One God and Father of All
One God and Father of All
Sunday, March 16, 2008
“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to
the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
1. There is one body: The church is a living organism composed only of living members (i.e., blood-bought, born-again, Bible-believing saints). And this one body has one Head and many members. (1 Cor 12:12-13; Eph 1:14-17)
" For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many." (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, ESV)
"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near." (Ephesians 2:14-17, ESV)
2. There is one Spirit: The Holy Spirit who is the life and breath of that body, who was responsible for the regeneration of each member, and who now maintains the connection of each member with the other members and with the Head. (Eph 2:18-22)
"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near." (Ephesians 2:14-17, ESV)
3. There is one Hope. The one hope of your calling is the same ultimate, glorious reality for both Jews and Gentiles. (Eph 1:11-14, 18-23)
"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:11-14, ESV)
"having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:18-23, ESV)
4. These first three points seems to progress from the visible ‘body’ (the one church universal reconciling Jew and Gentile) to the invisible Spirit who gives it harmony and peace in Christ, and thence to the future hope of full harmony of which the Spirit is now received as but the first installment (Eph 1:13–14)
5. Verse 6 naturally affirms of the one God totally sovereign over and in creation. It is on this supposition that all hope for final unity is built (cf. Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:4b–6; Col. 1:15–20; 1:3–10).
"For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (1 Corinthians 8:5-6, ESV)
"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36, ESV)
" He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Colossians 1:15-20, ESV)
6. Matthew Henry in his commentary on this passage says “To unity and love, purity and holiness, which Christians should very much study. We do not walk worthy of the calling wherewith we are called if we be not faithful friends to all Christians, and sworn enemies to all sin.”
7. 1. There is one body (4:1–4a): Christ’s body. 2. There is one Spirit (4:4b): The Holy Spirit. 3. There is one hope (4:4c): Eternal life. 4. There is one Lord (4:5a): The triune God. 5. There is one faith (4:5b): The Christian faith. 6. There is one baptism (4:5c): The baptism of the Spirit into Christ’s body. 7. There is one God and Father (4:6): The heavenly Father.
GracePointe Baptist Church
2209 N Post Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73141
Phone: (405) 769-5050