Ephesians 4:4-6 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
Paul continues the theme of unity in the church that comes through the Spirit indwelling each of the members. These verses are a list that emphasize this unity with the repeated use of the word one. Although the members are all different, with different gifts and weaknesses, the church is one body. Paul uses this image also in 1 Corinthians 12 and multiple times in this letter. The body is a good analogy for the church. The many parts rely on one another for life and health. The parts function together to do a mission that affects every part. If one part hurts, the rest of the body reacts. The body also has a head that guides the rest of the body.
What unites the church together as one is the Holy Spirit. This is because the Spirit will transform each person more and more into the loving likeness of Christ. As people become more like Christ, they will also learn and express more of what it means to love. Love is the bond of unity, the glue that holds community together, as Paul writes in Colossians 3:14, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
The calling we have received about which Paul reminds the readers throughout the letter and expressly in 4:1 is hope. Hope for something better is what drives people to Christ and to live for Christ. Our hope for eternal life compels us to live in holy and loving ways in this life. The life of believers is qualitatively better than non-believers. That quality is not expressed in material things, although there is a certain peace and satisfaction with one’s lot that comes in the sanctified life, but even more so in matters of the spirit and attitudes, such as peace and joy. If people are satisfied in themselves, they will eventually be disappointed and discouraged and without any resource for deep peace and joy. Believers have this resource in the gospel of Christ.
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