There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
There is one body united by one Spirit with one hope belonging to the calling of God. The one body is the church of true believers, the one Spirit is the Holy Spirit dwelling in every believing heart to give life and control, and the one hope is the common hope of that calling that cheers and sustains believers together. This calling is to be walked worthy of with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love and keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That unity holds together people of different minds, talents and gifts, for no one is the whole body and Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to perfect the saints until all come into unity of the faith. Harmony among such varied believers is the strongest witness that God sent His Son, while division dishonors His cause before the world and unsanctified independence, separate interests and human domination must be put away.
Meaning of One Body Spirit Hope
There is one body and one Spirit and one hope belonging to the calling with which God has called His people, so that all who are called share the same united life, the same animating power, and the same expectation. This oneness belongs together with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in all, with grace given to every one according to the measure of the gift of Christ who first descended and then ascended far above all heavens to fill all things and gave gifts for the perfecting of the saints. The gifts Christ gave are the means of bringing the church into that unity and maturity, building up His body until all come into unity of faith and of knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man and the measure of the stature of His fullness. Walking worthy of this calling means lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, exemplifying the character of Christ and the blessings of His salvation.
The one body is the church composed of true believers, Christ's people united as co-laborers with God and not separated from His appointed fellowship. Christian work is therefore not to be separated from the church or exalted above it, but believers are to work together as God's fellow workers under Christ as Head over all. Institutions doing God's work must remain connected to the church and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, with no one person as sole head or manager bearing every burden alone, so that the gospel's transforming power can spread through the world. Members belong to one church animated by one interest and guided by one Spirit, called to leave the lowlands subject to Satan's plans and suggestions and devisings.
The one Spirit is the one Holy Spirit proceeding from God, dwelling in the hearts of all believers and imparting life-giving power to all, with Jesus enlarging every mind and heart to receive Him. This same Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, who animates and controls the body and brings unity among believers under His influence and control. That unity was needed to bind together brethren of different nationalities in common publishing labor, showing that the same Spirit overcomes distinctions among God's workers.
The one hope is the common hope arising from being called together by God into one body through the work of one Spirit. It is grounded in faith that works through love and purifies the soul, by which those who respond to Christ's work receive the Spirit in their hearts and become God's children. It includes the hope of immortality, which makes all who share the same faith members of one family and children of the same heavenly Father, bound by a close and tender bond of Christian fellowship. This hope cheers all followers of Jesus on the narrow, self-denying way to heaven, where they find similar joys and trials, learn from one another that they are not alone in experience, and are sustained with courage and strength by the same arm.
Paul set forth this oneness as the prisoner of the Lord beseeching believers to walk worthy of their vocation, and the instruction was not for the church in Ephesus alone. It was designed to come down to believers now, who must preserve unity in the bonds of peace and manifest meekness and gentleness, forbearance and love. This unity of God's people as one body is to hold from the beginning to the end of time.
The one body, one Spirit, and one hope form part of the foundation of faith in the third angel's message built up over sixty years with not a pin or pillar to be moved, which Satan tries with every effort to tear up. That history of the past must be reprinted and understood in order to hold the foundation past, present, and future. During the time of the end Christian is to unite with Christian and church with church in accomplishing God's work, all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the activity of God's servants increasing proportionately to meet the greatly increased activity of Satan's servants.
Character That Preserves Unity
There is one body and one Spirit and one hope of the calling, and those who share that calling are to walk worthy of it with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The same Spirit and the same hope animate all members of the body, joining them together so that meekness, gentleness, forbearance, and peace preserve their unity and love. Division dishonors true religion before the world and gives its opponents reason to justify resistance to the truth, while harmony among people of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that God sent His Son to save sinners. That worthy walk requires characters molded in harmony with Christ's character and wills surrendered to His will, exemplifying His character and the blessings of His salvation.
