7. “To each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” We should never measure other peoples corn by our half- bushel, as God will attend to measuring their corn as well as ours. We who have long enjoyed the experience of entire sanctification, should deal very tenderly with young converts and weak believers, if we discourage them, remembering that infinite diversity of spiritual idiosyncrasies and magnitude characterizes the kingdom of God.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v5
EPHESIANS
THE THREEFOLD UNITY
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Eph 4:5
The thought of the unity of the Church is very prominent in this epistle. It is difficult for us, amidst our present divisions, to realise how strange and wonderful it then was that a bond should have been found which drew together men of all nations, ranks, and characters. Pharisee and philosopher, high-born women and slaves, Roman patricians and gladiators, Asiatic Greeks and Syrian Jews forgot their feuds and sat together as one in Christ. It is no wonder that Paul in this letter dwells so long and earnestly on that strange fact. He is exhorting here to a unity of spirit corresponding to it, and he names a seven-fold oneness-one body and one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. The outward institution of the Church, as a manifest visible fact, comes first in the catalogue. One Father is last, and between these there lie the mention of the one Spirit and the one Lord. The ‘body’ is the Church. ‘Spirit, Lord, God,’ are the triune divine personality. Hope and faith are human acts by which men are joined to God; Baptism is the visible symbol of their incorporation into the one body. These three clauses of our text may be considered as substantially including all the members of the series. We deal with them quite simply now, and consider them in the order in which they stand here.
I. The one Lord.
The deep foundation of Christian unity is laid in the divine Christ. Here, as generally in the New Testament, the name ‘Lord’ designates Christ in His authority as ruler of men and in His divinity as Incarnation of God. It would not be going too far to suggest that we have in the name, standing as it does, for the most part, in majestic simplicity, a reference to the Old Testament name of Jehovah, which in the Greek translation familiar to Paul is generally rendered by this same word. Nor can we ignore the fact that in this great catalogue of the Christian unities the Lord stands in the centre of the three personalities named, and is regarded as being at once the source of the Spirit and the manifestation of the Father. The place which this name occupies in relation to the Faith which is next named suggests that the living personal Christ is the true uniting principle amongst men. The one body realises its oneness in its common relation to the one Lord. It is one, not because of identity in doctrine, not because of any of the bonds which hold men together in human associations, precious and sacred as many of these are, but ‘we being many are one bread, for we are all partakers of that one bread.’ The magnet draws all the particles to itself and holds them in a mysterious unity.
II. One faith.
The former clause set forth in one great name all the objective elements of the Church’s oneness; this clause sets forth, with equally all-comprehending simplicity, the subjective element which makes a Christian. The one Lord, in the fulness of His nature and the perfectness of His work, is the all-inclusive object of faith. He, in His own living person, and not any dogmas about Him, is regarded as the strong support round which the tendrils of faith cling and twine and grow. True, He is made known to us as possessing certain attributes and as doing certain things which, when stated in words, become doctrines, and a Christ without these will never be the object of faith. The antithesis which is so often drawn between Christ’s person and Christian doctrines is by no means sound, though the warning not to substitute the latter for the former is only too necessary at all times.
The subjective act which lays hold of Christ is faith, which in our text has its usual meaning of saving trust, and is entirely misconceived if it is taken, as it sometimes is, to mean the whole body of beliefs which make up the Christian creed. That which unites us to Jesus Christ is an infinitely deeper thing than the acceptance of any creed. A man may believe thirty-nine or thirty-nine hundred articles without having any real or vital connection with the one Lord. The faith which saves is the outgoing of the whole self towards Christ. In it the understanding, the emotions, and the will are all in action. The New Testament faith is absolutely identical with the Old Testament trust, and the prophet who exhorted Israel, ‘Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength,’ was preaching the very same message as the Apostle who cried, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’
That ‘saving faith’ is the same in all Christians, however different they may be in condition and character and general outlook and opinion upon many points of Christian knowledge. The things on which they differ are on the surface, and sometimes by reason of their divergencies Christians stand like frowning cliffs that look threateningly at one another across a narrow gorge, but deep below ground they are continuous and the rock is unbroken. In many and melancholy ways ‘the unity of faith and knowledge’ is contradicted in the existing organisations of the Church, and we are tempted to postpone its coming to the day of the new Jerusalem which is compact together; but the clarion note of this great text may encourage us to hope, and to labour in our measure for the fulfilment of the hope, that all, who by one faith have been joined to the one Lord, may yet know themselves to be one in Him, and present to the world the fair picture of one body animated by one spirit.
III. One baptism.
Obviously in Paul’s mind baptism here means, not the baptism with the Spirit, but the rite, one and the same for all, by which believers in Christ enter into the fellowship of the Church. It was then a perpetual rite administered as a matter of course to all who professed to have been joined to the one Lord by their one faith. The sequence in the three clauses of our text is perfectly clear. Baptism is the expression and consequence of the faith which precedes it. Surely there is here a most distinct implication that it is a declaration of personal faith. Without enlarging on the subject, I venture to think that the order of the Apostle’s thought negatives other conceptions of Christian baptism, such as, that it is a communication of Grace, or an expression of the feelings and desires of parents, or a declaration of some truth about redeemed humanity. Paul’s order is Christ’s when He said, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.’
It is very remarkable and instructive that whilst thus our text shows that baptism was a matter of course and universally practised, the references to it in the epistles are so few. The inference is not that it was neglected, but that, as being a rite, it could not be as important as were Christian truths and Christian character. May we, in a word, suggest the contrast between the frequency and tone of the Apostolic references to baptism and those which we find in many quarters to-day?
It is remarkable that here the Lord’s Supper is not mentioned, and all the more so, that in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the passage which we have already quoted does put emphasis upon it as a token of Christian unity. The explanation of the omission may be found in the fact that, in these early days, the Lord’s Supper was not a separate rite, but was combined with ordinary meals, or perhaps more probably in the consideration that baptism was what the Lord’s Supper was not-an initial rite which incorporated the possessors of one faith into the one body.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 one body
one body
The church is often referred to as the body of Christ. (See: Metaphor)
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one Spirit
"only one Holy Spirit"
you were called in one certain hope of your calling
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God called you to have one confident hope in your calling" or "there is one thing that God also chose you to be confident in and expect him to do" (See: Active or Passive)
Father of all ... over all ... through all ... and in all
The word "all" here means "everything."
translationWords
body
Holy Spirit
confidence
call
lord
faith
baptize
God
God the Father
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 4:4-6 These three verses might have been taken from…
4:4-6 These three verses might have been taken from a creedal statement. • Whatever their ethnic differences, Jewish and Gentile Christians share one Lord and one faith, so they should live together in unity. • Christ’s one body is the church (see 1:23; 2:16). • One God and Father of all: See 1 Cor 8:6; 15:28. • in all, and living through all: God is especially present in believers’ lives (see 1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27; cp. John 14:16-17, 23; 15:4-5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.