Ephesians 4:4-6 - One Body, One Spirit, One Hope

Todaywe're looking at Ephesians 4:4-6 where the Apostle Paul is giving us the sevenspiritual realities that unite us in Jesus Christ. There must be a foundationaltruth that makes us one. Our oneness is based on and because of theseseven realities that are given to us at the moment we trust Jesus Christ as ourpersonal Lord Savior.  Atthe moment of our salvation, we were baptized into the body of Jesus Christ. Read1 Corinthians 12, where Paul is dealing with a church that's in tremendousdivision. One of their divisions is over the matter of spiritual gifts and whohas the best gifts. Paul deals with this subject by taking them back to thefoundational truth of the Holy Spirit and His giving the gifts of the Spirit,that are given to every member in the body.  “For as the body is one and has manymembers, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, soalso is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whetherJews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink intoone Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13-14). Paul uses the analogy of the humanbody to describe this foundational truth to help us to understand it. I only haveone body. I don't have three bodies or four bodies different bodies. I don’thave the option to jump into this body today, and tomorrow I wake up and say, “Iwant to dress up in this next body”.  No,I only have one body God has given it to me not only duration of this life onearth, but He's given it to me for eternity. One day God will glorify even thissame frail fallen body for eternity. My friend, this is a foundational truth.Just as the body is one, it has many members. I have hands, I have eyes, feet.Paul goes through those different aspects of the body and what they individuallydo, but it's one body they work together. Eachmember of our body helps and cares for the other members. They are not jealousof each other because it is one body. This is the same spiritual reality thatis ours in Christ, the moment of our salvation as it says in verse 12 and 13: “Foras the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body,being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were allbaptized into one body”. Nowback to Ephesians 4:4 where Paul writes, “one body, one Spirit”. There'sonly one Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that dwells lives in me, lives inyou. This is what gives us unity, one body, one Spirit, working for theselfsame purpose to build up the body, the church of Jesus Christ, to exhortone another encourage one another so much more as we see the day approaching. Thattakes us to the next spiritual reality. “Just as you were called in one hopeof your calling.” This “one hope of your calling” has to do with thesecond coming of Jesus Christ. It is also called “the blessed hope” (Titus2:13). We are looking forward to Jesus coming one day. Paul is talking aboutthis also in Romans 8:23-25: “Not only that, but we also who have thefirstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerlywaiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in thishope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for whathe sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it withperseverance”. Wewere called to look forward to this “one hope” that one day Jesus is comingback for us! 1 John 3:2-3 promises it this way: “Beloved, now we arechildren of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we knowthat when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Andeveryone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure”. Whata blessed and glorious hope is ours today!!! So,the spiritual reality is: one body, one Spirit, one hope. We have fourmore to look at over the next few days. Godbless!