Love is the law of the kingdom, and the Lord calls everyone to a higher standard with lives revealing love, meekness, and long-suffering. Long-suffering bears much without seeking to be avenged by word or act. Walking worthy means believing and practicing the truth, not living to self but being created anew in Christ, bought with the precious blood of the only begotten Son, ready to sacrifice everything for Christ and to cooperate with Him, since no person is his own and every power and every moment has been purchased. It means leaving the lowlands subject to Satan's plans and suggestions and devisings, having faith that works by love and purifies the soul, praying for thorough transformation of character, and working out salvation with fear and trembling as God works within both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Keeping this unity means becoming new men and women in Christ by putting on peace, grace, and righteousness. It refuses expression of evil thoughts, suspicion, and evil speaking, and forbids treating brethren in an unconverted spirit, refusing also to choose one's own society and separate from brethren who will not give up their ideas and plans. Instead it prays alone, examines self, humbles the heart before God, keeps the way of the Lord, repents of a discourteous spirit, receives pardon, cultivates esteem and confidence in brethren, links with them in love, and purifies the heart by obedience to the truth, practicing the truth in words, in spirit, and in action. While this is done the Holy Spirit works upon reason and conscience and holy angels press kind, uplifting, encouraging thoughts, so that words carry commendation, love, holiness, and charity in the battle against the striving satanic evil will, and those in ministry yoke up with Jesus and cooperate with Him and walk together in agreement rather than manufacturing trials and carrying on the work alone, with the promise that with cleansing of the soul temple and acceptance of God's mercy and love and kindness the Lord will reveal Himself.
The unity is kept by God's plainly revealed appointed means, by conforming life to obedience to the commandments of God and oneness in the faith of the Scriptures, bound together as one in Christ with lives hid with Christ in God so as to reveal a healthy religious experience to the world. Those so united practice the golden rule, bear living testimony that the Father loves them even as He loves His Son, appreciate God's great gift, use heaven's costly provision to draw souls to obedience to the law of God, and cooperate with the Master Worker as laborers together with God. They become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world through lust, and by consistent lives of courtesy, fidelity, justice, and mercy magnify the law of God and prove the law of the Lord perfect, converting the soul, living as one family who love one another and whose shared witness and cooperation in saving others display the gospel.
The teaching is positive and decided, giving light and grace, and it must be read most solemnly, studied, received, and put into practice rather than displaced by personal ideas and opinions. It requires full and complete work with no half-way work to bring unity into the church. It calls away from being hard-spirited as strangers to the working of the Holy Spirit to a great reformation in lives, words, works, and spiritual understanding, to catch the inspiration of the angels in the heavenly courts and daily to breathe the atmosphere of heaven. It embraces much and must be taken into consideration through lifelong learning, for in the school of Christ no one is ever graduated but learns line upon line and precept upon precept, only beginning to understand God's requirements while falling far short of the high standard, constantly reaching forward for more wisdom and grace and a fuller understanding of what God requires, carrying all true knowledge gained in knowing God and in sacred nearness to Him in saving souls into the school above, so that it can be said in the heavenly courts that they are complete in Him.
Unity in Diversity and Gifts
There is complete unity in diversity, for no two human minds are precisely alike, just as no two leaves in nature are alike and angels differ in qualifications and ministry. God does not mold all workers alike in character but works through different minds, gifts, appointments, and elements of character, and no person's mind or judgment is complete in itself. Truth speaks its own language through a diversity of gifts, and the divine work is carried on by and through gifts that are all essential and all working to one end, the expression of the mind and will of God through the perfection of the saints. That unity in diversity meets every emergency in every kind of labor, for the perfection of the church comes as God works through different minds for one end.
No one person is to be regarded as the whole body, and no one is qualified to bear the burden of the work alone. God has joined together and associated people of different minds, talents, and capabilities so that they counsel with and assist one another, and the deficiency in the experience and abilities of one is supplied by the experience and abilities of another. This shared hope calls believers to Christian fellowship and to patient and unselfish cooperation in their work for God, with no worker as a complete whole and none preventing another from doing his or her part. Differences are therefore not a reason to separate or hinder one another, but believers are to unite weakness to Christ's strength, die to self and live to Christ, let strong unchristlike traits be softened, subdued, and purified, and be one with Christ in God by uniting with one another. Those in responsible positions must use prudence and discretion to improve their own gifts while respecting and cooperating with gifts given to others, never disparaging another gift or claiming to be the only one who can bring the truth.
