Ephesians 4:1-6 1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Holy Spirit (4:4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling… There is one body… “12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Holy Spirit (4:4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling… There is one Spirit… “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Romans 8:9)

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Holy Spirit (4:4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling… There is one hope… The word “hope” speaks of a settled confidence as based upon the promise of God’s Word.

One Hope… Believers have the hope [settle confidence] that Jesus will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) Believers have the hope that our God will supply our every need according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19) Believers have the hope that if we do suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified with Christ (Romans 8:17) Believers have the hope – the blessed hope – that Christ will return for His people at take us to heaven (John 14:1-3; Titus 2:13-14)

One Hope… Believers have the hope that when Christ returns for His people that we will then be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) Believers have the hope that as Christ is Lord, we will be enabled to give an answer to people who ask us why we trust in Him (1 Peter 3:15)

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Son (4:5) …one Lord, one faith, one baptism… There is one Lord… “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:18)

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Son (4:5) …one Lord, one faith, one baptism… There is one faith… “Faith” can speak of the initial act of believing and trusting in the person and work of Christ “Faith” can speak of the ongoing attitudes and actions of a person who has trusted in Jesus, what we might call the works of faith – how faith plays itself out daily in the Christian’s life. “Faith” can speak of a body of truth, what we call doctrine, the core truths of what we believe concerning God, Jesus Christ, man, sin and salvation.

The “Core” of the “Faith” There is only one God, and He is Creator and Sovereign over all His creation. There is only one Savior, the Son of God; born of the virgin Mary; born without sin; living a perfectly sinless life; dying on the cross for the sins of His people. He was buried and rose again the third day; was seen by many; ascended into Heaven where He currently sits at His Father’s right hand, awaiting the day when He will return to claim His bride, the Church, and rule the world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This Savior will save all who will come to Him by faith, confessing their sins and believing His Gospel.

The “Core” of the “Faith” There is only one Holy Spirit, who draws the sinner to Christ; gives them faith to believe in Christ; who baptizes them into the body of Christ. This Holy Spirit indwells believers, enabling them to live for God in this world. There is only one true church; the universal body of Christ made up of believers from every tongue, tribe, race, people and nation. The Church is the bride of Christ and will one day be caught up with Christ to spend eternity with her Lord and Savior.

The “Core” of the “Faith” The Bible, all sixty-six books, is the Word of God; inspired by God. It is without error and it is infallible in all that it teaches and is to be believed in its entirety being the sole standard of all our faith and practice. Being God’s own word to man, it and it alone is the final authority for the church.

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Son (4:5) …one Lord, one faith, one baptism… There is one baptism… The word “baptism” speaks of a person’s union, connection, relationship with Christ.

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Father (4:6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. There is one God – His position He is the “one God” – the one true Supreme Being. “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Father (4:6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. There is one Father – His person As our “Father” God loves us, cares for us, protects us, provides for us, hears our prayers, and secures us in His love and His salvation

1 John 3:1 (NASB) “1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

1 John 3:1 (AMP) 1 SEE WHAT [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him. 2 Beloved, we are [even here and] now God's children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God's children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is.

IV. The Making of a Church – The Power The power for unity in the church is found in God the Father (4:6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. There is one who is over all and through all and in all… - His power This speaks of the active involvement of the Father in both the lives of His children as well as in all creation.

John MacArthur “That comprehensive statement points to the glorious, divine, eternal unity that the Father gives believers by His Spirit and through the Son. We are God created, God loved, God saved, God Fathered, God controlled, God sustained, God filled, and God blessed. We are one people under one sovereign (over all), omnipotent (through all), and omnipresent (in all) God.”

Applications Pray continually for the experience of unity in this local body of believers for the building up of our faith and as a living testimony to the world of the love of Christ. Thank God for the things He uses to bring us together as a local body of believers. If you are not saved, come to Christ, confess yourself a sinner for whom Christ died. Ask Him to bring you into union with Him; identify with Him by identifying with His people. Ask yourself this question and then seek to answer it, “Am I doing all that I can by the grace of God to help this church walk in and experience our God-given unity?”