Keeping the Unity
View daily reading plan: Ephesians 4.1-6
At the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded that “we being many are ... one body” while “we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor 10.17). Ephesians 4 emphasises this by referring to “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all”. Our Lord Jesus prayed to His Father that all who believe on Him would be “one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (Jn 17.21). This spiritual unity of the church is eternal. This one body of Christ is also His one cherished bride, that one undivided pearl of great price for which He died.
God has made this unique and precious unity of which we are part. However, the practical expression and enjoyment of this unity in local church testimony has sometimes been obscured and spoiled through petty grievances and personal animosities among brethren instead of “brotherly love”, care and kindness. Sad to say, our track record as “brethren” is not good – many casualties lie along the way. Could we not have done better?
Sunday, 14 April, 2024