The unity belongs with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, and the spiritual gifts Christ gave are the means of bringing the church into the unity and maturity described. When Christ ascended He gave apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Every gift is essential to the success of the work and none is to be lost, and building requires broadminded, discerning, experienced workers who lay the foundation according to God's plan, hold their own will in abeyance, and stand ready to understand and follow their Leader. This building continues till all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, no longer children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine but speaking the truth in love and growing up into Him who is the Head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly framed and compacted by what every joint supplies works effectually in the measure of every part to increase itself in love.
In the plan of redemption a place and work is allotted to every soul, each one to take the assigned place and do the appointed work, with the work varied but one Spirit moving in it all, and none to remain inactive. The different parts of God's work and the variety of gifts are to blend and serve the work as a whole, with no schism among believers and no separation between lines of missionary work. All gospel workers in ministry and in medical missionary work are joined as a single body under Christ as Leader and Head, wearing His yoke in humility and using varied gifts to bless humanity as His helping hand, with every part controlled and guided by the wisdom God gives. Such oneness requires gospel ministers and medical missionary workers to be united, with medical missionaries interested in the work of the conferences and conference workers interested in the work of the medical missionaries, drawing together in even cords without friction and refusing to follow human devising or fasten the soul to any human leader. All stand under the standard of Christ Jesus, united by the desire to strengthen His work in every line, and every part of the work guided by God's wisdom calls for harmony among fellow laborers as they use different gifts to bless others.
Believers are to be humble, patient, and peaceful, give others room to serve as God appoints them, help supply one another's deficiencies so the church can be completed in unity, and avoid jealousy, distrust, and rivalry. There are to be no territorial lines in Christ's work, but workers are to esteem and uphold one another, be filled with a noble spirit of helpfulness and willingness to use the Lord's money where it is needed most, depend on Christ for usefulness and success, and separate from everything that would hinder presenting present truth. Selfishness, rivalry, and striving to occupy the chief place or to be head over others are forbidden, and workers are to unite as brethren under one Head, each respected in his individual work. Only God's Spirit is the controlling master spirit, not any human mind, and where Christ abides in the heart there is no quarreling with a brother over Paul or Apollos or Cephas, nor measuring brethren by one's own ideas.
Witness and Mission of Unity
Harmony and union among people of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that God sent His Son to save sinners. A converted life that reflects this unity and harmony honors God and draws people to Christ. Christ is the center and soul of the church, and the Spirit brings even discordant people into harmony as all members are animated by the same Spirit and the same hope. This unity gives the church power to serve and to work together for the conversion of sinners.
This unity removes barriers of selfishness and causes barriers of color and caste to disappear, converting many more souls because of the unity among believers. The gospel breaks down national prejudices and joins hearts in Christ, so that believers from every nation are united as one body by the one Spirit and share one hope through their calling. The gospel of Christ is to reach all classes, all nations, all tongues and people to unite them in one great brotherhood with one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Nationalities blend in Jesus Christ when the truth is accepted as it is in Jesus, having the same mind, the same judgment, speaking the same things, and with one mouth glorifying God. Territorial lines of distinction must be taken down, requiring being one with fellow men and with Christ and in Christ one with God, which makes a person complete in Him.
This oneness comes by imitating Christ as the only model, receiving His mold and character, loving as brethren, esteeming others better than self, and being kind and courteous, meek and lowly, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruit, with hearts blended in one by the Spirit of truth. Christ in the German believer recognizes Christ in the French believer, for the truth has the same subduing, refining and ennobling power on all hearts. Laborers must not build up separate interests or keep up partition walls between nationalities, must not interpose themselves between God and the work, and must not direct words or efforts to disunite what God would unite, but must cement together and exert a molding and reformatory influence upon one another. They are to give the trumpet a certain sound and prepare a people in perfection of character to unite in one great family in heaven.
Unity grows as believers share Christ's work of love and mercy with a common purpose. Working together to save souls deepens piety and purity, and causes jealousy, fault-finding, envy, dissension, and rivalry to cease as they look beyond minor differences. The church is to work in harmony and order rather than as independent, disorganized groups, and orderly unity enables successful cooperation with God's heavenly messengers.
