Jesus prayed that we may all be one. He prayed for unity. But what is it that makes us ONE as church?The apostle Paul declares that we should be “eager to maintain THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — ONE LORD, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:3-6).The basis of unity begins with ONE LORD—Jesus. The desire for unity begins with the commitment to Jesus Christ as our Lord. This means that He is our supreme ruler. We give Him our allegiance; We submit our will to Him. Unity must be in our Lord Jesus.The next part of unity is FAITH. As Paul emphasized it is ONE faith, not each person’s variation or individual theories. In Acts 2:42 we are told that “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” What the apostles taught was what Christ had taught them. They were teaching the message that they had learned from Jesus! This is what they were passing on.So what we are to teach and believe is the doctrine that we find in the New Testament—what the apostles taught. This is what we must believe and practice.Then Paul states that unity is based on ONE BAPTISM. Peter declare to that first audience on Pentecost, “Each one of you must repent and be baptized into the NAME of JESUS CHRIST for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). We are baptized in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST to belong to Him as our Lord so that we may receive forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Paul wraps up this idea of unity by stating that it is founded upon “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Jesus said that he and the Father were united—were one. Our unity must follow this same example. Just as Jesus obey God’s will, our pledge to our Lord, our faith, our commitment ultimately looks to God.The life of that first church shows what this is all about. “They devoted themselves to the ...
