In the church, we talk about unity as though it were something we have to create or build. If we get the right people in the room, eliminate disagreements, and have a common vision, then maybe, just maybe, we can be united.

But Paul has a different idea.
 
He tells the Ephesians to make every effort to KEEP the unity of the Spirit. Keep is an important word. The Greek word translated here means to “guard or preserve”. He isn’t telling them they need to manufacture something, but to maintain something that already exists. The Holy Spirit has already brought unity to them in Himself. God has joined them together in Christ and then joined them to one another in Him. Their calling here is to live faithfully in light of the reality God has already created.

Paul then lays it out fairly plainly why they are united. They have “One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.” These are all the things they have in common regardless of what else is going on between them.
 
Humans have an odd propensity to divide ourselves by the things that make us different, like background, ethnicity, tradition, or worship styles. Churches will even do it among themselves, having an early “traditional” service, then a later “contemporary” one as if worship style is somehow worth dividing the body over. Paul isn’t pretending differences don’t exist, but instead he places something larger, more important, around them to bind them together.
The church (you and me) is one because her Lord is One.

Our unity as followers of Jesus isn’t built on our homogeneity; it grows from a shared life in Jesus, from the same Spirit that dwells among God’s people, from the same Lord who has called us into His family. Our hope is set upon the same Gospel, and the same Father has brought us near.

This should impact the way we understand the Church.
 
Yesterday we celebrated our differences in the Body of Christ. Today, Paul undergirds that idea with a worldview that ties all those differences together: Unity of the Spirit. We belong to one another because we first belong to Christ.
 
Maintaining unity isn’t effortless or always easy. Paul encourages us to live in humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing one another’s burdens to make it possible. Apparently, even Spirit-created unity still has a need to be protected and cultivated by Spirit-formed people.

Before we notice whether or not people are “like us”, we should first wonder, “Do they belong to the same Lord?” If so, then we are already united in Jesus. May we then behave as though that’s true.

Which of Paul’s repeated “one” statements most helps you understand what actually holds the Church together? Where are you most tempted to define another believer by a difference or even an earthly similarity rather than by your shared belonging to Christ?

Father, thank you for bringing Your people together as one in Jesus. Thank you for all the “ones” Paul spoke about that unite us. Forgive me when I treat my preferences, experiences, or opinions as though they matter more than the unity You have already provided. Teach me to see other believers first as people who belong to Jesus and, because of Him, belong with me. Amen.

“The truth I need to remember about Christ’s Church is __________________.”