Ephesians 4:4 NLT - "For there is one Body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future."
Commentary:
Though we live with a splintered Body and have too-many-to-count denominations, we believers still belong to just one Body, the Church, which is the Body of Christ. And we have all been baptized into that Body by the Holy Spirit, see 1 Corinthians 12:13. And furthermore, we all aim towards one glorious hope which is our future! All this Paul uses to remind the believers why we should be united together. We have so much we can agree on, but too often we decide to concentrate on what we disagree on! How that must grieve the Spirit of God!
Yet, let's remember the conditions in Paul's day. There was a lot of persecution going on against Christians and their beliefs. And as they faced persecution they sought out other believers to mutually support each other. They needed one another and, therefore, they didn't let their petty differences divide them. What the Church needs to face today is a good dose of persecution to drive us together! And that is on our door-step NOW! All over the world believers are being singled out for their faith and some are being martyred! We, here in America, are facing not only the removal of prayer and the Bible from our educational and political world, we're also faced with not speaking in the name of Jesus almost wherever we go! We need to ask God for the same holy boldness He gave His disciples long ago. When we begin to face insults, threats, and even violence against us, we'll stop focusing on our differences and realize how much we need to be unified in our service for Christ.
Commentary:
Though we live with a splintered Body and have too-many-to-count denominations, we believers still belong to just one Body, the Church, which is the Body of Christ. And we have all been baptized into that Body by the Holy Spirit, see 1 Corinthians 12:13. And furthermore, we all aim towards one glorious hope which is our future! All this Paul uses to remind the believers why we should be united together. We have so much we can agree on, but too often we decide to concentrate on what we disagree on! How that must grieve the Spirit of God!
Yet, let's remember the conditions in Paul's day. There was a lot of persecution going on against Christians and their beliefs. And as they faced persecution they sought out other believers to mutually support each other. They needed one another and, therefore, they didn't let their petty differences divide them. What the Church needs to face today is a good dose of persecution to drive us together! And that is on our door-step NOW! All over the world believers are being singled out for their faith and some are being martyred! We, here in America, are facing not only the removal of prayer and the Bible from our educational and political world, we're also faced with not speaking in the name of Jesus almost wherever we go! We need to ask God for the same holy boldness He gave His disciples long ago. When we begin to face insults, threats, and even violence against us, we'll stop focusing on our differences and realize how much we need to be unified in our service for Christ.
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