Those who share the same faith and the one hope of immortality are members of one family and children of the same heavenly Father, so a close and tender bond should unite them in Christian fellowship. Christ's workers are members of the same family and have one heavenly Father. They should not let doubts or lack of confidence in one another divide them, but should speak and act with regard for what is good in their fellow workers.
Through this unity God reveals the wonderful principles of heaven. Those who love God supremely love one another, and the Spirit of Christ cherished in the heart unites human beings in their proper order, so that all blend together in perfect harmony under the divine head, each united with the other in doing the Master's will and all receiving power, joy, and influence from the same Source. The church on earth reflects the church in heaven when its members are of one mind and one faith, united in church life to strengthen one another in righteous work. Respecting the principles that bind the human family together is required to enter heaven, while failing to reveal this unity disobeys God and makes void His law, and division works against God's plan for that unity.
Receiving the light of God's Word brings the church toward the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, restoring the unity, faith, and love of the apostolic church. This unity is the unity for which Christ prayed. Unity of mind and faith gives strength, while division, jealousy, criticism, and confusion weaken, and Christlike love cements hearts together so that petitions rise to God in unity.
Dangers to Unity and Order
Divisions dishonor the religion of Christ before the world and give opponents reason to justify their resistance to the truth, for those called share one body, one Spirit, and one hope of their calling as members animated by the same life. The instruction to walk worthy of that calling with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace was not for Ephesus alone but comes down to believers now. Contention and repeated wrongdoing retard the work rather than maintain the unity God requires on its proper basis.
No one is qualified to bear the burden of the work alone or to work in unsanctified independence, since God has joined together people of different minds to counsel with and assist one another so that deficiency in one is supplied by another. National prejudices and jealousies are broken down when truth is accepted as it is in Jesus, so that all classes, nations, tongues, and peoples blend in one great brotherhood with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, having the same mind and judgment and glorifying God with one mouth. Laborers must therefore not build up separate interests, keep up partition walls between nationalities, interpose self between God and the work, direct words or efforts to disunite what God would unite, but must cement together and exert a molding and reformatory influence upon one another by imitating Christ, loving as brethren, esteeming others better than self, and being kind, courteous, meek, lowly, easy to be entreated, and full of mercy and good fruit with hearts blended by the Spirit of truth. It is God's Spirit, not human domination, that is to guide His people.
True unity stands only on pure, elevating, ennobling truth in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines, and not on wrong practices. It calls sin and impenitence by their right name and does not gloss over wrongdoing, rebuking the receiving of human commandments as doctrine, the baptizing of unconverted people without full instruction in the meaning and solemnity of baptism, and the entering into controversy over differences of opinion among leaders. The church is to work in harmony and order rather than as independent, disorganized groups, for orderly unity enables successful cooperation with heavenly messengers. It must be so organized that it can carry out and enforce order, or it will have nothing to hope for and must scatter into fragments.
When ministers take their position unitedly and maintain it with decision, a uniting influence comes upon the flock, separating bars are broken, hearts flow together and unite like drops of water, and the ranks of Sabbath-keepers gain a power and strength far exceeding anything yet witnessed. Disunion is nourished when a spirit of watching and accusing is cherished rather than building up, and when doubts, lack of confidence, jealousy, suspicion, judgment, and criticism are allowed to divide workers who should speak and act with regard for what is good in one another. Those taught by God are one in Spirit and action with no discordant opinions, every child given talents according to ability for ministering without needing to be a preacher, enabled by study of the Scriptures with the Word as counselor to understand what is read and to reveal oneness with Christ as the Sun of Righteousness shines upon them. The Holy Spirit binds true saints together in a union that all the power of satanic agencies cannot break, and genuine love shows the world God's goodness while Christ intercedes to restore that unity.
Even a little house of worship is precious when people have done what they could, while a most splendid temple amounts to nothing if hearts are not right. The greatest anxiety should be about spiritual condition, showing reverence in entering the presence of God and angels, directing thoughts heavenward as the temple of the living God, and educating children that God meets with His people. The one body, one Spirit, and one hope of calling belongs among warnings to set the churches in order, reject unbelief, and guard against deception that could turn the weak aside.
