Sentinel Echo Newspaper Article
Friday, August 12, 2011
‘One’ Body
“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 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.” - Eph. 4:4-6
Please read the passage above closely. How many Gods are there? What do the verses teach? Likewise, how many Fathers? How many Spirits? How many Lords? How many Hopes? Isn’t it odd that people can understand AND AGREE on how many God’s there are? Now, how many BODIES are there? What do the verses teach? How many FAITHS…BAPTISMS? Did you come up with the same answer- ONE? Consider some other passages that speak of the ONE BODY in the Bible…
The picture of the religion of Jesus Christ that many people are confronted with is one of confusion and division. There are so many religious denominations wearing different names, teaching different and contradicting doctrines, having different forms of worship, and presenting different plans by which one might be saved. Yet they all claim to recognize the same God and Father, and profess to follow the same Bible. Such a system is confusing.
While it is true that the Church is a New Testament institution, every prophecy concerning the Church, every type or shadow pre-figuring the Church, in the Old Testament emphasizes the oneness of the Lord’s Church.
(1) The Tabernacle or Temple. - That these were a picture of the Church to come is obvious from many passages. (Zech. 6:12-13; Amos 9:11-12; Acts 15:14-19; Mal. 3:1; Heb. 8:2; 9:9, 11, 23; Eph. 2:19-22). But there was only one Tabernacle, only one Temple, only one place where God’s name was recorded and where His glory dwelt. (Ex. 40:34-38; Deut. 12:5, 11; 1st Kings 8:10-13, 29). When man built a counterfeit temple God would not recognize it. (2nd Kings 12:26-31).
(2) The House of God. - This is another designation given to God’s dwelling place on earth and used to picture the Church Christ would build. (1 Chron. 29:2; 2 Chron. 23:5; John 2:16; Isa. 2:2-3; Zech. 1:16; 1 Tim. 3:15). But here again, God has only one house! It is always, “The House of God”; it is not in the plural!
(3) The Flock (or Fold) of God. - Another figure used to represent God’s people in the Old Testament and to foreshadow the Church of the New Testament is that of a flock. (Jer. 13:17; 23:2; Acts 20:28-29; 1 Pet. 5:2-4). But there is only one flock.
(4) The Way. - Another expression used to represent God’s people walking according to, and under, His rule in the Old Testament was “the way”. (Psa. 1:6; 18:30; 25:9; 77:13; Prov. 10:29; Jer. 6:16). This term is used prophetically and actually of the Church. (Isa. 35:8; Jer.32:38-39; Acts 9:1-2; 19:8-9, 23). But again, there is only one way. (Jer. 32:39; Matt. 7:13-14; John 14:6).
(5) The Holy Nation, or Purchased Possession. - Of all the nations of the world, God separated Israel to be His peculiar (or purchased) possession. They were a Holy nation because of their identity with God. (Ex. 19: 5-6; Deut. 4:31-34; Ezek. 37:22; Psa. 135:4). But there was only one nation that wore God’s name; only one that were His chosen people, and that had a covenant with Him.
This “shadow” or “type” is fulfilled in the Church today. It is the “nation born at once” (Isa. 66:8) it is the “strong nation” over which the Lord would reign (Mic. 4:1-7); it is the “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people” (1 Pet. 2:9); it is the one nation prophesied in (Ezek. 37:22).
God planned and purposed One Kingdom, One Flock, One Way, One House, One Temple, or One Church. Jesus built one Church (Matt. 16:18). All Christians in the 1st century were members of that One Church, and that One Church still exists today. Are you a member of that One Kingdom? Study to make your election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). God planned and prepared the One Church for us.
Roger Bruner