There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

One Body

The apostle Paul writes the definitive epistle about the church to the saints in Ephesus. Ephesians is a book declaring the glory and nature of the First Century church. Thirty years have passed since Peter and the eleven preached the gospel to the first Jewish converts in Jerusalem. The infant church grew in a hostile world, seeking to crush it. Paul had once been the force of persecution against the disciples of the Way and now served as one of the great defenders of truth. The church was strong and vibrant, and the early saints saw the eternal purpose in the church, which was revealed to them as the body of the saved and the kingdom of the redeemed.

Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to Ephesus. He exhorted the Christians to walk worthy of their faith to show the world the glory of the church. There was a need to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace so the world could see the eternal purpose of God. Unity was established when the saints remembered there was one body and one Spirit. There was one hope in Christ because there was one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Finally, in a world given over to the worship of multiple gods, Paul affirms to the Ephesians saints to hold fast to the doctrine of one God. This unity would help the Christians show their faith to the world.

The apostle did not suggest anything radical when he said there was one body. Earlier in his letter, Paul had defined what he meant by one body. In his prayer for the Ephesians saints, Paul reminded them the authority of Jesus Christ came when He put all things under His feet, and God gave Christ to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The body and the church are the same thing. Paul did not create any stir among believers in Christ when he declared there was one body or one church because there was only one church. If there had been any reaction from those who had heard the reading of his letter, it would have come at the point where Paul said there was one God.

In the Roman Empire, idolatry was prolific. Ephesus was one of the bastions of idolatry. The fact the city had a group of disciples is remarkable, considering what they were up against. But Paul did affirm there was one church because there was one body. This was not a radical idea. At the time Paul wrote his letter, there were no other churches. The church of God, the Bride of Christ, the Kingdom of God, the Family of God, those who were of the Way; these were all the same. There were no other churches as there are today. Thousands of churches exist today. How does that fit the model of the New Testament?

It is uneasy to suggest there is one church because people have believed for so long that having more than one church is God’s plan. The first significant apostasy came in 606 when men elevated a man to be a Pope. In time, the Roman Catholic Church evolved into the mother of apostasy that it is today, followed by her children of apostasy in the Protestant denominations that fill every corner of the world. The apostle Paul would be shocked and dismayed at how those who profess belief in Jesus Christ have taken away the one body, the one faith, and the one hope. There is only one church because God said there was only one church. That church is found on the pages of God’s word, not a sign out front. Are you part of the New Testament church – the one church – the one body?