There is one body united by one Spirit with one hope belonging to the calling of God. The one body is the church of true believers, the one Spirit is the Holy Spirit dwelling in every believing heart to give life and control, and the one hope is the common hope of that calling that cheers and sustains believers together. This calling is to be walked worthy of with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love and keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That unity holds together people of different minds, talents and gifts, for no one is the whole body and Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to perfect the saints until all come into unity of the faith. Harmony among such varied believers is the strongest witness that God sent His Son, while division dishonors His cause before the world and unsanctified independence, separate interests and human domination must be put away.
Meaning of One Body Spirit Hope
There is one body and one Spirit and one hope belonging to the calling with which God has called His people, so that all who are called share the same united life, the same animating power, and the same expectation. This oneness belongs together with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in all, with grace given to every one according to the measure of the gift of Christ who first descended and then ascended far above all heavens to fill all things and gave gifts for the perfecting of the saints. The gifts Christ gave are the means of bringing the church into that unity and maturity, building up His body until all come into unity of faith and of knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man and the measure of the stature of His fullness. Walking worthy of this calling means lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, exemplifying the character of Christ and the blessings of His salvation.
The one body is the church composed of true believers, Christ's people united as co-laborers with God and not separated from His appointed fellowship. Christian work is therefore not to be separated from the church or exalted above it, but believers are to work together as God's fellow workers under Christ as Head over all. Institutions doing God's work must remain connected to the church and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, with no one person as sole head or manager bearing every burden alone, so that the gospel's transforming power can spread through the world. Members belong to one church animated by one interest and guided by one Spirit, called to leave the lowlands subject to Satan's plans and suggestions and devisings.
The one Spirit is the one Holy Spirit proceeding from God, dwelling in the hearts of all believers and imparting life-giving power to all, with Jesus enlarging every mind and heart to receive Him. This same Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, who animates and controls the body and brings unity among believers under His influence and control. That unity was needed to bind together brethren of different nationalities in common publishing labor, showing that the same Spirit overcomes distinctions among God's workers.
The one hope is the common hope arising from being called together by God into one body through the work of one Spirit. It is grounded in faith that works through love and purifies the soul, by which those who respond to Christ's work receive the Spirit in their hearts and become God's children. It includes the hope of immortality, which makes all who share the same faith members of one family and children of the same heavenly Father, bound by a close and tender bond of Christian fellowship. This hope cheers all followers of Jesus on the narrow, self-denying way to heaven, where they find similar joys and trials, learn from one another that they are not alone in experience, and are sustained with courage and strength by the same arm.
Paul set forth this oneness as the prisoner of the Lord beseeching believers to walk worthy of their vocation, and the instruction was not for the church in Ephesus alone. It was designed to come down to believers now, who must preserve unity in the bonds of peace and manifest meekness and gentleness, forbearance and love. This unity of God's people as one body is to hold from the beginning to the end of time.
The one body, one Spirit, and one hope form part of the foundation of faith in the third angel's message built up over sixty years with not a pin or pillar to be moved, which Satan tries with every effort to tear up. That history of the past must be reprinted and understood in order to hold the foundation past, present, and future. During the time of the end Christian is to unite with Christian and church with church in accomplishing God's work, all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the activity of God's servants increasing proportionately to meet the greatly increased activity of Satan's servants.
Character That Preserves Unity
There is one body and one Spirit and one hope of the calling, and those who share that calling are to walk worthy of it with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The same Spirit and the same hope animate all members of the body, joining them together so that meekness, gentleness, forbearance, and peace preserve their unity and love. Division dishonors true religion before the world and gives its opponents reason to justify resistance to the truth, while harmony among people of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that God sent His Son to save sinners. That worthy walk requires characters molded in harmony with Christ's character and wills surrendered to His will, exemplifying His character and the blessings of His salvation.
