What seven “ones” does Paul cite in support of his theme of the unity of the church? What point is he seeking to make with this list? (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Paul’s list of seven “ones” has a poetic feel to it and may echo a hymn of affirmation used in Ephesus. The list begins by mentioning two “ones” together: “There is one body” (referring to the church as the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:12, Ephesians 4:16; Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 5:23, Ephesians 5:29-30) and “one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:4). The third one is the “one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4; compare Ephesians 4:1).
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The list then offers three more elements, “one Lord” (a reference to Christ), “one faith” (meaning the content of what Christians believe, Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 1:23; Colossians 2:7; Galatians 1:23; 1 Timothy 4:1, 1 Timothy 4:6), and “one baptism” (compare Ephesians 5:26) before concluding with an extended description of God as “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all” (Ephesians 4:6, ESV).
What is Paul communicating through this poetic description of God the Father? By virtue of His being “Father of all,” God is the Creator. The rest of the sentence describes how, once the world is created, God relates to “all things,” to everything that He made. Paul is not dabbling in the heresies of pantheism (which identifies nature with God), or panentheism (which argues that the world is included in God’s being, though it does not exhaust that being). He is rather proclaiming the transcendence (“who is over all”), active rule (“who is … through all”) and immanence (“who is … in all”) of God.
Note carefully two ideas about the unity of the church (Ephesians 4:1-6). First, unity is a spiritual fact, rooted in these seven “ones,” a reality to be celebrated (Ephesians 4:4-6). Second, this unity requires our zeal to nurture and grow it (Ephesians 4:3). There will often be cause to weep at our failings in actualizing this unity. However, whatever our failings, we should rejoice in the work of God-in-Christ in unifying the church, rejoicing in the theological reality of the “unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3). Doing so will empower us to return to the hard work of advancing this unity, but with fresh conviction that in doing so we are accomplishing God’s own work.
| Read again Ephesians 4:4-6. How does it make you feel? How should it make you feel, knowing what it says about our unity in and with God through Christ? |
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