Christian Unity and the One Lord, Faith Baptism and Father
… one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all Ephesians 4:5,6 (NIV)
In 4:2-16 Paul is elaborating four truths about the kind of oneness God intends His new society to experience:
It depends on the godliness of our character and conduct (4:2)
It comes from the unity of our God (4:3-6)
It is enriched by the diversity of our gifts (4:7-12)
It demands the maturity of our growth (4:13-16)
We’ve looked at the godliness of our character and conduct as a factor in the oneness God wants for His people. We are continuing with Paul’s second point, that Christian unity depends on the unity of our God. In 4:3 he has called on the church to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’ because ‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called’ (4:5)
He continues. ‘There is … one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (4:4,5). The ‘one Lord’ is the Lord Jesus Christ. As 1 Corinthians 12:3 shows, this was the most basic, early Christian creed (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:11). It expresses a common belief and a common allegiance to one Lord. This declaration binds true Christians together. Where there is ‘the same Lord’ (Romans 10:12), Jews and Gentiles, black and white, rich and poor, great and small, are yoked together. Neither personal ambition, party spirit, nor disputes about non-essentials will be allowed to break that unity, if Christ is really honoured and served as Lord.
The ‘one faith’ embraces the same trust that binds us all to Christ, the ‘one Lord,’ the same way of access to Him and means of life in Him. It could also mean the same vital truths concerning Christ, His life and purpose. This way of speaking of ‘the faith’ was more common later (1 Timothy 3:9; 4;1,6; Titus 1;4; Jude 3).
The ‘one baptism’’ is baptism into Christ (Galatians 3:27), outwardly demonstrated by water baptism but closely associated with the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Water baptism symbolises the spiritual cleansing which the Holy Spirit brings.
‘There is … one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all’ (4:4,6). Humanity was created in God’s image in the beginning (Genesis 1:26) and through Christ can be brought back to His family (1:5). All Christians are part of this family and share the conviction that God is their Father. He is ‘over all and through all and in all.’ A few manuscripts read ‘over all and through all and in you all.’ Adding ‘you’ at the end makes the reference clearly to all Christians and not all people. The overwhelming manuscript evidence doesn’t support the added word though it clarifies Paul’s thinking for the average reader. Paul was probably thinking of both Jew and Gentile believers when he wrote ‘you all.’
Paul has written about ‘one Spirit … one Lord … one God,’ the reversal of the usual order. This is because he has spoken of the Spirit in 4:3. This leads to a natural transition of Spirit, Lord, Father. The same order for the same reason occurs in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 where Paul has spoken of the Spirit in 12:3.
Reversing the order, and summarising, we have the one Father creates the one family; the one Son creates the one faith, hope and baptism, and the one Spirit creates the one body. There can only be one Christian family, only one Christian faith, hope and baptism, and only one Christian body, because there is only one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
For the Lord God is one, and so are we! For we share in one faith, one baptism and one Father. He is the perfect Father who leads us all, works through us all, and lives in us all Ephesians 4:5,6 (The Passion Translation)