LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1967, Page 60

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60 THE DOCTRINAL ESSAY

Why does the apostle urge Christians to keep the
unity created by the Spirit? Because it can be disrupted,
that is why! It is disrupted by disloyalty to Christ and
lack of consideration for one another; it is disrupted
by intemperate reproof and lack of a forgiving spirit;
it is disrupted by saints who allow their equipment to
become rusty and their fellowship in the Gospel to
become dusty with the grime of this age. Put on the
whole armor, says the apostle, and use it. Redeem the
time, for the days are evil.

Jew and Gentile

The unity of the church is not a unity produced by
men. By its very nature it is a spiritual unity that is
real, brought into being as the result of the operation
of the Spirit of God. The apostle rejoices at this fact
because now finally it has brought Jew and Gentile to-
gether as one in Christ Jesus. They believe the same
things, they trust the same Person, they know that One
has saved them all in the same way. A great wall has
been broken down. Two men have become one.

St. Paul had great joy in the fact that Jewish Chris-
tians no longer pride themselves on the fact that they
are Jews possessing the Law. The differences have
passed away, and they are united with their Gentile
brothers in a common trust in the Lord, who has pur-
chased them all with His blood. They are to maintain
this unity with great diligence, to preserve and guard it,
for it is the Spirit of God that put them where they are.
Nobody is any longer a stranger or foreigner, but all are
fellow citizens with the saints. They are of the house-
hold of God and are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the
Chief Cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed
together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord; in
whom you are also builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as all are
called in one hope that belongs to their call, one Lord,
one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all and through all and in all.

Not Mere Friendliness

In the face of all that Paul has told us in Ephesians
and Colossians, about how the whole church is called
together in one body and translated from the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of God’s own dear Son
through the shedding of His blood, it must be apparent
that the unity of the church is not just a matter of
friendliness; it is not a fellowship merely of goodwill;
it does not just have good old community interest in
doing good. Something different and greater has been
born and must be maintained, not merely in terms of
human fellowship or organization but in terms of the
Spirit who has brought this unity into being.

St.Paul is emphatic about this: “I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy
of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowli-
ness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one
another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the

Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and
one Spirit ... one hope . .. one Lord, one faith, one
Baptism, one God and Father of all.” Here are seven
“ones” in three verses. Translators have supplied the
words “there is” to make the text more understandable,
but the original reads: “eager to maintain the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body and one
Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your
calling, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and
Father of all.” The one body has been produced by
the Holy Spirit. The unity already exists. The Ephe-
sians were not being exhorted to produce or to arrive
at something. They had already experienced some-
thing. Now they were to preserve it.

Not Loose Grouping

St. Paul was fond of using the analogy of the human
body in describing the unity of the church. Why? Be-
cause it emphasizes the vital and organic character of
the unity of the church, which is the body of Christ.
It is not a matter of loose grouping or of mechanical
external attachment. The whole marvel and mystery
of the human body is that, while it consists of many
different parts with different functions, all of these parts
belong to the one body and are bound together with
the whole in a vital manner. The fingers are not just
stuck on the hands, and the toes have not just been
attached to the feet. They are all one, put here or there
to perform a task for the good of all. The unity of the
church is like that. This is a fact, whether or not we
always recognize it.

The Spirit of God calls to unity. He enters into a
man. By the Spirit that man is baptized into the body
of Christ. By the Spirit he is led on. Natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, which are
foolishness to him. How then can he believe? 1 Cor.
12:11 tells us that the Spirit works in him. All these
things are given freely by God. Unless the Spirit has
worked in you, my brethren, you are not of God.

One Hope

By the Spirit the people of God are called in one
hope of their calling. All who follow Christ in faith
are destined for something more than the here and now.
They are strangers and pilgrims on earth. They are
not to become wrapped up in this life, because they have
a hope which is a part of their very calling. There is
one hope, of a final culmination, which is the redemp-
tion of the body. Whoever has this hope in Christ gives
evidence of the calling of the Holy Spirit.

One Lord

“One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.” First, there is
one Lord. There is no other name, said St. Peter. By
Him we must be saved. He is Lord of all. Paul says:
“Though there are many called gods in heaven and in
earth, as there are many gods and many lords, for us
there is one God, the Father, by whom all things are and
we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all
things are and we in Him.” (1 Cor. 8:5-6; 1 Tim. 2:5)