Love is the law of the kingdom, and the Lord calls everyone to a higher standard with lives revealing love, meekness, and long-suffering. Long-suffering bears much without seeking to be avenged by word or act. Walking worthy means believing and practicing the truth, not living to self but being created anew in Christ, bought with the precious blood of the only begotten Son, ready to sacrifice everything for Christ and to cooperate with Him, since no person is his own and every power and every moment has been purchased. It means leaving the lowlands subject to Satan's plans and suggestions and devisings, having faith that works by love and purifies the soul, praying for thorough transformation of character, and working out salvation with fear and trembling as God works within both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Keeping this unity means becoming new men and women in Christ by putting on peace, grace, and righteousness. It refuses expression of evil thoughts, suspicion, and evil speaking, and forbids treating brethren in an unconverted spirit, refusing also to choose one's own society and separate from brethren who will not give up their ideas and plans. Instead it prays alone, examines self, humbles the heart before God, keeps the way of the Lord, repents of a discourteous spirit, receives pardon, cultivates esteem and confidence in brethren, links with them in love, and purifies the heart by obedience to the truth, practicing the truth in words, in spirit, and in action. While this is done the Holy Spirit works upon reason and conscience and holy angels press kind, uplifting, encouraging thoughts, so that words carry commendation, love, holiness, and charity in the battle against the striving satanic evil will, and those in ministry yoke up with Jesus and cooperate with Him and walk together in agreement rather than manufacturing trials and carrying on the work alone, with the promise that with cleansing of the soul temple and acceptance of God's mercy and love and kindness the Lord will reveal Himself.
The unity is kept by God's plainly revealed appointed means, by conforming life to obedience to the commandments of God and oneness in the faith of the Scriptures, bound together as one in Christ with lives hid with Christ in God so as to reveal a healthy religious experience to the world. Those so united practice the golden rule, bear living testimony that the Father loves them even as He loves His Son, appreciate God's great gift, use heaven's costly provision to draw souls to obedience to the law of God, and cooperate with the Master Worker as laborers together with God. They become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world through lust, and by consistent lives of courtesy, fidelity, justice, and mercy magnify the law of God and prove the law of the Lord perfect, converting the soul, living as one family who love one another and whose shared witness and cooperation in saving others display the gospel.
The teaching is positive and decided, giving light and grace, and it must be read most solemnly, studied, received, and put into practice rather than displaced by personal ideas and opinions. It requires full and complete work with no half-way work to bring unity into the church. It calls away from being hard-spirited as strangers to the working of the Holy Spirit to a great reformation in lives, words, works, and spiritual understanding, to catch the inspiration of the angels in the heavenly courts and daily to breathe the atmosphere of heaven. It embraces much and must be taken into consideration through lifelong learning, for in the school of Christ no one is ever graduated but learns line upon line and precept upon precept, only beginning to understand God's requirements while falling far short of the high standard, constantly reaching forward for more wisdom and grace and a fuller understanding of what God requires, carrying all true knowledge gained in knowing God and in sacred nearness to Him in saving souls into the school above, so that it can be said in the heavenly courts that they are complete in Him.
Unity in Diversity and Gifts
There is complete unity in diversity, for no two human minds are precisely alike, just as no two leaves in nature are alike and angels differ in qualifications and ministry. God does not mold all workers alike in character but works through different minds, gifts, appointments, and elements of character, and no person's mind or judgment is complete in itself. Truth speaks its own language through a diversity of gifts, and the divine work is carried on by and through gifts that are all essential and all working to one end, the expression of the mind and will of God through the perfection of the saints. That unity in diversity meets every emergency in every kind of labor, for the perfection of the church comes as God works through different minds for one end.
No one person is to be regarded as the whole body, and no one is qualified to bear the burden of the work alone. God has joined together and associated people of different minds, talents, and capabilities so that they counsel with and assist one another, and the deficiency in the experience and abilities of one is supplied by the experience and abilities of another. This shared hope calls believers to Christian fellowship and to patient and unselfish cooperation in their work for God, with no worker as a complete whole and none preventing another from doing his or her part. Differences are therefore not a reason to separate or hinder one another, but believers are to unite weakness to Christ's strength, die to self and live to Christ, let strong unchristlike traits be softened, subdued, and purified, and be one with Christ in God by uniting with one another. Those in responsible positions must use prudence and discretion to improve their own gifts while respecting and cooperating with gifts given to others, never disparaging another gift or claiming to be the only one who can bring the truth.
