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)

Implications Of One Body

Paul’s letter to the saints who were in Ephesus is a powerful thesis on the nature and character of the church. The Ephesian church was an early example of congregational strength and love. They enjoyed Paul’s preaching for three years as he labored among them. Receiving a letter from Paul was especially important because the apostle was in prison in Rome, waiting for his appeal to Caesar. The letter to the saints in Ephesus strongly argues that the church is the body, and Christ is its head.

When the Ephesian brethren received the letter, they were encouraged by the apostles’ positive notes sprinkled throughout the letter. As part of the early church, the saints helped to establish the character of the church Jesus promised to build. Jesus is the head and savior of the church. All spiritual blessings are to be found in Christ Jesus. Jesus’ authority is firmly established as the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus was the chief cornerstone the church was built upon. Everything about the church is built on the authority of Jesus Christ. The church was in God’s eternal plan before time began, showing the manifold wisdom of God. Paul described the church as a family, knitted together in the bond of love.

One key element of the church known by the saints in Ephesus is that there was only one church. In the First Century, there were no other churches. Jesus promised to build His church, and He accomplished that. Paul affirms the church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of one church, as the one head does not have many bodies, nor does the one body have many heads. When God created man, he formed him with one head and one body. In that imagery, the church possesses one body with one head. Anything different is abnormal and unnatural. No other bodies can represent the church.

If there is one God, there must be one church. Paul said there was one faith. There must be one body. The only baptism (one baptism) is water baptism. There is one church. The Holy Spirit is not a multiple being but one, like the body of Christ. There can be only one hope as promised by God, meaning there is only one church. One Lordship demands one head for one body, and the one body is the one church. When men say it does not matter which church one belongs to, they deny the teachings of the Holy Spirit. There is only one body, the church.

One church implies that Jesus did not promise all other churches. If there is one church as Paul said two thousand years ago, why are there so many churches today? Christ is not the head of many bodies, as that would be a disfigurement. Jesus cannot be the head of this church, that church, and other churches, when He can be the head of only one body. One head goes with one body. The Bible teaches the one church that was built by Jesus Christ. In the First Century, there was only one body of Christ, the church. Jesus is the savior of only one body. On the day of Pentecost, God added to the (one) church daily those who were being saved. Saul persecuted the (one) church. The implications of one church are evident when one accepts the teaching of the New Testament church. One body. One church.