#DailyDevotion God Is One And The Church Is One

Eph. 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

Well that’s a lot of ones but all put together they all equal one. There is only one body, that is one holy, catholic, apostolic Church. The true church has no divisions, private interpretations, different interpretations and it is an article of faith. That is to say you can’t prove the Church though you can recognize its presence by the proclamation of the Gospel, namely Jesus is the only savior of mankind, he has won salvation for all men, and he gives this salvation away freely to all who would trust in him alone. You know its presence by the confession there is only one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person God and Lord and each person distinct from the other yet there is only one God.  This Church exist in the hearts of men and can only be seen for certain in the presence of God.

There is only one Spirit which confesses in this one Church that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Holy Spirit proclaims through the Church that Jesus is the Lord, born of  woman, who is the same Lord who created the heavens and the earth, formed man, delivered Noah, was friends with Abraham, delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians and brought them to the Promised Land.

 

There is only one hope, Jesus Christ who died for our sins, who is our redemption, ransom, atonement, and sanctification. He, the Father, and the Spirit are one Lord and God, as Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Not just one in will and purpose but one in essence and substance as well.

 

There is only one faith. God did not give us many faiths. Narrow is the way to eternal life and broad is the way to destruction. There is no division in the faith. There is no you can believe whatever you want to believe. What the Scriptures say is what we are given to say. We are to give our Amen to the Word and go neither to the left or to the right, to add or to subtract.

 

There is only one baptism. We are called only to be baptized once for the repentance and forgiveness of our sins. We are not called to keep going back and being baptized because we didn’t think the first one took. We are baptized just once into Christ Jesus, his life, death and resurrection through water and the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Should we sin, we remember our baptism, we repent, confess our sins and receive absolution. We come to the Lord’s Table where he gives us his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

 

There is only one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. The Father is the head and source of all, even the Son and Holy Spirit from all eternity, the Son eternally begotten, the Spirit eternally proceeding. He has made us to be his children and gives himself to all who would trust in his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as our inheritance. He has made us to be one with him in Christ. He made us so that we would be one in Christ in him, even as Christ, the Father and Son are one with one another. All this is the gift of God.

 

Heavenly Father, grant us faith and the Holy Spirit that we may be one with you , confess the one faith and be one with one another in love now and in the world to come. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.