The unity belongs with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, and the spiritual gifts Christ gave are the means of bringing the church into the unity and maturity described. When Christ ascended He gave apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Every gift is essential to the success of the work and none is to be lost, and building requires broadminded, discerning, experienced workers who lay the foundation according to God's plan, hold their own will in abeyance, and stand ready to understand and follow their Leader. This building continues till all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, no longer children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine but speaking the truth in love and growing up into Him who is the Head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly framed and compacted by what every joint supplies works effectually in the measure of every part to increase itself in love.
In the plan of redemption a place and work is allotted to every soul, each one to take the assigned place and do the appointed work, with the work varied but one Spirit moving in it all, and none to remain inactive. The different parts of God's work and the variety of gifts are to blend and serve the work as a whole, with no schism among believers and no separation between lines of missionary work. All gospel workers in ministry and in medical missionary work are joined as a single body under Christ as Leader and Head, wearing His yoke in humility and using varied gifts to bless humanity as His helping hand, with every part controlled and guided by the wisdom God gives. Such oneness requires gospel ministers and medical missionary workers to be united, with medical missionaries interested in the work of the conferences and conference workers interested in the work of the medical missionaries, drawing together in even cords without friction and refusing to follow human devising or fasten the soul to any human leader. All stand under the standard of Christ Jesus, united by the desire to strengthen His work in every line, and every part of the work guided by God's wisdom calls for harmony among fellow laborers as they use different gifts to bless others.
Believers are to be humble, patient, and peaceful, give others room to serve as God appoints them, help supply one another's deficiencies so the church can be completed in unity, and avoid jealousy, distrust, and rivalry. There are to be no territorial lines in Christ's work, but workers are to esteem and uphold one another, be filled with a noble spirit of helpfulness and willingness to use the Lord's money where it is needed most, depend on Christ for usefulness and success, and separate from everything that would hinder presenting present truth. Selfishness, rivalry, and striving to occupy the chief place or to be head over others are forbidden, and workers are to unite as brethren under one Head, each respected in his individual work. Only God's Spirit is the controlling master spirit, not any human mind, and where Christ abides in the heart there is no quarreling with a brother over Paul or Apollos or Cephas, nor measuring brethren by one's own ideas.
Witness and Mission of Unity
Harmony and union among people of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that God sent His Son to save sinners. A converted life that reflects this unity and harmony honors God and draws people to Christ. Christ is the center and soul of the church, and the Spirit brings even discordant people into harmony as all members are animated by the same Spirit and the same hope. This unity gives the church power to serve and to work together for the conversion of sinners.
This unity removes barriers of selfishness and causes barriers of color and caste to disappear, converting many more souls because of the unity among believers. The gospel breaks down national prejudices and joins hearts in Christ, so that believers from every nation are united as one body by the one Spirit and share one hope through their calling. The gospel of Christ is to reach all classes, all nations, all tongues and people to unite them in one great brotherhood with one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Nationalities blend in Jesus Christ when the truth is accepted as it is in Jesus, having the same mind, the same judgment, speaking the same things, and with one mouth glorifying God. Territorial lines of distinction must be taken down, requiring being one with fellow men and with Christ and in Christ one with God, which makes a person complete in Him.
This oneness comes by imitating Christ as the only model, receiving His mold and character, loving as brethren, esteeming others better than self, and being kind and courteous, meek and lowly, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruit, with hearts blended in one by the Spirit of truth. Christ in the German believer recognizes Christ in the French believer, for the truth has the same subduing, refining and ennobling power on all hearts. Laborers must not build up separate interests or keep up partition walls between nationalities, must not interpose themselves between God and the work, and must not direct words or efforts to disunite what God would unite, but must cement together and exert a molding and reformatory influence upon one another. They are to give the trumpet a certain sound and prepare a people in perfection of character to unite in one great family in heaven.
Unity grows as believers share Christ's work of love and mercy with a common purpose. Working together to save souls deepens piety and purity, and causes jealousy, fault-finding, envy, dissension, and rivalry to cease as they look beyond minor differences. The church is to work in harmony and order rather than as independent, disorganized groups, and orderly unity enables successful cooperation with God's heavenly messengers.
