Ephesians 4:4-6

4 There is one body and one Spirit  — just as you were called to one hope at your calling —  5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. {Ephesians 4:4-6 CSB}

What a beautiful passage. Honestly these three verses are jam packed with rich and essential beliefs of our Christian Faith. We can legit take these three verses and make a series out of them on their own.

But for the sake of time, let’s briefly explain each of these statements. First thing I want you to notice is that the word “one” repeats over and over in these verses. It seems to me that Paul is suggesting that this is the truth and there is no adding to it. There are no multiple paths. There are no multiple truths.

A truth claim is exclusive. To say that one thing is true is to say that all other options are false. The world would want you to believe that there are multiple roads to the same place. But Paul here is very singular in his vocabulary. He says there is…

ONE BODY
That is there is one church. There is one people that is united by the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, male or female, imprisoned or free. We are all one under the banner of Jesus. We all have experienced the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of sin through Jesus’ p perfect work on the cross.

ONE SPIRIT
There is only one Holy Spirit whom the Bible calls our counselor, guide, and comforter. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin and draws us to God through Jesus. The Holy Spirit emboldens and empowers us with gifts to use for the benefit of the local church and to draw others to Jesus.

ONE HOPE
This is the hope that we have experienced through Jesus. While we were dead in our sins and trespasses, Jesus died in our place paying the punishment we were due. Jesus grants us this hope now but we also have a hope to come. That one day we will be with Jesus and there will be no more weeping, no more pain, and no more suffering.

ONE LORD
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is only one who can wipe away the sins of mankind. All other gods fall short. There is only one who can raise a spiritually dead person to life. He is the way, truth, and life and no one comes to the Father except by him.

ONE FAITH
We are saved by grace through faith. We have faith, not in ourselves or our good works. We have faith in Jesus. That faith is the faith needed to move mountains of which the greatest was the tombstone laid upon my spiritual grave. But Jesus has revived us and we are able to receive this free gift of faith through faith.

ONE BAPTISM
We are baptized in Jesus name and into his victory. As Jesus was buried in the grave, we were buried with him and risen in him. As Christ conquered the grave, we conquer the grip of Satan and sin over our lives.

ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL
There is only one God. We are not pantheists which believe that is all and in all. This means you are not a god. You cannot worship the universe as god. We are not polytheists which worship many gods and God is just one god among many. There is on one God, one Father, and ne creator of all. He is eternal, all knowing, all powerful, all present, and everlasting.

ABOVE ALL
He is above every kingdom. He is above every government and president and king. He is above every angelic being. He is above all.

THROUGH ALL
He is taking care of us all. He provides for his children. Every good and perfect gift comes from God above. Not only does he grant us forgiveness of sin through Jesus but he also freely shares wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness:

IN ALL
That is that by the power of his Spirit he dwells within the believer guiding, directing, correcting, rebuking, convicting of sin and drawing hearts closer to himself.