ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM
Thursday – December 15, 2016
Greetings from Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publication in Jesus name.
2 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Hence, this is why you are still reading, you want more and more knowledge of our God and of Jesus our Lord because as Grace and peace are multiplied we become increasingly pleasing to Him, sons, expanding the Kingdom. Now to our primary text.
Ephesians 4:1-6 (KJV)
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of 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 you all.
As we delve into verse four it seems to be an impossibility. Each of us are called to be one with God, one with the Spirit of God. And we are to be one with those in Christ around us and really everywhere. Think of it as a large family with the differing levels of maturity, education, and personalities. We seek to maintain, as far as it is up to us, peace (oneness) within the family being mindful of one another. Just as in our family we do not expect the same things from a five year old as a fifty year old neither do we in the body of Christ. We are to show each other the same respect we would like to receive from others. We are all one body in Christ and of one faith taught by one Spirit. The Apostle Paul uses the example of a human body to demonstrate the working together of the body of Christ. No matter what our calling (verse four) is in the body of Christ our singular calling was into the Kingdom of God where we have the same hope, the same earnest expectation (hope) of God. Remember Godly, Kingdom of God hope does not disappoint it is a certainty by faith in love. We all expect a just reward for what we have done in this life, in the body, we expect eternal life, and we expect an uncorrupted body like unto the one Jesus has. This brings us to the final two verses of our text.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (KJV)
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of 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 you all.
We are one body, the body of Christ (body of anointing or anointed ones) or which Jesus is the head. Jesus is the one calling the shots according to the will, the thoughts of the Father. In Jesus we are also in the Anointing (Holy Spirit) who is in us and quickens our dead soul and at our request will fill us to overflowing with Himself such that we can walk as Jesus walked and more. Who is our Lord? Our Lord or one who is to be supreme in authority in our lives is Jesus. Of course we have a free-will and can chose to follow or not the directions of Jesus. Let’s meditate the following Scripture and make a decision which one of these fella’s we want our life to look like.
Luke 6:46-49 (HCSB)
46 “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?
47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.
49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great!”
In the Kingdom of God we have one Lord and he is Christ Jesus. We also are to profess to rely upon one faith. Our one faith is in God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and consequently His Word. We entered the Kingdom of God by faith.
Romans 10:8-10 (KJV)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
You see all three persons of the Triune God are at work in the salvation process, we confess that Jesus is Lord, we believe that God (Father) raised Him from the dead, and we are saved meaning the Holy Spirit did His part quickening our dead soul and clothing us with the robe of righteousness.
We next see that there is one baptism. This is not talking about water baptism or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This one baptism is the immersion that occurs at salvation into the three persons or personalities of God. Ephesians 4:6 is referring to God the Father who is above all, He is the channel through which all things flow, and He is in us all by the Holy Spirit. Consider the following passage focusing on verse twenty-four (Twenty-four is the number of priesthood).
1 Corinthians 15:20-26 (ESV)
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (Bold added by Dr. Wood)
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Dear Church, Jesus is not in the earth, He is at the right hand of Majesty on High in Heaven. You and I as His Anointed body are in the earth and we are the ones He and the Father are reliant upon to destroy every evil rule, authority, and power. So let us get off our duffs and get this wrong thinking out of our heads and get this job done in Jesus name.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