Those who share the same faith and the one hope of immortality are members of one family and children of the same heavenly Father, so a close and tender bond should unite them in Christian fellowship. Christ's workers are members of the same family and have one heavenly Father. They should not let doubts or lack of confidence in one another divide them, but should speak and act with regard for what is good in their fellow workers.
Through this unity God reveals the wonderful principles of heaven. Those who love God supremely love one another, and the Spirit of Christ cherished in the heart unites human beings in their proper order, so that all blend together in perfect harmony under the divine head, each united with the other in doing the Master's will and all receiving power, joy, and influence from the same Source. The church on earth reflects the church in heaven when its members are of one mind and one faith, united in church life to strengthen one another in righteous work. Respecting the principles that bind the human family together is required to enter heaven, while failing to reveal this unity disobeys God and makes void His law, and division works against God's plan for that unity.
Receiving the light of God's Word brings the church toward the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, restoring the unity, faith, and love of the apostolic church. This unity is the unity for which Christ prayed. Unity of mind and faith gives strength, while division, jealousy, criticism, and confusion weaken, and Christlike love cements hearts together so that petitions rise to God in unity.
Dangers to Unity and Order
Divisions dishonor the religion of Christ before the world and give opponents reason to justify their resistance to the truth, for those called share one body, one Spirit, and one hope of their calling as members animated by the same life. The instruction to walk worthy of that calling with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace was not for Ephesus alone but comes down to believers now. Contention and repeated wrongdoing retard the work rather than maintain the unity God requires on its proper basis.
No one is qualified to bear the burden of the work alone or to work in unsanctified independence, since God has joined together people of different minds to counsel with and assist one another so that deficiency in one is supplied by another. National prejudices and jealousies are broken down when truth is accepted as it is in Jesus, so that all classes, nations, tongues, and peoples blend in one great brotherhood with one Lord, one faith, one baptism, having the same mind and judgment and glorifying God with one mouth. Laborers must therefore not build up separate interests, keep up partition walls between nationalities, interpose self between God and the work, direct words or efforts to disunite what God would unite, but must cement together and exert a molding and reformatory influence upon one another by imitating Christ, loving as brethren, esteeming others better than self, and being kind, courteous, meek, lowly, easy to be entreated, and full of mercy and good fruit with hearts blended by the Spirit of truth. It is God's Spirit, not human domination, that is to guide His people.
True unity stands only on pure, elevating, ennobling truth in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines, and not on wrong practices. It calls sin and impenitence by their right name and does not gloss over wrongdoing, rebuking the receiving of human commandments as doctrine, the baptizing of unconverted people without full instruction in the meaning and solemnity of baptism, and the entering into controversy over differences of opinion among leaders. The church is to work in harmony and order rather than as independent, disorganized groups, for orderly unity enables successful cooperation with heavenly messengers. It must be so organized that it can carry out and enforce order, or it will have nothing to hope for and must scatter into fragments.
When ministers take their position unitedly and maintain it with decision, a uniting influence comes upon the flock, separating bars are broken, hearts flow together and unite like drops of water, and the ranks of Sabbath-keepers gain a power and strength far exceeding anything yet witnessed. Disunion is nourished when a spirit of watching and accusing is cherished rather than building up, and when doubts, lack of confidence, jealousy, suspicion, judgment, and criticism are allowed to divide workers who should speak and act with regard for what is good in one another. Those taught by God are one in Spirit and action with no discordant opinions, every child given talents according to ability for ministering without needing to be a preacher, enabled by study of the Scriptures with the Word as counselor to understand what is read and to reveal oneness with Christ as the Sun of Righteousness shines upon them. The Holy Spirit binds true saints together in a union that all the power of satanic agencies cannot break, and genuine love shows the world God's goodness while Christ intercedes to restore that unity.
Even a little house of worship is precious when people have done what they could, while a most splendid temple amounts to nothing if hearts are not right. The greatest anxiety should be about spiritual condition, showing reverence in entering the presence of God and angels, directing thoughts heavenward as the temple of the living God, and educating children that God meets with His people. The one body, one Spirit, and one hope of calling belongs among warnings to set the churches in order, reject unbelief, and guard against deception that could turn the weak aside.